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LAKE OF THE WOODS ELEVATOR

This wooden grain elevator on the CPR Estevan Subdivision is the oldest grain elevator in Manitoba and is also believed to be the oldest standard-plan elevator in Canada.

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The elevator was constructed in September, 1897 although I have also read that construction started in 1892 and was completed in 1899, by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company.  In 1950 the footing was partially rebuilt and a scale was installed at that same time.  This led some to suspect that the elevator was rebuilt at this time. However, its characteristic squat style, quite different from those of other prairie elevators, supports a contention that it is original.

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The elevator became part of the Ogilvie Milling Company when, in 1954, the two companies merged. For reasons unknown, the elevator retained the original company name painted on its side. It was purchased in 1959 by the Manitoba Pool Elevators and then closed the elevator in 1968 and was sold to private interests.

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Considering the age of this elevator, I believe that it stands quite strong.

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PENINSULA SCHOOL No.: 907

After a ratepayers meeting in 1901 and the assurance to two East Coast landowners that their land would only be used for a school, the sum of $700 was raised to build Peninsula School.  Miss Anges Moore, with a second class professional certificate was hired for the year for an annual salary of $420.  She resigned within one month.

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The school was heated with coal and wood.  In 1927 the school was equipped with flat bowl coal oil lamps and then in 1950, oil burners were installed.  The school had a well stocked library with two sets of encylopedia, the World Book and Book of Knowledge, and wall maps.   The students were active in sports and 4H as well as community centered activities such as Christmas Concerts, picnics and dances.  It even hosted a funeral.

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In 1934-35, it was reported that teachers at Peninsula School were paid $30 per month plus board.  The family boarding the teacher would receive a $15 per month credit to be applied to their taxes.

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The school closed in 1960.

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BELFRY SCHOOL No.: 627

The Belfry School District was established in January 1891 on land donated by local farmer, Warren Belfry from whom the school name was derived.

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Five years later, the building was moved to its present location where it remains somehwat stable.  The floor is caving in so I did not attempt to enter beyond the front step.

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Due to low numbers, the school was closed between June 1940 and January 1945. The school closed permanently in June 1962 and the remaining students were bused to Elva School, Pierson School, or Melita School.

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Some of the teachers who worked at Belfry School included: Miss Hope (1907), Miss Wheeler, Miss Rodgers, Miss Carson, Miss Fizzell, Miss Pheonix, Miss Archibald, Miss Strong, Miss Wells, Miss Shands, Olive House, Ruby Fletcher Reddaway (1939-1940), Miss Munro, Melba Dobbyn, Miss Cooper, Miss Stamper, Hazel McLintock, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Roblin, and Mrs. Betty Pederson (1961-1962).

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WAITING FOR OWLETTES

Last week I stopped at this nest to try and get a photograph of this Momma.  I didn’t get a shot worth sharing so today on our way out we stopped again with the hopes that I could catch one of her snowy, white owelettes.

No owlettes today, unless she was hiding them really well to make sure the wind didn’t knock them out of the tree.

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My husband has eagle eyes and spotted this nest while driving.  Good eye Hon.

