By Richard BADER, from "Hilda's Golden Heritage" 1974 Write-Up —
I will endeavor to write down a few recollections of the pioneer years after our emigration from the United States.
I was born in the year 1908 in Morton County, North Dakota, USA, came to Canada in 1911. As I was only three years old at the time, I cannot recall the trip at all.
I can remember the early home that we lived in for a few years as a "compact" in this modern day language – meaning that the house and barn comprised of one building, partitioned down the middle. One side formed our living quarters and the other side housed the animals.
I can recall vast areas of prairie land, no fences, and the animals had to be hobbled overnight and turned out to grass to keep them from straying too far away from the farm by morning.
I can remember faintly, dad breaking up the sod for seeding. Walking behind the plow from dawn to dusk, turning one furrow at a time. How the farmers got their land under cultivation with a one bottom plow is hard to believe.
One of the biggest hardships at that time must surely have been the distance from town, considering they had to travel by team, to market the grain and obtain the day to day necessities to exist. One trip to town and back took two days.
One very important man in our community in those days was a very able and hard working blacksmith. He could hammer out a plowshare, or shoe a horse in a jig time. He was mainly responsible in keeping the farmers machinery together. His name was Mr. Edward RUFF.
As time went on and the community progressed, schools were built. I was about nine or ten years old by the time we had a school in our locality. I can remember my first day at school. I was very nervous and shy, and it was a new experience for me. The teacher's name, I can still remember, was Naomi Bernstein. Public schooling was about the extent of my education. My schooling was occasionally interrupted by the need to help in farm work, as hired help in those days, was hard to come by.
Time went on, and later farm life became a little easier, with the coming of the railroad through our district in the early 20's (1923).
I kept on farming and in the early 1930's met Charlotte HAHN who became my wife in November of 1933. We finally had to leave the farm due to poor yields and low wheat prices.
I tried my hand at buying wheat for a couple of Grain Companies in Hilda in the latter part of the 1930's. My wife went back to teaching school after our two children were born. Later on we went into the retail grocery business for ourselves in Medicine Hat.
In 1949 we moved to the west coast where we continued in the grocery business until 1965, when breakdown in health forced us to discontinue that endeavor. I am presently working in the meat trade for a food catering business. I hope to retire at the end of the year.
We were blessed with two very dear children; the eldest a girl and the younger a boy. They are both married and have families of their own. Joyce and family are living in Victoria, BC and Jerry in Portland, Oregon, USA where he is Chief Engineer of an Engineering Consulting Firm.
=============================
I will endeavor to write down a few recollections of the pioneer years after our emigration from the United States.
I was born in the year 1908 in Morton County, North Dakota, USA, came to Canada in 1911. As I was only three years old at the time, I cannot recall the trip at all.
I can remember the early home that we lived in for a few years as a "compact" in this modern day language – meaning that the house and barn comprised of one building, partitioned down the middle. One side formed our living quarters and the other side housed the animals.
I can recall vast areas of prairie land, no fences, and the animals had to be hobbled overnight and turned out to grass to keep them from straying too far away from the farm by morning.
I can remember faintly, dad breaking up the sod for seeding. Walking behind the plow from dawn to dusk, turning one furrow at a time. How the farmers got their land under cultivation with a one bottom plow is hard to believe.
One of the biggest hardships at that time must surely have been the distance from town, considering they had to travel by team, to market the grain and obtain the day to day necessities to exist. One trip to town and back took two days.
One very important man in our community in those days was a very able and hard working blacksmith. He could hammer out a plowshare, or shoe a horse in a jig time. He was mainly responsible in keeping the farmers machinery together. His name was Mr. Edward RUFF.
As time went on and the community progressed, schools were built. I was about nine or ten years old by the time we had a school in our locality. I can remember my first day at school. I was very nervous and shy, and it was a new experience for me. The teacher's name, I can still remember, was Naomi Bernstein. Public schooling was about the extent of my education. My schooling was occasionally interrupted by the need to help in farm work, as hired help in those days, was hard to come by.
Time went on, and later farm life became a little easier, with the coming of the railroad through our district in the early 20's (1923).
I kept on farming and in the early 1930's met Charlotte HAHN who became my wife in November of 1933. We finally had to leave the farm due to poor yields and low wheat prices.
I tried my hand at buying wheat for a couple of Grain Companies in Hilda in the latter part of the 1930's. My wife went back to teaching school after our two children were born. Later on we went into the retail grocery business for ourselves in Medicine Hat.
In 1949 we moved to the west coast where we continued in the grocery business until 1965, when breakdown in health forced us to discontinue that endeavor. I am presently working in the meat trade for a food catering business. I hope to retire at the end of the year.
We were blessed with two very dear children; the eldest a girl and the younger a boy. They are both married and have families of their own. Joyce and family are living in Victoria, BC and Jerry in Portland, Oregon, USA where he is Chief Engineer of an Engineering Consulting Firm.
