The last time I was in Oliver was the first time I noticed that Carters Crater no longer existed. How long has it been covered over? Probably years I would think.

Recently, I was speaking with along time friend about the swimming/fishing hole that Carters Crater was, and all the good times that everyone enjoyed there. There were some mishaps too though, such as the afternoon when Auntie Kay was driving by in the family car. She observed a boy standing on the top diving board. He leaped off the board and did a flip. During the flip, his forehead clipped the end of the diving board and then he plummeted into the water.

Auntie Kay parked her car and hastened over to where the lad was climbing out of the water. He looked about 16 years of age. Blood was streaming from his gash. Auntie Kay asked someone for a towel which they gave up without hesitation. She folded it and applied it to the boy’s wound. She asked him his name and he said it was Michael. She told Michael to hold the towel to his head and lead him to her car where they both got in. She drove straight to the hospital and left him in St Martins care. She then carried on with what she originally intended on doing.

Auntie Kay had seen her share of other peoples blood. Once when Wally had split his forehead open during the winter and she couldn’t take him to the hospital because the car wouldn’t start, she took a needle and thread out of her sewing kit and stitched him up while they sat in the warmth of the family kitchen.

Sometimes Auntie Kay would be called upon to fly with a seriously ill patient being transported to a Vancouver hospital. Three people would board the plane, the pilot, the patient, and nurse Auntie Kay. With no fanfare they would quietly leave the Oliver airport and then be gone into the clouds.

Several days later Auntie Kay would return home and resume her farm wife duties. She never did talk much about those specialist flights, but she did seem to enjoy the change of pace between nursing and farm life, so she was always available when called upon.