Lizzi Haslam loves living at Elim Village, and it shows. Though she just moved into The Hawthorn at Garrison Crossing in September, she’s already fully embracing her new neighbourhood and life alongside fellow Elim Village residents.
A few years ago, Lizzi was living on the Sunshine Coast in a large home on a half-acre lot. Like many older adults, she found it was getting harder to manage as she aged. So, in 2014, she sold her property and moved into a condo in Chilliwack, where her daughter had moved. When she needed more support, she looked for a retirement community where she could access meals and other services. “My daughter and I came to see Elim Village, and we loved it,” Lizzi says. “I was able to get a suite in The Hawthorn and move in right away.”
Born in Esbjerg in 1931, Lizzi remembers well the German Occupation of Denmark during World War II. “I was eight years old when the war broke out and 13 when it ended,” she recalls. “My dad was part of the Danish Resistance, so it was a little dangerous.” When she was 14, her family moved to Copenhagen. Her parents left Denmark for Canada in 1956 and encouraged Lizzi and her family to emigrate as well. In 1957 she and her then-husband, along with two children landed in Calgary.
In October of that same year, the family moved to Fairmont Hot Springs to work on a sheep farm. Lizzi found herself living in a rustic two-room log cabin with no running water and a lean-to with a wood burning stove for a kitchen. “Coming from a city, that was quite a change,” she laughs. “You could sling a cat through the cracks in that cabin wall. In Copenhagen, I could just go to a bakery to get bread every day. On the farm, I had to learn to make it in a wood cookstove.”
In time, the family grew by three more children, including a set of twins. They moved to the Columbia Valley, where they bought 160 acres of land for $5000, a princely sum in those days. Eventually, Lizzi and the three youngest moved to Cranbrook so she could take a business course and begin a career.
Since moving to Elim Village, Lizzi has kept herself busy with family visits, activities, and meeting new people. “It’s absolutely wonderful to live here,” she enthuses. “Everyone I’ve met is nice, the fresh baking at the Bistro is so good, and there are lots of activities. I join everything I can!”
Live your life to the fullest at Elim Village Garrison Crossing. Learn more at elimvillage.com, by calling 604-769-0022, or by emailing garrisoncrossing@elimvillage.com. Stay up to date with their latest offerings by subscribing to their mailing list.
