Ed's Day Wednesday
Dear FOLKS,
Each Wednesday I continue to share family information that was provided by my late cousin Edwin J. Ostrom. We now focus on stories and anecdotes regarding Ed's maternal grandparents, Reinert Immanuel Emerson and his wife Dora Elisa Nilson, numbers six and seven on Ed's Ahnentafel report. We have learned of the records found for Reinert that I wrote earlier as a report. You can see this report by clicking here.
In recent weeks the memories have included those of their children Ruby, Geneva, Lola, Ole, Alice, Ivene, Vivian and Verola. These you can read through the following links:
- Ruby's story by clicking here
- Geneva's story by clicking here
- Lola's story (Part One) by clicking here, and (Part Two) by clicking here
- Ole and Alice's stories were combined here
- Ivene's story (Part One) by clicking here, and (Part Two) by clicking here
- Vivian's story (Part One) by clicking here, and (Part Two) by clicking here
- Verola's story (Part One) by clicking here, and (Part Two by clicking here
- Ray's Interview (Part One) by clicking here, and (Part Two) by clicking here and (Part Three) by clicking here.
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| IMAGE: Ray Emerson's early cabin, now used as an outbuilding for storage (Alberta). File from the collection of Edwin J. Ostrom. |
Ole Emerson’s Autobiography, Part Two
written 1986
Writing this story has only been possible with the help of Twyla, and I owe gratitude to her. I thank her for her eager interest and concern to have my story recorded. —Ole Emerson
[Ole's story continues when he arrives in Canada.]
We came on the railroad to Belloy, Alberta, and upon asking Ross Archibald, the local storekeeper, found directions to the Larson property. We arrived in Belloy mid-morning, walked the approximate 20-mile trail and arrived at the Larson’s about 5 p.m. [The Larson family had been neighbors in ND, and had come to Alberta earlier.] This was either October 23rd or 24th, 1928. No one knew we were coming. A day or two later one of the Larson boys went to Belloy for supplies, mail, and to pick up our suitcases. In the mail was a telegram (which had come days earlier) with news that son Oscar Larson, age 24, had passed away in Minot on October 21st. The father, Syver Larson and another son, Selmer left immediately using Pete’s and my return tickets, but of course didn’t return in time for the funeral. They then helped make further preparations for moving, as plans were to send the carloads yet that fall.
Ray, Peder and I, finding the Larson boys
and Tony Amundson very busy getting a house and barn built in time for the
carloads arriving later that fall, were urged to stay on and help. The
two-story house 24 x 28 feet was built from lumber. These 6 men, Tony, Ole,
Bert, Ray, Peder and myself, finished the house and barn on Bert’s quarter making
ready for their arrival. Tilda cooked for us men in a tent erected right on the
site. 1928 was an exceptionally nice fall, so building was made easier. Syver
and Mrs. Larson, Selmer, Ruth ,
Esther and Palmer rode the passenger train and arrived on November 9th. Tilda
had just three days before, on November 6th, given birth to their first child,
Hazel. The four carloads arrived a week or so later with Louis, George and
Rueben traveling with them and responsible for feeding and tending the 28 stock
abroad.
All these belongings were transported from
Eaglesham to the homestead with teams and wagons. Syver, now held the quarter
section filed on by Oscar, until Palmer was of age and then it was transferred
to him.
While building with the Larson boys and Tony
Amundson, Tony encouraged Pete and I to look for land. We would work all week,
and then on Sundays go walking to scout out land. We would find the surveying
stakes marking the corners of the sections, and in this way try to get a mental
picture of the layout of the land. This vast land did look good so Pete and I filed
each on our own quarter, Ray being too young to file. Upon arriving at the land
office in Donnelly, we decided to flip a coin as we each had our heart set on
the same quarter. The coin fell in my favor, but Pete’s disappointment was so
evident that it was decided I would file on one further north and east of this.
After the Larson’s were settled, Ray, Tony, Pete and I borrowed the Larson’s
team and wagon and started hauling spruce logs to build a shack on Pete’s
homestead. This was finished and moved into just a few days before Christmas
1928. We didn’t get snow until after Christmas that year. The Larson’s invited
us three young men for Christmas dinner - making 16 (17 with Hazel) in all to
celebrate their first Christmas in Canada!
Esther, the youngest Larson child who had
had her 10th birthday on the train en route to Canada has many vivid memories
of this 'big' episode in her life. One of these being the worry of safely
transporting her beautiful white cat to their new home in Canada.
