Birth Story: Kristi Leigh Grant

This memory was recorded by Dale Grant in March 2015.

Kristi made beautiful little girl number four for the Dale Grant Family. I was working at the sugar factory in Taber when she was born. I had gone to work in the morning and a little later I phone call came into the factory from Peggy and she thought that I had better come home. Peggy was having contractions. I went home only to find that the contractions had stopped. I hung around home feeling guilty that I was not at work and eventually went back in to work. My job was pump man and so I roamed all over the factory and out to the lake and down by the river to check pumps, service them, etc. Well at 4:00PM quitting time I showed back up inside the plant and everyone was asking where I had been. They had been trying to reach me because there was a call for me that my wife was having a baby. Usually when someone needed me they blew a whistle for me, but when I was in some areas of the factory, I could not hear my whistle. That is what happened that day. I was out in the sugar end of the factory and did not hear the whistle. So anyway, I got the message at 4:00PM and immediately went straightway to the hospital. As I went by the nurses desk by the front desk, a nurse congratulated me on the birth of a beautiful baby girl. Peggy did not get to break the news to me.

A little more info that I received from your mother later on. My father had taken her in to see the doctor for a scheduled appointment in the afternoon. When she was with the doctor he said what are you doing here get to the hospital as fast as you can, Dad and Peggy headed for the hospital and the doctor ran out of his office and to the hospital, which was one block away. I think the doctor did not get there in time or it was just in the nick of time, I am not sure now. When our children decided it was time to be born, they did not mess around. I have heard stories about some women being in labor for several hours sometimes 20 or more, but such was not the case with Peggy and our children. All came quite quickly once things started to happen.  

Another little interesting note about Kristi. When she was about 3 months old I would hold her and sing to her. I would sing the Beatles song “She Loves You”. There is a phrase that goes “she loves you yeah yeah yeah” and after I sang she loves you Kristi would sing yeah yeah yeah. It was really neat and cute that she would do that at such an early age. And thus started her musical life. What a great joy and pleasure she has brought to everyone with her music. Now I should add in here that all four daughters have music in them. 3 play the piano and other instruments and all 4 can sing. We had lots of good times singing around the piano. We would sing church hymns, popular modern songs and Phantom of the Opera, as well as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. That was a lot of fun.