This yard was full of them and I didn’t know then when I pulled in.
Stayed tuned.
ONE OF MANY
I found this old truck in a yard with many other vehicles. Stay tuned.
BROKEN DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
Likely not. Or maybe. This truck and another car were parked on the edge of a field, up off ditch, in a field. Their placement was hard to take good pictures of because all around them were piles of other stuff that seemed to be pushed aside and out of the way.
This truck probably played a big part of someone’s farming operation at one time.
THIS OLD, PLACE
I found this old place on a tour I took one day. There wasn’t a house or anything there and I didn’t have permission to enter so I took the photos from the road. I figured, I’m out and about, I’ll take a few photos and see what I come up with. Well, I couldn’t find anything worth writing about except that the first recorded land owner was recorded in 1894 and then the land was sold to another family in 1904 who sold to another family in 1913. The current registered owner of the land has owned the land since 1943.
The sky was beautiful that day and honestly, there was a photo you couldn’t screw up.
THE DAILY MILK RUN
W.S.S was born in Tyner, North Dakota on December 22, 1881. He worked on various farms until 1910 when he decided to seek a “non-flooding area to farm” and moved to Canada.
He came to this area and purchased this land. He didn’t live there right away and lived in a rental or “boarded” across the road in a small village.  In 1922 he purchased a house that he purchased from the local blacksmith and moved it onto his property.
I do not know if this is the original house that was hauled onto the property but I do know from the current land owner that the house was small and as the family grew they added more and more on to it. It makes perfect sense to me that this could very well be the original house just from the layout of it.
W.S.S. eventually got married and together they raised 3 children on this farm, not to mention the grandchildren that would also be raised here. The family pasture was the site of many baseball games.
W.S.S. and his wife were community minded people and his efforts were instrumental in forming the local elevator, Co-Op and united church.
The family kept Percheron horses and they jointly owned a Case tractor and separator with another family.
In 1927 this barn was built and the family ran a dairy cow operation. The cows were milked in the morning and the children would deliver the fresh milk in little bottles to village members, by cart, on their way to school.
The boys farmed with their Dad for some years until the oldest left and moved to Oregon. Father and remaining son farmed together until Mr. & Mrs. retired and moved to town. Mr. passed away in 1968 and Mrs. in 1972. The son continued farming on the land and married and raised 4 children of his own on the family farm until he moved to town in 1990. The current landowner purchased the property in approximately 1996/97.
M & M were very active in their community, just like his parents. For many years the basement of their home was used to collect, sort and wrap gifts for the Christmas cheer. Upon moving to town Mr. was very active in establishing the recycling project.
IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Well, not really but this house would be right smack in the middle of a section of land and of course, I can’t confirm anything with the material that I have here.
I have had permission to photograph this house for some time. I went in the Fall and it was muddy.
I
So Cade and the kids stopped with me on the way home from Brandon one day and Cade drove in part of the way and I hiked in the rest. I didn’t go into the house but I did wander around as far as the snow would permit to get this tractor and a couple different angles of the house.
While it was the house that got my attention and led me to this old homestead, once I was there it was this barn that I really liked. Its held its own in our harsh Manitoba weather.
When we were driving out, Cade spotted this little rodent in our tire tracks so I got out of the car to chase him away so that we wouldn’t drive over him. I truly think he was blind because I could literally reach out and grab him if I wanted to and I followed him down our tire tracks for some time.
COMING OR GOING
I found these old photos the other day and realized I never posted them on Instagram so I thought I’d repost them here, just in case.
We visited this property thinking we were going to a house and found these cars and trucks and farming implements. And now that I’m talking about it I’m recalling the history of the home and know that I have posted about this day.
So I’m just going to leave these photos here and call it a throwback.
ONE SNOWY STORM
My last couple of outings have proved somewhat disappointing when it comes to finding a history for the properties and buildings I’ve been photographing. Well, not this one.
On Mother’s Day, Cade obliged and took me to this house that has been on my must see list. I had to get to it sooner rather than later as the landowner told me that once the cows moved onto the land, I would have to wait until they were gone.
Tucked into the section of land, we traveled up a road that went by a slough, around a nice little wooded area, right up to this house. When we pulled up, two large, black birds flew out of the house. We weren’t certain if they were vultures or ravens.
The original owner of this land, Mr. G was born in Kaldback, Iceland in 1855. He married his Mrs. who was described as “a handsome 23-year old lass from Fnjoskadal” on December 31, 1888. Together they had 10 children, 3 of which died in infancy.
Mr. came to Winnipeg in 1887 and worked on the railroad until he moved to the area in 1889. The couple lived on another farm until 1905 when they purchased this land and cleared it. They then built what was quoted as being “excellent buildings”. The home was said to be a haven to many a friend and stranger. The couple were known for their generous hospitality.