It was decided that the cat would be allowed
on the carload with other livestock and that the boys would be responsible for
its safekeeping. Upon the arrival of all their belongings and Esther’s great
anticipation of again having her cat, she learned the sad news: at the first
train stop out of Minot, where the livestock was watered and fed, her very
frightened cat had taken advantage of the open door, and much to the boy’s
dismay, could not and would not be beckoned back to continue the journey.
Another memory is the hard water and how
impossible it was to get the laundry clean especially the dirty clothes of the
men who were burning brush piles as they cleared the land. A well had been dug
on Bert’s quarter so water was plentiful, but so very hard! She remembers her
mother putting wood ashes into the water the night before washday, and then
carefully pouring the water off next day and it was then soft. They did have a
Maytag gas motor washing machine brought from Minot. A fence for the livestock
surrounded the yard, and as a clothesline had not yet been put up, this fence
was used for laundry. She remembers that at that time coffee was 25¢ a pound
and was always mixed half and half with roasted barley.
Pete,
Ray and I were starting to clear off small plots on our quarters. Our main diet
was LUPSKOS and CLUB. Lupskos was made by boiling potatoes and adding chunks of
meat, salt and pepper - making a sort of stew. Club is dumplings made from raw
grated potatoes and flour. Pete called this latter dish 'crumla.'
I
remember with much disgust an episode that happened on the train coming to
these parts. There was a man on the train who was somewhat of a shark and
through a ‘Sleight of hand trick’ swindled $5 from each of us. To this day I
get ‘mad at the thought of it’.
[While relating the story, they sheepishly
commented that they would rather not have this written down. —Twyla]
Towards the fall of 1929, Albert Nybakken
and I and some of the Larson boys built a log cabin on Albert’s quarter. Pete
had gone north of the Peace River to Brownvale to work with George Wright at
Billy Wilson’s farm (Olive Larson’s father). That winter, 1929-30, Albert’s
shack was home for Albert, Ray, Pete, and I. James and Stuart Ditch came in
early 1930 with the idea to claim a homestead too. They did file and later in
1930 each shipped up a carload of ‘Settlers Effects.’ Stuart’s carload arrived
on June 30th and James’ in the fall. Along in Stuart’s was a team of horses for
Albert Nybakken called ‘Bess and Roanie’. They were a very good team and
performed well for Albert. Pete had a team of horses. A cow and calf came on
James’ carload. Also in this carload, Dad and Mother [Reinert and Dora (Nelson)
Emerson] sent up a cow for Ray and I, beds, quilts, and some dishes to help set
up our home. Clifford Zethren, a close friend of our family, came with James
and visited for three months or so.
About this time, Tony was foreman of a road
crew, so Tilda and Ruth were hired on as cooks. This was north of Tangent. Hazel
was just little and stayed with Grandma Larson and Esther. Weekends they came
home. Esther recalls Grandma making 17 - 18 loaves of bread at a time, two or
three times a week as feeding all the men still at home was quite a task.
During the winter of 1929-1930, Grandma Larson and Esther went back to Dakota
for a visit. Before returning to Canada
1930 marked the first crops seeded and
harvested by Pete, Ray and I. Ten acres were seeded to Garnet wheat on Pete’s,
and 8 or 9 acres to Oats on Ray’s and mine. Ray had now become of age and filed
on the quarter adjacent to mine, and these 8 - 9 acres were ours together.
The summer of 1930 Rueben and I built a log
house on my quarter. A barn had been built in the spring to be ready for Stuart
Ditch’s carload in June. Pete was home in Dakota that summer working. James,
Ray, Lola, Stuart and I lived in this house the winter of 1930-31. The winter
was spent hauling out logs for more homes. Also at this time, we started
building a sawmill. During all this time
we were slowly clearing the bush off our quarters. The summer of 1931, I worked
on the railroad in Eaglesham on maintenance.
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| IMAGE: Wagonload of turnips at Ole Emerson's Log House. Trusty horses were Frank and Ned. File from Edwin J. Ostrom's collection. |
The sawmill was now working and winters were spent cutting and hauling logs. Albert Nybakken helped often as sawyer on the mill. Lola and Stuart had built and were now living on their quarter. While sawing lumber, meal preparations were shared by us three Emerson’s living together. James cooked breakfast, I dinner, and Ray supper. Pancakes for breakfast were a mainstay. Moose meat and potatoes were the main meals; also salt pork was very common.
