A Story About the Sisters of Christ the King in Anaham, 1944-2013

A Story of the Sisters of Christ the King and Anaham, 1944-2013

   In 1944, Tl’Etinqox Chief Casimir Bob offered land to the Sisters of Christ the King.  Archbishop Duke built the convent.  The sisters offered to serve the people, which they did for decades.  At one time, Anaham had ten sisters.      

   "Sister Nurse"

                                                        

   The sisters were nurses.  In those days, people rarely travelled.  For many of us, these sisters were better than doctors.  People would travel by horse and wagon to see “sister nurse.”  Sister Theresa would travel by horse and wagon, in all kinds of weather, to treat the sick.  The convent was our pharmacy.

    The sisters ran the hospital near their convent.  They treated people from all over.  They delivered babies.  They saved lives.  Oldtimers will remember the day the hospital burned down, in June, 1958, on a hot day.   People came running to rescue as many patients as they could, but some patients died in the fire.

     The convent was also our source of religious inspiration and religious articles.  Who didn’t get a rosary or scapular from them?      

   "Teaching All Subjects"

 

     The sisters were also teachers.  They taught in our schools, and not only catechism.  The first school was a one-room cabin by the priest’s house.  The second school was Raphael Alphonse’s old house.  The third school was Late  Johnny Harry’s house.  Then the present school was built, with electricity and plumbing, which the earlier schools did not have.    Sister Assumption taught in the one-room cabins and in the present school.   Soon there will be a new school. 

   Many people remember the sisters teaching all subjects in the school.  Until the 1970s, all the teachers were sisters.  Even the first teachers who were not sisters were Catholic:  Mr. Joe McIsaac and Ms. Joy Zelamaya, for example. 

Sister Eileen would be in the school early every day to supervise floor hockey, and there until late at night.  Under her leadership, the school won tournaments in floor and ice hockey, in Anaham and elsewhere.  When she blew her whistle, children and staff jumped.

The sisters also brought school students on field trips.  One memorable annual trip was to the May Ball Festivities at Alexis Creek.  Students square danced, as they did at other times during the school year.  The sisters even ran clubs, such as Brownies, Girl Guides, Cubs, and Boy Scouts.    

The annual school Christmas concert was a fun and glittery event.  It required lots of preparation.  One year, the school performed “The Nutcracker.”  Another year’s theme was “Around the World.”  Students had fancy costumes and did dances from different cultures:  Dutch, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and prairie Indian, for example.  Another year, the students acted out “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”  At the end of the concert, people would honor the nativity scene.  Sometimes there was a real baby in the nativity scene.  

                                                                                                                        

"Happy and Relaxing"
 

Sister Rose, our special Sister Rose, collected and distributed clothes for years.  She had a green thumb, and her garden was beautiful every year.  Many of us stole apples from her tree.  Sorry, Sister.  There were even chickens for awhile.   Sister Rose wanted to be buried in Anaham, but she rests in peace in Quebec, near other sisters and their Mother House.  Perhaps there’s an apple tree there. 

The beautiful grounds around the convent  were a great place for children to play.  How happy and relaxing that was for us kids.  Some children even stayed in the convent for awhile.          

The sisters prepared generations of us for sacraments.  They did this throughout the Chilcotin:  Stone, Redstone, Nemiah, Toosey, and Alexandria.  For baptism,  communion, and confirmation, the sisters were our patient, caring teachers.  A sister would help nervous parents and godparents during baptism.   

Sisters saw many priests serve in Anaham, and they fed many of these priests at the convent.  Father Haggarty was a frequent diner.  Now that he is in  Lillooet without any sisters to help, perhaps he can cook.  Father John is in North Vancouver and Father Maynard is in Edmonton.  Perhaps they can cook now, too.  The people gave the sisters fish and moose.  The sisters gave the people their dedication.

  The sisters served with many priests, brothers, bishops, chiefs, and councillors.     

  The sisters also made spiritual house calls.  They would visit homes during May, the Month of Mary.  They brought communion to the sick and to elders.  They would always be ready when a family was bringing a body back before a funeral:  the church would be open, clean, and welcoming in those hard times.  They would pray with us.  They would pray for us.  They became part of us.

"Busy Times"

At Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, busy times, the sisters would decorate the church, with help from the community.  At Thanksgiving, each helper would bring something.  Each would go home with something. 

During advent, the church was beautifully decorated, with a nativity scene, branches, and candles.  If a sister chose you to light an advent candle, you would feel like a very special person.  Up in the loft, the children would sing along.  These young participants would remember Midnight Mass for years.  The church would be warm and crowded.  The New Year’s Eve  celebration would sometimes be in the convent chapel.   

During Holy Week, sisters would choose the readers, as they would for weekly masses.  Being asked to read at a mass was an honor.    

Many times during the year, children and their families went to the convent chapel in the wee hours.  This was before everyone had electricity.  The convent would be a warm and bright place.

"Favorite Sisters"

     

Each of us has favorite sisters. Some were here for a long time.  Some were here for a short time.  Some went away for awhile and came back.  Some went to other countries:  Haiti, Philippines, Korea, and countries in Africa, for example.  Some sisters retired.  All were special:   Sister Marcella, Sister Hisako, Sister Joanne, Sister Jackie, Sister Gemma, Sister Henriette, Sisters Sheila and Elnora playing guitars, Sister Edwina, and Sister Joan with her beautiful singing voice.

Sister Helen had a volkswagon, which people would race on horseback, and a little house where she taught pottery and other crafts.  Sister Eileen played the church organ, and drove fast, until a deer hit her.  She says she didn’t hit the deer.  She says the deer hit her.     

Sister Theresa was called Sister St. Paul, when sisters had saint’s names, not their own names:   Sister Lucienne (Sister Assumption), Sister Evva (Sister Veronica), Sister Irma (Sister Gabrielle), just to name a few.  In 1994, the sisters celebrated 50 years of service in the Kamloops diocese.

"In Our Hearts"

Chief Casimir Bob welcomed the sisters to Anaham.  Today his grandson, Chief Joe Alphonse (me), and councillors, thank the sisters for 69 years of service.

This is a sad time and a happy time.  We say farewell to the sisters, who have been here so long and done so much.  We miss them already, and they’re not gone yet.  Come visit anytime.  We’ll ask the deer to stay out of the way. 

The sisters leave our land, but they stay in our hearts.

-Written by Carla Alphonse and Michael Wynne