Janette Oke

by Laurel Oke Logan

  When the Torgersons left the area, Neil Neufeld, a young bachelor, came to the Hoadley pastorate. It seemed that Pastor Neufeld did not find himself well suited to single life and he left shortly, returning to Hoadley with his young bride, Gladys. They made a good team and the local people enjoyed them. Neil had a hearty laugh and shared some of the loves of fishing, hunting, and picnicking with Fred and the uncles. Even the church prayer meetings, held at various houses, became times of fun as well as fellowship.

  As the school year approached when Janette was to begin grade nine, word came that the Harmonien school was not able to provide a teacher and that correspondence courses were to be offered instead. Fred and Amy decided that Janette and her younger sisters should attend the Hoadley school. Not long into the year, however, the Hoadley teacher decided that she could not manage the work of a ninth-grade student along with the younger students that she was responsible for. So Janette was asked to withdraw and reluctantly switched her enrollment back to the Harmonien school—which meant she would need to order the correspondence courses. Just before Christmas, they arrived.

  Once the hustle of the season had passed and Janette had just settled herself to the hard work of catching up from a lost school semester, news came that Aunt Laurine was sick and needed help with her family. Instead of returning to her studies, Janette found herself packing her belongings and moving south to Champion. In the busy months that followed, all thoughts of schooling were left behind.

  As the following school year began, Janette was still living with Aunt Laurine and her family. And so she was enrolled in the Champion school where many of her pleasant teenage years were spent. In Champion there were friends and cousins aplenty. And in addition to school, there were parties given for every reason imaginable—but mostly just for the fun of sharing time together, including a particularly interesting pajama party at Arden Gardiner’s.

  The girls were having a wonderful time with their own version of Spin the Bottle when a sudden banging on the windows sent them into panic. At first there was the fear of not knowing what the noises had been—an animal, a crazy man, or a monster. Then followed the realization. The boys had crashed the party. Shrieks of feigned alarm followed, and girls scurried around the room, attempting to hide but all the while wanting to see everything that was happening. It took quite some time for things to settle down again.

  In turn, Aunt Laurine allowed Janette to be the hostess for a party of her own, and the fun began again. There was a holiday trailer parked at the back of the lot, and the girls were given permission to use it for their pajama party. They had already donned the appropriate attire and were beginning with the preparations for a feast that would be shared together. Among other things, the menu featured French fries.

  Hot oil for frying had just been set to sizzling when suddenly the trailer tipped to one end. Pandemonium broke out. The hot oil slid across the small cupboard and off the edge directly toward Janette. Though she did her best to dodge, sizzling liquid splashed down one side of her pajamas and scalded against her leg. She shrieked in panic.

  A rush of girls scrambled to help Janette shed her pajama bottoms while Dorothy Brett ran to the door and began to scream judgment upon the prankster who had tipped the trailer, certain that the culprit was again one of the boys. Oddly, her cries brought no response. There was simply no one outside. It wasn’t until later that they discovered they themselves had caused the accident. The trailer tongue had been resting on a block of wood, but the rear of the trailer was not secured with blocks or any kind of support. It held the trailer until the girls gathered to one end while preparing the food. Then, as the weight shifted, so did the trailer.

  Janette slept little that night. The dreadful oil burn stung, and it was several days before she could fully sit down. Fortunately, it healed without any complications, but she bore the dark burn scar on her hip for many years.

  Another good reason for gathering a party was to go ice-skating. And one outing in particular, to which Janette knew she could not go, became one she would never forget. She was aware of the planned party, but also painfully aware that on the same night was scheduled a practice for the church Christmas program.

  She gathered her schoolbooks at the end of the day and casually asked one of her classmates if he was planning to attend the skating party. Secretly, she thought this young man to be rather special. However, his answer caught Janette completely off guard.

  “Will you go with me if I do?”

  At the moment, Janette would have died to be able to say yes, but instead she blushed and stammered simply, “Oh, I didn’t mean that.”

  Immediately a story relayed to her by her cousin Richard rushed into her mind. There had been another girl who had asked the same young man for a “date,” and he had not responded favorably. Janette did not want him thinking of her in the same way. So she hastened on in some kind of explanation, not sure later just how she had voiced it.

  In the end, Janette went to the church Christmas program rehearsal, and the boy to the skating party. However, the incident still bothered Janette.

  During the annual school Christmas program not long afterward, two other boys took seats behind Janette and began a conversation obviously meant for her to hear. They were discussing how Janette’s possible “date” had been turned down and its effect on the young fellow. Their taunts grew to be more than Janette could ignore which, of course, was exactly what the boys had intended. She spun around to inform them that she had not been able to go to the skating party because of church practice.

  “Well, will you go with him if we arrange another skating party?” they asked.

  Janette was surprised by the question. And even more by the fact that they had known anything about the original conversation. She was not in the habit of gushing to other girls about her dates or her wishes to date any of her schoolmates.

