Former Smiley resident shares memories
By Joan Janzen
On March 25th Shirley Jeffries, a resident at Caleb Village enjoyed celebrating her birthday with family. Shirley was born in 1934 and anticipates celebrating a milestone birthday in 2024.
From her comfortable suite, she recalled her childhood, growing up on a farm twenty-five miles from Nipawin, Sask. She had three brothers, and a younger sister came along when Shirley was 16.
Shirley Jeffries is holding a teddy bear, which was made from a mink coat that her dad had given as a surprise gift to her mother. Photo by Joan Janzen
She may have been a child, but she knew her family was experiencing hard times during the Dirty 30s. In the warmer months, she and her siblings walked three miles to school, but in the winter, they took a horse and a sleigh that was equipped with a covering and a wood stove. “I guess it was dangerous, but we managed,” she said.
“When my dad’s mother died, he more or less raised his younger brother,” she recalled. “He lived with us and was like an older brother to me.”
Like all the neighbours, Shirley’s family had a huge garden and raised chickens, cows and pigs. But all the kids had chores to do, and everyone helped out. They worked hard, but every Saturday, they went to town for their big weekly outing.
“School concerts were always a big deal,” she recalled. “And there was always a sports day in the summer.” She remembers all the school kids riding in the back of a three-ton truck to attend sports days.
One of Shirley’s vivid memories involved an April Fool’s joke her dad pulled on her brother. He carefully emptied a hen’s egg, filled it with oatmeal, decorated it and placed it with the other decorated hard-boiled eggs. “My oldest brother got the egg, cut it open and out came the oatmeal. I remember it like it happened yesterday!” Shirley said.
But her brother also enjoyed playing a trick or two. He would hide one of the pieces when the kids brought out a new puzzle.
Later the family moved into town, where Shirley attended high school and graduated from Grade 12. While her three brothers continued on to become engineers, Shirley chose to become a nurse.
She went to St. Paul’s for three years of training, where she was paid a small amount each year, enough to be able to go to a show and enjoy a treat. Life in the residence was shared with her friends, who all had the same goal. “It was really the best time I can remember,” she said. “I still have some friends from back then.”
After completing her training, she worked at Swift Current and once again lived in residence. “I began working during the polio epidemic,” she explained. “As a nurse, you had to have common sense and a heart for people.”
Shirley’s friends had fun arranging blind dates for her. After going on a few arranged dates, her friends set her up with a nice farm boy. “I agreed but said it’s the last time I’m doing this,” Shirley said. “It was the last time because we ended up getting married six months later.”
Her husband, Lorne worked in the oilfield and moved around a lot before he decided he and his young bride would move to his family’s farm in Smiley. “I changed from being an oil wife to being a farmer’s wife,” Shirley said.
They were married five years before starting a family but then had six children in a ten-year period. It was a busy time of raising children, having a large garden and chickens to raise. “We always had cattle, and the kids had to help out. It was a good place to raise kids,” she said.
Shirley and her husband were involved in church activities and a community group. They also curled and played ball. “It was a busy time, but it was a fun time,” she said.
Sadly, Shirley’s husband passed away suddenly in 2012 when they had been living in a townhouse in Kindersley. Now Shirley enjoys living at Caleb, playing cribbage a couple of times each week, doing needlepoint, and spending time with friends.