Seems I'm the family archivist so I better get this bit of summertime history in the books before Christmas.
Here's an invitation to family and friends, and anyone who knew my mom, to stop by and say hello to her if you're walking in Kiwanis Park in Swift Current.
Have a seat, rest your feet, enjoy the park where she often walked, winter and summer, rain or shine.
Her new green bench is on Ashford Street close to Central Avenue. We'll sprinkle some of her ashes there next spring.
Our family gathered in Swift Current on July 1, 2023 to say farewell to our matriarch during a jam-packed, three-day, Nodge reunion.
She would have been very pleased to see this gang, something like 36 family members visiting, reminiscing, laughing, eating, swimming, playing music, and watching the Frontier Days parade like she always did every year since the 1950's.
We chose souvenirs, mementos to remember her by.
These spiffy red shoes got mom a lot of attention during her last few years. Jenny inherited them, then decided they were a better fit for Jocelyn.
I'm not a big fan of Royalty but I chose the framed 100th birthday greeting to Marie from Elizabeth. They died within a year of each other.
On a lovely Sunday morning we all walked down to the coulee near our house and bequeathed her ashes to the Swift Current Creek.
Her name was already on the Memorial Coulee monument along with my dad's and many other names of local people we knew. Each has a tree planted in their honour.
It's a lovely idea, a name plaque and a Memorial Tree, sponsored by the City of Swift Current. And an appropriate one - during my childhood my mom used to plant little fir trees and sell them at our farm.
We celebrated a truly remarkable mother, aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother with a fun and lively weekend.
Goodbye Mama!