  Even with the help of these would-be matchmakers, it turned out that the two never managed their skating date. They did, however, have a chance to go to the local Chinese restaurant where they sat and sipped sodas. And that was just as good.

  Dates with others followed. Relationships developed, then faded. None were serious, but most were enjoyable—and at times even humorous.

  The pinnacle of Janette’s teen parties was one that Aunt Laurine threw for her on her sixteenth birthday. It was held in the church basement, and almost everyone they knew was invited. It was wonderful. Janette had never been the sole recipient of so much attention and so many gifts. Between the neat presents and the fantastic lunch, the party was a hit with everyone—and a very special and memorable event for Janette.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Church Youth

  The Evangelical Free Church at Champion was the main source of activity for its youth. Sports games and parties were exchanged with the Vulcan Evangelical Church, and the two groups of young people became quite well acquainted. Many of these outings included Janette and her cousins.

  Even though the group was relatively small, it was exciting and active. The young church pastor and his wife, together with Amy’s brother Uncle Harry and his wife, Marion, who were at the time making preparation for the mission field, were able to create many innovative ways to draw in young people. In addition to the fellowship times, there were youth services at church, where the group was involved extensively in the service aided at times by the adults. At one such function the group presented an elaborate duplication of an entire radio production.

  On another night they decided to host a Bible Knowledge Quiz. Two teams were formed and each given turns, member by member, to ask a Bible question of the other side. The only requirement was that each questioner knew the correct answer to his or her question.

  When it was Uncle Bob’s turn, he stood very seriously and asked of his opponent, a proper lady in the congregation, “Why did God bury Moses on the north side of the mountain?”

  The woman was proud of her Bible knowledge and struggled for several m
oments, but finally had to admit that the question had stumped her. Her face fell and her brow furrowed. At last she murmured the difficult words, “I don’t know.”

  It was then time for Uncle Bob to give the correct answer to his own question. Without a flicker of a smile he said, “Because he was dead.” Gales of laughter followed as he sat down.

  Aunt Marie was also a lot of fun. In fact, she was a great sport at many things. In spite of her having two little girls to care for, she entered in with the young people and could always be counted on to supply some of her good Scandinavian baking for lunch.

  There were informal times in one home or another when the family had little sing-alongs, often accompanied by Uncle Dorn on the steel guitar, perhaps with Uncle Wayne strumming along. Janette especially loved such times.

  And, of course, Sunday dinner was usually at Grandma Ruggles’ house. Archie and Vi had moved from the Guess Ranch into town—to a most convenient location, right across the street from the small Evangelical Free Church where the family attended. After church one did not even have to move the parked cars—just walk across the road to Grandma’s and gather round for one of her sumptuous meals.

  It was a big family to cook for, but aunts helped by bringing dishes, and many hands shared in the work. Family spilled out onto the covered veranda and down onto the lawn on most such Sundays, but all were bountifully fed—except perhaps Grandma. She was so busy waiting on everyone that it was often questioned if she ever got a decent Sunday dinner.

  For tenth grade, Janette returned home to Hoadley. She found that much had changed. Baby Sharon, now three, had become quite grown-up, and Joyce had already turned eleven—but was still as big a clown as ever. Margie was fourteen and fun to share secrets with, and June, then twenty-two, was planning a fall wedding to a young music professor whom she had met while attending Mountain View Bible College. Twenty-year-old Jack came and went from their home as work dictated.

  There was a new pastor at the church, too, and Rev. Orland Boettger was a man with a vision. With a great deal of effort and dedication, he supervised the building of a new church, and it was Pastor Boettger himself who spent hours and hours in back-breaking toil getting the lumber to build it.

  Some of the school year was lost when Janette began having recurrent bouts of tonsillitis, eventually resulting in time spent in the hospital. The offending tissue was removed and then began the wait for the medication to clear her system of infection. Finally, she found that she could swallow again—without pain.

  During the summer of 1951, Janette was able to attend another camp meeting service. It was especially exciting for her because she could spend time with June and her fiancé, John Wilson. While sitting in an afternoon service with her sister, June called Janette’s attention to one of John’s young students, Edward Oke (an old-English spelling of “oak”), who was accompanying the hymns on the piano. Apparently John was a fine teacher, judging by this student’s ability.

  June’s wedding was set for September 20, and Janette was to be a bridesmaid. In her mind, Janette could already picture June speaking her vows, her glowing face even more beautiful than usual. John was a fine young man, handsome and full of life and laughter, and Janette was pleased with June’s choice.

  The one outstanding disappointment about John was that he was an American, and his intention was to return to the United States after completing his time of teaching at Mountain View Bible College. This meant that sister June, soon-to-be Mrs. Wilson, would go with him, casting a shadow over the otherwise exciting plans for the wedding day. Trips to and from their new home, so far from Hoadley, Alberta, would be few, and June would be sorely missed.

