Flipping through the pages of a photo album brought back a memory of a trip taken in the spring of 1962. My parents had not been much further from home than the area where
they lived, so during the Easter break, since we both were teaching and still single, my brother Terry and I decided to take Mom and Dad on a holiday.
I was picked up at Golden Prairie, where the night was spent at the hotel and next day we made our way to Calgary. Here we visited Nell and Wes – Nell was raised by my parents after the tragic loss of her mother and, later, her father.
My parents enjoyed the visit which included a trip to the Calgary Zoo. Here pictures taken showed the towering dinosaurs dwarfing the people standing beside them. A picnic on the lawn, seeing the various animals and a visit to the conservatory gardens completed the day. My mother, an avid gardener, was fascinated by the various plants grown and both were excited to see live animals they had otherwise only seen in pictures. We even attended a church service, where much to our surprise it was led by a priest who served the church back home a few years earlier.
Although the mountains could be seen when approaching Calgary, the magnitude of their massiveness was not felt until we drove among them. A trip to Banff gave a closer look at the scenic majestic rock formations. My Dad looked at them in “awe” saying he had seen pictures of them, however seeing them for real was beyond his expectations and imagination.
From Calgary we made our way to Red Deer for some shopping, and on we went to Wetaskiwin to visit a cousin, Anna and her family where we stayed over night. We continued on to Edmonton, visiting some sites of interest to my parents.
Gradually we made our way through Saskatoon to show them where we stayed and attended university. After close to a week being away, we all came home tired but happy. My parents had a lot to talk about for a long time and I made my way back to Golden Prairie by bus.
All in all, it was a very simple trip by current standards, but it sure left an impression for Mom and Dad. Happy Father’s Day!
