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JOHN & MARY-ANN and PETER & ERNA

There’s a good chance that this home may look familiar to you.  I have been here 3 times now.  The first time I stumbled upon it with Makenna just as the sun was setting and I had one camera and one lens with me.  And honestly, the house creeped me out.  Makenna wouldn’t even get out of the Jeep.  A few months ago I went back for another look and made my way through knee high snow for a closer look.  The resident skunk let  me know that he was around by giving off his pungent aroma as a warning.  I went again this past weekend when I could wander around for some better shots.

I have to admit that I am slighting disappointed on the lack of history I can find!  I love the picture taking but I love the research too.  So, I can tell you that the first family to own this property was originally from Plymouth, England.  They came to Canada in 1850 then returned to England only to return again and settle in Ontario.

In 1890 John came West and chose this land as his farm.  He worked all summer and fall repeaing crops planted by earlier settlers.  Help walked from Souris to work the land in this area and grain was taken to Brandon by oxen or horses wherein the driver walked at least one way.

John returned to Ontario and in 1891 he married Mary-Ann.  They left for Manitoba on a colonial train, bringing with them a rail car load of lumber for a home and barn.  They also brought household furnishings, two cows and some horses.

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I’d like to think that this might be one of their carts, tucked away in the trees.  There are actually two there but the other one isn’t in as good condition as this one.

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The front of this home is very over grown and a good photograph is hard to get from any angle.  Its so overgrown in the front there just isn’t a good spot to get a shot without trees or branches.

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The second owner of this property,  PA being approximatley 47 years of age,  purchased this home and property with his wife.  Four short months later he died of a heart attack at the age of 47.  It is said that he lived a full life.  Born in Grigejewka, Russia in 1920, he moved to Manitoba with his parents at the age of 6.  He was only 11 years of age when his father passed away and at the age of 16 he and his mother took over the family farm.  He married in 1941.  purchased their own land in 1949.  They had 6 children.

He served on two school boards including the Turtle Mountain Scchool Division and was a member of the Gideon Organization for many years.

The back of the home is not as exciting and of course, this is where I can get the best shots.  I must admit that the open back door was very welcoming but aside from an old metal picnic like basket, there’s nothing inside to explore as the floor is caving in and is not at all safe.

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As I mentioned, the first time I set my eyes on this house, it kind of creeped me out.  I explored it alone this past weekend and I certainly did not get that feeling.  Its actually very peaceful and beautifully treed.  The back of the house was easily assessible with a large shop and off just into the field were two more outbuildings.  I’m sure this was a truly, beautiful home in its prime.

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WATCHER IN THE WOODS

Found this “watcher” while walking the trails at Bower Lake looking for a place to trout fish with my family.

He even has eyebrows!

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5 DAYS A WEEK, PART 2

This home is very visible, of your driving down the right highway.  It’s in the perfect location for a road shot.

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Once I have permission to shoot the entire property, I’ll post a better history.

 

 

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5 DAYS A WEEK

I pass this place every work day. One of these times I’ll get in there for a better look.

This one will be even more interesting given all the animals that live there.

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STAY TUNED

Found this while out and about touring the country side with my favourite people when my eagle eyed husband spotted this in the distance.

I have permission to explore now and hope to get out this weekend for a closer look.

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MORTON, ET AL

The orignial owner of this land came to Canada in 1881 from Kingston, Ontario and I am assuming, built this home.  The family moved into the home in 1882 with they raised 7 kids.

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Many more families would rent this home and land and raise there families here as well.  The home continued to be resided in up until 1980, which is the last recorded date that I was able to find.

I will make the assumption that the home was lived in later than the 80’s given the PVC windows.

The yard was very soft and spongee and not knowing what I was in for – I usually ask but didn’t when I called yesterday – I did not know if there were any wells that I needed to know about.  I was also told that the home is known to be over run with masked bandits so I really wasn’t interested in taking a further look.

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What drew me to this house orignally was the brick fireplace outside.  From the road I thought the house had stone pillars.  When I pulled into the yard yesterday I found the stone stove/firepit near the driveway.

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I would have liked to explore a little more.  There were some out buildings and I would have liked to get some better photos of the front of the house but I didn’t want to bother the eagles anymore.  When we left the driveway, Dad was waiting for us high in a tree, giving us the stare down.  Oh and the noise he was making is not what I would expect out of an eagle.

 

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THE EAGLES HAVE TAKEN OVER

For the last 5 days I have been lucky enough to be able to tour around with my family and today, my husband.  Of course they don’t have the enthusiasm that I do when it comes to an old house but they sure do like the wildlife that we come upon every once and again.

Today while we were going from one house to another we spotted an eagle.  As we drove a little further ahead I spotted a nest and for some dumb reason decided that I needed a photo of it.  Well all I would have shot, picture wise, was a mass of twigs.  Well when I zoomed in, which Cade figures was about 50 yards, was a white head with an orange beak.

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I didn’t get out of the car as we didn’t want to distrub this family any more than we already had and we certainly didn’t stay long.  This family has taken over an abandonded yard, the yard we were heading to.  When we left, Mr. was sitting in the tree making his odd little noise, I’m assuming he was telling us to get lost.

I’d like to go back in a couple weeks with a better lens, which I plan on purchasing tonight, to see if I can see any little eaglettes.