A log schoolhouse was built on Cecil Bice's
land in 1929-30. This school was called the Fox Creek School. Neighbors in the
area all helped take out logs, Syver Larson built the walls, and Carl Peterson
roofed it.
The first teacher came from Jasper, Alberta
in 1930. Her name was Dora Doyle. This was her first position and she was 18
years old. She was always part of the community fun and went with us
everywhere. She stayed at the Gicks' the first two years and at the Larson’s
the third year. She was loved by everybody and still is held with high esteem by
all those who knew her then. She stayed in our area three years. Many of the
young homesteaders had their eye on her, but she remained friends to all and is
still single to this day.
During these years dances were held in the
Fox Creek School house and were one source of entertainment and fun. Bert or
Louis would often play the fiddle, or Pete on the accordion. Ball games in the
summer were another form of fun with friends around the area. We were by no
means the champs in these events, but nevertheless had lots of fun. One July
lst I remember the trip to Wanham Sports Day, driving in George Larson’s one-ton
truck. The truck box was full of people and of course a large lunch box held
the day’s supply of food. It was very wet and muddy, and we pulled the truck at
least 8 to 10 miles. A long rope was attached to the front axle and through all
the mud holes we got out and pulled. More fun was had during this than I
remember of the actual Sports Day.
In 1933 Rueben, Tom Knutson and I went to
Gibons' (north of Edmonton) to work for Hills farm for the fall. We drove my
1926 Model T Ford that I had bought from Tony.
These years were busy, mostly clearing land
and building barns and houses. Help was always given to other homesteaders when
putting up buildings. Though I was now 22 years of age, I was never interested
in girls, mostly because I was so bashful around them.
It was at these local dances that I became
interested in Ruth. It was the look in her eyes that had its effect on me, and
we began our courtship. She was 18 years old. We continued dating for four
years.
While courting, I cooked for a road crew of
10 - 12 men in my log shack. These men, mostly Frenchmen, stayed with me and
were cutting right-of-ways for the roads in the area. Tony Amundson was the
foreman for this crew. Ruth baked all the bread, and brought down cookies and
pies for me up at Tony’s place every day. Ray, who had all along lived with me,
now moved in with James as he had built his house.
Ruth and I had wanted to get married earlier
but couldn’t afford it, so on November 24, 1934 we were married in a double
wedding with Selmer and Mabel Campbell at the home of a Presbyterian minister
in Grande Prairie. We stood in an archway in his home during the ceremony. I
had bought a diamond ring and wedding band for $10 for Ruth .
My suit also cost $10. Ruth sewed her wedding dress - it was a Royal Blue long
dress. Selmer and I had borrowed a Model T Ford Coupe from Carl Peterson to go
and get married. Roads were bad with much snow and again we pushed much of the
way. Our first night was spent at the Grande Prairie Hotel. Then, after
purchasing some of the needed supplies we returned home. Money was scarce, so
only a few necessities were bought. Days later, the Larson’s hosted an Open
House for both couples, and we received many valuable wedding gifts. Larson’s
gift to Ruth was a horse, ‘Birdie’, which we used for years. Our home was 2
miles east of the Larson’s.
Ruth was very homesick these first months as
life at her home had been very busy with many of the boys still at home, and
now the change was dramatic. She would often walk home to spend the afternoons
with her mother. During this first year of marriage Ruth was cook and I her
flunkie for another road crew cutting the right-of-way for the road to Belloy. Tony
was again the foreman.
These depression years were known as the
Hungry Thirties by some or the Dirty Thirties by others, but I can’t call them
either! We always had ample food and though we had to make our own shoes out of
wood, and our clothes were patch upon patch, we never suffered. This was very
good experience and I’m often glad for the many valuable lessons learned
because of these circumstances.
Our first child was born in September 1936.
Darrell was a very colicky boy so he changed our lives considerably. A crib and
a dresser were made prior to his birth out of rough lumber that had to be sized
and planed by hand. Then Russell joined our family in October 1938. Both boys
were born in the Grande Prairie Hospital. Around this time, George Larson had
taken the contract to cut and hew railroad ties. We camped in the bush south of
our place about 8 miles using two granaries - one for a cook shack and the
other for a bunkhouse. We hired Louise Childers as cook. Louis, Bert, George,
Selmer, Ole, Pete and myself worked the whole winter on this project. It was at
this time that Ole (Larson) and Louise were courting.
