Remembering our roots ~ Vi Flamond

John Godsman
Times Contributor

 

During the 1800s, the Flamonds and Sipos, grandparents of Vi, were coal miners in Hungary. It is known that grandfathers Flamond and Sipos moved here in the early 1900s and worked as coal miners in the Drumheller mines.
Hungarian males were known for their exceptional strength and willingness for hard work, and they were much sought after. Barbara Flamond stayed behind to care for her very sick mother, but after mother passed away, she too moved to Canada.
However, before this, grandfather Frank Sipos had written to the family in Hungary and requested their eldest son Stephen (age 15) move here. Stephen sailed from Europe to North America on his own, not knowing or speaking any English, and arrived at Ellis Island near New York. For identification, he carried a piece of paper with his name and destination on it. But no one in New York had ever heard of a place called Drumheller, so they put him on the first train that came along, and he ended up at an unknown location. He did eventually arrive in Drumheller, where he joined his father Frank Sipos working in the coal mines. Stephen was to become Vi’s father.
Stephen met Vi’s mother Mary (Marishka) at a Hungarian dance in East Coulee. In those days, it was a requirement that his father solicit Mary’s parents (the Flamonds) in East Coulee, to obtain permission for his son to court their daughter. Of interest, for Stephen to visit Mary, he had to take a bus from Midland, in the Drumheller Valley, to East Coulee. There was only one daily bus, each way. Stephen and Mary were married in November 1938 and lived in Midland, while father and son (Frank and Stephen) continued to work in the coal mines, sending parts of their paycheques back to Hungary, where the remaining family members – including five children – still lived. This part of their family had no interest in moving to Canada!
Viola (Vi) was born on Oct. 6, 1939, the eldest of two children; she has a younger brother. She attended school at Newcastle through Grade 5, then took junior school and high school in Drumheller. She remembers that in those days, their house was the only one on the street with cement sidewalks. So at night, frogs would collect on the warm cement, meaning anyone coming home in the dark had to be careful where they placed their feet!
She met her husband Leroy Flamond in Drumheller after being invited out for supper to a girlfriend’s, who was looking after a boarding house. One of the boarders was Leroy, and they were married in 1962. They had a son Fraser, and a daughter Sandra, who sadly passed away in 2013.
In 1974, Leroy came home from work one day, and told Vi they were moving to Strathmore two days later, as he had purchased a motel! Hence, Leroy’s Motel came into being.
As my readers know, Leroy’s Motel is still in business in Strathmore, catering mainly to workers in the oil patch. Sadly, Leroy passed away June 5, 2007 – but the motel is still operating under the ownership of Vi and her son, Fraser.
When Vi and Leroy moved to Strathmore in 1974, the population was 1,200. Now, it is 10 times that amount. Changes in the area include the construction of the paved and divided TransCanada Highway, the building of the hospital, and all the new schools and box stores, etc.
“Life has been good since we moved here. Thank you, Strathmore,” said Vi.