Remembering our roots – Crystal Primrose

John Godsman

Times Contributor

 

Crystal’s father, Chris Clausen, moved from Idaho to Rumsey, just north of Drumheller in early 1913. Her mother Eulalie Kennedy moved there from Bismark, North Dakota the same year. Her father got a job with United Grain Growers (UGG), and went to the Clausen farm to help with haying. This is where he met his bride-to-be, and Chris and Eulalie were married on Dec. 17, 1913. They filed for homestead rights in 1914, and started farming together. This marriage produced five daughters, and Crystal was the fourth one, born in 1923. She grew up and took all her schooling through to Grade 12 in Rumsey. One of her sisters – Helen – married a Don Primrose. At the wedding Crystal met Glen Primrose, Don’s brother, and they were married in 1942. This wedding has produced six children (five daughters and one son), who in turn have given 18 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces R.C.E.M.E. in World War 2, Glen worked for BP Oil, mainly in Lac Labiche, Alberta, and Crystal worked as a book-keeper in various places, depending on where Glen was working.

After Glen retired in the late 1980’s, they travelled to Mesa, AZ for the winter, and following their move to Strathmore in 2002, they started driving to Lac La Biche to visit family and friends. Crystal told me that when they moved here, their main goal was to be able to walk to the shops and banks, and in 2002 this was possible. This is why they chose a home near downtown. But, now everything is moving out of downtown to be closer to the highway. Crystal questions why there is no transportation to the new location of these stores? 

Downtown will soon be a ghost town, unless businesses can be found to fill the empty buildings. She advised that in 2002, the Alberta Government promised the Strathmore Hospital Extension would be built within five years. Now, eight years later, it hasn’t been built, and in fact the project has been cancelled! 

They celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary in 2007, and regretfully Glen passed away in May 2008. Their community activities saw them as staunch members of The Royal Canadian Legion in Lac La Biche, but this ceased after Glen’s death. Crystal has always been a strong member of the United Church and UCW.

The small town they moved to is no more. It’s getting too big.