MARIE PAULE MENZIES
I was born on October 27, 1915, in North Battleford and registered Marie Paule Jeanne Alain - this is the name on my birth certificate. However, my pension cheques come in a variety of spellings - Marie, Mary, etc. but at the medical clinic in Flin Flon, I am known as just Mary.
My godfather is Uncle Edward Alain (Dad's brother) and Aunt Matilda Devlin (Mother's sister) is my godmother.
When I was old enough, I was sent off to school in Delmas with the others. I completed my grades 6, 7 and 8 in Veillardville at White Poplar School. School work was not too bad for me, especially geometry, but algebra - I just couldn't understand it and had great difficulty with it.
We all had chores to do. I was known as the chore girl and because of that, I hardly did any work in the house. I don't think I ever did dishes as the other girls did that. You had to have some of the family working outside. We couldn't all be in the house as, by then, the older boys were out in the bush so Rolland and I did most of the chores - milking the cows, shovelling the barn, looking after the pigs, and hauling water.
In Delmas we milked three cows and we had a very little barn for them. In fact, there was only room for his cow and mine. Rolland sat in between the two cows and he would poke my cow every now and then. I'd get mad at him quite often. We fought a lot in those days. One day, as we were fighting there in the barn, Dad came round the corner and caught us. I told him my problem and all he said was, "I'm going back to the house and you milk your cow." It took me a long time but I finally milked my cow.
One winter after we moved to Veillardville, we had to haul water from Veillard's old place which was approximately a half mile away. It was either haul water or melt snow and you know if the animals drink snow water, they drink to beat sixty. In those days we weren't dressed like we are today and it was cold. Of course my Dad was smart. He said, "I'll give you kids $5.00 a week each." We thought we were well off to get money like that. If I remember correctly, I got five dollars only once.
Our family had been in the Veillardville community only a few years when the Menzies family moved in and that was when I met Angus. Shortly after our meeting, he got work in Flin Flon with a baker and then went to The Pas. I followed him up there and stayed at my sister Yvonne's place for awhile. It was here in Flin Flon that Angus and I were married on January 7, 1933. The witnesses at our wedding were Yvonne and Raymond Turcotte. I came back to live in Veillardville while Angus worked for The Pas Lumber Company at The Pas. I was wishing he could have found a little place for all of us to live up there. However, after a few years, The Pas Lumber Company started to slacken off and Angus and his brother-in-law, Harry Bull, went to Flin Flon where work was found and we all moved up there. Angus got work with the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company and did a variety of jobs, ending up as a timekeeper. In all, he worked 31 years and retired in 1972.
We lived in a number of homes. One was built over a giant rock close to the railroad tracks. It was not very big but we were very happy there. It was also close to my sister Bertha's place. Our last move was to our present home in Channing.
In the summer, the children loved going swimming at Phantom Lake and so many lunches were packed. Bertha and I used to make root beer by the dozens as the kids loved it and thought it quite a treat. It was also much cheaper than buying cold drinks.
One year Bertha made a batch of 36 bottles and, for some reason, she left the house for awhile. When she returned, she discovered, much to her surprise, that Allen and Bob had opened every one of the 36 bottles and poured it down the drain. Of course, it had all bubbled up which was probably lots of fun to watch for both of them. But for Bertha, this meant hours of hard work had all gone down the drain. She proceeded to look for the culprits in order that they be punished for their actions.
Angus and I raised seven children. The eldest is Ron who has lived and worked in Calgary until recently. His daughter, Kari-Lou, is employed with an oil consulting firm in Calgary. She is presently training to be an Olympic judge for the biathlon event in 1988. She still finds time for curling and basketball. Ron's son, Kyle, gradu
ated from high school with honors and is studying Art at the Alberta College of Art. His yearbook displayed his unique artwork and talent.
Darlene lives in Langley, B.C. where she and her husband, Roman Marchina, own and operate a number of restaurants in B.C. Their children are Ramona, who operates one of the family restaurants; Gina, who was recently married to Graham Holliday; Laura; Mario, their only son; and 19-year-old Carla.
Our second son is Neil. He lives in Vancouver and is a commercial accountant.
Bob and Trudy and their two children, Nicole and Trevor, live in Flin Flon. Bob is a tandem truck driver in northern Manitoba.
Keith and Edith live in Waterville, Nova Scotia. Their family includes Aidan and twins, Todd and Kendra. Keith is the King's County Hospital administrator while Edith nurses at their local hospital.
Joanne works at The Bay in Flin Flon. She has a daughter, Kristy Lynne.
Brenda is married to Robin Jackson. They are parents to Aaron and live in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where Robin teaches and Brenda works in the Bank of Commerce.
Once Angus was retired he never enjoyed good health and so we travelled very little. We celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary in the summer of 1982 with all of our family. Angus died on March 12, 1983. Since retiring, I've had time to do embroidery, reading, watching TV, as well as travelling to such places as Reno; Texas; Nova Scotia; Yellowknife, NWT; and to the west coast, a number of times.
