14
Harry Albers in uniform1941
Camrose, Alberta
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The Albers' Wedding Day20 October 1945
London, England
16
We planned to marry in September of 1945 but Harry injured his shoulder in an army truck accident and ended up in the hospital. The marriage did take place on October 20,1945 at St. Lutheran Church with friends and relatives in attendance. My mother was not happy that I was getting married. It upset her that I would be returning with Harry to Canada when the war was over. We honeymooned briefly at Blackpool, England before Harry reported to the base and I returned home.17
The 'Queen Mary'1946
18
In January 1946, Harry returned to Alberta, Canada and I followed in late June. A band was playing "Oh Canada" when I left Southampton on the Queen Mary. I was seasick for the entire four-day journey to Halifax, at which point I boarded a train for Alberta. When the train pulled into Edmonton, there was no one at the station to meet me because Harry had not received the message that I was coming. There were a group of Aboriginal people dressed in feathers and buckskin clothing and I thought, "Is this an Indian war? Oh my Gosh, what have I got into now?" I didn't know that they were on their way to the Calgary Stampede to take part in a parade.The Red Cross then sent me to Camrose on a coal train that stopped at every ten-mile siding. In Camrose, I had to wait for the "Hog Special" to get to the rest of the way to Ferintosh. When I arrived at the station, Harry was there to meet me.
I stayed with Harry's sister Lil in Ferintosh for several months because there was no house on the land that Harry had purchased. We finally bought the two room Teacherage at Central Valley School and moved it onto the farm.
I helped with the threshing that fall. It seemed that all I did was cook, serve meals and clean up just in time to make the next meal.
19
Florence on the Albers' farm1946
Water Glen, Alberta
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What I really found difficult to adjust to was having no indoor plumbing; having to use outdoor toilets. That was a shock. The first few years, we did not have electrical power but used a coal-wood stove. That took some getting used to. We also had to travel across the pasture because we did not have a proper road leading from the main road to the farmyard.I had to carry water from Harry's brother's house up a hill to our home. I used to hang the clothes outside on the line and in the wintertime, they would freeze stiff as a board. One time, I sent Harry out to take the clothes off the line and when he tried to pull his underwear off, the clothes line came along too.
While living in the little house on the farm, I climbed up in the attic to get some boxes out of storage. I didn't know that I should walk on the ceiling joists and when I stepped off the wooden beams, I fell through the ceiling, just missing my baby son in his crib. When Harry saw me limping, he asked, "What happened to you?" and I replied, "I just fell through the ceiling!"
21
Florence, Harry and daughter Janet1951
Water Glen, Alberta
22
The first time that I baked bread it was a real disaster. I mixed up the bread dough according to the recipe and placed it in the pans and set it in the oven when Harry went out to do the chores.He said, "Dear, it's going to be good bread."
I said, "Yes, it is going to be good bread."
Well, when he came into the house after doing the chores and saw the bread, he said, "What the hell happened to the bread?"
I replied, "I cut the tops off."
Harry said, "What did you do that for?"
I said, "It was getting too high." Well, Harry was very disappointed to say the least.
During the summers, we would do our grocery shopping on Saturday nights in Ferintosh. All the farmers would dress up and go to town because the shops would stay open until 10 p.m. and there was a dance in the Ferintosh Hall. Music was provided by a five-piece band of local musicians.
23
The Albers on a family trip1956
Calgary, Alberta
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Harry and I had three children, Janet, Keith and Marlene. We left the farm when Harry was sixty years old and moved into Wetaskiwin.I have returned to England three times. I have no regrets about coming to Canada, although I'm sorry that I never saw my mother again.
25
Florence and Harry Albers and familyOctober, 1995
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
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Florence and Harry Albers, 50th wedding anniversaryOctober, 1995
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
27
Storyline is based on audio taped interview with Florence Albers by Don. M. Albers on Feb 15 and March 1, 1994 and transcribed 1995, and personal interviews with Florence in 2003 and 2004. |
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