Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
June and Lawrence Edgarson met in Blue River, B.C. in 1951. They lived in a few communities in Alberta and B.C., including Jasper, after they got married in 1952.
But that first taste of Jasper stayed with them and in 1959, they moved here permanently.
June was working as a beanery queen for CN Railway when she met Lawrence, a brakeman for CN.
At that time, the beanery was the only eatery in Blue River. Soon, the good meals weren't the only reason Lawrence dropped in.
"He'd come in to eat," June said, and eventually, "He caught me!"
They got married in June's hometown, Selkirk, M.B. Soon after, they went to Jasper, and it was the first time June saw the town.
"From that day on, Jasper was mine," she said.
Through all the places they lived, "We liked Jasper the best," June said.
"The job was good for working there too," Lawrence said.
Daughter Lynn (Kobsar) was born in 1951 and Kory (Farnquist) in 1958. Lynn started school when they moved to town in 1959 and Kory was nine months old.
The Edgarsons had a house built that year and live there to this day.
At CN, Lawrence said. "I ended up as conductor. I started as a brakeman and moved up the ranks. Seniority held good here. I worked there because I liked to give the officials a hard time."
June stayed at home with the girls. Lynn, she said, was very good at crafts.
"You come to my house and you'll see the crafts she made in every room," June said. "She liked sewing. One of the last things she did was make a set of curtains for the kitchen."
Kory seemed to be a magnet for animals. One day a bull elk wandered into their yard.
"Kory, about two-and-a-half, was standing on the front step and she grabbed him by the horns," June said.
She saw the terrifying scenario as she stood on the other side of the glass door.
"I just about died," she said, fearing that if she moved, the elk would put Kory through the door.
Miraculously, June said, the elk "just shook her off very, very gently and left the yard."
Another time, June found three-year-old Kory in a neighbour's yard playing with a baby bear.
On the way to the neighbour's yard June saw the mother bear walking down the alley. Thankfully, all turned out safely.
When both daughters were in school, June got a job cleaning rooms, first at the Lobstick Inn, then at Pyramid Bungalows. She made a switch to the Mt. Robson Inn next, where she worked for Vicki and Les Gulevich.
"They're lovely people, really, really nice people," June said.
She started out cleaning rooms and after a few months was trained to be a front desk clerk. June held that position for more than 20 years, working until she was 75.
"I preferred the night shift to the day shift, because I could read," June said. "It wasn't too busy at night, except in the summer."
Reading is one of her passions. With her other passion, Lawrence, June said she can read him like a book.
"As long as the covers stay closed," Lawrence said.
About June being his passion, Lawrence said there's a reason they've been together over 68 years.
Lawrence retired in July, 1990, a month short of a 40-year career with CN.
He said he lived on the golf course for 20 years but the last time he played was three years ago.
"I miss the game," he said. "When I broke my ankle, that was the end of it."
June's game of choice was bingo.
"I used to go to bingo a lot," she said. "I ran the bingos in Jasper at the Legion 40 years ago."
In later years June and friends took in bingo games in Hinton.
Five-and-a-half years ago, Lynn, their oldest daughter, passed away.
There's "good and bad and the ups and downs. That's part of life", June said.
She and Lawrence have five grandchildren: Kandi Eigeard, Michael Edgarson, Aurora Perreault, Timothy Perreault and Randi-Lee Farnquist; great-grandchildren, Phillip, Angela, Christopher, Charlamaigne and great-grandson, Cayde.
Over the six decades June and Lawrence have lived in Jasper, the pace has picked up.
"The whole town has changed," Lawrence said.
"There were always tourists, June said, "but not as many as today."
When they raised Lynn and Kory, she said, Snapes Hill was undeveloped.
"I'd take the kids up there," June said. "It was all bare. They'd go tobogganing. Today it's full of houses."
These days, June, 89, and Lawrence, who turns 90 on Nov. 15, enjoy life at their longtime home.
Aside from getting occasional help with cleaning, "We look after each other," Lawrence said. He rides a scooter around town to do shopping and going for visits.
The Edgarsons love Jasper as much as they did when they moved here for good in 1959.
"This is exactly where we'll stay," June said.
