Alma James was born south of Arcola on a family farm. Growing up on the farm gave Alma a work ethic, which would stay with her throughout her life as she continued gardening well into her 80's.
Growing up on the farm, Alma says, was enjoyable as she enjoyed taking care of the different animals including her favourite, the geese, and the troublesome ones, the chickens.
"They were good and if they weren't you'd give them a little kick and they'd understand that," Alma laughed as she remembered the chickens. It wasn't really a kick she said, but more of a push with the foot.
Chickens were one of the staples in their diets as youngsters from eggs to the chicken themselves.
"We used the eggs to make more of them," Alma explained. "Mother had an incubator. They would sit inside and we had to turn them every day. A little lamp [kept the eggs warm]. We had a lot of chickens."
In addition to the chickens and geese, Alma remembers tending cows and pigs as well.
"We had to eat something," Alma stated. "We had everything that was born on the farm and then when I moved to Kisbey the same thing, working in the garden, no chickens just the garden."
Alma and her siblings would tend the garden of the farm, the animals, they would help in the field as well as in the farmhouse.
"My mother was the cook," Alma said. "We were there watching her make bread, pies, everything."
Other chores included cleaning and also being sent to town for items.
"The scrub board for washing and when we got enough money we got a washing machine," Alma smiled as she remembered.
Alma and her siblings would then be off to town with their horses if asked to go for vegetables or mail. It was only three and a half miles from their farm, so getting to Arcola didn't take too long, which was made easier as Alma had a very comfortable saddle.
"It was three and a half miles [to town]. It wouldn't take too long. I had a saddle and that's how I road my horse, I'd go as far as I could go," Alma said.
Though Alma enjoyed school work, she didn't enjoy the stress of it as a child and taught herself at home.
"I didn't go to school. My nerves couldn't take it. I had to go leave because my nerves were roiled up. I liked school. I taught myself at home," she explained.
A staple in country life included the country dances held at peoples' homes.
"They put dances on and everything at home," Alma said. "Ken Cann, he came, he had a lot of kids and that's good and they could sing pretty good."
"Everybody would come for a dance. Anybody that wanted to come they came. They'd be upstairs too there'd be so many."
In the winters Alma remembers playing outside. Her siblings and she would build snowmen and have snowball fights, but one of her fondest memories included tobogganing. It wasn't the thrill of zipping down a snow covered hill, but the fact that her father made her the sleigh to use was why she holds the memory close to her.
Eventually Alma moved into Kisbey, which is where she would garden for years. It was one of her favourite things to do and she was also able to make money from it through selling the delicious homegrown corn, carrots, beets, and more.
"I worked hard in the garden. I made the garden and sold it. I sold everything. Every place I went I had the garden and I sold it. I was 80 when I had the garden [in Kisbey]. I was a worker," Alma stated, laughing as she added, "I was more of a gardener than my mother was, she didn't like working in the garden."
Though Alma didn't have children, she loves her nieces and nephews dearly and appreciates when they come to visit her.
At the age of 91, Alma smiles brightly and says hello to anyone coming into New Hope Lodge.
