Chapter 2
Moving To Saskatchewan -
The Early years

Uncle Elmer and Aunt Maud (Whitehall) were married probably in 1916 or 1917 and moved to Midale, Saskatchewan. He worked for Frank Noble who had an automobile agency and workshop on Main Street. They lived in the "Lindbom-Lindoff" house, north of the school one of the oldest houses in Midale. This is now the property of the Souris Valley Antique Association. They also lived in a house now owned and lived in by the Ken Swenson family. The family of John Jerns were the next door neighbors. Cousin Glen and I use to amuse ourselves by teasing Jern's geese. In 1920 Uncle Elmer and Aunt Maud moved to Halbrite where he established his own auto repair business. He purchased the Freeland Steel Tank company building from north of the railroad, and had It moved downtown on Main street. It was moved by means of one or two steam tractors.

Uncle Clair and Aunt Rhoda were married in the early months of 1915. They moved onto the Art Boddie farm in the same section we lived on. This farm had buildings on the northeast quarter of Section 5-7-11, as well as two eighty acre fractions; the west eighty of the southwest quarter of Section 4, and the south eighty of the northwest quarter of Section 4 in 7-11. The barn had room for twelve head of livestock with a buggy shed on the north end and also a fair sized hayloft The house was twenty by twenty, cottage roof, one large room and two very small bedrooms. This building at the time of writing is in use in the Dennis Peterson farmyard, now Kim Peterson's family. I am told the young people of the community had parties with Uncle Clair and Aunt Rhoda as they were both outgoing personalities and enjoyed company. Uncle Clair lived here until the fall of 1917 when they moved south across the river. From what I gather of other history book information, our family. Uncle Charlie's and Uncle Clair's all moved to Canada in the fall of 1913. At this same time Grandpa Truman bought Papa's property in Minnesota and moved there from Illinois. Uncle Harry was still living with his parents. Grandma Truman was in ill health about 1917 or 1918 and our oldest sister, Lillian, went back to Alborn to help her and also went to school while there. When she came home the following spring, cousin Marea came with her. I barely remember Marea being at our place and I believe she worked for the John Nord family for a short while.

Our move to Canada was in two stages. Papa had gone ahead with a carload of settlers' effects ... three horses, two cows, a few things such as wagons and small tools, also all our furniture. Mama and we children were to follow, allowing Papa time to get the furniture set up, and should I say get the house warmed up. The plaster upstairs wasn't quite dry even when we arrived. Uncle Charlie's were apparently moved and established before we were, as Mama and we young ones were supposed to get off the train at Midale and stay with them a few days for some reason. The train conductor neglected to remind Mama and we went onto Halbrite. Accordingly Papa wasn't there to meet us, so Mama had a confusing situation on her hands. Mrs. Pete Peterson, a resident close to the depot learned of our problem and offered to find room for the older children, four of them I am told. Mama and we three youngest ones were taken out to the farm home of Gust Petersons, our closest neighbor. Their house was small but somehow they made room for four of us. All I can remember about being there was being held on Mama's lap. Mrs. Peterson was holding Ruth, and Ruth was wearing a red sweater. Ruth's birthday was the fifteenth of June, she was four months older than I. Not much to remember, but we were, all of us, young and old, good neighborly friends for life.

There were two buildings on our place, finished but not painted. A coal house was soon built before winter set in. The house had four rooms, two upstairs and two downstairs. It was sixteen by twenty-four feet, the kitchen was sixteen by fourteen, leaving ten by sixteen minus a stairway, about ten by twelve for the front room. The two upstairs rooms were much the same size. When the kitchen cookstove, two kitchen cupboards, washstand, dining table and cream separator were all in place, the room was quite full. There were also a few chairs and two benches always beside the table. The other room had a folding bed, a stand we called it, one rocking chair and in winter a heating stove. About 1918, an organ was added to be replaced by a new piano in 1923 or 1924. A sewing machine was added but I am not aware in which year. This last item was bought from a peddlar, Mr. Crittenden from Weyburn. It was a narrow alley from the kitchen door to the stairway door. The west room up stairs over the kitchen held two beds, a large box for out of season clothes and two old trunks. A heating stove was added about 1920 and ten one hundred pound bags of flour every fall. The east room upstairs held the big girls' bed, a clothes closet and a dresser (new) was added about 1924.

There were seven or eight of us children at home most of the time, and in 1920 Margaret was born. Lillian, being away in 1918 was a change for all of us, and we little ones really missed her. Being our eldest sister she was our second mother. Johnny went to work in the CPR [Canadian Pacific Railroad] roundhouse in Weyburn the fall of 1920 and worked as a steam boiler washer. This was winter employment and I believe he worked there two winters.

The farm operation must have been very small to begin with, one quarter section with about on hundred and thirty acres under cultivation. I don't have any idea how many acres were sown to crop. The only item I remember about farming at this stage, and it was undoubtedly in 1914, is that I was riding on the drill box while Papa was seeding. I was sitting behind Kergus, a grey Percheron stallion, Fanny in the middle and Black Maud on the left side. Papa was walking behind. The drill was a sixteen run (eight foot) Van Brundt shoe drill. Some years later, he put a foot board on it but I dare say, he seeded at least two or more crops and walked behind day after day. Papa had bought Kergus down near Duluth and no doubt a stallion would be useful for more than just a work horse. Maude and Fanny were big Shire mares he had used hauling logs in the winter, breaking a few acres in summer and making hay for the horses and a few cattle.

(A point of interest: Regarding the English Shire horses - a rather interesting coincidence surfaced in 1988. Being a horseman all my life, I have collected a few publications regarding their production, use and admiration. Last year I bought the book entitled Heavy Horses written by Grant McEwan. There are chapters devoted to each of the heavy horse breeds in the United States and Canada. In the portion devoted to English Shires there is mention of a man by the name of Truman who lived near a town named Bushnell, Illinois. This is no doubt the man that Grandpa worked for soon after arriving from Sweden. The place, name and dates all coincide. And it no doubt had significant results causing Papa to have possibly brought shire horses from Illinois to Minnesota and eventually to Canada I consider a rather revealing coincidence to come to my attention now, 80 or 90 years later. Had I not been a avid reader, it might have escaped my attention.)

The two cows that were brought from Minnesota were young, well-bred Guernseys. Papa said he had many opportunities to sell them even before he got them home. Speck and Rosie were the foundation of a number of good milkcows in the next few years, as soon as another building could be provided in 1918. Speck was rather a problem to milk - none of us who learned to milk ever even tried. Papa, or occasionally Johnny were responsible for her and many a pail of milk ended up on the floor. Rosie was just the opposite disposition, and all us kids who learned to milk did our practicing on her - she never moved. Sometimes we were milking her from both sides. All her descendents were marvels of disposition.

It was probably in the fail of 1914 that a traveling photographer took a photo of our farm yard, then only three buildings and Speck looking over the fence. It hung in our kitchen at home until Charlie married and wanted it. It went north with them and I almost forgot about it. After Charlie passed away in 1961, Mabel was visiting Hazel and asked for the photo. It was conceded to Mabel and lay tucked away for several more years. Eventually I saw it and asked for it. It had suffered some but I took it home and laid it flat for a year. It seemed to improve with age and I had it framed. It now adorns my kitchen and it is our last link with the farm in the Halbrite area.