During the Christmas season, only a few of
us went down to camp. One evening Selmer and I decided to make an apple pie. So
we made the crust, rolling it out with a quart jar, but as we rolled it out, it
would gradually shrink to its original size. We rolled it over and over and it
soon became dark in color. We both got the giggles and would roll it out just
to watch it shrivel. Selmer commented that it was alive! Deciding that this was
a losing battle, we prepared the apples, sugar and cinnamon, rolled out the
crust and before it could shrink, dumped the apples in the center, grabbed the
four corners bringing them into the center and twisted them securely. Onto the
pie plate it went and into a hot oven. We sat and waited for it to be done and
when ready cut it in half. We each ate our half, and it was superb.
We worked all winter hewing these ties,
hauled them to the siding at Eaglesham, and in the spring we peeled them. This
turned out to be a raw deal! The man with whom we had taken the contract was a
crook and didn’t even have the contract from the Railway. We did get a little
out of it, but not very much. Albert Yakked did my chores during these winter
months.
It was also during this time that Louis and I decided to trap muskrats in the spring. We started in March and trapped until the first of May. Ruth did the chores at home. We would leave on a Monday morning with grub to last a week and spent the days in the swamps trapping. Our camp was built in a spruce thicket and we built our beds out of spruce boughs. These beds would compare to any waterbed! Many mornings our blankets were covered with six inches of snow. In the evenings we would flesh and stretch the hides on stretchers. Each Saturday night we returned home with many pelts. If my memory serves me right, we averaged 35¢ to 50¢ a pelt, with the best pelts bringing up to 75¢. Brother Ray and Ross McLennan were also trapping a little farther south of us.
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| IMAGE: Ole Emerson's broad axe. File from the collection of Edwin J. Ostrom. |
It was also during this time that Louis and I decided to trap muskrats in the spring. We started in March and trapped until the first of May. Ruth did the chores at home. We would leave on a Monday morning with grub to last a week and spent the days in the swamps trapping. Our camp was built in a spruce thicket and we built our beds out of spruce boughs. These beds would compare to any waterbed! Many mornings our blankets were covered with six inches of snow. In the evenings we would flesh and stretch the hides on stretchers. Each Saturday night we returned home with many pelts. If my memory serves me right, we averaged 35¢ to 50¢ a pelt, with the best pelts bringing up to 75¢. Brother Ray and Ross McLennan were also trapping a little farther south of us.
On one of these trapping trips, around the
first of April, while scouting around for more sloughs to trap in, we spent the
afternoon in a hair-raising adventure that I've since thought very foolish. Coming
over a knoll, we saw a hole in the ground with all the grass pulled up around
the opening. There was still a little bit of snow on the ground, but it was
obvious that something had been rooting around. We had no idea what this was or
what was in the hole so we thought we had to investigate. It was decided that I
would crawl into the hole. This hole went down on a slant and was almost too
small for me, but as I squirmed and wiggled I inched forward. When I reached a
larger opening I raised my head, and looked into the eyes of a bear! I was
inches away from his snout and guess what I did? Fast and furious, I began
struggling backwards and uphill in this small tunnel.
It took a lot longer getting out than it did
getting in! Once out, we discussed what we should do. We decided that we had to
shoot it and all we had were .22 rifles. So I crawled partially down the hole
again and shot many shots into the bear’s head. Not knowing if the bear was
dead or not, I positioned my gun barrel against the bear and the stock in my
hand and slowly edged forward thinking I could feel any movement from the bear
in the barrel of the gun. I crawled back out and curious fools as we were,
decided that now that he was dead we would have to get it out. We agreed that I
would again crawl down in and grab hold of his fur with both hands, and when I
kicked my feet Louis would pull us both out. It was a beautiful black bear
about 3 years old. Neither one of us could stomach the thought of eating bear
but knew that others did and in those years waste was unheard of. We gutted him and walked over to Ray and
Ross' camp and told them about the bear. The next day they went and got it and
they used it for meat. At this time, we were eating a lot of wild duck meat and
wild duck eggs. Some of the ducks were tough as buckskin!
