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| Aneroid United Church |
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| 1917 |
Some Facts About SASKATCHEWAN:
-located in the prairie region of Canada
-Regina, the capital city, is the home of the R.C.M.P.
-flower
- Western Red Lily, tree - White Birch, bird - Sharp-tailed Grouse
-motto: "From many peoples strength"
-half is forest, one-third is farmland
-over 100,000 lakes, rivers, marshes
-main rivers: Assiniboine, North and South Saskatchewan and Churchill
-First people : Chipewyan (north) , Assiniboine (east), Blackfoot (west) and Cree
-Metis (of mixed
European and Aboriginal descent) were among the first settlers.
-people came from Germany, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Poland,
Russia, Britain, France
-population 995,000 (Oct/03)
-earliest
explorer - Henry Kelsey (1690)
-Samuel Hearne built trading posts
-trappers and fur traders arrived
-forts were
built to maintain law and order
-settlers were encouraged to come for free farmland
-railroad was built across the
southern part of the province
-became a province in 1905 with Regina as the capital
| Grandpa Flanders & His Team |
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CLEARING THE LAND AND PLANTING CROPS
When the settlers arrived they had to clear the land. Trees were chopped down and stumps were pulled out
with a team of oxen. The first settlers used hand tools to clear the land, plant and harvest the crops. Later a plow
was used to work the land. The plow was pulled by oxen or horses. It took alot of hard work to produce a small crop. Wheat,
barley, rye and oats were planted. There had to be enough to feed the animals in the winter.
The land was broken up with a plow (or plough). The plow had a sharp blade that cut into the earth and
turned over the soil. The plow was pulled by oxen or horses. The farmer had to keep the blade of the plow in the ground and
had to be careful not to hit any large rocks, stumps or roots. Next a harrow was pulled over the soil to break up the lumps
and smooth out the ground. A harrow looked like a large rake with rows of teeth.
Then the farmer (planted). Wheat, rye, oats, barley and flax (for making
linen) were planted. After the seeds were planted, there were many ways that the crop could fail -- too many weeds, drought
(no rain), floods, frost, hail, insects, plant diseases and prairie fires destroyed crops.
When a crop was ready to harvest the farmer used a sickle, scythe or cradle scythe to cut the crop. Then
the stalks were bundled into sheaves. The bunch of sheaves were leaned against each other so the sheaves stood up. The standing
bundles were called stooks. The stooks were left to dry in the field. Later, the sheaves were hauled to the barn.
The grain was spread out on the floor of the barn and hit with a flail. Seeds, chaff (bits of seed head)
and straw remained. After most of the straw was raked away, the farmer gathered what was left. The grain seeds and chaff were
placed in a winnowing tray (or basket) and shaken and tossed on a windy day. The wind blew the light straw and chaff away
and the seed would fall back in the tray.
Winnowed grain was stored for animal feed or taken in sacks to the mill to be ground into flour. Stone-ground
flour was better than flour ground by hand.
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My Grandparents were lured to Canada by the promise of land to homestead. The homesteader could file on a quarter section
for $10.00, and was given the option of a pre-emption quarter of land. He had to live on his land for six months out
of the year for a period of three years, and carry out certain improvements such as the erection of a dwelling and barn, and
the breaking of a set number of acres annually. In the years 1907 and 1908, when they arrived, the area was very sparsely
settled by homesteaders who came by rail to Swift Current and trekked to their land by horse and wagon, and ox team. It is
said that the village was named Aneroid because a surveyor lost an Aneroid barometer in the vicinity.
Leaving Minnesota with prospects of a better life in which to raise a family... they headed North. The photos make
Sask. look bare and bleak and I know that clearing the land, building a house and trying to eke out a living was brutal for
the young couple. By the time my Mother came along they were pretty well established but Grandpa had already wearied of farming
and I think he secretly longed for the Illinois landscape he'd left behind. He stuck it out until the middle 1940's when he
finally decided to give up, sell out and head West, first to Vancouver, B.C. and then on to Seattle, Wa. where he lived
out the remainder of his life.
| Flanders Original Homestead |
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Some HARDSHIPS experienced by my Pioneer homesteaders
-finding drinking water nearby
(hauling
water if there was no water near)
-making most of their clothing and other goods needed
(it took alot of time to make
everything)
-travelling great distances to a school, town, church,
doctor
(and lack of roads)
-finding enough firewood for heating and cooking
(having enough wood to last the winter)
-finding materials for a home and other buildings
(forced to live in sod homes if no trees were nearby)
-clearing
the land so they could plant crops
(cutting down trees, digging up roots, picking rocks)
-faced starvation if crops
and gardens were destroyed by drought, prairie fires,
hail, floods, grasshoppers,etc.
-not used to the harsh weather (especially the long cold winters)
-alot of hard work
to produce a small amount of grain
-getting help for harvesting (women and children had to work, too)
-having proper
tools for farming (machinery was expensive)
-hunger, had to grow enough food to last for the winter
-not enough money
so men had to leave home to work elsewhere
(mining, building the railroad, building roads)
-caring for their animals,
keeping livestock safe from wild animals
-illnesses, home remedies were used if a doctor wasn't nearby (no hospitals)
-loneliness, nearest neighbors might be miles away
-fear of getting lost, especially during winter blizzards
(no landmarks, roads, or fences to follow)
-difficulty
communicating with others
(people came from different countries, spoke different languages)
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| Opal Feeding the Chickens |
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| 1919 |
| You had to hurry to get |
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| the best seat in the house... |
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