Submitted by Great Granddaughter, Jenna Hiebert:
Clara Catherine Mjogdal was born on June 6th 1928 to parents, Nina and John Temple in Birch Hills Saskatchewan. Grandma was the youngest of 2 daughters, younger than sister Jeanette by 12 years.
In 1931 the family moved to the homestead in the Montney area.
Grandma attended the Clayton School, just south of the family farm, for all her formal education.
Grandma worked hard on the family farm while growing up, taking the place of a son, because there wasn’t one.
As a youngster Grandma used to sneak away to peak over the hill at the Native camp in the creek valley, even though she was told not to! She liked to look at the teepees of the travelling camp. Grandma purchased her first horse from people at this camp, paying 5 whole dollars! She named the black mare Beauty and taught her to do tricks, such as bowing down and rearing up on command!
As a young lady, Grandma met and married her first husband, Einar. She gave birth to her son, Vernon on July 1, 1947. By the time Grandma was 19 years old she was left a widow with a young baby and a farm to run!
In 1950 Grandma married her 2nd husband, John and moved to his Montney homestead. They welcomed their Daughter, Noreen to the family on July 12th, 1951.
Grandma and Grandpa raised their family on the farm and were very active within the community and the Luthern Church. Grandma accompanied the Montney Luthern Youth group on their horseback trail rides for many years. Doing the cooking for up to 20 teenagers at a time!
In 1966, a dry year with little grass, dictated that Grandma, and Grandpa, became members of the Beatton Doig Pasture for the first time. Grandma remained a member at the Beatton Doig Pasture for many years, moving countless cattle and spending many, many hours on horseback! This was the start of a beloved family tradition carried on for 50 years, only just ending in 2016.
Grandma happily watched her daughter, Noreen, marry Ron Kramer in 1970 and received her first grandchild, Audra, the following year. With her grandson, John, arriving 2 years later.
Grandma lost her husband, John, to cancer in 1973. Once again being left to run the farm on her own!
In 1975, Grandma made the move to Rose Prairie to live with Loyed Robbins on his farm. Grandma and Loyed enjoyed 42 years together, farming, and in the early years, travelling around to many rodeos to watch the cowboys and cowgirls in action!
Grandma lived the farm life to its fullest, raising lots of cows, horses, chickens, turkeys, pigs, milked cows and grew a large garden.
The North Peace Fall Fair was always greatly anticipated by Grandma. She enjoyed putting in lots of entries in various categories every year. 2015 was the last year Grandma took entries to the fair, at the young age of 87! She was very honored to have been selected to receive the ‘Pioneer of the Year’ award in 2001 from the North Peace Fall Fair Society.
Although Grandma’s cow herd had shrunk over the years, she was very proud to say that she still owned a couple of cows and was always got excited about the calves in the spring! ‘A cowgirl without cows is just a girl’ and Grandma was a cowgirl her whole life!
Life took another new and exciting turn for Grandma in 1997 with the birth of her first Great Grandchild, Mathew! Great Granddaughter, Jenna (myself) followed in 1999. Twins, Dawson and Hunter arrived in 2004 with Carter following in 2006. Whitney and Ashley Backus joined the family in 2006 and Great Great Grandson, Bentley arrived in the fall of 2015. Us kids were always a great source of joy for Grandma, and she called for daily updates to keep up on what we were all doing.
Declining health in the last couple of years forced Grandma to move into the Heritage Seniors Apartment. But she still went out to the farm in Rose Prairie to stay with Loyed as much as she could. During her time at the apartment, Grandma enjoyed the other residents and had many friends there. She also loved the music and other live entertainment provided! Music downstairs always made for the best days!
Grandma’s last few weeks were spent at the Fort St John Hospital, where on the evening of April 9th she passed quietly with family and friends by her side.