Another incident while trapping was again
involving bears. While checking our traps, we heard the sound of crying - just
like a human baby. We followed the sound, and came upon two small cubs crying
and nudging around the base of an old burnt tree stump. These cubs were very
young - only about one-foot-long; one was black and the other one brown. Their
cry was very loud and we suspected that the mother had either been shot or had
died, so we decided to shoot them, but even after many shots we couldn’t stop
their cries. This was very touching as the sound so much resembled a baby’s cry
and it seemed endless till it finally quit. This too was very foolish as I
think back on it. If the mother had been alive, we would never have lived to
tell the tale. We skinned these cubs and kept their hides nailed to a granary
wall for years to come.
During the late thirties, two young girls
came to our area as Gospel workers from Three Hills, Alberta. The McLean girls
were very much loved and respected by the community, and yet no one was
interested in what they came to share with us. In the early spring of 1940, I
was returning home with a load of ice from Selmer’s dug out, to be used in our
icehouse for summer refrigeration. On the way, we met a small cutter, and the
driver jumped out and approached us inviting us to gospel meetings to be held
at the Larson’s home. We weren’t interested at all! But after we got home, Ruth
and I talked it over and felt obligated to go because it was at the home of
Ruth’s parents. Shortly before we were going to leave, a neighbor came over,
quite obviously for an evening visit. Ruth
decided to go even so, and I kept Darrell and Russell at home, putting them to
bed at the usual time. She walked the
two miles there and back in the 20 degrees below Fahrenheit weather. When she
returned we were still drinking coffee and visiting, but being late, he left
soon. After stoking the fire and going to bed, I asked Ruth what this man,
whose name was Henry Werner, had spoken about. The Second Coming of Christ had
been his topic, and she repeated some of the Scripture verses from Matthew 24
that he had used. “Other shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and
the other left.” Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be
taken and the other left.”
Not thinking too much about this, certainly
not being concerned, I went to sleep. Later in the night, I awoke and sat up
erect, startled by what, I do not know. From the doorway came a voice directed
to me saying, “You better get saved.” In my sleepy state, I thought nothing of
this and slid back down into bed. Again this voice spoke - much more emphatic
this time and with authority, “Now don’t you put it off!”. Now, I did know what
‘being saved’ meant. My godly mother had impressed us children in childhood of
our need to receive Christ as our own personal Savior. Upon hearing this voice,
the second time, I slipped out of bed, knelt down beside the bed and woke Ruth.
There, we gave our hearts to the Lord together. I have never regretted this
decision that we made. The Lord was very real to me and I knew God had really
done something for me. I shared this experience with many of our family and
neighbors. Although much opposition would be ours over the next while, we could
see God working in our lives - changing our desires and causing us to want to
live our lives for Him. Many habits of mine, I knew, were not pleasing to God,
and my new desire was to live according to what the Bible taught.
It was the end of 1940, when a baby girl was
born to us in our home, with a district health nurse from Tangent assisting. Her
charge was $10 and at the time I didn’t have $10 to give her. When I asked her
if I could pay her later because I didn’t have the money, she smiled and said,
“Well, then I’ll take the baby.” Shelby was a precious little girl, but only
loaned to us for not quite two years. She died of a ruptured appendix which had
not been diagnosed and when surgery was performed, peritonitis had already set
in. She suffered much and yet the God Whom we had so recently put our trust in
makes no mistakes. When George Larson and Tilda came over to our house on
November 21st to tell us of her passing, we just sat, without words, each alone
with his own thoughts. I was holding a small piece of paper; where I got it I
don’t know, but as our sorrow engulfed us, the paper became a small wad as I
folded, rolled and twisted it over and over. The silence became heavier and
this time I unfolded the paper–it was the back flap of a letter, and printed on
it were the words:
“For
we know that
all things work together
for good to those
who love God,
to those who are called
according to His purpose.”
found in New Testament passage Romans 8:28.
As I read this promise - a certain peace and
rest came to me that I cannot explain. When we were alone, I showed Ruth the
piece of paper, and together we knew this promise to be true because God
Himself said so. It was in this confidence that we could rest even though we
didn’t understand. Mr. McNaughton from the Peace River Bible Institute took the
funeral service at our home.
Just six weeks before Shelby’s death,
another baby boy had been born to us. Wayne was our biggest baby, weighing over
8 pounds.