Mr. was a willing worker, despite of many years of blindness. Regardless he was able to complete many tasks. In 1934 he passed away and his wife died in 1940. Their oldest son Vilhelm (Bill, 1890 – 1969) farmed the land until 1940. Their other son, Siggi (1901 – 1974) farmed with his older brother for many years but left for the city after getting married in 1937. Siggi and his wife then returned to farm the family farm until it was sold to the M family.
The M family lived in the home for 21 years.
I am told by their son, Henry, that he has fond memories of the big old house and still visits it often. He told me that when his parents sold the home to move to Brandon, it was sold, move-in ready.
Then we found this, a 1948 Chevy Fleetside, 4 door.
When I asked Henry about this old car, I was really hoping he could tell me something, and he did.  This old car was taking the family to church in a snowstorm when it got stuck and the engine blew. The car was parked in this spot and never moved.
The frame of the car was moved to another part of the yard and another engine was purchased with the intention of the boys making a go-cart with it. I found it. As you can see, and confirmed by Henry, they never finished the project.
I am so happy I stopped to take these photos and that I was able to get the story on them.
Behind the house stood what I can only imagine, with a little help from the old black and white photo, what was once a magnificent old barn.
The barn was built into this hill and we were able to walk up the side to what remains to be what is left of the stone foundation. In the walls are the old hooks that tethered the horses.
I understand why Henry has such fond memories of this old farm and can only imagine how he must feel when he sees his old home in a state of ruin.
Thank you Henry, for sharing your memories and stories with me.
HOLA SCHOOL
Nestled in the oak-studded hills, Hola School District, (Hola is Icelandic for hills) was formed in 1897 and the school and a four-team stable was built that spring on land bought from the Crown for $3.00. The district borrowed $495 from Mr. Maulson and Mr. Olafson built the school. Classes started in June of that year and Mr. Thorne was the first teacher whom had 53 students enrolled all at various ages.
The school suffered some fire damage in 1923 and the floor had to be rebuilt. During the same decade, 4 side windows were also installed on the West side and two “piano” windows were installed on the East side of the school. In 1929 a larger basement was dug out and cemented and which allowed for a passage to the outside. This was a welcome addition for the young boys who feared ghosts would jump out of the trap doors they were accustomed to using on dark mornings when they came to light the fire.
Each November, the area would be crawling with men in white suits, deer hunting in the area. Children were not allowed out for recess in the school yard and were encouraged to stay inside. The surrounding hills were perfect entertainment in the winter for skiing and tobogganing. The spring run off was just as exciting with lots mini rivers and waterfalls that rushed towards the lake about a half a mile North of the school.
On June 30, 1953 only 8 students remained enrolled at the school and nine were needed to receive a grant to operate the school.
The building sits behind a commemorative cairn which was erected on June 28, 1987.
DEAD WOOD
We found this old tree driving through a field lane to an old house.
There seemed to be a lot of them in the area but I really liked the contrast of this one on the sky.
A fellow abandoned seeker messaged me and said, I took a photo of the same tree. Turns out this tree has a doppelgänger!
STRATFORD, ONTARIO
This was another property with not much history but as you can see, there’s not much there to report anyways. With the skies, I had to stop a take a couple of photos.
All that’s left is an old grainery and a shed of some sort. It was a warm but very windy day when I ventured out on my own and I didn’t feel like trekking through the snow which was still quite deep at the time.
LAND OF PLENTY
This is another tough one. I think I’m going to blame the current COVID-19 pandemic on this one as our library is not permitted to do inter-branch transfers. Anyways, I have some info but can’t confirm other info so I guess I’ll just go with what I know, kinda.
On a recent outing with Cade and the kids, we set out with the intention of finding and photographing one house and visiting a ghost town. Along the way, we found so many old houses and many of them we didn’t even stop at. I think I may have found a bit of a honey hole. Wahoo!
Okay, so back to the history. The first recorded family of this property owned the land for approximately 10 years. I was able to find a lengthy family history, I could not use any of the info because I could not match any info with certainty.
This land turned hands a few times since the start of this RM’s history. Mr. was born in 1869 in Waterford, Ireland and came to Canada in 1888. He landed in Brandon on July 4th and the next day headed to his first piece of land by oxen. He lived in a “shack” until he married and built a new home in 1893. The land he initially lived on was sold and this farm was acquired. Did they build this house? I do not know and I cannot confirm. They lived here until 1926 when they moved to town.
Mr. joined the United Church in town upon his arrival in Canada. He was a good singer and often sang to his family. He had been afflicted with infantile paralysis as a child and was lame because of it but he never allowed this handicap to interfere with his work or his community involvement.
