Thank you for following my travel blog on my 3 years’ experiences in the Western Arctic summers of in 1961, 1962 and 1963. On a more personal note, I will provide information and photos as to how my life evolved since then. This epilogue will illustrate information and photos of relevance mostly to my immediate family , relatives and friends. As you read in my blog, I dated my girlfriend Mena for 4 years and wrote to her many times over the summers I worked up North . We did get married while I was in my graduating year in dental school.

Our wedding party. From Left to Right. My sister Helene Ares, Mena’s sisters Kathy and Terrri Duchscherer. Flower girl is Jacqueline Ares. My brothers Georges and Richard Ares, Mena’s brother Joe Duchscherer.

Here are some photos of our parents.

These are my parents, Anna Courteau and Dr. Aime Ares on their wedding day. My mother was a nurse and my father was a chiropractor.

Here are Mena’s parents, Mrs Kate Duchscherer and Mr. Josef Duchscherer, on our wedding night. They were farmers in the south-east town of Schuler, Alberta, just north of Medicine Hat.

I graduated in Dentistry in the spring of 1965. Below is a Class of 1965 photo.

I am third from the middle on the top right side.

After graduating as a DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) from the University of Alberta , we agreed to practice dentistry with Drs. Don and Colin Hauck in Wainwright, Alberta. They were wonderful mentors for me as I slowly eased into my dental practice.

Mena and I come from large families , 12 in her family and 8 in mine. They would have been 13 however a younger brother Georgie died from cancer, Wilms Tumor of the kidneys, at age 4.

The Duchscherer family. Top row Left to Right…Tony,Frank,Terri,Fran, Leo, Joey. Middle row girls are Kathy,Mary, Mena, Helen. In the front are BettyAnn, Mom and RoseAnn.

They also like to sing , Frank on guitar and Helen on ukulele.

The Ares family. Back row left to right, Georges,Richard,Paul Emile, Raymond. Front row, Jean Louis, Maman, Papa, Helene, Jacquelline, Jeannette.

THe same Ares family, but slightly older …in our family room at 59 Quesnell Crescent NW, Edmonton.

The Ares family loved to sing. Here we are singing “Alouette” and “Vive La Compagnie” in Nipawin in 1955 for Saskatchewan’s 50-th Silver Jubilee. We represented the French Canadian pioneers in Sask. Maman played the piano and Papa was our choir director. Here from Left to Right are Papa, Paul Emile, Richard, Georges, Jean Louis and Helene. Papa directed choirs in many Catholic parishes, Zenon Park and Arborfield in Sask. and St. Anne’s parish in Jasper Place, Alberta. Jasper Place eventually was annexed by Edmonton. Papa was always musically inclined and also played the clarinet in a band at Saint Hyacinthe , Quebec. With our kids he was known as the “pied piper and he would lead the cavalcade of kids around the house with his clarinet!

Following Papa are Genevieve Mousseau, Daniel , and Nathalie Mousseau…and others not shown.

OUR CHIDREN

MICHELLE NICOLE ARES

When we knew Mena and expecting our first child we were elated and happy to await the arrival. On April 20, Mena started her contractions and we drove her to the General Hospital in Edmonton.

The 2 next photos shows an ICU nurse holding up our daughter,born at 2:31 PM on April 21, she was only 4 Lbs 4 ounces, 13 1/2 inches long, quite premature.

We were happy and smiling …a long awaited baby and a special girl. You can see the big smile on John’s face!

Being a girl we took a lot of photos.

John holding Michelle in our living room at the rented house in Wainwright

Baby Michelle in white

John and Mena with Michelle at Grandparents’ Ares house on 156 Street -107 Avenue Edmonton.

Helene with Michelle

Mena’s parents with Michelle in Wainwright

Raymond and Helene Courteau, Michelle’s great grandparents. 4 generation photo.

Mena with Michelle ,Christmas 1966.

Mena with Michelle on her first birthday with birthday cake, in the Wainwright hospital. She was not well at all.

