Remembering our roots ~ Barry & Sheila Clark

John Godsman
Times Contributor

 

The Clark family name originates from Northern Ireland, where Barry’s grandfather Archibald was born in 1872. He moved to Glasgow, Scotland in 1882 and 13 years later in 1895 sailed to Halifax, N.S.
In those days it took 12 days to sail across the Atlantic Ocean! Another four days by train took him to Winnipeg, Man.
After 10 years here, he moved further west to Clair, Sask. arriving there in 1908, where he homesteaded for the rest of his life. Barry’s father Samuel, was born in Clair in 1911, and moved to Nanton in 1929 to work with his brother in the trucking business.
Barry was born in High River in 1951, because that was the closest hospital to Nanton. He has an older sister. His mother, Mildred Lathen, was a war bride, and married his father in England in 1941. Barry lived and attended school in Nanton, then joined Canadian Western Natural Gas, now ATCO, in 1972 at the age of 21.
Initially, he worked in construction, building underground pipelines, before moving on to Customer Service in their offices on 11th Avenue SW.
In 1983, he was transferred to Strathmore, where he worked until retirement in 2008. After moving here, he became a volunteer fireman for 15 years, and for the past 20 years has and still is delivering Meals on Wheels.
Sheila’s maiden name was Carr. Her grandfather John was born in Soreal, Que. in 1870, moved to St. Paul, Minn. in 1904, and married Ida Nicholson later that year. They moved to Oyen, Alta. in 1912, and ran a grocery store from their farm. Sheila’s parents Ken and Laura (McMurray) were married in Oyen, and she was born there in 1952, the third eldest of eleven children.
Barry and Sheila met in Nanton in 1971, while Sheila was visiting Nanton with a girlfriend. They were married in Oyen in April 1973, and have three children – Melissa, Sarah and Tyler. After she graduated from Hollingshead Business College in Calgary, Sheila worked for both the Alberta Wheat Pool, and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), in Calgary. For the past 24 years she has worked with ATB Financial here in Strathmore. Sheila is the chairperson for Meals on Wheels in Strathmore, and has been a volunteer for the past 30 years. They both advised they are always looking for drivers to deliver the meals.
Since growing up in Nanton where there was a dirt road race track that his cousins raced on, Barry is still interested in NASCAR Auto Racing, to the extent he and Sheila have made many trips to see races in the U.S., for example at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Daytona.
When they moved here in 1983, the population was 3,400, and now it’s in excess of 12,000! Changes they’ve seen since 1983 include the growth of the town, all the box stores, the new swimming pool and recreation centre, and the services and facilities now available.
Drivers required for Meals on Wheels. Please call (403) 324-0655.