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GHOST TOWN

This little ghost town has been on my must see list for some time.  Being stuck in the house for 3 weeks, Friday was the perfect day to get out and see something different.
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Gordon Phillips, a Mechanical Engineer and notable resident of Lauder, wrote in his book “The Rise and Fall of a Prairie Town”:  The town of Lauder did not come into being until after the arrival of the railroad in 1891. The first settlers however came into the district eight to ten years earlier. The first one to settle into the area was  Mr. W. J. Higgins.
The first post office for the district as established in the home of W. J. Higgins in 1884 and was known as the Melgund post office. Before that, people got their mail from Brandon or Souris by anyone who happened to make a trip there. It closed in 1889 but there were post offices in Hartney and again Lauder, after the railroad was built.   The first school was built and opened on July 11, 1884. It was named the Rose School, later renamed Melgund School. There were multiple schools built in the years to follow.
There are conflicting reports on the naming of the town. One report says that it was to be called Bradford and another that it was to be called Rochester. In any event, the C.P.R. named it Lauder after the Venerable Archdeacon John Strutt Lauder, Rector of Christ Church in Ottawa.
In March, 2019 June Timms reported as follows:  Lauder was very well established for many years, but it slowly began to dwindle as the farm population grew smaller as well as transportation evolved. There two factors are the main factors as to why many prairie towns became nearly extinct to this day.   To this day the Lauder Community Inn is the hub of the community for the Lauder area.  It serves all ages in a variety of different ways. It provides a Postal Outlet for the community which is well used and includes mail services for Maple Grove Colony close by and, with the increase in online shopping, has become an important means of receiving parcels.  We are able to use the “Inn” to hold meetings, Sunday School, crafting events, exercising, “leave a book, take a book” and enjoying recreational time. It houses a piano, pool table, meeting room, and coffee shop/convenience store. We are also able to enjoy the fellowship of lunches together a few times per week.
Though the population of the town of Lauder has dwindled to only four people, six people at certain seasons, the surrounding community continues to thrive. We have an enviable array of age groups, from young families, to senior residents, who have chosen to remain in the community.
The community also has a community hall, and a United Church that are still active and viable. We are proud to say that we are still able to operate a Sunday School which has about ten members currently. The hall is used for funerals, or funeral lunches and many other rentals over the course of the year.
Coming into the town, this was the first home we came across.  I have seen many photos posted from this town but I had no idea that this was right there, in this little place, surrounded by other things. And where others live. Like, Snowflake, Manitoba, except there is more here than there.
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The resident of this house was out sunning himself in the grass when we pulled up. When I got out of the car he took off so fast that he didn’t even touch one of the steps going into the house.  He was a large, tabby cat. The kids figured they were going to lure him outside and rescue him!

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I’ve seen photos of this truck and house many times but it was what was behind it that really caught my attention.

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A Studebaker.  What an incredible old truck.  Possibly 1948 to 1953.  I was told today that its likely a 1950’s.  The old vehicles don’t typically get me too excited but these two old trucks were in excellent condition.  So nice to see.  When I posted same on Facebook, one lady even replied giving the name of the owner of this truck.  So cool.

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 A short drive down the street revealed more abandoned homes but also a couple of occupied residences.  My son wasn’t happy about me getting out and taking photos but I assured him that the people that live in this town are probably pretty used to people coming in and taking photos of the old houses.  And I had no intentions of taking photos of homes or properties of the homes that are lived in.

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I’ve seen this house posted numerous times.  I would imagine it was very elegant in its time.  Its very treed in at the front and I wasn’t prepared to tresspass.

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This nice brick house was right across the street.  There were several old homes in this town and I could have photographed several more but only stopped for the ones that really caught my attention.

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I wasn’t going to stop for this house but did when I noticed the sign above the door.  The home of G. Ramsay.  Of course the first thing I thought of was Hell’s Kitchen.

If your interested in this kind of stuff, I really do suggest you make the trip.  I do hesitate to post the location of this town but I know that most people know where it is anyways. I just hope that everyone respects peoples property and belongings.

 

 

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TOURING

This afternoon Colton was feeling a little couped up and asked if I had any house hunting I wanted to do.  I can always house hunt!  So we headed out down a road that I wanted to check out.  About 15 minutes into the drive, we came upon this.

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This was shot from the road with my long lens.  As I likely won’t see permission to investigate further, I can’t give a history on the land.  I also don’t have the proper resource materials at home and won’t be able to retrieve them until who knows when with the closure of our local library.

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THIS OLD CAR

I have driven down this road numerous times.  I have never before seen this car.  And its not like you can miss it.

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This photo wasn’t a great angle but I had somewhere to be and didn’t want to turn around.  Besides, its close to home and easy to get to.

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What a great place for this old car.  And I’m just noticing this now but doesn’t it look like there is someone sitting in the driver’s seat?

