The February 11, 2022 passing of 94-year-old JR McMillan reminded me of a slice of local history.
JR’s parents, Robert and Oma and five older siblings arrived here from Saskatchewan in 1926, to live mostly in the Horse Lake area. It was about 1938 when, given their younger children’s six-mile walk to school in Lone Butte, Robert was permitted to blaze a direct trail from Horse Lake Road to Lone Butte Road, cutting their travel distance by nearly half and creating what was to become the well-used McMillan Road.
That same year, Robert was contracted to pick up mail in Lone Butte and deliver it throughout - eastward towards Bridge Lake. This provided the princely annual sum of $500, but eventually became uneconomical due to numerous expenses involved.
Long-time friends with Ed and Irene Higgins (who arrived here in 1913), Robert’s only daughter married their son, Kenneth, in 1939. Their second-oldest son, Alex, married Ken’s sister Beulah in 1940. In 1953, their youngest son Glenn married Ed and Irene’s granddaughter, Irma Malm.
Glenn’s son, Howard, who provided much of this material in 2006, said he was “very proud of being the direct descendant of not one, but two pioneer families.”
Respect your elders
Residents are asked not to forget about our seniors just because they’ve moved into town for care. Cards, letters and phone calls go a long way towards boosting morale, as are visits when permitted. A long-term care aide said, “I was always upset that hardly anyone came to visit folks, but they would show up at their funerals. It was really upsetting for me, as I saw how lonely they were every day, and I thought, ‘why come to a person’s funeral and talk about what great pioneers they were when they were still alive the previous few years in care or other seniors housing.’”
If someone you care about “disappears,” please check it out, and act accordingly.
Community events
Poker Nights will be held at Interlakes Community Centre at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays, March 12 and 26.
Log Cabin Quilters meet 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, March 16 at Interlakes Community Centre. Their Community Quilting is offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., March 23 and 30.
Cheers
Congratulations to Peter Skene Ogden’s Interlakes’ honour students: Amber Conway, Elizabeth Duits, Joelle Kuyek, Michelle Lang, Jenny Schroevers, Ryan Vincenz and Owen West.
Birthday bubbly goes to Joanne Levick, Emma West and Danny Jenewein. Congratulations to Karen and Bruce Simundson on their 44th wedding anniversary, March 18.
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