BARRHEAD – The Hillcrest building was buzzing with activity on March 26 while dignitaries, friends and family gathered for the 90-plus birthday celebration.
Ruby Hoag and Leonard Lindquist were special inductees to the 100-year-old club.
There were seven 90-year-old birthday celebrities Verna Jones, Levis Rondeau, Wilfred Holwerda, Helen Reitsma, Talita Mantey, Bruno Schradieck and Helen Robinson.
Two ladies, Erna Baron and Margaret Aldridge were honoured posthumously.
“Welcome to our party, our 90 plus and 100 plus,” said Shelly Oswald, Life Enrichment Manager.
“There are two rules: you can't yell at me, and you can't throw anything.”
Laughs from the crowd started things off with a bang.
Tyler Batdorf, CAO, delighted the crowd with a walk down memory lane.
“I decided to come up with some facts from 90 years ago in 1935,” said Batdorf.
He shared that Monopoly was first introduced by the Parker brothers.
Nylon was invented and radar was founded.
Babe Ruth played his final Major League Baseball game.
FM radio is introduced 100 years ago in 1925.
One hundred years ago Edwin Hubble reveals the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
The Mount Rushmore dedication ceremony happened a hundred years ago.
Batdorf introduced special guests including Town Councillor Anthony Oswald, Deputy Mayor Ty Assaf, Reeve Doug Drozd, and Rod Klumph, Town Councillor.
“Congratulations to all of you for reaching big milestones this year and I hope there's more to come,” said Batdorf.
Oswald had the crowd smiling and giggling while she got Deputy Mayor, Ty Assaf and Reeve Doug Drozd in place for the ceremony.
The first honoree was Verna Jones.
Jones was born in Doris Alberta northeast of Fort Assiniboine.
She grew up 8 miles north of Timeu, Alberta and married in 1957.
She has three children, 10 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Jones was a trapper, cooked in the lumber camp, and ran farmers markets.
Her hobbies are playing hearts, knitting and crocheting.
Levis Rondeau was born in a log house at Freeman River where she grew up.
She married George Rhonda on October 31, 1952, and they had six children.
She has 15 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and seven great great-grandchildren, with her latest great great-grandchild born on March 10.
She was a housewife and a seamstress, making wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses and enjoys crafts.
Wilfred Holwerda was born at home at his Neerlandia farm.
He married Hilda and had seven children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His occupations included farming, working as a milkman in Edmonton and working at Barrhead Bakery for the Feringas.
Holwerda lived in Neerlandia, Edmonton, Cherry Hill, Barrhead and Bloomsbury.
He has entertained Hillcrest residents playing the harmonica and singing on many evenings.
Helen Reitsma was born and raised in the Netherlands.
She immigrated to Canada in 1952 and married Art Reitsma in1955.
She has six children, 22 grandchildren, and 31 great-grandchildren and counting.
She has worked many jobs and among the highlights were the Barrhead Co-op Bakery and the Saan store.
Reitsma is an active member in the Barrhead Christian Reformed Church.
Talita Mantey was born in Poland and grew up in Germany, coming to Canada in 1950.
She married a handsome farmer and were together for 66 years.
She has two sons, two grandsons and two granddaughters and seven great-grandchildren.
Her hobbies include gardening and travelling.
Bruno Schradieck was born and grew up in Germany.
He immigrated to Canada in 1953 and laid tracks for the railroad in British Columbia.
He married in 1959 and had five children.
Schradieck has 6 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
He is a retired farmer and worked for the Jasper railroad, on a dairy farm and in construction building houses and high rises.
His first quarter of land was $600.
His accomplishments include hunting cougar with his prize mounted at Edmonton Museum.
Schradieck enjoyed trap line for coyotes and bears, fishing and camping.
Hellen Robinson is in hospital was wished well in her recovery.
Erna Baron and Margaret Aldridge’s family were wished condolences.
Baron grew up in the Tiger Lily County area.
She went to school for floral design worked for the Barrhead Flower Shop for 10 years.
She farmed in Naples for 44 years.
Margaret Aldridge was born in Fernie, BC, married and had six children, 21 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
She was a waitress and cook.
Ruby Hoag turned 100 years old this year.
She was born in the Royal Alex Hospital in Edmonton AB and grew up in the Rose home district.
She married Edward and had three children.
She has eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandkids.
Her work included 11 months at the University Hospital and two years in the Canadian Women's Army Corp. where she worked in rations supply store in Prince Rupert BC.
She worked for 10 months at Woolworths in Edmonton where did she live before moving to Barrhead.
She loved leatherwork, beading and has crocheted 1000 or more slippers to send overseas.
Leonard Linquist he was born November 11th 1925 in Mellowdale Alberta in a little old log house.
His attendant was Mrs. Downey from old Barrhead.
He grew up in area district and farms for over 50 years.
Linquist married Hazel on March 15, 1950, and had two children.
He has five grandchildren.
From the age of 15 to the age of 90 he played drums and from 1940 to 1965 kept records of over 500 weddings, sports days and regular bookings he played.
The choir made up of staff members, hockey players and a hockey dad sang Happy Birthday in celebration of the honourees.
