On the Road Again-Kindersley

Daddy, Ginger and I headed north in the pick-up.  We stopped for the night at Minot, N.D. Ginger and I had a room in a place with dark halls and were given instructions by Daddy NOT to leave the room until he returned the next morning. I don't know where he slept, whether he had a room, or slept in the pick-up.  Anyway, the next morning, we were on our way.  Crossing the border was nothing to note.  Soon we noticed that the price of gas was higher, but the quantities were measured differently.  They were not litres, but gallons with a descriptor...like royal, or something.  Perhaps I will remember, or if my brother reads any of this, he can help. Oh yes, they were imperial gallons.

Finding a place to stay was funny...funny now, not then.  Our first place was a tiny apartment above McLeods hardware store.  Ginger and I slept on the "chesterfield" (that is what they called the sofa) and Daddy had a tiny bedroom.  It had a kitchen, but we were not told that the sink drained into a big bucket.  When it overflowed and began to leak through the store ceiling, someone thought to tell us.  SO, we walked down the hall to the bathroom and shower to dump that bucket.

The social center for young folks was the Jubilee Cafe, or  "The Jube."  All the eating places in Kindersley were run by Chinese. I say all...Kindersley was about the size of Greensburg, so there were probably three eating places, including "The Jube." I think we went there to eat when we got into town, and met some of the "Fish" folks that we worked with in Big Piney. (The company was Fish Construction or something like that.  No one had gills.) We met several kids other than the ones we knew before. Gail became our new best friend!

Not long after we got there, we found better quarters.  It was the second floor of a house owned by an elderly lady.  I think there was a bathroom, but no tub.  I remember filling a wash tub for Daddy to take a bath.

When Daddy got paid, I took money to the post office to get a money order to send to Mom. At that time, Canadian money was worth more than U.S. money, so it cost less than the face of the money order to purchase it.

I don't know if there was a swimming pool in Kindersley, but several of us went to  Cutbank Lake on a regular basis. I was dating Brian Koebel and he had a car so provided transport to the lake.  Every time we went, he had a flat tire! I finally took a picture of him changing a tire...Daddy was making smart remarks about finding a new reason for being late! Brian worked at the grocery store and after Mom got here, he became quite friendly with Becky.  I think he gave her treats when Mom was grocery shopping.

When Mom and the other kids were on the way, we got in the pick up to go meet them.  Now, I cannot figure out how we knew they were near.  We (the ones in Canada) did not have a phone. Maybe Mom just planned her trip quite closely and let us know in a letter when they would be within so many miles. I do know, that Daddy drove faster and faster and when we met them, Mom got in the pick-up with Daddy and I was left to drive the car with the kids in it.

We found a house to rent that was across the street from the Sandersons. Buster, Edna, Al, Murray, Aaron and Babe played a big role in our time in Canada.