pg 598 More Big Hill Country 2009
photo of Cochrane in the valley courtesy of McPherson family
James A. McPherson, the son of James Gordon and Vola Geraldine McPherson, was born in the Grace Hospital in Calgary on May 21, 1935. The first year of his life was spent on his Grandfather McPherson’s family farm in Springbank and then in Turner Valley until April 1938 when his parents purchased the dairy farm in Cochrane from Arthur Turner and the family moved to Cochrane. On January 1, 1937 a daughter, Vola Grace, was born.
Jim and Grace were blessed with a very happy childhood on the farm. They went to elementary school in Cochrane, riding their horses, Chief and King, to school when the weather was good and during the rainy and wintry periods, they were driven to school. There were no school buses at the time, and the two of them have many good stories to tell about those years. They talk about visiting Grandma McPherson in Springbank and the good times they had with the uncles and aunts. They remember visiting Grandma and Grandpa Kinney in the city and enjoying the differences in the homes of their “city” grandparents and their “country” relatives. They remember times playing in the coulees, riding their horses, driving to Calgary once a week for groceries, and they remember the hard work that a dairy farm could generate for their mother and father. They learned early on the value of hard work and family values.
Their high school education was taken at Mount Royal College in Calgary, because the schools in Cochrane only went to Grade Nine. They had to stay in the school dormitory in Calgary during the week and trek home on the weekends. This went on until they graduated from high school and continued as they both took secondary education at Mount Royal College, Jim taking his first two years of Geological Engineering and Grace enrolling in the Commercial Course.
It was during these years at Mount Royal that Grace and Isabel Court became friends, and she introduced her to her brother, Jim. Isabel came from Picture Butte in Southern Alberta and had moved to Calgary to attend Mount Royal College in the Commercial Program. She was the daughter of Ron and Marion Court, Granddaughter of George E. Court and Margaret Shields, pioneers in Southern Alberta.
Grace married Gordon Murdoch and moved to a mixed farm west of Crossfield where they raised three daughters: Nancy, Shelley, and Lisa.
Jim and Isabel were married in Lethbridge on September 7, 1957. Jim was attending the University of Oklahoma at the time and their first year was spent in Norman, Oklahoma. Upon graduation they returned to Calgary where Jim worked in the oil industry. Jim Jr. was born in Calgary on March 10, 1959 and shortly thereafter the family moved to Edmonton. Their daughter Karen was born in Edmonton on September 29, 1960.
Jim and Isabel eventually found their way back to the Cochrane dairy farm in 1963 and resided on the farm until 1978. Sons Roger and Gregory were both born during the farm years. Jim and Isabel ran a dairy farm for fourteen years, and during that time raised their children. They were active in the community; Jim with King Solomon Lodge in Cochrane and the Bearspaw Lions Club, and Isabel with the Order of the Eastern Star and the Women’s Institute.
In those years the Lions Club was a major form of community involvement and entertainment and Jim and Isabel remember many good times and good friends made during those years. Jim filled several positions within the club and became the President in 1975. During those years he was instrumental in organizing the first Bearspaw and District Fair. He was also involved with the famous Bearspaw Lions Stampede Pancake Breakfast. In the meantime, Isabel remained active with the Order of the Eastern Star, filling various offices and in 1973 was the Worthy Matron of Zenith Chapter No. 85.
After the sale of the farm they moved to an acreage west of Calgary where they reside today. Together they bought a business in Calgary, renamed it McPherson Management Ltd. and started down a new path. The business focused on agriculture associations and Jim was Secretary Manager of the Foothills Forage Association, General Manager of the Salers Association of Alberta and Canada. He was editor of the Calgary Livestock Market Journal and responsible for a daily radio Livestock Report. The business, combined with their growing family kept them busy during those years.
Jim and Isabel were active participants in their children’s lives, involved with the Cochrane Minor Hockey Association, Jim as a Board Director and assistant coach and Isabel on the Board of Directors and as a “Hockey Morn”. In 1986 Jim moved on to other opportunities. Isabel, who loved the work, kept the company operating on her own. Jim took up video photography and formed “On the Spot” video production and produced many agricultural related videos in the early years of that technology. In 1988 Jim took the Calgary Real Estate course and became a realtor, an occupation that he enjoys to this day. Those were very busy years and the Lions Club didn’t see too much of him during that time.
In 2003 Jim once again became more involved with Lionism and was named the Guiding Lion of a new club in the area, the Calgary Mountainview Lions Club. In 2005 he was appointed Zone Chairman of the
Lions District 37-0, a position that he enjoyed very much. He was very honored in 2006 when the Bearspaw Lions Club presented him with the Melvin Jones Fellowship award and he looks forward to many more years with each of the clubs. He is well known at the Crowfoot Y.M.C.A. as for the past nine years has made it to the gym most mornings for his four km walk. His volunteer work keeps him busy, the Cochrane and District Community Fair Association, the Bearspaw-Glendale Historical Society, the Bearspaw Lion’s Club and the newly formed Mountainview Lions Club of which Jim is a proud originator and the ‘Guiding Lion’ line.
Isabel remained with the Order of the Eastern Star and in 1999 became the Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of Alberta. She is currently moving up in the chairs and will hold the position of Worthy Grand Matron of the Grand Chapter of Alberta in the year 2009-2010. She continues with Zenith Chapter in Cochrane and has been the organist in that organization for the past 20 years.
Their children all graduated from Cochrane High School and subsequently from the University of Calgary.
Jim Jr. went on to University from Cochrane High and obtained a B .Sc in Computer Science. He married Carol Heibein in 1998. Jim has operated his own computer software company for the past 13 years, Masterworks Software. His company supplies software to school divisions throughout Canada. Carol brought two daughters into their marriage and they spend many hours with the girls and their children.
Upon graduation from High School, Karen attended Mount Royal College and the University of Calgary where she obtained a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology. She married Glenn McCue in 1983. They raised three children in Cochrane, Janine, Matthew and Nicole. The children were very active in sports in Cochrane, and have continued this interest into their college days, Janine at Grant McEwan College in Edmonton and in Matthew’s case to the Western Hockey League. Nicole is now in Grade Eleven. Karen has operated a day home in Calgary and in their home in Cochrane for 20 years and Glenn has been employed by AGT (Telus) since 1979. Karen and Glenn have renewed their interest in horseback riding and have purchased two horses to enjoy as well as camping in British Columbia in the upcoming years.
Roger married Cecelia Tse in 1991, after receiving a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering in Calgary. They lived in Southern California for 11 years before returning home to Calgary with their two children, Carter and Claire. Roger works for Chariot Carriers where he holds the position of Vice President of Engineering. Cecelia works at the University of Calgary as business manager of the Sports Medicine Centre. They balance their work with raising their two children and are busy volunteering at the children’s school, taking them to hockey, swimming and keeping active.
Gregory married Lisa Bleile in 1994. Greg obtained a B.A. in Geography from the University of Calgary. He worked in this field for a number of years before joining forces with Isabel in McPherson Management Ltd. Under his guidance, the company has grown to include a satellite office in Ottawa, Ontario and he is now the owner and president of this company. The clientele has changed from agriculture to a variety of industries in Canada and North America. They have one daughter, Ashley, born on April 24, 2003. Lisa has worked at General Motors in Calgary for a number of years. They also balance their careers with their home life and keep very busy.
Jim and Isabel have not retired in the usual way. They both continue to work at their respective occupations and in the community. But mostly they enjoy their family which now numbers fourteen. They feel very fortunate to have them all living close by and enjoy the visits from them and the grandchildren.
