Camrose author finds humour in tough times

Stories share the lighter side growing up on the prairies

Visiting the modern city of Camrose with its multitude of shops and services, it’s hard to imagine a time when life in this agricultural region of Alberta was desolate and often hardscrabble.

But for Camrose resident and author Stan Spence, childhood memories of growing up on a farm during the harsh 1930s also have a lighter side to them, as he has recounted in a series of books.

Spence has penned entertaining stories about life in rural Alberta with whimsical titles like Barefoot and Broke; Teachers, Creatures and Country Preachers; and Family Fiascos.

He said life back then was definitely hard, but later he came to appreciate some of the humour that went along with the trials and tribulations.

Spence recalled that as the only boy in his family, he was at the mercy of his sisters, who would spend the long walk home from school teasing him and threatening to cause him grief.

One day his sisters ran ahead on the way home and he began to worry that something bad was about to happen. His feeling was confirmed when he finally arrived back at the farm, only to find that the house was not there. Totally and completely gone.

Spence said he stood distraught for a while, wondering what to do, when he noticed skid marks on the ground. Following them past a row of trees, he discovered that his dad had hitched up the house and towed it to a new spot closer to the well and his sisters had kept the plan a secret.

Laughing about it now, Spence said he asked his parents to promise to never leave him behind again. With farmers’ common sense, they replied that if they had wanted to get rid of him, they would have done it long ago and gotten a pig in trade.

When he eventually left the farm to work in the oilfields, another cornerstone of the Alberta economy, Spence had more humorous experiences, which he related in his first book, called Oil Field Nuggets.

Now retired, the 78-year-old continues to write from his home in Camrose and jokes that it keeps him from driving his wife crazy. His books can be found at Books for You, a local bookstore.

A fifth-wheel owner himself for many years, Spence said Camrose is a popular spot for RVers and there are quite a few campgrounds in the community and nearby.

He said Camrose has a wonderful park system along a creek that flows through the community. There is plenty of shopping, a casino with an adjacent RV park and the Camrose Regional Exhibition, which attracts thousands of people each season to a wide variety of events.

Spence said living in the bustling community is quite a change from growing up on that farm, when going into town was a once- or twice-a-year treat that usually involved an ice cream cone.

But he added that seeing the humour in things, even in tough times, has always been a part of his life and continues to inspire his storytelling today.