LENA (BALLAS) CAP
My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wasyl (William) Ballas came to Canada in 1909 from the Ukraine. They lived near Vegreville for two years, then homesteaded on a farm in the Willow Range district (where Mike Pankiw now lives). There were eleven children born in our family, but most of them died. In about 1922 we moved to the Primula district. The skeleton of our house still stands by the creek on the hill. From there I went to the Primula school.
In 1928 I married Pete Gochko, a neighbor boy. We were blessed with three sons, John, Eddie, and Carl (who has since passed away). After almost 17 years of marriage, Pete left me to finish raising the boys on my own.
A few years later I married Mike Cap, who lived about four miles south of me. We farmed both places for about ten years, then decided to buy a house in the town of Elk Point so that our son, Roy, would have better access to school. But we kept the farms and would move out there during spring and fall busy times. Finally Mike sold the farms and retired, only to suddenly pass away with a heart attack. I still live in Elk Point, where I belong to the Senior Citizens' Group. That, along with reading, embroidery, and bingo, are my favorite pastimes. Roy is married, lives in Edmonton, works on construction, and has two children (a boy and a girl). John lives in Lloydminster and works in a hotel bar. Eddy lives in Elk Point, but is away most of the time working on highway construction.