Mena with our firstborn daughter Michelle Nicole. She was born prematurely on April 21,1966 at the General Hospital in Edmonton. Mena had a very long and difficult delivery, and the baby was suffocating because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. They performed an episiotomy and used forceps to deliver her but she experienced anoxia ( lack of oxygen). Michelle was in the neonatal ICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for quite a few months and was always a very sick baby. Nowadays they would have immediately done a Caesarian section. We eventually brought her home but later, after performing a spinal tap, it was emotionally excruciating to see her crying, arching her back and often in a lot of pain. Subsequently, it was a roller coaster for both of us taking turns to care for her and trying to get a few hours of rest and sleep. To this day, I don’t know how Mena was able to survive the anxiety and stress of caring for Michelle. We would take care of her in shifts so we both could get some sleep. She would often wind up back in the hospital. For us, as a young couple and first time parents, this was devastating to experience and to see our cherished daughter in so much pain.

This was me holding Michelle while she was in the Wainwright Hospital.

Michelle died of pneumonia on May 22, 1967. We will always remember that painful day, it was the long weekend, Victoria Day. She was buried in the cemetery in Wainwright and we have a headstone there. We also have a special plaque and vase at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Edmonton.

The headstone at the Wainwright Cemetery.

In 1967 we decided to special order a new 1967 white Chev. Impala convertible. I am posting stock photos of what the car would look like.

Once the Impala came in June 1967 we decided to inaugurate it on a long trip, to the Okanagan through Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton and Osoyoos. We crossed the Alberta /Montana border to Kalispell and took the Going to the Sun Road via Logan’s Pass, driving from West to East going up. The road has steep drop-offs on the passenger side so Mena was scared and almost in my lap.This photo was taken on that road. In early July there were still 5-foot snow banks on both sides as we got to the summit.

That same year we drove across Canada to Montreal for Expo ’67. We also visited many of my Ares relatives.

MARC PATRICK ARES

On March 17, 1968, Marc was born in Wainwright. He was named Marc Patrick because it was St. Patrick’s Day. We were elated with his coming with a healthy boy and no birth problems. I passed around lots of cigars that week.

Marc in our rented house in Wainwright.

Marc with very happy Grandpere and Grandmere Ares

Mena with Marc in front of our Impala convertible in Wainwright

Marc on his fourth birthday

Marc with Mena

Marc with his magpie, Lucifer. We built a special cage for him outdoors.

Marc in the trunk of his 1969 Charger. Robert looks on.

Marc inthe 1986 Buick Grand National.

Marc’s cars. Dodge Charger and Buick Grand National. On the street in front of our house double garage.

Marc in Yellowknife. Waiting to take an Otter to Great Bear Lake and Arctic Circle Lodge for lake trout and Arctic grayling.

Marc playing hockey with Rio Terrace hockey team in Edmonton.

Our family at Balam ‘s Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Jan 1998.

Christmas time with lots of toys for Robert, Marc, Daniel, and Lisa.

DANIEL ROBERT ARES

In 1969, Daniel was born in Wainwright.

Daniel as a baby .

Daniel in the Ares grandparent’s yard in Edmonton

Daniel in our new house in Wainwright

Mena with Daniel in our townhouse on Cassandra Blvd, North York, in Toronto

Daniel, with Mena, on his seventh birthday

Daniel with a pet rabbit.

Daniel with Mom and Dad in our family room.

Daniel windsurfing at Pigeon Lake.

Daniell as a young man. This photo was taken while he and a good friend, Ian Lockhart, were touring Europe in the summer of 1989. They were gone for 2 months and visited England, Ireland, France, Switzerland and Germany. They had a great trip of a lifetime and met some really nice people in Germany, Karla Deveny and her daughter Vera. To this day we are still good friends with the Deveny family that live around Cologne.

Daniel while traveling in Europe -1989.

Daniel in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Daniel’s Graduation photo at Concordia College, Edmonton.

Daniel’s Graduation with Lisa.

ROBERT JOSEPH ARES

In Feb. 1972, the coldest month of the year , Robert was born in Edmonton. Mena developed pregnancy toxemia, a very serious condition for both the mother and the unborn. Mena and had to be hospitalized and complete bed-rest for a month prior to the delivery. I worked in Wainwright during the week and drove to Edmonton on weekends. I remember one weekend the thermometer was minus 50 degrees. After Robert’s birth, Mena’s cousin Bernadette Wetsch volunteered to stay with us and was a great help for many months.

Baptism for Robert in our house basement in Wainwright. Ken and Terri Polukoshko were there with Michael.

Robert decorating Easter eggs in Toronto

Robert at our house in Edmonton

Mena with Robert at Ontario Place , Toronto Islands. On very how weekends, we would take the downtown ferry over to Ontario place on one of the Toronto Islands. Their favorite Island was Wards Island with a beautiful shallow beach. Marc would look for frogs.

