Page 21 - Forest Grove Years 17 Feb

from the constant demands of the store at Forest Grove. In the summer months the nu-
merous members of the extended Parkin family (and their friends) also used the cabin
which at that time came complete with a cook supplied by the lodge at Forest Grove.
Later many of the families that had been introduced to Ruth Lake at Buckhorn staked
property and built cabins of their own. These families included the Mackenzie’s, Smiths
and the Hardy’s. They were followed by the Creso’s and the Richards who were Ameri-
cans that had come to our place in the fall of the year to hunt. Still later arrivals on our
side of the lake were the Loree’s and the Lambert’s. In my mind the years run together,
and my memories are not specific to any particular time frame. Ruth Lake, however,
became central to our lives.
I recall very clearly one Christmas we planned to spend at the cabin on Ruth Lake. Du-
ties at the store and post office held everyone back until a later time but after dinner
Bob Parkin and me headed down to the lake. By the time we arrived it was pitch dark
with a clear and star filled sky. Bob pulled me on a toboggan from the picnic grounds
down the lake on the ice to Buckhorn Point. It was a magical adventure and has never
completely left my mind. The following day there had been a thaw and the entire sur-
face of the lake was a massive skating rink.

Medicine Hat Interlude
The loss of the store in 1951 was a major blow to the economics of supporting two fam-
ilies and resulted in some difficult decisions. I, of course, have no recollection of the dis-
cussion. By that time, I had completed grade three at Forest Grove Elementary school
under fairly basic conditions and was certainly not ready for a transition to a big city
school, but it was clear that we had to move so that my father could find employment.
This marked a temporary end to the stay of our family in Forest Grove and we packed
our bags and headed for Medicine Hat, Alberta where dad was to take up a job in my
grandfather’s wholesale tobacco and confectionary business. We spent roughly three
years in Medicine Hat and I have many memories of that time. My dad had a house
built not far from where my grandparents lived and went off to work every morning in a
shirt with a tie. My brother Doug was born in 1953 during this time in Medicine Hat.
To the best of my knowledge my mother did not work while she was in Medicine Hat. I
know that she became involved as an accompanist for a singer called Arlene Lewis. Ar-
lene was the wife of a local doctor and was, I think, quite talented. It would be an un-
derstatement to say that my father was not happy in Medicine Hat. He tried to make
the best of it and joined the local Masonic Lodge to meet men of his age group. He and
my grandfather got along quite well, and he had no difficulty with the work other than
for the fact that my father never really liked to work for anyone else. The major difficul-
ty was, I suspect, with my grandmother, Bernice Boyd. She was a clever and outspoken
woman who had a very sharp tongue as well as a mind of her own. She and my father
clashed on many occasions and there would be hard words followed by a process of
making up.

I found school in Medicine Hat difficult. My three years in Forest Grove Elementary
School had not prepared me for level I should have reached at grade four in a large city
school. Once it was realized that I was in trouble I was sent everyday after school to my
grandmother for additional instruction in some of the basics including spelling and arith-
metic. My memory of these after school sessions is quite positive as she was an experi-
enced teacher and I found her very supportive.