  Family relationships could not help but change even more rapidly now that more of the Steeves children were reaching adulthood. As August slipped away and September approached, the last few days of summer gave them a few more precious opportunities to spend together under one roof.

  Once while Amy was away, and June was left in charge of “keeping house,” Janette was assigned a task. The problem was not in her willingness to do the task, but in the manner in which it was to be done. June had given one set of instructions and Janette felt inclined to follow her own ideas.

  The two, who had never been prone to argue, found themselves locked in disagreement, each girl holding to her own opinion. As soon as June left the kitchen, Janette proceeded with the job—just the way she felt it should be done.

  When June returned rather unexpectedly, Janette felt hot embarrassment color her cheeks. She knew she should expect a reprimand; instead, June brushed the incident aside.

  “Okay. Do it your way.”

  Janette grinned, then chuckled, and they both ended up having a little laugh. There was no friction—no argument. She was still peace-loving June.

  On the day of the wedding, Janette had little time to worry about impending farewells. She was a sixteen-year-old bridesmaid, still very shy, and with a long line of well-wishers yet to face. The receiving line became a blur of faces. Some Janette recognized, many she didn’t.

  Then came Mr. and Mrs. Oke from Didsbury. The Okes had hired June to work for them in weekly housecleaning and had been very kind to her while she was attending college in Didsbury. Janette shook their hands warmly and then offered her hand to the teenage fellow who followed, their son, Edward, John’s piano student. Janette smiled and turned to the next person in line.

  For many nights after June’s wedding, Janette cried herself to sleep. The house was so empty, so songless without June, and she could not picture what the days of the rest of her life would be like without her dear sister at home.

  It was so typical of the way life seemed to go. With the wonder of growth and change, there was always some measure of sadness about what was left behind and lost. Many wonderful days were ahead, but letting go of the yesterdays seemed so difficult. Life had been somewhat certain and predictable. Now June was gone, as were Betty and Jean. Who was to be next? And where would Janette find herself when it was her turn to leave the family nest for good? Janette prayed often for wisdom to face the uncertainties that were yet to come. And with those prayers she found a measure of peace.

  That fall Janette attended school in the town of Rimbey, traveling the distance first by car along with two other students, and then catching a school bus farther along the way. It was a long ride every day, and the students began very early each school morning and didn’t return home until after five in the evening.

  The traveling soon proved to be too much for Janette, and around Christmastime she was sent back to Champion to live with Uncle Jack and Aunt Laurine, where she finished the school term. But it was difficult for Janette to leave home again. Even though the reasons were very good and she had a wonderful family to stay with, there were sure to be times when she longed to be home again. Janette hugged each sister in turn, then her mother, and then her daddy. And as the car she was riding in pulled out of the little farmyard, she did her best not to think about how much the familiar faces would be changed before she returned.

  Despite the distance, Jack managed a visit sometimes and was a special person in Janette’s life even while she lived away from home. And, as her only brother, he took upon himself the responsibility of teaching Janette to drive, which required some amount of fortitude on his part. There were many lessons, but none more eventful than the one involving a car filled with boy cousins, a curvy hill—and pedestrians.

  Janette had been driving a short time and had begun to feel she was ready for anything. Cousins Richard and Tom, and perhaps another one or two, climbed into the backseat, and Jack let Janette slide in behind the wheel of his car, which had a standard shift.

  Of course, the boys began at once to razz her, yelling in feigned terror, covering their faces and all sorts of other antics. Janette tried to ignore them. She was growing used to their teasing, but this was not the proper time as far as she was concerned. And suddenly, it became even more serious.

  They re
ached the river valley. The winding ride down the slope to the bottom went well, but the drive back up the other side was different. Just as the steep road rounded a curve, a group of people walking along the roadside came into sight, and, as the road was narrow, panic filled Janette.

  She needed to shift gears, but shifting, being still difficult even on easy roads, became impossible. The boys’ teasing was no longer at all funny, nor was it even bearable. In a rare moment of uncontrollable emotion, Janette quit. Instead, she buried her face in her arms on the steering wheel and struggled just to keep herself from crying.

  Jack took over. His foot jammed on the brake at the same time that his hand grabbed the steering wheel, and an accident was averted. Janette climbed out shakily, and willingly relinquished the wheel to her brother. Unfortunately, the cousins had only been given more fuel for teasing, and the near-catastrophe was brought to mind more often in the future than Janette would have liked.

  For all their teasing, Janette enjoyed her boy cousins, and they were good friends, often taking Janette with them on their own activities. Together they went to country and western music concerts, small town rodeos, and Youth For Christ meetings. Some of the singing groups that toured with Youth For Christ were among their favorites, like the Forseth Trio from Peace River, and Janette found herself traveling from town to town with cousins in order to enjoy more of their concerts. The cousins were also country music fans, and she went along as they saw most of the stars of the day. If the desired show wasn’t offered locally, Janette and her cousins traveled to Calgary or Lethbridge to hear them.