Darrell, who had turned six that fall,
didn’t start school, as it was quite a distance and we felt he should wait
another year. On April 17, 1943, another tragedy in our lives claimed his young
life. It was the day of Mrs. Gicks funeral, and Ruth
didn’t attend as she was looking after some of the young children at one of the
homes. I was a pallbearer and as we carried the casket from the schoolhouse to
the waiting wagon, a voice as if from one standing right next to me said, “The
next funeral will be at your house.” Again, like the voice that had spoken to me that night in bed, I
shrugged it off. Little did I know, that I, as pallbearer would not even see
this casket to the cemetery, before I got the news of Darrell’s passing. The
road to the cemetery went right past the home where Ruth was, and she had sent
someone out to get me. Walking into the yard, I was told of the gun accident
that had taken Darrell’s life. These were difficult years for us. Sorrow heaped
on sorrow. Darrell had been such a comfort and blessing to us while grieving
over Shelby. He often spoke of heaven; it was so real to him, and he was
confident that we would see Shelby again. He reminded us time and time again,
as he watched Ruth struggle with tears as she put away Shelby’s things, and as
he himself felt her loss; that heaven knew no sorrow, and there would be no
sickness or tears there. It was as if he had a special knowledge of heaven, and
he longed to go there - God’s way of preparing us. What a comfort.
July 1944 brought another baby girl into our
home. Janis was born in the Grande Prairie Hospital. How happy we were to again
have a little girl. Russell started school which was now located on Grandpa
Larson’s property 23 miles away.
All
during these early years we depended much on wild game for meat. There were no
hunting seasons, so we hunted as we needed it. One trip I remember was when
Louis, Palmer, Pete and I took a team and wagon down to the Smoky River and
camped a few days. Palmer and Louis went one direction, Pete and I another -
following the riverbanks. On a ridge below us I saw what I thought was a deer
lying down, his antlers resembling that of an uprooted stump. As I injected a
shell in the barrel of my 8-mm, he stood up. I fired and the deer fell. I ran
down the slope with my gun and my knife. Coming up to the deer, I laid my rifle
down, stepped over the deer’s back with one leg and grabbing the horns with my
free hand was about to cut his throat. In a flash, the deer got up - I
straddling him with my knife in one hand and hanging on to the horns with the
other hand. Off we went - through the bush, down into a ravine, hanging on for
dear life. My thoughts turned to my knife: I was afraid of it at the precarious
speed we were going and yet it was my only weapon. As we came to the bottom of
the ravine and started up over another knoll, my weight so far up on his front
shoulders caused his knees to buckle under. That was my chance. I twisted his
head sideways and slit his throat. When Pete arrived at the point where I had
shot the deer, there lay my rifle with not a sign of either of us. A holler
located me.
We did as we always did, flipped a coin for
the horns and Pete got them. In the winter we hung the meat outside, covering
it well, then just sliced off thin pieces with a broad axe to fry. Otherwise we
canned the meat.
During 1947 I became sick. For almost a year
I didn’t feel well and doctors finally sent me to Edmonton. The X-rays showed
that my kidneys weren’t able to get rid of the waste because of a defect from
birth. In 1948 I had three surgeries to correct this, the third one removing my
left kidney. These major surgeries and the poisoning effect it had on my body
made recovery a slow process. Being sick for such a long period of time made it
necessary for me to sell my farm equipment, cattle and horses. My brothers and
brothers-in-law farmed my land for me. In 1949 I bought the meat market in
Eaglesham and we moved into town, staying there for a few years. It was while
living there that Twyla was born in December. In 1952, because of everyone
missing the farm life so much, and my recovery completed, we moved back to the
farm, and slowly bought back machinery and livestock. People were awfully good to us during this
time. Brother Ray gave us a cow which we greatly appreciated. In September 1956
our last child, Gayleen was born. We were still living in my homestead shack
with an 18’ x 22’ addition on it. In 1957 we built a new home with much of the
lumber used coming off our homestead land. What a luxury to have running water,
and other modern conveniences!
We kept on farming till 1966 when we sold my
homestead to Russell, who had married and started his own family. Wayne too had
married and had bought land. Janis was in Nurses training at Lamont, Alberta,
when Ruth and I moved to Kelowna, B.C. [approx. 685 miles to the south]. Twyla
and Gayleen were with us, both still being in school. This was the first major
move of any of us who had come here together from North Dakota, so it was a big
step. The community that we had helped establish, meant much to us and we
realized how deep our roots had really grown. We bought a home in Kelowna and
life was very different in the city, and even though we were very lonely at
first we were really happy about our move. Contributing much to this was the
church we attended and the wonderful friends we learned to know and love. Our
years there were enriching ones.
