The People of the Park…

An Old-Fashioned Love Story—

A Visit With the Tiels

By Dale Dauten

He was born in the Netherlands, although raised in Canada. She was born and raised in Holland. So how did those two teenagers, an ocean apart, end up falling in love? The old-fashioned way: letters. Even the language of letter writing is delightfully old-fashioned: They didn’t text; they corresponded. They weren’t on social media; they were pen pals. Less Mark Zuckerberg and more Jane Austen.

When we sat down with the Tiels, they explained how they found each other across the Atlantic: “My parents moved to Canada when I was three,” Abe began, adding, “It was three weeks on a ship back then.” He then explained that the original connection to Alice was that his parents and her parents once lived a couple of miles apart, became friends, and stayed in touch. The parents eventually suggested that the two teenagers should meet via correspondence.

Alice picked up the story, “I was studying to be a veterinarian, and I was planning to go to Australia as an exchange student. At that time, we’d been writing to each other for a year, and Abe said, ‘Why don’t you come to Canada instead?’” Abe was living in Manitoba on the family dairy farm, so the idea held a double interest for a young veterinarian student.

What happened next? “I never did finish my schooling,” she said, laughing. Abe added, “We joke that she fell in love with the farm and decided, I’ll take him, too.”

FARM LIFE

The two married and eventually took over the family farm. They ended up farming together for over fifty years. In the photos below, we see the Tiels now and back on the dairy farm.

In 2004, they sold the dairy portion of the operation and raised beef cattle. Then, four years ago, they sold the land to a young couple and retired completely.

(Photos: An aerial view of the farm, followed by the house and dairy barn)

We asked the couple to reminisce on their half-century as farmers. Abe recalled it as “a tough life,” and that may help explain why neither of their children went into it. Both kids now reside with their families in B.C. Their son became a paramedic with search-and-rescue, and their daughter works in administration for B.C. Ferries.

Reflecting back on their time on the dairy farm, Abe explained how every dairy cow was registered and its milk production recorded. Alice, using her old veterinarian training, produced cows to be sold at dairy cattle shows, which provided a secondary business for the farm. Alice recalled how her dairy cows were so sought after that one owner of a regional dairy operation bought up all that the Tiels would sell. The next day, when the Tiels’ hired helper arrived, he discovered the now half-empty barn and demanded, “Where are they?” He became offended that the Tiels would sell so many of the cows he’d worked with and particularly liked. Abe said, “He got so mad that he threw his boots in the trash, said ‘I quit,’ and never came back.”

THE RETIREMENT YEARS

For retirement, the Tiels ended up moving to Penticton, British Columbia, a valley with lakes and vineyards, as shown below.

Although Pendicton is on the western side of the Rockies and thus warmer than other parts of Canada, the Tiels decided to join a group of couples who spend winters at The Resort. However, Covid intervened; this was when the border was closed. Even so, the friends who did make it to The Resort sent photos of the park and of a particular lot they thought the Tiels would like. Indeed, they did – the Tiels signed up, and now they’re on their fifth season at the park. Abe recalled his first impression: “We arrived late afternoon, and as we went through the park, there was a Happy Hour party here and a Happy Hour party there.” Alice added, “We’d come to the right park.”

The Tiels have fit right in. These days, you’re likely to spot Abe in the billiards room or off to a bowling league, and you’ll find Alice spending three mornings a week at the glass shop. As for the latter, Alice discovered glass fusion since coming to the park, having no previous experience with glass work: “Sharon Chapman is a great teacher, and I fell in love with it. I even bought myself a kiln last year so I could keep going when we’re in Canada.”

Photo: Alice at the crafts fair with some of her work

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