By Kay Clarke
My mother and father (Roy G [Pete] and Agnes née McKenzie), the Lesters, acquired a lot on Chestermere Lake in about 1965, immediately south of Camp Chestermere. I am not sure what the old lot number would have been. It is now 1065 East Chestermere Drive. I am told that they had a choice at the time of that lot or a larger one slightly south of Chestermere Yacht Club. The larger lot was mostly swamp, so they decided it would not do. What they did not realize is that the lot they chose had been a refuse dump at one time, causing some problems in landscaping.
My mother was in charge of the landscaping, and it was a labour of love for her. The result was beautiful and gave the rest of the family many hours of enjoyment. She had the help of the family to plant trees, some of which are still there. A row of tiny evergreens are now very large trees. My father put in a concrete barrier at the edge of the lake, and Glen got my mother a pump so she could supply her new plantings with water. He also built a boathouse for the boat he was building at home. He also put in a dock.
When the boat was finished, the younger members of the family wanted to learn how to water-ski, about which they knew nothing about. Glen had a cousin who did know how to water-ski, so he called his cousin. The cousin said, “Just stand in the water in the skis and hold on to the rope. Tell the boat driver to take off and just go.” After many dunkings, they decided this would not work. Finally, they found someone who knew what to do and from that time forward had many years of enjoyment.
There was no cabin on this lot as the Lester family had previously acquired a small holiday trailer, and it sat on the lot, providing overnight accommodation for family members. There was the familiar washroom facility in the corner, which my mother camouflaged with vines. There was lots of room, and sometimes a tent would also provide somewhere to stay for family visiting from out of town. My father made a couple of picnic tables complete with benches such as you would see in many campgrounds. This made it easy for many of us to just pack up food and go for an evening picnic.
My mother was a member of the Calgary Ladies Curling Club, and each July invited members to a lakeside picnic. There would always be fun socializing, food, and games. Kay Lowney, who also had a lot just north of the camp, would sometimes be one of the group.
Keeping the grass cut and flowers looking lovely took some doing. We had a ride-on lawn mower at home (1 mile away) and would sometimes drive it to the lake to cut the grass. Needless to say, the traffic was not what it is today. In 1988, my mother was developing Alzheimer’s disease and was hospitalized. At this time, my father decided to sell the lot.
