Remembering our roots – Jim Wark

John Godsman

Times Contributor

 

Jim’s great, great grandfather moved from Ireland to Fitzroy Harbour, Ont. around 1840. Later that year he was married, and they had four children. In 1881, Jim’s grandfather moved from Ontario to Minto, Man. where he obtained his quarter section of unimproved land from the CPR and Government of Upper Canada. He married in 1896, and produced eight children. One of those was Jim’s father. Jim was born in 1944 at the hospital in Boissevain, Man., a little town 40 miles south of Brandon. He grew up on the family farm, which was still in Minto, 14 miles north of Boissevain. He left school at the age of 17, and commenced work as a Section Man with Canadian National Railway, where he spent the next couple of years. From here, he joined the Manitoba Department of Highways as a surveyor. He moved to Alberta in 1967, hoping to continue work as a surveyor, but this was not to be. There were no openings for anyone with that training here. So, he worked as a labourer in various jobs until 1974, when he was hired as a propane truck driver, delivering propane around what is now known as Wheatland County. In August 1974, he was heading for Hussar, when he hit a patch of oil on the road, lost control of the truck, and ended up in a field trapped in the cab, which was on its side. It took a considerable amount of time to remove him from the cab, because the ambulance and a crane had to be brought to the wreck, and it was discovered he’d broken his back! When he had recovered from this injury, Workman’s compensation sent him to SAIT in 1975 where he was trained as an Oil and Gas Draftsman, also known as a Process Piping and Design Draftsman. 

He worked in this position for the next 32 years, before retiring in 2009.

In 1975, he married Bea Primrose, who had three children from a previous marriage. These three children have given them six grandchildren and seven great- grandchildren. Unfortunately, Bea passed away from cancer in 2003.

Bea had a girlfriend named Lillian McIntyre, known as Lil, for years and years, even before she knew Jim. Lil was a companion to Bea during her terminal illness, and was with her up to the time of her death. As a trained Home Care worker, she was able to get a job here in Strathmore, and now lives with Jim.

Jim works as a volunteer at Strathmore Heritage Days, and is a member of The Legion.

When he came to Strathmore in 1968, the population was 1,200!

He’s concerned at the number of businesses moving from downtown to be closer to the highway, and the arrival of all the big box stores. What will these businesses do, if/when the TransCanada is moved south to bypass our town?