To Cranbrook, with Love❤️
Thirty four years ago (Feb– 1991), my two sons, Korey 5, Ryan 7, and I, stepped off the plane on to the icy tarmac at Cranbrook airport. We had just moved 900 kilometers away from the people and city that had always been our home.
I had accepted the position of chief of administration at the Canada Employment Centre in Cranbrook in hopes of building a new and better life for my children, and, thanks to the community of Cranbrook, I did. Cranbrook provided my boys and I with a life we would never have had in the city.
Sledding at Idlewild Park, hiking the many forest and mountain trails surrounding us, swimming in Jim Smith and Moyie Lakes, time spent exploring Fort Steel, attending Kooteney Ice hockey games, the fun we had skiing Kimberly, Fernie and Invermere. Weekends in Creston with my cousin Val, auntie Margaret, uncle John, Alicia, and Daria, and time spent with great friends from my work with the Canada employment centre, the College of the Rockies, Cranbrook Cubs and Scouts, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way. These times will forever be some of the happiest moments of my life, and definitely the best days spent with my sons.
Ryan is no longer with us, however, a few short months before his passing in 2013, he sent me a letter thanking me for moving him and his brother to Cranbrook. He beautifully described his childhood adventures and how grateful he was that he had the opportunity to grow up in Cranbrook and experience, the great outdoors the way we had.
So, as I reflect on the 34th anniversary of my move to Cranbrook and Family Day approaches, and, my son Korey approaches his 40th birthday(what!) I’m sending out a whole lot of love to those who became a part of my Cranbrook family. The colleagues and friends that continue to be an important part of my life.
Family whether near or far, is made up not only of those who share our DNA, but those who bring comfort to our lives, help us lay the stones that become our life path, and make our life journeys the extraordinary adventures they should be.
We lived in Cranbrook for almost 15 years, perhaps the best 15 years of my and my children’s lives.
So cheers to you Cranbrook! Thank you for our extraordinary and marvellous adventure.
Love Toni
The Whimsey Angel 