Gerald and Maureen were my grandparents. Gerald and Maureen were married on April 16 1949 at Nanaimo, British Columbia when Gerald was 22 years old and Maureen was 18 years old. They had five sons over seven years (Dennis, Warren, Earle, Stephen, and Philip).

Fred (Cyril) and Maude (Alice) Bagnall were my great-grandparents. Maude and Fred were married June 22 1922 in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, when Fred was 31 and Maude was 22. They had two children, a son Robert (Bob) and a daughter Evelyn (my grandmother).

Malinda Travelute and William Watson were my great-great-great-grandparents. They married on January 26 1865 in Winnebago, Illinois. Their daughter Cora married Frank Jones on November 24 1891 in Victoria, BC. Cora and Frank were my great-great-grandparents.

Amos and Ella Mitchell were my great-great-grandparents. Amos and Ella were married on May 6 1885 at Amherst Point, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, when Amos was 31 years old and Ella was 22. They had nine children over 17 years, including seven sons (twins William and James, Howard, my great-grandfather Nathan, Joseph, Laurence, and Arthur)…

Nathan and Elfreda were my great-grandparents. Nathan and Elfreda were married on June 5 1916 in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, when Nathan was 22 years old and Elfreda was 19. They had six children over 12 years, including five boys (Norman, Elwin, Earle, Howard, and Gerald) and one girl (Olive).

Earle and Evelyn Mitchell were my grandparents. Earle and Evelyn were married May 1 1948 at Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, when Evelyn was 20 years old and Earle was 28. They had four children over 13 years, including two daughters (Sherry and Vicki, now Maia), and two sons (Brian and Blair, both adopted).

My grandfather, Earle Mitchell, was born on February 8, 1920 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, in the middle of a snowstorm to Nathan and Elfreda Mitchell. His early years were spent first in Saskatchewan, and then in Alberta as the family moved there in 1924.

My grandmother, Evelyn Beryl Bagnall, was born March 13, 1928 in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, to Cyril Frederick and Alice Maude Bagnall. She grew up and spent all of her life in Qualicum Beach.