Twyla returned to Sexsmith for three years
at the Peace River Bible Institute and Janis completed her nurses training and
moved to Seattle to work. There she met and married Louis Minaglia. He became a
Christian before their marriage and we all learned to love and appreciate him. Almost
two years later, after suffering with cancer, God took him home.
In the
same year, only 8 months later, Ruth too was suddenly taken from us. On December
5th, 1972, upon returning home from a Christmas Carol Festival, we were hit
head-on by a small vehicle driven by a very intoxicated person. Ruth ’s brother, Louis, and wife, Olive, had just
moved to Kelowna and were with us, as well as Gayleen. Both Ruth ’s and Louis’ lives were taken in this accident.
This was the deepest loss of all for me – we had shared life for 38 years. How
thankful I was that Ruth was ready
to meet God, and so thankful for the years together since we had knelt and made
our peace with God. Together it had been our desire to establish a godly home,
and to instill our children with a Christian heritage.
Though we made many mistakes, God has
honored our desire, as each one of our children has made a personal commitment
to Jesus Christ.
During this time Twyla had married and then
when Gayleen and I were alone in Kelowna, she and her family moved to be with
us. They lived 3½ years on my property in a mobile home. What a comfort it was
to have some of my family so near, and during these lonely years, children and
grandchildren were such a blessing. Another 3½ years were spent living next
door to each other in Westbank [also in British Columbia, roughly 15 miles
southwest of Kelowna].
Janis had remarried and was living in Sacramento, California. Gayleen took three years of Bible School training at Sexsmith, and then she too married a farmer and moved to the Peace River Country. Twyla and her family also returned to the Grande Prairie area. This all helped to make my decision to sell my home and move back to be near my family.
 |
| IMAGE: Sister and brother, Alice [Emerson] Ostrom and Ole Emerson taken 1980. File from the Edwin J. Ostrom collection. |
Janis had remarried and was living in Sacramento, California. Gayleen took three years of Bible School training at Sexsmith, and then she too married a farmer and moved to the Peace River Country. Twyla and her family also returned to the Grande Prairie area. This all helped to make my decision to sell my home and move back to be near my family.
This year, 1986, marks 58 years since I came
to Canada to homestead, and it’s a thrill to witness the progress that has
taken place down through the years.
It has not been easy for me to write this
story. I do not want to create the impression that my life was just one crisis
after another. Rather, I want to testify that for each tragedy that came my
way, there was a new supply of grace from which to draw new courage as I exercised
my simple faith in God. I must admit that my journey through life is not always
the way I would have chosen. But if God could use my suffering to help fulfill
His purposes, I can only say, “As for God His way is Perfect”. Someday I will
understand perfectly the purposes that God fulfilled by leading me through this
pathway of life.
[end]
Rest assured that Ole shared the exact names and birth dates in his original story. In respect to the living, I have tried to remove specific dates and detailed names of the most recent (living) generation. Researchers of this family can contact me by email for more information.
It is comforting to read how Ole was able to work through his losses and difficulties. Everyone has to discover a way that works for them. Here was how Ole did it.
Once again we are at the conclusion of this week's story. I want to thank Cousin Ed and his family for helping to bring these stories to us. It is so entertaining to learn of the life and efforts to homestead in the Peace River Valley area of northern Alberta, Canada. Hope you enjoyed this post and that you have a good week. See you next time and thank you for stopping by.
The URL for this post is: http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-emersons-according-to-ole-part-two.html
Please comment regarding this post by clicking the URL above and then use the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at dsteff4246[at]gmail[dot]com.
[end]
Rest assured that Ole shared the exact names and birth dates in his original story. In respect to the living, I have tried to remove specific dates and detailed names of the most recent (living) generation. Researchers of this family can contact me by email for more information.
It is comforting to read how Ole was able to work through his losses and difficulties. Everyone has to discover a way that works for them. Here was how Ole did it.
Once again we are at the conclusion of this week's story. I want to thank Cousin Ed and his family for helping to bring these stories to us. It is so entertaining to learn of the life and efforts to homestead in the Peace River Valley area of northern Alberta, Canada. Hope you enjoyed this post and that you have a good week. See you next time and thank you for stopping by.
-- -- --
The URL for this post is: http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-emersons-according-to-ole-part-two.html
Please comment regarding this post by clicking the URL above and then use the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at dsteff4246[at]gmail[dot]com.
Copyright (c) 2016, Darlene M. Steffens. All rights reserved.
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