Mother and Dad came to Canada from England. Dad came in 1912, and Mother came later in 1915. They came to Strathmore, Alberta but they moved to Carseland, Alberta in 1927, where they farmed until they bought the Virginia Ranch at Dog Pound in 1930. I went to school at Dog Pound and then to Olds Agricultural College in 1936 and 1937.
On March 17, 1939, my Dad passed away with cancer. Dad and Mother had a family of four: three girls, Lilian, Huberta and myself, Shirley, and one son Henry. Lilian lived at Carseland and Nanton. She had four children, two girls, both married and one lives in Nanton and one at Olds. The two boys ranched with her. Huberta married Tom Hayne and they lived and farmed at Carseland. They had two girls. Huberta has lived in Calgary since her husband passed away. Henry, known as Buster or Ike, married Diana Roberts. They have four children: Marlene, Lorraine, Harry and Patsy. All are married now. Buster farmed the home place, Virigina Ranch, for Mother. Buster passed away in 2001 and his son, Harry, now does the farming and raises purebred cattle.
Mother liked to travel and went to Hawaii for the winters. On a trip to Buffalo, New York, she passed away from a heart attack in 1967.
I (Shirley) helped at home with the work after Dad passed away. Then, in 1939, I married Don Ramsay from Bearspaw, near Calgary. Don was the third son of John and Caroline Ramsay.
We stayed at the Virginia Ranch until 1949, when Don started trucking for the Bottrel store and we moved to Bottrel. I worked in the store for Mr. Bill Milroy. Don hauled groceries for the store, grain and cattle for the area farmers. In the winter he hauled lumber from the mills, west of Water Valley, to the lumberyard at Water Valley. Also, he hauled gravel for the Municipal District of Rocky View. He worked on Highway #22 when it was built. At the last he hauled gas for the Esso Bulk Station in Cochrane to the area farmers. He had an accident when a gas tank stand fell on him. After this he was unable to drive for the last thirteen years of his life.
Don passed away on September 20, 1997, after being in the Fanning Centre in Calgary for two years and in the Bethany in Cochrane for two years.
In 1959, Don and I moved to our own place, three miles east of Highway #22 in the Westbrook area. Some of the neighbors that were close by when we moved to this farm were Max and Katie Jahns, Karl and Bea Sammons, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Warner, Frank and Marty Dwelle, Judd and Peggie Pick-up, Walter and Margaret Hutchinson and Ivan and Ruth Nobles.
Don and I have three children, two boys, Wallace and Donald, and one girl, Roxanne.
Wallace “Tuffy” married Gail Nowlin. They lived in Cochrane for forty two years, before retiring to Sundre, Alberta. Tuffy was a fireman in Calgary for thirty years attaining the rank of Captain. He is a real outdoorsman and loves to hunt with his cougar hounds. He plays hockey and Old Timer Ball. Tuffy and Gail have three sons: Patrick, Douglas and Andrew. Patrick “Pat” works for the Town of Cochrane in the Parks and
Facilities Department. He also works part time as a firefighter in Cochrane. He has a son, Quinn, who is two years old and full of life and energy. Douglas “Doug” works for Petro Canada. Like his father he likes to hunt and plays ball. Andrew “Drew” married a girl from Calgary, Krista. They moved to Bonnyville, where Drew works. They have a daughter Jaimie. She is my first great-grandchild.
Donald, “Donnie/Tex” has two children, twins, Burke and Brooke. Donnie used to rodeo and now Brooke is in barrel racing. She has won many trophies. Brooke has three horses. She has been to the Canadia Finals Rodeo in Edmonton twice and in the Calgary Stampede four times. Burke played hockey in Cochrane and is now in rodeo as well. He went to Quebec in 2007 and is going again this year, 2008. In the winter, Donnie and Burke work up north, around Fort McMurray, driving truck.
Roxanne married Murray Milan from Three Hills. They have three boys, Baillie, Tanner and Straws. Roxanne works at the “Old Trading Post Store” at Morley. The boys all rodeo, as did their father Murray. Baillie steer wrestles in the Pro circuit and also ropes. He has gone to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton twice and to the Calgary Stampede many times. Baillie and Tanner won the Wild Cow Milking at the Calgary Stampede the last year that the trophy was given out. It is a beautiful trophy. Baillie was in the 4-H Club at Jumping Pound. Tanner is also a steer wrestler. He has been to the CFR in Edmonton four times and to the Calgary Stampede, too. He also goes to the United States to rodeo. He belonged to the Jumping Pound 4-H Club. Tanner is just a handy man, does anything and everything. Straws is the last of the boys, but the biggest. He followed the other two into rodeo and is just starting out as a steer wrestler. He plays hockey for the Cochrane Generals. Straws was in the 4-H Club and won some trophies there.
I am still on my farm, east of Westbrook School with my dog “Patches”. Don and I celebrated our 50th Anniversary at the Cremona Hall on November 15, 1989, surrounded by many friends and family. I belong to the Lochend Ladies Club, the Dog Pound Blue Birds Club and the Gold & Silover Club at Cremona. I do a lot of knitting, especially children’s mitts.
