Vera Schmidt shares 100 years of memories

By Joan Janzen

Can you imagine what it was like to be alive in 1924? Vera Schmidt at Eatonia Oasis Living (EOL) doesn't have to imagine because she was born on August 14, 1924, at the hospital in Kindersley.

Even though Vera has stored up 100 years of treasured memories, she told the EOL staff she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to fuss with her story. Her life story began on a farm four miles north and one mile west of Kindersley, along with two brothers and four sisters.

Vera Schmidt visited the museum to see her father's buggy, which had been restored and donated to the Kindersley Museum earlier this year. Photo by Ken Schmidt

She went to Merrington School, which was located a half mile east of their family farm. It was a one-room school where Vera attended from grades 1 to 10. Now, that school building stands at the Kindersley Museum. Vera remembers walking to school during the Dirty 30s, with the dust blowing and hitting her legs. The tumbleweeds were piled up along the fence line and would catch all the dirt.

"I remember my mother serving us the cod fish they got from eastern Canada and us kids just loved it," she recalled, but she confessed she no longer likes to eat fish. Since her family had a big garden, they always had lots of potatoes to eat. "I remember we had to weed the potatoes before we could go to sports day," she said.

Vera's dad died when she was about seven years old, and during that time, her mother operated the farm along with a hired hand. When World War II began, her two older brothers were called upon to serve.

Her brother Earl served and was stationed in France, but her other brother stayed at home. "My mother got him out of it because she needed him to help on the farm," Vera said. However, Earl didn't come home and died in 1944.

After completing Grade 10, Vera took a hairdressing course in Saskatoon. Her son, Ken explained how his mom and dad met. "She met my dad's sister, and that's how they got introduced," Ken said. His dad, Bill, grew up on a farm eight miles southwest of Kindersley.

The couple married on November 7, 1951, and moved to Bill's family farm. They had two children, Ken and Arlene. Vera was a stay-at-home mom who worked on the farm. She helped summer-fallow, haul grain during harvest, work in the garden, and help out with the animals. There were lots of animals: cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and cats. Now Ken and his son farm the land.

On August 10, Vera's children, along with her seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, will hold a tea at EOL to celebrate her 100th birthday. Although her siblings have all passed away, Vera has a sister-in-law in Alberta who plans to attend, and Vera's oldest grandson is coming from England for the festivities.

Vera moved to EOL just one year ago on her birthday. Prior to that time she had lived at Caleb in Kindersley for seven years.

This centurion's birthday will be a happy occasion when she celebrates with her family, friends, and everyone at EOL. "I just say thank you, God, for giving me this much time," Vera said.

Happy Birthday, Vera. All your friends and family are also grateful to God that they can spend this much time with you.