We arrived in a small town as flood refugees and fell in love with how easy life is here

Daybreak Alberta6:13Bassano special: Lin Hermanson reflects on move from Calgary

This First Person column is the experience of Lin Hermanson, who lives in Bassano, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, pleasesee the FAQ.

It was 7:45 a.m. on a Saturdayin June 2013 in the middle of one of the worst floods Alberta had ever experienced.

The Bow River had burst its banks, wiping out our cabinin thetiny resort community of Hidden Valley, Alta. Two days later, my husband, Brad, and I had just pulled up to Highway 1, hauling our fifth wheelstuffed with everything we'd managed to save from the flood waters.

We were exhausted,grubby and scared as we idled at that empty intersection. We had nowhere to go. Our options were left for Strathmore, Alta., orright for Bassano, Alta.

Bassano had a central town campground, so we turned right.

Funny how one decision can literally be a turning point, and what an adventure this introduction to small town living has been.

Brad and I had lived in Calgary since we were kids. He was an architectural designer andI was a social worker. We raised two kids in the city. Butafterretiring in 2011, we made a bold move to sell our house, live in the cabin while the resort community was open during the summer and then be snowbirds for the rest of the year.

That dream washed away when we becameflood refugees.

Half an hour later, we parked our rig in the campground. I jury-rigged a coffee pot twofolded paper towels stuffed into our go-cups and then poured the boiling water dripped over the coffee grounds. Meanwhile, Brad dug out the lawn chairs. Then we collapsed into them, shell-shocked, but with coffee in hand. We sighed.

Then, in the distance, we heard a band.

As the rodeo parade rounded the corner, we moved our chairs closer to the curb. Small town parades involve candy a lot of candy thrown to the curb for young and old.

But we must have looked as bad as we felt because rather than throw candy our way, the first group ran up to place suckers and toffees right in our laps.

That was the first of many acts of kindness.

At first we thought we'd just camp in Bassanofor a few weeks and that we could salvage our home. But that hope died quickly. Hidden Valley wasn't rebuilt.

WATCH | The 2013 flood devastated communities along the Bow River:

Mayor says Calgary's come a long way since flood, but there is still work to do

1 year ago

Duration 1:30

Jyoti Gondek marked the flood's 10th anniversary by outlining mitigation improvements since then, but she says there are still vulnerabilities along the Bow River to address.

Later we thought we could stay in our fifth wheel in Bassano for the summer, go south for the winter and put off a decision until spring. But Brad wanted someplace to come home to.

In the end, we decided to stay because Bassano population 1,200 had everything we needed: a library, a pharmacy, a grocery store, a hospital, an outdoor pool, a few restaurants and a liquor store. Plus, we were two hours from our kids in Calgary, an international airport and our medical specialists.

Three months after we arrived, we bought a house. The night it was finalized, we celebrated with dinner at the Italian restaurant in town and I mentioned our milestone to our waitress. She winked and told us the table behind ours was celebrating, too.

"See the blond there? She sold her house today," she said, and took us over for introductions.

Bassano was welcoming, and certainly different from Calgary.

Many things are so easy here. You can get a medical labappointmentthe next day. You can walk to the post office, stop at the library and pick up milk on the way home.

When I need winter tires put on, I learned others in town just call the mechanic to pick up the car.When I volunteered to teach childrenknitting at the library, I was surprised there were no sign up or waiver forms required. And when we bought decking material, we learned the staff would just deliver it.

"You bought the house by the pool, right?" they asked.

People are hardwired to connectand, at the beginning, we felt lonely and werefloundering without a plan.

Soon, however, we were invited off the street one evening to check out the historical society. Someone gave us a spare coffee pot.Brad was asked to drivefor Meals on Wheels,I joined a book club and we bought seasons tickets for the local concerts.

I still miss how in the city, you can be invisible.Brad and I are avid readersand we love to take our books to a coffee shop or pub and read together.We gave that up because we were constantly interrupted by folkswondering if we had had a fight, asking what we were reading or wondering why we didn't read at home.

But I love that we're a community and I feel a bond with every person who lives here, even if I don't know them well. We are a part of the funerals, baby showers,pancake breakfasts and community meetings,and those connections mean something to me.

Five years ago, my dad died. No onein Bassano knew him. I was in the produce aisle of the local grocery store shortly afterward and a new acquaintance came up.

"Lin, I heard your father died. I am so sorry," she said, wrapping me in a big hug right there.

Would that have happened in a city? I don't think so.

Bassano was home.

Telling your story

CBC Calgary is running in-person writing workshops to support community members telling their own stories. This story came from a workshop held in partnership with the BassanoMemorial Library.

Read more about these workshops at cbc.ca/tellingyourstory. Read more First Person pieces from our workshops below.