Road trip to Alberta - part I

All my married life I've heard about 'the farm' in Alberta where Glynn's mom, Ellen, was raised. Earlier this summer Ellen said she'd love to see the farm 'one more time before I die' (just to let you know she does NOT have one foot in the grave!) Wanting to take a little road trip with her this summer, Glynn, Elda and I decided that 'the farm' would be our destination.

At 84 years old, Ellen has become somewhat frail and tired. Being as she sleeps a lot, we were unsure of her stamina for the near 2,500 mile trip. She surprised us all. She was giddy with excitement and anxious to set foot in Alberta once again.

Here she is at a cute log cabin motel in Bonners Ferry, Idaho - our first night.


Day two: still giddy!


Along the way, we stopped to view the devastation caused by 82 tons of rock sliding from Turtle Mountain in 1903 onto a portion of the town of Frank, Alberta. 100 people died when their homes were buried by rock, mud and water.


Soon we reached the prairie and headed north toward Calgary. The land became flat and wheat farms dotted the landscape.

Ellen was born in Gleichen, the closest town to her parent's farm. Gleichen is on an Indian reservation and she said her mother's confinement was actually in the home of the doctor.

Ellen is one of 12 children born to her father, Neils. 2 of her half siblings, brothers, died before she was born. Hans was 15 when he died from dysentery (or typhoid) after drinking water from a lake. Vego died at age 3 from 'quick pneumonia'. In the little town of Standard (wide spot in the road) we found the cemetery where the boys are buried. In rain, wind, thunder and lightening, Elda & I searched for their headstones but to no avail. Perhaps after lying on the ground for nearly 100 years, the grave markers crumbled and became overgrown with grass.



Due to 'dust bowl' conditions during the years of the depression, the farm produced no crop and the family had to relocate or starve. The government helped move farm equipment via train so the family loaded up their possessions and moved west about 230 Kilometers (150 miles) to the Dickson area where Ellen's dad bought a 1/4 section of land to farm, renting another 3/4 sections to farm as well. This is 'the farm' that Ellen has such fond memories of.

In Dickson, the terrain has beautiful hills and trees and rivers and lakes. One side of the farm borders the Raven River.

Close your eyes and imagine Ellen and her siblings frolicking in this river back in 30's and 40's!

In 1954, Neils and Ellen's mom, Amelia, were involved in a head-on car accident. Neils did not survive his injuries and Amelia was crippled for the remainder of her life. Once Amelia passed away in the late 60's, Ellen and two of her sisters bought the farm. By then, the vacant house had been used and abused by local trouble makers so it was torn down.

To date, the only original structure still standing on the property is the chicken coop. I smiled at the opening on the door - perhaps the entry/exit for the chickens? One of Ellen's chores was to collect the nearly 6 dozen eggs per week.

(I wish I could have brought this door home with me!)

This is the 1/4 section, farmed by Neils. The metal grain elevator was placed there in later years.

This lane leads to the house, barn and chicken coop. Amelia planted these trees by hand. Ellen was amazed at their height.

The house stood in this clearning. The river is in back of the trees.

Driving approximately 2 miles away from the farm we came to the site of her elementary school.




We were amused at this sign post! Ellen recognizes many of the family names, many of whom still live in the area.
Stay tuned for more about Dickson in my next post!