100 years of memories for Nelda Loppacher
By Joan Janzen
Nelda Loppacher celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday, March 22. She currently resides at the Chateau in Three Hills, Alta., but spent most of her life in Eston, moving to Kindersley after the passing of her beloved husband, Roy. Needless to say, she is a very familiar face to many people in the communities of Kindersley and Eston.
Nelda Loppacher celebrated her 100th birthday at her home in Three Hills. She was happy to have a group of her friends from Kindersley celebrate with her. SUBMITTED
One hundred years is quite a milestone, and Nelda remembers growing up on a farm near Eston.
“My dad was an original homesteader in the Richlea area and came from St. Mary’s, Quebec,” she recalled.
There was no electricity and the family drove an old truck 15 miles for their drinking water, which was stored in a small cistern. Water from a nearby dugout was hauled in barrels and heated in a boiler on top of the cookstove for washing their handmade clothes with homemade soap. During warmer months, clothes were strung on a wash line outside, and in winter the laundry was frozen in the porch and later hung up in the kitchen to dry.
Butter was churned by hand and stored in a pail of cold water in the cistern. Meat from their homegrown chickens was canned, along with all their garden produce, and root vegetables like potatoes and carrots were stored in a hole under the kitchen. In spite of all the hard work, Nelda holds many fond memories of those years.
“I’ll always cherish those memories of sitting around a big kitchen table. There was always so much laughter and so much fun. I think my mother inspired me the most because she was such a hard worker and she believed in us,” she recalled.
“I went to Montrose School until Grade 10 and then took Grade 11 and 12 in Eston,” she said. “I worked for my board to help out. But because of the war, they didn’t have a graduation ceremony for us, and I always felt bad about that. I met Roy in high school and we were married in Saskatoon. We had a very small wedding and moved to the Loppacher farm. Roy and I had four children: Norman, Sandra, Jim and Terri. Our years of farming were mostly good, lots of work. I even enjoyed running the tractor and combine.”
After Roy’s passing in 2007, Nelda moved to Kindersley, and in 2018 moved to Three Hills, Alta.
“I came here eight years ago. I’ve enjoyed every minute of life here,” Nelda said. She holds the honour of being the oldest resident at Chateau Three Hills, where the staff says she brings so much warmth, kindness and light to everyone around her.
Everyone who knows Nelda appreciates her keen sense of humour.
“They always say older people should have lots of pearls of wisdom, but I really don’t. It’s trial and error,” she chuckled. “I think the funniest thing is you can always get a story out of me.”
People from Eston who know Nelda might remember her baking dozens and dozens of homemade buns, which she sold at the farmers’ market in Eston. She also loved to work with dried flowers and grain and made many beautiful arrangements.
After a century of life experiences, she offered some words of wisdom.
“My advice to young people is be careful about what you follow. Be careful about what you do. Work hard and ask God’s direction for everything. Forgive people that hurt you, and carry on as though nothing has happened,” she advised. “God is your strength and He is your Saviour and He’ll watch over you.”
Although she can no longer hear, she always remains positive and said she has learned so much and has been loved and accepted by so many different people.
“If I don’t have the Lord with me, I can’t do anything. And I would like to thank my family for being so good to me. I’ve had a good life and enjoyed your love and caring ways,” Nelda said with much gratitude.
Happy birthday, Nelda, from all your friends and family in the communities of Eston and Kindersley.