My family has been a group of builders ever since coming to Alberta in the late 1940s. My grandparents on my dad's side moved to Alberta from Saskatchewan. They started in Calgary and then moved to Peace River to help with the growth and building of the city. They moved back to Calgary and bought farmland East of Red Deer, which they held for over 30 years.
My grandparents helped develop their community in Calgary and my Grandfather helped build the Anglican church in Calgary on 50th Avenue SW. My own parents also had that adventurous spirit. They left Calgary to head north to an obscure town in the middle of nowhere-Fort McMurray.
Both my parents worked on the oilsands plants being constructed up there and have lived there for almost 35 years. My dad helped build and maintain both Suncor and Syncrude and has worked to help keep them both operating flawlessly over the years. Right now, he is in charge of the Upgrading section of the Suncor plant site. My dad never went to university, but he knows enough about engineering and oilsands to teach it to prospective engineers.
Both my parents have done a lot to enrich the lives of those in Fort McMurray. My mother helped start up the Handicapped Association in Fort McMurray, along with her own mother, and my dad helped in the organization of the Oldtimers' Hockey Association in Fort McMurray. By no means do I think that my parents are responsible for the growth in Fort McMurray, but their efforts helped improve the lives of many up there. And now my brother and sister are living and working in Fort McMurray to help preserve the name Langston in a quickly growing city that started out as a trading post.
Myself, I live in Calgary and am hoping to carve my own niche in Alberta's way of life and my daughter, a third generation Albertan, is a great way to start. In 1980, I received a 75th Anniversary of Alberta coin from then Premier Peter Lougheed. I hope that there is a similar coin celebrating the 100th anniversary of Alberta such that my daughter has a rare and wondrous treasure to share with her own children in the future.
