Canada 2019 – Part 4

July 7, 2019

We took our time getting ready the next morning after an exciting two days with the family. We were in for a nice surprise when we arrived in the dining room for breakfast. Another cousin, Lily-Ann Kenney had spent the night at the same hotel. (Lily-Ann had bid on and won one of the copies of our book.)

    

Lily-Ann Kenney

She lives in British Columbia and had driven her motor home to the reunion, intending to camp. However, she was stopped at a signal in Calgary on her way south, and the motor home stopped. She had to wait nearly two hours in traffic—with other cars racing around her—until help arrived. The repair person said he wouldn’t be able to get parts until at least Monday, or perhaps Tuesday. Lily-Ann just smiled. “Then, I guess I’ll plan on Wednesday.”

She inquired about car rental, and the prices were steep. But the repair many said he had a rental car she could use inexpensively. (She was determined to make it!)

Her son made reservations for her in Lethbridge for Saturday night and in Calgary for Monday and Tuesday. (I haven’t found out when she was able to get her motor home back.)

We had a great time talking during breakfast, and we finally stopped when they shooed us out of the room.

We said goodbye to her and then got on with our original plans for the day: to visit the town of Raymond, where my aunts were born. We already knew the ranch no longer existed, but we wanted to see the town.

What a cute little place—just a few blocks in each direction—with old homes and interesting buildings. Unfortunately, since it was a Sunday, everything was closed. I wish I could have seen the museum.

We drove out of town in several different directions, hoping we could get close to where the ranch used to be. A block or so beyond the town center, the paved streets turned into dirt roads. There is no ‘there’ there.

We later found out the ranch was much farther than we had explored. However, we knew there was a body of water somewhere near as we saw boats and other watercraft in driveways along the way.

Our final stop was the Temple Hill Cemetery. I loved it! It’s a charming spot on top of a hill, surrounded by trees.

We drove around checking each row for familiar names, and we found them.

Marinus DeLoss Lund and Mary Ellen Olsen Lund (center) surrounded by other family members - lots of them 

In addition to Lunds, we found several other family names we recognized from the previous two days. Once again, however, a misspelling… Marinus DeLoss’s first name is spelled ‘Merinus.’ All his records on Ancestry have the same spelling as his father: Marinus.

(My grandmother, Margaret Imelda McNamara Lund, is buried in the old cemetery at Mission San Gabriel in California. I hunted for a long time to find her. One reason it was difficult was her name is spelled with two ‘T’s’ on her headstone. I’m convinced people weren’t concerned about spelling in those days.)

The day before, we had seen a lovely portrait of Marinus DeLoss and Mary Ellen (Olsen). It has remained in the family and is treasured. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

Marinus DeLoss Lund (patriarch of the Canadian branch) and Mary Ellen Olsen Lund

My great-grandfather, Marinus, patriarch of the family (the one with the 23 children), was a very handsome man, even in his later years.

Marinus Lund

I have photos of all his children (except the two who died in infancy). Many of the boys were also handsome, and some were exceptionally good looking like their father. We all agreed Marinus DeLoss was one of these. He and Mary Ellen made a very attractive couple.

My dad inherited the Lund good looks. When I first saw the movie The Way We Were, I thought Dad looked a lot like a young Robert Redford. What do you think?

Henry LaRay Lund

Dad loathed having his picture taken, and we have very few of him. In addition, he died at thirty-seven, so there are none of him as he aged. (The first one above is his high school graduation photo. The one in the center is his work photo, and the last one is his army picture.)

After our trip down memory lane, we drove through the town of Lethbridge and spotted an IHop, so we decided to stop there for an early dinner.

We had intended to see Calgary the next day (Monday), return to the hotel, and then drive up to Banff the following day. However, my cousin, Linda, invited us to spend the night with her in Calgary. That way, we’d have a running start the next morning. (She also invited us to go to the Stampede with them on Tuesday because senior citizens were free. However, I don’t do too well sitting in the sun all day, so we declined.)

We went to bed early on Sunday night because we wanted to get an early start in the morning. The drive from Lethbridge to Calgary was still three hours.

More to come…