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#thefrontstepproject

For the last week or so I have been seeing posts from other photographers who have offered to take photographs of families during this period of social distancing in our country in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19.  I saw small neighbouring towns participating in this activity and even though I don’t typically take photographs of people I thought, hey, its free, its fun, its history and its just a couple of photographs.  No posing, no direct contact.  So I posted on Facebook that I would be willing to do this in our community.

Within a couple hours I got a message from a family who lives in Killarney and runs one of our campgrounds during the summer but winters in a warmer location.  Ron & Cheryl spent their winter in Blythe, California and had every intention of staying there until mid-April until they were notified by their health insurance provider that they needed to be back on Canadian soil before March 23rd.  They headed home and arrived in their motor home, at the campground on March 21st.  They did not stop for groceries, they didn’t pick up their mail.  They went home, set up their home in the deserted campground.  They had a family member deliver their groceries and they began their 14 day self-quarantine.

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I know that there has been a lot of talk in this small town about who should be out and about.  Being in self-quarantine because you have just come back from another country does NOT mean that you cannot go outside and go for a walk or walk your dog.  So if you plan on calling the snitch hotline, don’t waste your time.

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Cheryl and I discussed before-hand what kind of photos we wanted to take and I just followed them.

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And while I look like I’m pretty close, I am not.  I used my 300mm lens for all of these shots.  Hence, some lost clarity and lack of depth of field.  Regardless, I love them.  These are the two most photogenic people I have ever encountered in my life.  I’d love to photograph them after their quarantine.

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Thank you Cheryl & Ron for letting me do this with you today.  I can’t tell you how happy this made me.

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THE MOVE FROM HOWICK

On June 8, 1881 this family left their 50 acre farm in Ontario and headed to Manitoba with a cow, calf, wagon, a small amount of oats and a few small articles.  Arriving in Portage la Prairie by rail, the family waited there for two days before making their way west.  At that time they bought a Red River cart and a team of oxen.

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Upon arrival to the designated spot to choose a homestead, all the decent farming land was spoken for.  While having pancakes with another farmer, the man advised Mr. of land in another range.  The next morning he set out and this land was his.  Newly acquiring the property, the necessary arrangments needed to be finalized so he set out the next day to walk to Deloraine.  The walked seemed to take forever with nothing or no one in sight.  He finally came upon some aboriginals and spent the night with them, breaking bread.  They next morning they finished the trek together.  He then set back to Portage la Prairie for his wife and 3 children as well as their trunks, bedding, a churn for water and 7 fowl.  Mrs. and the 3 kids slept in the covered wagon at night during the week long trek to their land.  Upon their arrival they set up a tent at another farm while Mr. broke the land.

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Mrs. was handy when it came to bread making and baked many a loaf for the bachelors.  At the time flour was $1.00 for a 100 pound sack.  She also tended to the ill and was a huge help to other pioneer women.

In 1882 the family sowed five acres to wheat and broke more to oats.  The crop was cut by cradle and was made to bands out of wheat ties sheave and stacked.  The following year, two men came along with a threshing machine they had just purchased in Brandon.  They cut the families crop for $25.00 and the families oxen were used to haul the machine to its final destination.  Mr. sold his wheat in Brandon, a trip that would take him 3 days  to make.

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In the winter of 1884 the wife and 3 of the children came down with diphteria.  One of the children passed away as well as a female neighbor.  The family traveled to Brandon for medical attention.  That same winter, Mr. suffered from snow blindness but Mrs. poulticed his eyes with tea leaves until they were better.

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The men traveled to 8 to 9 miles for wood.  They always took the cattle with them to allow them a good drink in the nearby river.

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The family built their first home in 1899 with logs from the Turtle Mountains.  During their life they had 9 children, two of which died very young.  Mrs. passed away in 1932 at the age of 80 years and Mr. passed in 1937 at the age of 96.  Mr. was the son of Samuel, a descendent of Ireland to traveled to Canada by ship.  James obituary stated he was  practical farmer and a first class manager which resulted in him being a great success in his farming operation.  He was a great friend and was made an honorary member of the Manitoba Grand Orange Lodge.  At the time of his passing, he was the oldest Orangeman in the Province.

