The Olympics are an exciting time for sports fans, but there are some families in Drumheller that are even more excited to see Korea hosting the games.
    Korea –born Chi Ha Park is the owner of Valley Esso, and he was up early last Friday morning to watch the Opening Ceremonies for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.     
    He said the ceremonies were very good and was excited to see Kim Yuna, who won the gold medal in figure skating at the Vancouver Olympics, light the Olympic Flame.
 Park has been in Canada since 1998 and has lots of family in Korea, including his son Tommy who travelled to Korea for the Olympics.     Park plans to watch as much of the games as possible. He is also excited to see Korea and its culture showcased on an international stage.
    Beyond the simple sports and venues, he is excited about the political implication of the games.  He is happy that North Korea is in the games.  His wish is for a peaceful Olympics and is encouraged because this might be a start to repairing the relationships between the two nations and making one country.
    He was born in 1954, shortly after the Korean War, and grew up in a poor struggling country.  After the war, not only the country, but also families were divided. He says PyeongChang itself is in a divided province.
    South Korea has since grown in economic strength over the years and in 1988 hosted the Summer Olympics, the same year Calgary hosted the winter games. Park says he sees parallels, with the games in Canada in 2010 and possibly Calgary in the future. He was happy to see Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi at the games. Next time he would also like to see Drumheller’s mayor.
    If Calgary wins the bid, he said he would like to see Drumheller get involved and see some of the great ideas that would help our community to succeed.

    Sometimes love strikes like a lightning bolt, setting the world on fire. Sometimes it is a slow burning flame with embers that glow for months and even years. That was the case for Barrie and Janice Hoover.
      Janice is a Southern Belle, originally from near the Del Bonita border crossing. She struck out as a young woman and was studying Home Economics at the University of Alberta when she met her match.
        “We met in Edmonton when I was in university. He was up to visit his sister for the weekend,” recalls Janice. “He swept me off my feet.”
    While sparks flew, Janice had some reservations, and career aspirations.
    “We didn’t move too fast because I didn’t want to marry a farmer,” she chuckles.
    He continued to come and visit when she was studying.
    After she graduated, she began her professional life and spent much of her time working as a dietician in hospitals. Her career took her to Alberta and Winnipeg.  She says they continued to date “a bit.”
    About 20 years later, her path brought her back to Edmonton, and they continued to see each other.
    “It was now or never,” she laughs. We were wiser when we were married.”
 You never know what is going to work for a couple, but this worked for Barrie and Janice. They have now enjoyed 22 years of marital bliss and raised two children, Michelle and William. They have been very involved in the community through 4-H and many other community organizations.
   “Family and community are the commonalities we both had,” she said.
    As for living on a farm?
    “The biggest fear was that you are tied to the animals and the land, and that is true, but now that I am older and wiser, country living has certainly had lots of great advantages,” she said.
    When asked for the secret, her answer is simple: “Give and take.”
    “When I listen to other ladies, I think I won the jackpot!”