My husband looked into his family roots. He found out that his grandfather had homesteaded near Wishart, Saskatchewn. 160 acres of land were free - if you opened the land and built a house on it. A great uncle had also lived on another a homestead a mile away. We met cousins who filled us in on the history of Wishart and introduced us to most of the 78 people who live there. Everyone made us feel very welcome!
The town dates from 1909 and the buildings are simple structures from early times. Growth came to an abrupt halt when the railroad 'tore up the tracks', resulting in the grain elevators being removed. In many ways, time has stood still for the town. However, farming is still alive and well. The area has wheat, canola oil and ranching.
1910 - Pioneer times were hard: the land was tough to cultivate, the climate was bitterly cold in the wintertime, a small cabin (22'x15') needed to be built for shelter and the town was just being formed. Most immigrants were drawn from farming areas in central Europe. They were tough people, used to few luxuries.
3 comments:
Vivian: my father grew up in a similar area of western canada and I think it was a similar land deal that pulled my grandfather to move his little family there. My grandmum told stories of Indians coming to her door when she would bake bread and I have a treasured picture of Dad in front of a teepee the Indians built for him in their "yard". He and Mum once took a car trip and managed to find what was their old homestead. I wish my Dad had written down all the stories he used to tell me.
My brother's graduating class was 40 students. My class, seven years later, was 12 students. From now on, there will be no High-School graduations. Sad state of affairs for rural Canada has taken place
b.t.w. - I was raised in Wishart Sk.
Thanks for posting this blog Vivian - it brought back memories.
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