Mr. was very fond of good driving horses and he and his family often drove to Oak Lake to visit his in-laws. Mr. passed away in 1940 and his wife in 1943. Together they raised five children.
As I said, the land is then sold again, multiple times but I cannot find any further information.
BUILDING A MYSTERY
This is a tough one. One, I can’t get the books I’d like to have to do the research and two, there is nothing in the stack of about 10 books that I have.
This house was about half way into the section but I could reach it with my long lens. Of course I wasn’t happy with the closer shots. While I’ll never turn down an opportunity to take a photo of an old house, it wasn’t why I was in the area.
This land is recorded to be acquired for the first time in 1898. It was then sold in 1901, 1902, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1917, 1919, 1923 and then to the current family (different owners within the same family name) in 1948. I would imagine it was a nice place to farm with a creek close by for watering animals and the home is set a little higher on the land.
I wish I could share more, but I can’t.
NORTHCOTTE
I love this little school.
Many times I leave this location thinking that I still haven’t achieved the perfect shot of it, so I keep going back hoping that one day I’ll get the perfect shot of it.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s close to home either.
LANCELOT
R.W. was born December 4, 1882 in Cumberland, Ontario and moved to Manitoba in 1886 when he was just 4 years old. His Grandparents immigrated to Canada from Belfast, Ireland.
Upon arriving in Manitoba his father listed his worldly possessions as his wife, children (4 at the time), two horses, two colts, two cows and $7.00 in cash. They knew their destination and settled in a one room 14 x 16 log shanty with a sod roof. Within 4 years, 4 more children were born. His wife was considered a frail woman. At the age of 36 she developed a cough and died.
Their son R.W. settled on this piece of land and in 1905 he married a woman from Fairfax. Their home was said to be very welcoming and the door was always open, so much so that ministers and evangelists made it their headquarters.
They lived first in a log house and then built this beautiful brick Eaton’s Earlsfield home which was later occupied by his Grandson and his family.
When I first spotted this house from a mile over, pulling up I knew this had to be an Eaton’s home. This is the 3rd one in my area that I have found. This was Eaton’s most popular style.
R.W. served on the local board for many years and was the chairman of the yearly local Christmas concerts.
Mrs. died in 1947 and Mr. eventually re-married and moved to Calgary. He passed in 1965.
Their son, L.W. married a widow with four children. Together they had a son of their own who went on to farm on the land. L.W. married and together he and his wife had three children.
Grandfather, son and grandson were all educated at the same school.
MORNINGTON
B.W. was born in Chili in 1871 and as a young boy returned to England with his family where they stayed until his mother passed away in 1887. At that time his family of 6 brothers and 4 sisters all went their separate ways. He came to Canada in 1888 and his brother followed him a year later.
In 1890 the brothers acquired this piece of land and lived in this old log house.
The land was broken with walking plows and oxen.
In 1891 their sister came to Canada and helped her brothers on their farm until she married. Her husband passed away in 1894 and at that time she decided to return to England. In 1892 their other brother came to Canada and purchased his own land not far from them.
The family was known for the musical ability and in particular their ability to play piano, organ and to sing and act. They also enjoyed cricket, tennis and football.
In 1899 they built a new house.
This property is beautifully treed and there are many outbuildings.
In 1910 they built this steel barn.
The brothers started raising horses and did so until the 1930’s. At one time there were 36 horses in the barn to be fed and watered and when needed, there were as many as 8 to 10 horses ready to work in the fields each day.
Horse power was used for crushing and the grain was cut and stacked until the Fall to await the steam threshing outfit of many workers. In 1918 they bought their own threshing machine and slowly the heavy machinery took over the work on the farm.
B.W. was married in 1903. Together they had 3 daughters.
B.W contracted pneumonia and passed away on November 18, 1923. May, his oldest daughter returned to the farm with her husband in 1927 when Uncle L took ill. In 1929 they moved into the small cottage with their sons to take over the farm from her father and uncle.
Uncle L and BW’s wife both passed away in 1965. BW’s grandson, CD later took over the farming operations on this land. He married in 1950 and raised 4 children here.
When Mrs. D sold this property, this farm had been a part of her husband’s family history for over 100 years.  Even after their retirement, Mr. D still drove out to the farm to keep up the property and do a little bit of farming. When Mrs. decided to sell, she was offered help to clean the property. By clean the property she assumed that these people were offering to clean the yard, etc.
These individuals attended to the house and property and helped themselves to personal belongings in the home, as well as grates and wood banisters from inside the home. They attempted to sell same online for a profit and when police were involved the discussion was deemed a misunderstanding between the parties.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 