Their son Samuel who never married took on the family farm and upon his death gave it to his nephew Harvey.

 

 

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THE DONLEY’S

Oh, this has been a tough one to wrap my head around but, I promised myself that I would not go out and photograph more properties until I dealt with the ones I had already taken, so….

Born in 1853, Mr. came to Manitoba as a young man from Ontario and purchased this land in 1881 for both surface and mineral rights.  In 1892 he purchased the SW 1/4 with surface rights only.

This photo was taken back in December during the Christmas break.  Looking at this photo now, I am actually impressed with the quality given that it was taken from the road, with the 600mm lens, hand held.  I must have had steady hands that day!

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His wife Susan arrived in Canada in 1882.  She lived with her brothers around the Brandon area and then headed down towards Souris to live with another.  Soon thereafter she met Mr. and they married in 1884.

As a couple they went through all the trials of an early pioneer family.  They lost their home to fire in the early 1900’s and were forced to live with neighbors until their home was rebuilt.  In 1906 their lost their 19 year old daughter to Brain Fever.  Conditions that may now be described as brain fever include encephalitis, meningitis, cerebritis or scarlet fever.

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Mr. accepted a position as the secretary-treasurer for the RM.  He was also a police magistrate and would act as an arbiter and then Judge.  Often, infuriated citizens would enter his office only to leave as his friend.  Mr. was said to be a a wise man.  He was part of a committee who pledged to build the local community hall.  On top of that, he was also the secretary treasurer for the local school.

A staunch Conservative, Mr. suffered a stroke while at the polling stations in 1923 and later developed pneumonia.  He died on June 29th.  Mrs. went to live with her son until her death in 1947.

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I cannot confirm when this house was built, if this family ever lived in it or if it was the second owners of this land that built the home.

On the day I visited this property for the second time, it was windy and cold and I walked through sometimes knee high snow to get a better shot of this house.

I’m not sure that I won’t go back there again for yet another look.

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REVISITING AN OLD FAVE

Back in February, on a beautiful sunny and mild day, I went out.  Just my camera and I.  It was just what I needed.  On my way home I thought I’d check for another place when I decided to check out an old favourite of mine, in the winter.

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This house was one of the very first contacts I made and I often think I’d like a re-do of the first shots that I took because of the growth I’ve made in my photography.  I may have to put it back on my to-do list.

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SPRING ASTRONOMY

Spring is the perfect time to get out and work on your night photography, especially milky ways.  Its something I’m interested in but not something I’ve done a lot of.  Hopeuflly this year I’ll make the time to do more of it.

The other evening, my husband was out picking up our son from hockey practice when he called and said, you  might want to photograph the moon.  He advised me to be fast and boy, he wasn’t kidding cause by the time I got out there and found the perfect spot, it changed drastically.

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BUBO VIRGINIANUS

Since finding the Snowy owl around Christmas time, I tend to drive down the backroads looking up now.

Yesterday on the way back to Killarney from picking up T, I thought I’d stop again to take photographs of this old barn.  I have taken photos of it in the past but I was itching to take a photo of something.

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T and I spotted it right away.  So I got the long lens on and had a look.  It had its back to us.  I framed my shot and honked the horn.  This could only go one of three ways.  It would turn, it would fly out or heaven forbid, it would fly into the barn.  It turned.

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It stayed until we left.  I discovered today that I need to do a lot more expermimenting with my long lens to get the quality of shot that I expect from myself and the lens.  I do realize that the longer the lens the harder it is to get the sharpness that I want.

There’s a good chance that this owl has a nest nearby.  The Great Horned Owl breeds in January and is nesting by February and March.  By the time the migratory birds return to the province, somewhere nearby, there will be a nest full of owlets.

I hope to see this one again, soon.

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WHITETAIL RD

A few weeks ago Colton, Trudie and I headed out to Minnedosa for a hockey game. Being somewhat new territory I scanned the area for something to photograph.

After the game we stopped at this old home not far off the highway.

