John Coffee Thompson, son of Rezin Thompson
and Rachel Coffee, was born at West Branch lowa
in 1872, He and his family were members of the
Society of Friends or Quakers. He went to school
with the former President of the United States, Herbert
Hoover.

He farmed with his father Rezin in lowa until
1902 when he came to Canada. He bought land in the
Spring Coulee district for $2.00 per acre, which his
family still farms, and also homesteaded in 1905 in the
Brant district. At his death in 1938 he owned and
operated 6 1/2 sections of farmland. He was a very
community minded person. He donated land on which
the school, the church, and the cemetery were
located. He also owned a small hotel, a pool hall-barber
shop, and a grocery store which burned down, was
rebuilt and burned down again, never to be rebuilt.
He was also an avid supporter of the local baseball
team, which at times was very successful. He never
owned a tractor and did all his farming with horses.
He married Christine Ann MacKenzie in 1920.

Christine Ann MacKenzie, daughter of John MacKenzie
and Ann Nicholson was born in Middle River, Cape
Breton Island in 1895. She spoke Gaelic until she went
to school where she learned English. She came to
Alberta, where she taught school at Spring Coulee and
there she met and married John Thompson. They had
five children. She was also community minded. She was
a strong supporter of the Womens Institute, the Ladies
Aid and the Bible Society. She was a firm believer in
education and supported the local school and saw to it
that her children entered and competed in the local
school fair, a forerunner of what is now 4-H. She was
also a strong supporter of a local group who put on
plays in the Community Hall and she organized a Sunday
Night Group at her home which was quite successful.
She opened her home and her heart to those who were
in need, and performed countless acts of kindness. For
many years she was a "Taxi Driver" who readily
answered the calls to take someone to the hospital,
the doctor, the dentist, or to any other place of need.

When Reverend Harold Marston organized the Young
People Society for the youth of the community, some of
their meetings and social activities were held in her home.

Christine was one of several women in the area who
worked together to hold the community together.

It was a loss to many friends both in and out of the
community when she passed away in 1945.

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