Remembering our roots ~ Annabelle Armstrong

John Godsman
Times Contributor

 

Annabelle Ornburn’s ancestors on her father’s side originated from Prussia and Wales. According to Wikipedia, Gwydir Castle in Wales has had a fortification there since AD 600. It was once owned by ancestors of her father, Floyd Ornburn who was born in Renick, Miss. on Aug. 24, 1892.
His ancestors immigrated to Missouri in the early 1700’s. He was raised and schooled here, before taking training as a steam engineer; he then worked on the railroads in the U.S. as a fireman for several years, before moving to Canada in 1902. His uncle L.P. Schooling, also born in Missouri, had immigrated to Alberta earlier and farmed land in the Hussar area. He persuaded Floyd to join him, and Floyd worked for his uncle for several years, breaking hundreds of acres of prairie sod in the Hussar/Bassano areas. In the winter, he worked as a fireman on the CP Railroad between Calgary, Medicine Hat, and Swift Current, before deciding to take up farming, and purchasing his own land five miles east of Standard.
Annabelle’s grandparents on her mother’s side were Bill and Mary (nee Kemple) Drysdale. The Kemples emigrated from Ireland to Missouri in the 1700’s, during the potato famine. Bill Drysdale emigrated from England to America at around the same time. Bill and Mary met in Missouri, and were married there, and raised their family, before buying land from CPR in 1914, and homesteading with their family on their farm, three miles east of Standard.
Their daughter Julia Drysdale (Annabelle’s mother) born in Blockow, Miss. in 1899, moved with her family to Alberta at the age of 15. She first met Floyd at various functions in Standard and they were married on Dec. 2,1919. They lived and farmed on Floyd’s land, and raised six daughters. They became naturalized Canadians in 1936.
Their daughter Annabelle was born March 28, 1924 at Holy Cross Hospital in Calgary, the second of six daughters. She grew up on the family farm, attended Long Beach School just east of Standard through Grade 9, followed by a year at Standard, then two more years at Cluny Dorm thru’ Grade 12. When she was 14 years old, her father took her to the Mayo Clinic to receive treatment for a very serious ear infection. The doctors were unable to save her hearing in her right ear, but were able to save the hearing in her left ear.
She took teachers training in Calgary in 1944/45, followed by summer training in 1946 at the University of Edmonton. She taught all grades through Grade 9, at the Two Bar School in Wintering Hills from 1944 to 1947. Here she met William Lester Armstrong, known as ‘Buster’ Armstrong, born Aug. 24,1922 to parents Christopher and Lula May (nee Still) Armstrong. The Chris Armstrong family had moved from Oregon to Alberta in 1919, and were the first real farmers in the Wintering Hills area, as originally it was all ranching country. They homesteaded where the current farm is located, ten miles north and one mile east of Hussar. Originally, it was a mixed farm with grain and cattle, but nowadays there are no cattle.
Buster attended the Wintering Hills school two miles east of the farm, then helped his father, before joining the RCAF at age 18. He took training as ground crew and wireless operator in Calgary and Ottawa, before being posted to Europe in April 1944, where he saw active duty on the Western Front. He was there on D-Day, working over 18 hour days to keep the planes flying He arrived home safely in September 1945.
Buster and Annabelle met at a dance in November 1945, and again at the Christmas concert a month later, both held at the Two Bar School in Wintering Hills, where Annabelle was a teacher. She had organized the dance at the school, to raise funds for the Red Cross and towards the expenses for the Christmas concert. Buster on his guitar, with his sister Helen McDonald on the piano, played for both the dance and the concert! Romance blossomed and they were married a year later, at Gleichen United Church on Dec. 29, 1946. Annabelle finished teaching the school year, and then retired to the farm to start their family of three sons and a daughter – Bill, Ben, Ricky and Patricia. At the age of 15, Bill became very ill with a Pituitary tumour and almost died, but thank God he did recover with the assistance of three specialists. He now lives with Annabelle in the original house. Buster built their home the year of 1949/1950, from the foundation up, assisted by his brother Adam. Originally built as a two-story house, he renovated it in 1978, removing the top floor so that it became a ranch-style building. He had suffered a very severe heart attack in 1971, and it took a good couple of years for him to recover fully. His sons, and neighbours, ran the farm while he was recuperating. By the end of three years, Annabelle was a nervous wreck from worrying about Buster, so to give her mind something else to focus on, she became a community reporter for 15 years with the newspapers in Strathmore, Bassano and Drumheller.
An avid gardener all her life, she also wrote a gardening column. On the side, she sold Fuller Brush and Rawleigh Products, in an area from home to Drumheller and East Coulee. Buster and Annabelle celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends, a month early in Hussar, because of Buster’s failing health, and he passed away on Dec. 20, 1981 leaving Annabelle with four grandchildren. She now has nine great-grandchildren.
In 1992, Annabelle married Alvin Slattery and moved to Peachland, B.C. Following his death in 1997, she moved back to the farm, where she now lives with her son Bill. Other sons, Ben and wife Terry own their own farm 1.5 miles west, Rick and wife Harriet run the family farm and raise cattle at their ranch in Gem. Daughter Patricia was a well-respected industrial draftsman in Calgary, until she was stricken with MS that ended her career and her life on April 2, 2009 at the young age of 56.
Annabelle and Buster were original founding members of the Surface Rights Group, formed to have more say in negotiations with Oil & Gas Companies, when they rented farmland. Thanks to his Air Force training, Buster was a very accomplished electrician, and wired their home and many others, when electricity came to the area. Buster represented District Seven as a councillor in the 60’s in what is now Wheatland County, and was a board member of Hussar Credit Union (now Chinook Credit Union). Both were active members of Our Saviour’s Church in Hussar. Annabelle was a frequent delegate at several church conferences, and a member of Women of Unifarm (UFA). She is now an active member of the church ELW and the Sundowners Senior’s Club in Hussar. She is very happy to be with family and good friends.
The main changes in the area include the loss of small family farms and the highly technical equipment being used for farming.