Robert on the rocks at Tofino, Vancouver Island. Tofino was our family’s favorite holiday destination. We would stay at Pacific Sands Resort on Cox Bay in a private little cabin right on the ocean. We could hear the surf all the time. The kids loved the tide pools with sea anemones, crabs, starfish,and the bull kelp washed up on the shore.

Our 3 boys and Mena visiting their great maternal grandparents in Zenon Park, Sask. Raymond and Helene Courteau.

Robert with a school photo.

Robert on the rocks at Tofino, Vancouver Island. Tofino was our family’s favorite holiday destination. We would stay at Pacific Sands Resort on Cox Bay in a private little cabin right on the ocean. We could hear the surf all the time. The kids loved the tide pools with sea anemones, crabs, starfish,and the bull kelp washed up on the shore.

Robert in front of the Buick Grand National. Nice leg!

We went deep-sea fishing in Puerto Vallarta in 1998. It took Marc, Robert, and myself, taking turns, 45 minutes to bring in this sailfish. It measured 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 105 pounds. We had it stuffed and Marc has it at his house in Leduc.

Robert and Lisa at the Mexican Fiesta at Paradise Village Resort and Spa. Nuevo Vallarta. Margueritas!

Robert and I golfing at Mount Seymour Golf Club in North Vancouver.

LISA NICOLE ARES

After having lost our first girl, and now having 3 boys, we wanted a girl. Unfortunately, Mena could not have any more children, so we looked at adoption. Our sister-in-law and lawyer Louise Ares knew of a little girl presently in a foster home and her father wanted a more permanent solution for his fourth daughter. Lisa was born in Chilliwack, B.C.on Nov. .22/73 to Mr. George Homenko and Mrs. Elizabeth Burd. George was Ukrainian and Elizabeth was a native Cree from the Onion Lake reserve just north of Lloydminster. Lisa ‘s name was Lida Elizabeth Homenko. Unfortunately, Elizabeth left her family. When we found out from Louise Ares about Lida, she was in a foster home. Louise was involved in the divorce proceedings between George and Elizabeth. Louise asked us if we would be interested in a little girl and we immediately said ‘Yes”, sight unseen. This was going to be a private adoption because this is what Mr. Homenko wanted for this fourth daughter. Elizabeth Homenkko died at an early age. At that time, George Homenko had 3 daughters staying with him in Calgary.

So we adopted this little girl in the late summer of 1976. We thought she would fit in very nicely with our 3 boys who would all love a little sister. Lida was also baptized in the Roman Catholic church on Jan. 25,1981. We told Lisa that she was adopted, she had a father and 3 sisters by the name of Homenko in Calgary. That was never a secret from Day 1, including the fact that her mother Elizabeth was a native Cree Indian from the Onion Lake First Nation and that her father was Ukrainian.

She was now called Lisa Nicole Ares. Many times at first when Mena would call her Lisa, she would say, “No, my name is Lida”.

And then Mena would say, “No”, it’s Lisa. Eventually, she gave up and accepted her new name. She probably thought we were stupid and somehow could not say her real name!

Lisa’s first birthday with us, turning 3 on Nov. 22,1976.

Lisa was a very cute, lively, and adorable little girl. We all loved her and the boys really watched over her.

Another very cute smiling Lisa

Mena and Lisa up close.

Robert and Lisa

Who would not love this beautiful smiling little girl!

Lisa with Grandma Kate Duchscherer

Lisa as a ballerina with Marc

Lisa’s baptism in Jan.1981 with Father Labonte. She was 7 years old. On the far right are her sponsors, Louise Ares and Paul Mousseau.

Lisa with John in our living room, 1981.

Lisa going to French Immersion school

Lisa with John at a rest stop near Hope, B.C.

Lisa and John riding Uncle Joey’s 3 wheeled ATV motorcycle at the farm in Schuler, Alberta.

Lisa Ballerina!

Lisa at her graduation.

Lisa, Mena and Robert . Great photo!

Lisa with her #17, Jari Kurri Oilers hockey sweater. Lisa was a great Oilers fan.

Lisa with her snowboard. She moved to Whistler, B.C. to become a snowboard queen with her friend Martina Duengen. That was the start of her career in the hotel industry.