Gloria Lowe reminisces about growing up at Loverna

By Joan Janzen

Gloria Lowe will soon be celebrating her 96th birthday at her home at Caleb Village in Kindersley. Gloria (Warrington) Lowe was born in Loverna on August 20, 1930, and lived with her parents and older brother on a mixed farm five miles east of Loverna.

Before she started school, the family moved to a farm located a quarter of a mile north of Loverna, and Gloria attended Loverna's three-room school.

Gloria Lowe will be celebrating her 96th birthday later this month and is enjoying living at Caleb Village. She loves making wood burning crafts, which she plans to sell at the fall craft sale. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN

Gloria at the Loverna cenotaph in 1932. PHOTO COURTESY GLORIA LOWE

Gloria and John Lowe were married on Dec. 23, 1950, at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. PHOTO COURTESY GLORIA LOWE

During the 1930s she vividly recalls the severe dust storms on their farm. "We lived in an old house and I remember holding pillows against the windows with my mom when the wind storms were bad and running to school because the sand was blowing," she recalled.

Her older brother cut holes in cardboard boxes, which they placed over their heads to protect themselves from the blowing dust on their way to school.

Nevertheless, Gloria had a lot of fun as a child. "I wasn't a reader, but I was into sports," she said. She played ball, skated and curled. "Our farm was really close to the curling rink so I could scoot across the field and I was there. I had two girlfriends who were sisters. We did everything together."

Unlike many kids in the 1930s, Gloria didn't have anyone to hand clothes down to her, so most of her clothes were sewn by her mother, who was a skilled seamstress. Gloria also learned to sew, and she still crochets and knits today.

She continued to attend Loverna School until Grade 11. At that time she attended an Anglican girls' boarding school in Regina, where she took her Grade 11 and 12. It was a big change for Gloria, who had never been away from home before. However, she said once she quit crying she found it to be a tremendous experience, and she made some very good friends.

After high school she attended Normal School at Saskatoon, and the following year she began teaching grades 5 to 8 at Coleville. She and her friend Arlene Chynoweth rented the United Church manse.

"John was the only boyfriend I ever had and we started dancing together when I was 16," Gloria explained. Later John joined the navy. But during Gloria's Christmas school break in 1950, she flew to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and she and John were married on December 23.

The ceremony took place in the Dartmouth United Church, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas, followed by a reception in the Belmont Hotel.

"John planned the whole thing. All his navy buddies came," she said. "Our time together was short. On January 3rd I flew home to finish my year of teaching and John boarded the aircraft carrier Magnificent that was shipping out to the south, Barbados, Trinidad and Bermuda."

After the school year had finished, Gloria moved to Dartmouth, where she worked at a theatre until their first son was born in 1952. Not long after, they moved to Kindersley.

"As the years went on many changes happened in our lives. Our family of Dale, Nicolle, Bradley, Valerie and Gregory filled our lives, as the story of our time in Kindersley, Melfort and Loverna unfolded," Gloria said.

Now Gloria enjoys making crafts, including wood burning, knitting and crocheting, as well as taking part in the activities that take place at Caleb.

"In the winter I knit toques and I play games on my iPad. Those are my addictions," she said. "I've been here almost six years and I can't find one thing that I would want different."