Bernice still loves to dance!
By Joan Janzen
Bernice Neumiller is looking forward to celebrating her 90th birthday in August this year. She was gifted 85 scratch tickets on her 85th birthday and claimed she wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the recipient of a corresponding number of tickets on her 90th, but she’ll have to wait and see.
Born on a farm near Watrous, her family moved to a farm close to Quill Lake when she was two years old. She attended a country school along with her eight sisters and one brother. “I got my grade 10 and quit because I was too busy working at home since there weren’t enough boys to do the work,” she explained.
Bernice Neumiller enjoys living at Caleb Village and is looking forward to celebrating her 90th birthday later this summer. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
The work included harrowing with horses, raking hay and gardening. “I was an outdoor girl,” Bernice said. By the time she was 12 years old, she was helping her dad stook in the field and had learned how to drive their 1936 Dodge. At 16, she was running her own binding outfit that made the sheaves, which were manually arranged in stooks in the field.
“My parents had a thrashing machine and had two guys who came to help. There were four outfits to haul the sheaves,” she said. “I’d also ride a horse and go and get the cattle and milk six or seven cows.” The cows wore bells, so she was able to locate them in the pasture.
Bernice and her family worked hard, but they also took time to play. Every Sunday, they headed out to Manitou Beach and always enjoyed attending barn dances. “I learned how to dance on my dad’s feet at the barn dances at Quill Lake,” she said. The dances were held in the loft of a 40-foot barn. “Different people came to play music, and about forty people attended the family dances. We also had dances at our school and would take an open sleigh and a team of horses in the wintertime to go to other dances. Mom and Dad loved dancing!”
Bernice had relatives in Ontario, so she spent some time there working in a sewing factory, where ten machines were used to assemble clothing. She also worked as a waitress in Calgary for a year before she got married in 1957.
She and her husband farmed near Quill Lake, where they raised their four children. One of their sons died in a tragic accident in his early 20s, and Bernice’s husband also sadly passed away at the age of 50 years.
The young widowed Bernice moved to Kindersley, where her daughter lived. She met Harold Neumiller at a dance in Brock, and they were married in 1985. “We both loved dancing. We danced Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” she said. The couple attended dances at Humboldt, Saskatoon, North Battleford and Watrous.
They moved from their house in Kindersley to Caleb Village in 2010 after the couple struggled with health issues. In 2019, Bernice’s husband Harold passed away, but she treasures many fond memories of their life together.
“I’ll be 90 this year, and I still love to dance! I’m one of the fortunate ones,” she said, referring to her physical health. Bernice’s love of dancing and dance music is evident in the display of 85 records and 50 CDs on her shelves.
Bernice is the proud grandmother of ten grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren and enjoys her life at Caleb Village. She enjoys bingo and cards once a week and assembling puzzles with a friend. “Last winter, we put together 89 puzzles,” she said. “I keep busy. I help out anyone who needs it, get their coffee, and help set up chairs. I can still do it, so why not?”
And, of course, she enjoys dancing to the music of different bands that come to entertain the folks at Caleb. Although she’s anticipating her 90th birthday later this summer, she is looking well beyond that milestone.
As she bids me farewell, she said, “Come and see me on my 100th birthday.” Spoken like a true optimist.