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Photo (2012): Grayson gazes out over the North Thompson River and the mountains beyond:
“Grandpa, we need to go see what’s beyond those mountains.”
(Cover Photo Arrangement by Alysha McNeill)

Link to KDP Book
(Please order from the January 4, 2025 edition)

Dear Reader,

The following chronicles were written during the magical summer of 2012 when five-year old Grayson Edward Walker, along with his Grandpa, Harold David McNeill, his brother, Jay Wesley McNeill and a close family friend, Bjorn Oscar Simonsen (Uncle Bjorn) completed an exploratory expedition through British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. While the trip through British Columbia was relatively peaceful, once they hit the Alberta border, they entered a new and perilous world. After visiting family and friends across the Province they hit out for Saskatchewan to visit the places where Grandpa was born and where Uncle Bjorn and his family first landed when they emmigrated to Canada from Norway in the early 1950s. In this Province they would again be faced with many hurdles as they visited the many farms and historic sites that were part of the family history.

The 200 page book is filled with dozes of full colour photographs of family, friends, events and special places in the lives of the intrepid explorers. Dozens of Chapters are written from the perspective of Grayson.

Cheers,

Harold, Grayson, Jay, and Bjorn

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Laura Isabel Skarsen (Wheeler)(McNeill)

This photo was taken sometime around 1998 when mom was in her early 80’s. Always the adventurer she travelled to Victoria to stay with us for a few months at our home on Leney Place to see if a move to Victoria might suit her.  She loved it, but her roots in Cold Lake were so deep it was impossible to fully settle in.  She returned to her home in Cold Lake where she would spend the rest of her life.

December 29, 2008, 10:00 am.
Cold Lake Healthcare Centre
Cold Lake, Alberta

I remember the hour and minute as clearly today as I did a decade earlier. Each time I tell the story, it brings a pinch in my chest and a tear to my eye. That pinch and the tears are not ones of regret for opportunities lost or an “I love you” left unsaid, it comes from the fond memories of the two persons responsible for creating, then setting, the boundaries that shaped my life. For the genes they gifted me, and in the nurturing love provided, I am eternally grateful to my Mother, Laura Isabel Skarsen (McNeill)(Wheeler), and Dad, David Benjamin McNeill.

Photo (c1944).  Dad was a horse lover, first, last and always.  He was nearly born on a horse, and he died of a heart attack at age 55, while on his horse.  Due to a number of health issues and life events, it seems likely he also choose the time of his exit from this world.

While Dad predeceased mom by forty-three years, the memories of him remain close, however, that extra forty-three years with Mom provided an abundance of opportunities to see and experience the immense depth of her motherly, grandmotherly and great-grandmotherly instincts and her steadfast pioneering spirit. Over the years I have written dozens of stories about Mom and Dad and the life they (and we), along with their parents, brothers, and sisters, carved out of the raw wilderness of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Now, at this moment in 2008, my sister, Louise Yochim, at sixty-four and two years younger than me, watched and waited as our mother slept peacefully, after having a short nap after her breakfast. When she awoke, the conversation we were about to have, would impact the remainder of her life. Even though the surgery was successful, mom knew her life would be unalterably changed and this might well include moving to an extended care facility where reliance on others to perform many day-to-day personal care needs, could well become a daily ritual.

In Edmonton one month earlier, with her three children and several family members nearby, Mom underwent life-saving femoral bypass surgery, a complicated procedure for a person half her age. Needless to say, after discussing the pros and cons, this fiercely independent woman, who had just turned ninety a month earlier, opted to give the operation a shot.

To this point in her life, she was relatively free from major medical problems, save for one fire-related accident that left her hovering near death (Explosion) for a couple of weeks while in her late twenties, then later in Edmonton after nearly dying following a natural gas leak in a rented basement suite. (Near Death Chapter 4).

The challenge at this moment was a blood clot in the femoral artery of her right leg. That the sudden onset of this life-threatening clot that was left undiagnosed for nearly ten days is another story for another time. Although in great pain, never, for one moment, did Mom let her positive attitude slip.

Louise, Dianne (the baby of the family at 52) and I, had earlier in the week talked with mom about the decisions she would need to make, knowing full well the final decision would rest in her hands. Whatever path she chooses, we knew her thoughts would be mostly about the welfare of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Because, her recovery to this point had taken some weeks, our younger sister, Dianne, had to return to her family and job in British Columbia.

On this morning, as Louise and I continued the vigil while Mom slept, we watched in silence, contemplating the path that led to this moment. That the world had gone through seismic changes over the ninety years of her life was traced in the books, stories, and anecdotes presented at Mom’s her 90th birthday party we had celebrated just a few months earlier. The party included all but two of the immediate family of three children, thirteen grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren, along with dozens of other family and friends.

July 2008 Birthday Party (Link to Post with Names)

Now, over the Christmas period, while in the Cold Lake Hospital, and in spite of the pain and challenges faced, mom was filled with good cheer. She spoke jokingly of one leg that was largely disabled due to the clot, “Yep, when I walk down the hall, I take one step with my good leg, then drag the other.”

That was the story of Mom’s attitude towards life, no matter how bad things became, she never seemed to let it get her down, and on those occasions when she let her guard slip, she would quickly rebound for the sake of her family.

Over the holiday period, we would spend some time singing Christmas Carols in mom’s room and other locations in the hospital. Most often this included our little band of six-eight kids who ranged in age from five or six to their mid-teens.  Sometimes two or three of us would just sit in the room with mom strumming the guitar and singing. Between those carols and the story-telling of which mom so well known, the days before and after Christmas passed quickly.

