The Crisford Family
as told by Mrs. Crisford
Charles Crisford was born in Ninfield, Sussex, England, in 1889 and came to Saskatoon in 1910, where he joined his only brother there.
Mrs. Crisford was born in Sawston, Crambridgeshire, and moved to Grayford, Kent, when she was nine years old.
In April 1914 she sailed for Canada and she and Mr. Crisford were married in Saskatoon on April 19, 1914. In 1917 they moved to Sibbald, Alberta, where Mr. Crisford worked in a hardware store.
They came to Kimberley in 1925 and Mr. Crisford worked for Mr. Wallace Lloyd in the Kimberley Hardware Store. He was hired as manager of the Kimberley Hardware when Mr. Lloyd opened his own hardware business on the present Merit Store site.
They stayed with Mr. and Mrs. P. McKim while their house was being built at the top of Blarchmont hill. The lot was covered with trees, and Mrs. Crisford remembers how anxious she was for the house to be built, so while the men were at work, she and Miss Alma McKim chopped down all the trees where the house was to be, so the men could get right to work. They moved in on November 13th, 1925.
She recalls the building of the Anglican Church at the same time and the first service was held on November the 15th. For many years she was a staunch supporter of this church, sing- ing in the choir and working for the choir guild. Mrs. Crisford was a member of the Pythian Sisters while Mr. Crisford belonged to the Knights of Pythias. He was also an active member of the Gyro and Rotary Clubs.
He managed the hardware store when it was in the building now occupied by Fred Holmes Real Estate and Insurance. As business in- creased they moved to larger quarters across the street, now occupied by MacLeods Hard- ware.
Mr. and Mrs. Crisford bought the old Dr. Han- nington hospital. That was the first hospital in Kimberley and later the first Doctors' offices. They remodeled it and lived there until 1976, then moved to the "Pines" Special Care Home. Mr. Crisford passed away in September 1976 at the age of eighty-seven. They had no children.
Mrs. Crisford recalls the good times in the early days when Kimberley was growing: Dances, concerts, bridge parties and community affairs. She remembers the big celebration held every July 1st with the parade and sports and the many contests. She has enjoyed her life in Kimberley and still took an interest in the affairs of the City, until her recent death in 1978 at age eighty-nine.