=============================
By Richard BADER, from "Hilda's Golden Heritage" 1974 Write-Up —
I will endeavor to write down a few recollections of the pioneer years after our emigration from the United States.
I was born in the year 1908 in Morton County, North Dakota, USA, came to Canada in 1911. As I was only three years old at the time, I cannot recall the trip at all.
I can remember the early home that we lived in for a few years as a "compact" in this modern day language – meaning that the house and barn comprised of one building, partitioned down the middle. One side formed our living quarters and the other side housed the animals.
I can recall vast areas of prairie land, no fences, and the animals had to be hobbled overnight and turned out to grass to keep them from straying too far away from the farm by morning.
I can remember faintly, dad breaking up the sod for seeding. Walking behind the plow from dawn to dusk, turning one furrow at a time. How the farmers got their land under cultivation with a one bottom plow is hard to believe.
One of the biggest hardships at that time must surely have been the distance from town, considering they had to travel by team, to market the grain and obtain the day to day necessities to exist. One trip to town and back took two days.
One very important man in our community in those days was a very able and hard working blacksmith. He could hammer out a plowshare, or shoe a horse in a jig time. He was mainly responsible in keeping the farmers machinery together. His name was Mr. Edward RUFF.
As time went on and the community progressed, schools were built. I was about nine or ten years old by the time we had a school in our locality. I can remember my first day at school. I was very nervous and shy, and it was a new experience for me. The teacher's name, I can still remember, was Naomi Bernstein. Public schooling was about the extent of my education. My schooling was occasionally interrupted by the need to help in farm work, as hired help in those days, was hard to come by.
Time went on, and later farm life became a little easier, with the coming of the railroad through our district in the early 20's (1923).
I kept on farming and in the early 1930's met Charlotte HAHN who became my wife in November of 1933. We finally had to leave the farm due to poor yields and low wheat prices.
I tried my hand at buying wheat for a couple of Grain Companies in Hilda in the latter part of the 1930's. My wife went back to teaching school after our two children were born. Later on we went into the retail grocery business for ourselves in Medicine Hat.
In 1949 we moved to the west coast where we continued in the grocery business until 1965, when breakdown in health forced us to discontinue that endeavor. I am presently working in the meat trade for a food catering business. I hope to retire at the end of the year.
We were blessed with two very dear children; the eldest a girl and the younger a boy. They are both married and have families of their own. Joyce and family are living in Victoria, BC and Jerry in Portland, Oregon, USA where he is Chief Engineer of an Engineering Consulting Firm.
=============================
I will endeavor to write down a few recollections of the pioneer years after our emigration from the United States.
I was born in the year 1908 in Morton County, North Dakota, USA, came to Canada in 1911. As I was only three years old at the time, I cannot recall the trip at all.
I can remember the early home that we lived in for a few years as a "compact" in this modern day language – meaning that the house and barn comprised of one building, partitioned down the middle. One side formed our living quarters and the other side housed the animals.
I can recall vast areas of prairie land, no fences, and the animals had to be hobbled overnight and turned out to grass to keep them from straying too far away from the farm by morning.
I can remember faintly, dad breaking up the sod for seeding. Walking behind the plow from dawn to dusk, turning one furrow at a time. How the farmers got their land under cultivation with a one bottom plow is hard to believe.
One of the biggest hardships at that time must surely have been the distance from town, considering they had to travel by team, to market the grain and obtain the day to day necessities to exist. One trip to town and back took two days.
One very important man in our community in those days was a very able and hard working blacksmith. He could hammer out a plowshare, or shoe a horse in a jig time. He was mainly responsible in keeping the farmers machinery together. His name was Mr. Edward RUFF.
As time went on and the community progressed, schools were built. I was about nine or ten years old by the time we had a school in our locality. I can remember my first day at school. I was very nervous and shy, and it was a new experience for me. The teacher's name, I can still remember, was Naomi Bernstein. Public schooling was about the extent of my education. My schooling was occasionally interrupted by the need to help in farm work, as hired help in those days, was hard to come by.
Time went on, and later farm life became a little easier, with the coming of the railroad through our district in the early 20's (1923).
I kept on farming and in the early 1930's met Charlotte HAHN who became my wife in November of 1933. We finally had to leave the farm due to poor yields and low wheat prices.
I tried my hand at buying wheat for a couple of Grain Companies in Hilda in the latter part of the 1930's. My wife went back to teaching school after our two children were born. Later on we went into the retail grocery business for ourselves in Medicine Hat.
In 1949 we moved to the west coast where we continued in the grocery business until 1965, when breakdown in health forced us to discontinue that endeavor. I am presently working in the meat trade for a food catering business. I hope to retire at the end of the year.
We were blessed with two very dear children; the eldest a girl and the younger a boy. They are both married and have families of their own. Joyce and family are living in Victoria, BC and Jerry in Portland, Oregon, USA where he is Chief Engineer of an Engineering Consulting Firm.
=============================
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