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1916

I wish I could find more about this house but I can’t!  And its frustrating as hell!  One thing I can confirm, those are the original shingles on the house.

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I found this house back in November and of course it was FAR TOO COLD for me to really explore and I did not have permission to do more than take a road shot.

That’s another thing that pisses me off, people who continually enter onto these properties, take their photos, post them online and then when a rule playing photographer comes along and asks for permission, I get the speil about how people don’t ask, they just go in, they take stuff that doesn’t belong to them, they leave the door open, etc.  If you don’t contact the owner and ask for permission, at least have the audacity to not post your photos online!

When I spoke to the landowner back in November and was given permission the first time to take photos, post them online AND enter the home, I was told that the house was built in 1916 and the original owners lived in the home for 18 years.  At that time three of these houses were built in the area.  Mr. could not tell me if any of them were still standing but I do hope to check out the area one day.

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When the original owners moved out of the home it was always their intention to keep the home up.  During the first winter the heating system was tampered with and this caused an issue with the water and heating system and the cost for repairs was worth more than the hassel.  You can tell that when the home was left, it was always their intention to come back.  The interior of the home is solid, sturdy and truly amazing given the year the home was built in.

 

 

 

 

 

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EXHAUSTED

This is one of my favourite shots. Not much to it but appealing to my eye.

There was nothing in this yard except this barn and a hand pump. I didn’t dare get close to the pump as there has to be a well to go with it.  And I certainly wasn’t going to take my chances on the stability of the ground around it.

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ROCK LAKE WINTER KILL

We spent the afternoon touring around searching for suckers, minnows and old houses.

We headed down to Rock Lake. Driving along the road, high up above the lake I thought I saw fish floating in the water. My husband confirmed that that was likely what I was seeing. I was shocked at how many there were. Not as shocked as I was when we pulled in and we could see how many were on the shore.

There were all kinds of species. Huge walleye, pike, carp, suckers and even a couple catfish. Some of the fish would have been master anglers and approximately 15 or so years old.

Of course I then googled winter kill. This is a common occurrence when the lake is frozen longer than usual and light is not able to penetrate that surface due to snow. The fish and lake become deprived of oxygen and die, eventually washing up on shore.

In many instances, this is not detrimental to the lake. Most lakes recover from winter just fine as it is estimated that there approximately 1000 per acre of the lake.

Regardless, it’s still shocking and hopefully the winter kill at this location will not affect it too much.

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PEMBINA RIVER

Spent the day out touring around the back roads looking for minnows, suckers and of course, abandoned houses and buildings. I’m trying to broaden my horizons and take pictures of everything beautiful that catches my eye.

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WILL & MAUDE

Originating from Devonshire, England, William John (1891 – 1966), along with his father and siblings, followed older brother Samuel to Manitoba. Their mother and sister passed away before the family could be reunited.

After settling in Southwestern Manitoba, W.J. fell in love and married a girl from Chicago.  He bought this property in 1912 and in 1914 after he was married it was here that W.J. and Maude raised their 4 children, 3 girls and one boy. Their grandson’s would later take over the land and farm here until it was sold to its current owners.  The home was rented out but eventually became a hangout for kids in the surrounding town

Will was part of the Oddfellows Lodge and Maude was a Rebeka, a group of women who cared for the elderly in the community.  They were also a musical couple.  Will played the piano and Maude played the violin.  They formed the Sunday School Orchestra.  When I first laid my eyes on this piano last Spring it was in much better condition, even though its been sitting on this somewhat sheltered veranda for many, many years.  In the last year the cover has been removed from the keys exposing it to the harsh elements of Manitoba’s weather.

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The couple loved gardening and had a variety of shrubs, trees, fruit trees and gardens.  People were known to visit the property in the summer time to see the yard and enjoy the beauty of the families yard.  Although the property has been abandonded for many years, you can see the variety of plants and shrubs around the house as well as the beautifully treed driveway leading up to the house.  You just know that the yard was beautifully landscaped.

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I have written about this home in the past and I go back often.  I truly do love this old place and I’m sure this won’t be the last we see of it for as long as I am out and about touring the countryside looking for old places to photograph and then searching its history.  When I found out more of the history it gave me the perfect excuse to go back and shoot it again.  This time I walked up the long winding driveway, something I would have never done before because the house is well secluded and jumps out you when you see it for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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THIS OLD FARM

This home is tucked away in the trees just off the highway. Behind it was a bigger home.

I can’t tell you anything about it. At first I thought this was a school but as I got closer it was most definitely a home. Maybe, as the family got bigger, they built a bigger home behind this one.

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ROAD SHOTS

No matter what road I turned down, I could not get close enough to this house for a decent shot!

Looking at this now I realize that I would have likely gotten a better shot from the highway where I first spotted the home from.

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SINCLAIR HOUSE

Built in 1912 this home stands almost dead centre in a section of land near Oak Burn, MB.

I tried to get some history for it online but wasn’t very successful.

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SILVERTON

I can’t tell you a thing about this house! I spotted it from the highway and Saturday afternoon. One side is surrounded by field, the other a home and yard.

I am assuming that at one time it was someone’s intention to redo this home and therefore all of the exterior was taken off.

I found numerous homes this weekend but all I could get was road shots as I had no maps and was unable to get contact info for land owners.

I realized that I do really enjoy searching for the history as much as I like taking photos.