Jim McConnell's Autobiography 1877 - 1957Canadian pioneer farmer in Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia |
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19. That was the only year I ever remember sowing wheat in June in Saskatchewan. Wheat sown up to as late as June 3rd gave a fair stand, stood about two feet tall, and ripened to a 20-bushel crop of good wheat. Fred had been to see Dr. Perrin and was told that he had TB in both lungs and well advanced. He decided to go East while he was strong enough and visit his friends. I later asked the doctor what chance Fred had, and he told me quite frankly that there was no hope for him, and that two or three months was all he could live since he was now so very frail. However, the doctors and everyone else were surprised to learn just how much tenacity and determination can exist in a man of frail and delicate appearance. Fred went to a sanatorium in Ontario and, within one year, was completely cured. He left the sanatorium in 1921 and was married that same year. So, in spite of what we thought and what the doctors had said, Fred still had another thirty two years to live, for he was well on in his eightieth year before his passing. Time was quickly carrying us along, and as I put in the 1921 crop, and even as we harvested it, we were not aware that for us the big prairie adventure was finished . Towards the end of thrashing, rain came and delayed us for a week. When it cleared, some of the crew had left, so I went to Rosetown to g et men. It so happened that I hired an elderly Bohemian man along with the others. His name was 'Louie.' At this time, we did not have a cook nor use our cook car, as the men were given their meals at the house. That old Louie proved to be well educated. He could speak four languages, and, at every mealtime, he kept telling us about British Columbia and how well a farmer could live on a small farm or a little poultry farm. He told of how mild the climate was -- so much nicer than it was in Saskatchewan. His talk was so convincing that before we had finished thrashing, we had decided to rent the farm and try our hand in British Columbia. When I went to school, the country west of the Rocky Mountains was not developed so I had really learned nothing about British Columbia. From Government circulars we received, it seemed there were plenty of opportunities to settle in the country west of Prince Georg e to Smithers or even on west to Terrace. About this time the Larson brothers, Carl and Louis, came and rented our land, and we began packing and getting ready to move to British Columbia. On November 16th. 1921 on a cold frosty morning, with our four children, we arrived in Rosetown. The oldest boy. Elmer. was ten and the youngest girl, Gertrude, was only four. We took tickets to travel as far west as Terrace. The weather continued cold. We waited two days at Jasper for a westbound train, and it was the first time that either the boys or I had ever seen the mountains. It was quite an experience to go out and climb up those foothills leading to the heights above. As we continued our journey west, we saw nothing that looked inviting until we got to Usk, and there the grass was still green. It was on a Sunday afternoon, about 3 p.m., when our train stopped at Terrace. The sun was bright and warm, and everything looked well. To me, the land was a disappointment and looked gravelly and hungry, and I mentally compared it with the black clay so level and rich at Rosetown which we had now left. The Government circulars had said Terrace was good for gardening and had an excellent temperate climate, and so, depending on that, we determined to settle here and try this different kind of farming. It was not long until we had bought a 20 acre piece of bushland situated about three miles out from Terrace, and on it was a snug log cabin to live in. A new era in our lives had begun, which was to last seventeen years. For us the days of adversity had beg un. Like all others, we were very slow to concede that for us the days of our achievements were ended.
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