(01:29:17) Leanna – “Yes, we were married out there too. It was very cool.”
(01:29:18) Gordon – “By the barn.”
(01:29:21) Leanna – “It was beautiful. A nice setting. It worked out great. Just the barn was left and the garage.”
(01:29:30) Gordon – “But there is nothing there now I don’t think.”
(01:29:33) Leanne – “Oh, yeah (she has lots of memories) of growing up in Field. Growing up in Field was awesome…It was a pretty neat place.”
(01:29:54) We had a ski hill .about a mile west of Field with a rope tow. The school principal developed a ski program and with the help of the wardens, the school kids were given lessons in skiing We were able to get a bunch of old skis and we cut them in half which served to introduce the children to skiing and thus see whether or not they would be interested to pursue it further. This way we gave every child an opportunity. When the beginners mastered the Field hill they were allowed to progress to the Lake Louise Ski Hill.
(01:33:31) It was my sister who encouraged me to go into the warden service. She was the Superintendent’s secretary…Most of the boys, of course, then, worked for the CPR. That was the mainstay there in those days until the diesels came in. Then they didn’t need as many crew there. So my sister was the one who said, “Why don’t you try for the warden service?”…So in those days you really didn’t send in a written resume. I just went up and asked the chief warden for a job. He said, “Okay”. And then I got a letter saying report when you are through school…My sister then applied for the clerk and dispatch position for the warden service quite a few years later and got the job. It turned out that when I became Chief Park Warden in Yoho I ended up being her boss! That was quite a coincidence but it seemed to work out ok. She had been with Parks for so many years that she needed little or no guidance doing her job.
(01:35:24) Yes, I do miss being a warden. I think of it all the time. A lot of good memories. Like the Centennial last year. Wow! That was terrific. We had of course a couple of other reunions out at the Ya-Ha Tinda which was nice. It was really nice to get together with everyone and to be able to reminisce past times and experiences.
(01:39:69) I guess just the camaraderie of the service, would be a lasting memory. There seemed to be a friendship, I guess you could call it camaraderie amongst the wardens and their wives. No matter when you got together…everyone seemed to enjoy life and respect one another.
(01:41:14) I remember when Kathy Calvert (one of the first female wardens) showed up on the scene. Hal Shepard was sort of instrumental in her hiring… I can remember us sitting in the office…when she showed up and none of us knew what to do. Whether to stand up or shake hands. We were all fumbling around. “Yep, I’m Kathy…here I am.” Everyone was giving her their chair. “Should we do that? I don’t know.” Just fumbling around it was like musical chairs…falling over one another! Actually we had a good crew there. I think there were some reservations, naturally because of the old boy’s club type of thing…but Kathy did well.
(01:42:48) Good times actually, you could always count on the wardens, they were dependable…and there never seemed to be a dull moment.
Bev Rutherford passed away in April of 2014.
