Party Time

I’m not certain of the events about my father’s transition from military life to civilian but it occurred during our time in Bowness. I recall a photograph of my father in his khaki wool Canadian army uniform, brandishing corporal stripes on his arm and a story that he was ‘busted’ and lost those stripes for taking an extended unauthorized leave of absence. He showed me another picture, that was pasted inside his passport, a document he proudly obtained with the hopes that it would be needed when he was sent to fight in the Korean war. He never made it to Korea. Instead he became a civilian and for a brief time was employed in Calgary. I think that he took a job with the City or a construction enterprise and had something to do with vehicle or equipment tracking. He took me on a road trip to a job site one time. It involved an arduously long car journey over half built gravel roads with heavy equipment grinding the earth around us. I have a vague recollection that this was the construction of the Edmonton Trail highway. Why would you take a three-year-old to a construction job site? My father did things like that. Perhaps it wasn’t that uncommon in those days.

People came to our Bowness house often. There were crowds of people at various times and all kinds of interesting parties. Here is one with my Aunt Shirley playing DJ for the 50’s dance crowd. People actually used to have dances in the house.

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Here is my father dancing with his sister Margret (though this photo was taken in Winnipeg after returning from Bowness). Photograph (34)

Another house party. This one with my father’s siblings Kris, Margret and Laura. Looks like Kris has the crowd in stitches. On the table beside the portrait of my parents is a porcelain jug being pulled by a small porcelain donkey. The inscription on the jug says ‘Kick-a-poo-joy-juice’

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