My Big Sister

 

By:  Lester Ann Hyde Jensen and Marvelle Hyde Noble

Lester Ann:  If you listened to my mom and Dad, their description of me was always. “She   was a little dark-haired girl, noticeably quiet, and didn’t talk much.”  My description of myself would be a bit different.  I did have dark hair and I did not talk much.   My big sister usually did all the talking for me.   I was a very timid child, and I was happy to stand in Marvelle’s shadow.  I have, however grown out of the shyness and can thank either Marvelle or my husband, or both, for helping me become more outgoing. 

Now on to a more positive experience, as told by Marvelle: “At Christmas time, they told us were going to have a party and we could bring our little brothers or sisters.  Well, I only had a little sister, so I took Lester Ann to school.  She was three years old.  Can you imagine letting your three-year-old child go to school on a school bus for the whole day with a child in grade one?   Well, Mom let me take Lester Ann and she and I were thrilled she could go.  The desk was wide enough that both of us could sit on the seat.  She was exceptionally good, and Mom said she talked about the experience for days after.”

Lester Ann:  Apparently one of the things I talked about was the Japanese children who were in the class.  I told Mom, “There’s these kids at school and ‘em can’t hardly see.”  I had never seen a Japanese person before. 

Marvelle continued: “She came to school for all the parties.  Anytime we had an excuse to bring a brother or sister to school, we brought them.  I even took Lester Ann when it was not a party.  All the kids did.  If your parents were going away for the day and there was no one to tend them, you could bring them to school. 

Lester Ann:  I wonder what teachers would say about that today.  I was happy to go to school.  I was not shy or quiet when Marvelle was there to protect me. 

When we moved to Boundary Creek, I always happy when Saturday came.  Marvelle and I could go for a ride on old Vickie.  Mom made us a lunch and we could just ride wherever we wanted to go.  We rode to the U.S. border.  We always knew we were there when we saw the monument on the border.   We picked wildflowers, wild asparagus, and wild strawberries and took them home to mom. 

Sometimes Dad came with us and we could fish in the little mountain streams in the area.  The most common fish we caught was mountain trout.  They were young fish, quite small and very tasty.  The water was “thick” with mountain trout.  It did not take long to catch one after another:  Dad was especially good at catching them fast.  He carried a black lunch pail and with a lid and problem developed as he caught his fish.  He caught them so fast that when he opened the lunch pail to put in another fish, the ones inside the pail were still alive and would jump out of the pail.  It was not long before Dad had the problem solved.  He was highly creative and could usually solve most problems very quickly with one of his inventions.  He cut a hole in the top of his lunch pail, just big enough to slide the slippery little fishes into the pail.  That way, he did not need to chase them down after they jumped out.  He then, brought them home for mom to gut them, cut off their heads, roll them in flour, salt and pepper, and fry them in a cast iron frying pan.  They were delicious. 

 He carried that lunch pail for many years, even after we moved away from Boundary Creek.  Men at the Sugar Factory in Taber often asked what the hole in the top of his lunch pail was for and many thought his explanation was even more creative than his solution to his fish story.

I did enjoy going to school in Rosemary with Marvelle, but when I entered grade one in Taber, it was quite another story.  I was very shy, and nervous about being with all the kids in grade one in the Dormitory. My big sister was in a different school in grade five.  when it was time to go home, I was particularly nervous about finding the right bus.  The busses all lined up on the street between the high school and Taber Central School.  They were all yellow, very big, and packed with kids I did not know.  Marvelle had assured me she would be there to help me find the right bus, but she was not there. I don’t remember why she was not there on time.  Finally, Art Parks, the bus superintendent came to my rescue and asked me if I knew what bus I was supposed to be on.  I did not know.  So, he took me from bus to bus to see if I knew anyone.  We finally came to the bus on which I recognized Wayne Mauriama.  It was his parents house we lived in while we were waiting to get into our house on the farm.  I pointed to Wayne and said, “I play with him.”  Everyone laughed and I was most embarrassed.   Marvelle did finally get on the bus, sat with me, and I was comfortable and enjoyed our ride home. 

The one person who always made me feel secure and comfortable, was my grade one teacher. Miss Houdek.  She made everyone feel comfortable and safe and I adored her and was most excited when she married Richard Zelenka, brother to Kay Zelenka who married my mother’s brother, Uncle Bud. 

I did grow up and learned how to take care of myself and my younger sisters, if needed.   This was demonstrated by another school bus incident.  Colleen was in grade one and I would have been in grade eleven.  She was sitting with me on our way to school.  She had a cute little hat with a pom pom, and a kid kept pulling her hat off her head.  He was very annoying and making Colleen feel uncomfortable, even afraid.   I told him to stop.  He continued.  I told him if he did it again, I would hit him.  He did and I did also. 

It caused quite an uproar among the rest of the children on the bus.  The bus driver stopped, stood up, and asked, “What’s going on?”  I stood up and said, “I just hit a kid and if he doesn’t stop bugging my little sister, I’ll hit him again.”  The bus driver sat down, and we continued on our way to school. 

Until her dying day, Marvelle always did take care of me and taught me so much.  She was my protector and best friend.  I miss her and love her.