The road was marked as a dead end and it was quite hilly. There wasn’t a lot of snow in the area and their was an occupied house across the road. I was happy with a road shot although I’m sure this old house was likely quite spectacular in its prime.

The only other thing standing on the property was this old barn.

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WE ALL FALL DOWN

Yesterday C had a game in Wawanesa and we arrived early so we ventured out to look for roofs.

I was about to turn around and head back to the rink when I spotted this.

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JOHN & ANNIE

James was born in Ireland in 1828.  In 1848 he immigrated to Ontario where he met Elizabeth.  They married in 1850.  Elizabeth is said to be the sister of Walt Disney’s Grandfather.  James and Elizabeth moved to Manitoba in 1889.    James was a wheelwright and Elizabeth wove carpets.  Together they had 10 children.

Their son John married Annie and together they had 6 children.  In 1902 they built their second home on this land, this stone home.  Before the family moved in, Annie painted the kitchen with a high gloss white enamel oil paint.  She died a few days later of lead poisoning.  This was a devastating loss to the family.  For many years their oldest daughther stepped in to help her father raise the younger children with the help of her aunt from Ontario.  In 1908 John remarried.

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In 1918 John and his second wife retired to the nearby town and John’s son Cliff took over the farm and the old stone home.  John helped Cliff on the farm and two years after his retirement, John was killed in a binder accident.

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In 1939 Cliff sold the farm and moved to Brandon where he worked as a carpenter and operated the Four Star Theatre at Rivers, Manitoba.  Cliff died at 62 years of age.

This beautiful field stone home still stands tall and was occupied up until a few years ago.  Rumor has it that the large home is very expensive to heat and decided to move.

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PATIENCE

I drive by this place twice a day, five days a week. I am waiting for it to get perfectly abandoned before I ask for permission for a closer look.

Maybe this summer.

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CRIMSON

This red beauty doesn’t look abandoned when you go by it at 100 km/hr. If you slow down and take a look, you’ll quickly realize it surely is.

When I asked around to inquire about a landowner I was told no one seemed to know who to contact.

Well, I lucked out and have been given the contact info. Now to decide if I wait until the Spring or not.

Regardless, I do need to have a much closer look.

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I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE…

I’ve known about this place for years but for some reason haven’t put it on my list to contact yet.

First off, it’s pretty grown over so I’m not sure what kind of photos I’ll get. I guess when the time is right, I’ll get around to it.

But for now, I know your in there.

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GRAHAM HOMESTEAD

James, born in 1841 in Mitchell, Ontario migrated to Manitoba on June 8th, 1881.  When leaving Ontario, he sold 50 acres of land. He had 9 children with his wife Jane.  When they arrived in Portage la Prairie, he purchased a team of oxen and a Red River cart.  He left his family in Portage.

Upon his arrival at Palmer’s Landing he was given a list of homesteads.  Because he was out of food he went back to the crossing with some other people and they advised him of homesteads of where his land is still farmed to this day.  Upon his arrival he needed to walk to Deloraine to make entry for the land.   His hired man stayed behind to break the land.

They homesteaded on this piece of land that I found while wandering. James passed in 1937 and his wife Jane in 1932.  Their son Samuel took over the farm until 1945 when him and his wife retired to Brandon.

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I thought the red barn and blue skies looked sharp together along this field of corn that seemed to go on forever so I stopped for a couple roadside shots.  Digging around for a little more history, I was thrilled to find some information on the barn.

In the winter of 1884 three of his children and his wife had diptheria when they lost one little girl.

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Samuel’s nephew took over the farm in 1946 and his son now farms the land.

When Jack & Jane moved to Manitoba, they first lived in a tent and then a soddy.  The original home is no longer on the property.  What remains is the barn, built in 1898 consisting of a 8 foot high field stone foundation.  The logs were dragged to the farm from the Turtle Mountains.

The family hauled their firewood from the Souris River, 8 or 9 miles away.

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While the photography is therapeutic for me, I can’t tell you how much I love being able to come home and find a history on something that caught my attention.  Imagining his trek to this piece of land and breaking this land by hand to earn a living to feed his family.  Love the history.