Now, with Louise on one side of the bed and I on the other, Mom’s eyes suddenly fluttered open. She took a moment to focus, first on one of us, then other as she awoke from a sound sleep. After a few minutes of exchanging morning greetings, mom looked intently, first at my sister and then at myself, then asked: “Son, would you put in my teeth?” Mom never liked being without her false teeth when others were present. Then she then turned to Louise and asked: “would you put on my glasses?” After this was done, she again took a few moments to focus on each of us as she expressed her deep love for us and the lives we shared.

Mom then laid back, closed her eyes, shuddered a few times as her spirit slowly departed, she then stopped breathing. After having accomplished all that was possible in this life, she chose to pass quickly and quietly to the next, to a place that promised the rest and peace of mind we knew she so richly earned.

After having spent a full ninety years in this life, we knew mom had chosen a time to depart that not only suited her but that she also felt was right for her children and all the loved ones in her life. From that moment forth I have never missed my mother as she lives with me in spirit as she did in life.

As the Christmas seasons continue to pass, our thoughts are with you Mom and Dad.

Love, Harold, Louise, and Dianne

Link to the full Biography of Laura Isabel Skarsen.

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Frank Yochim (1937 – 2018)

The post opens with two slideshows, one that reveals Franks deep connection to his family, friends, workmates and community and, the second, a look at the family and friends he left behind as they gathered in celebration of his life and in support of one another.

Frank Yochim Memorial

Family Time: Reflections

Songs:  It’s a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, and You’ve Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman from the movie soundtrack, Toy Story.

Introduction:

In December 2018, we bid a final farewell to my brother-in-law Frank Yochim who joined our family fifty-seven years ago when he married my next younger sister, Louise Kathleen McNeill.  In this collaborative post, we refer to the memories of his wife, children and friends to gain a measure of the man, who, in many ways was not easily defined even by those closest to him.

It was his first-born, Gregory Frank Yochim, (photo) who took up the challenge of completing the eulogy for his father. In a short period after arriving from Phoenix, Arizona where he and his family live, Greg along with his brother Lorin Yochim, pulled together a dazzling series of anecdotes from their siblings, other family members and friends, anecdotes that left everyone laughing and crying, often at the same time.

It was a challenging half hour that first-born son whose emotions were always close to the surface, as in his words: “ If I watch a video of two puppies playing, it makes me cry. If you were at my wedding twenty-seven years ago you’ll remember that I could barely make it through the reception speeches.”  The eulogy was then followed by a six-minute slideshow prepared by third oldest son, Lorin Yochim. If there was a dry eye in the house when Greg finished, and I doubt there was, there certainly wasn’t when that slideshow was complete.

Seeing and feeling the heartfelt response of over two hundred and fifty people paying their respects at the Harbour Light Alliance Church, left no doubt Frank will be long remembered not only for his good works but also for the love he quietly spread among those who knew him best, his family and friends. In the following, I have italicized the words of Greg, his siblings and others who lovingly remembered Frank.  We begin with Greg:

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A Favourite Painting of Linda

A very happy birthday to our longtime friend Linda Simonsen as she now joins those of us who now occupy that amazing seventh decade of our lives.  It is a time to reflect upon all the good times we have shared with those who have been near and dear to us over the past several decades. (A Video Link is provided in the footer)

To provide a little perspective on how things have changed since Linda landed at her parents home in 1947, have a peek at the cost of a few key items as well as a few of the major events that took place in Canada in that year.

Average Cost of new home, $6,600.00
Average wage per year, $2,850.00
Cost of a gallon of gas, 15 cents
Average cost of a new car, $1,300.00
A loaf of Bread, 13 cents  
A Man’s Sweater, $8.50 
Bulova Watch, $52.50
Two cans of Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, 23 cents 
Leg O Lamb, 59 cents/pound 
Loaf Marvel Enriched Bread, 13 cents 
Dozen Oranges, 49 cents

And a few events that made the news in that same year.

January 1 – Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect.

January 2 – Dominion of Newfoundland (later a province in 1949) switches to driving on the right from the left.

January 27 – The cabinet order deporting Japanese-Canadians to Japan is repealed after widespread protests.

February 13 – Oil is discovered near Leduc, Alberta.

May 14 – The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 is repealed.

June 15 – The laws limiting Asian immigration to Canada are repealed; Canadians of Asian descent are allowed to vote in federal elections.

July 22 – Two new nuclear reactors go online at the Chalk River research facility.

September 30 – The last group of personnel who had been on active service, for World War II, since September 1, 1939, stood down.^[1]

October 1 – New letters patent defining the office and powers of the governor general come into effect.

December 29 – Boss Johnson becomes premier of British Columbia.

Stephen Leacock Award: Harry L. Symons, Ojibway Melody.

The Federal law was changed such that Canadian women no longer lost their citizenship automatically if they married non-Canadians.

Now, sit back, take a few minutes to listen and watch as a few snippets of Linda’s life flow by as Joan Baez sings Forever Young, Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World, and Randy Newman, You’ve Got a Friend in Me.

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A lot of fun last night with a few of the gang for a birthday dinner at the old homestead.  To put a little perspective around the extended family and gang, I grabbed these photos for a slideshow, then dialled in some of the favourite music a lot of young people in our lives have been playing for several years. It’s funny how Frank and many others from back in the day, continue to speak a language that resonates through the decades.   I suppose the music speaks to their love of life and the people who surround them.

For our extended family, take a little trip into times past as many of you have been included.  For those I missed, and there were many, you will most certainly appear in future slideshows, as I continue to draw out more of those old photos from a variety of sources.

Cheers,
Harold and Lynn

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