The other night while hunting for houses, we came across this old house from many moons ago. Easily shot from the road, we stopped for a couple shots to add to our list of houses photographed. I wish I had kept better stats since the start of this hobby.
This is the house where I stepped on the board suspended over a hole. I was content on the road. I had been here many years ago and had investigated inside during that visit.
The sun was starting to set which was giving off that golden hour glow which I love.
I have a new system for keeping track of houses I want to shoot and houses I have shot. Its a work in progress and it appears to be a lot simpiler than the big old binder that Christian teases me about. I will hold on to the binder because when I search for the history, I do use the original page to record notes and the name of the blog post, date and contact information for permission.
Joe came to Canada with his parents and settled in the Carberry area in approximately 1883. Only a few years after their arrival, Joe’s mother passed away and the family made the decision to move west. The little town of Broomhill was named by them as it was reminiscent of a small town near their home in Scotland.
Joe and his father and siblings travelled by ox team approximately 135 kilometers to Broomhill. Joe settled on this land and just a few years later in 1895 married Janet. Together they raised two children. Unfortunately Janet passed away in 1908.
On July 17, 1915 Joe remarried and together they had one son, William. William was born at this homestead.
Joe and his brother Will had a contract to build a section of the grade for the new railway. Aside from that, Joe farmed but also helped Will run the general store which Will built and operated in the townsite of Broomhill in 1908.
Joe was a huge supporter of the community and was a school trustee for many years. He was a beekeeper, he loved to travel and watch sports. Joe moved to Broomhill in 1919 when his brother passed away to manage the general store.
In 1919 Alex and his family moved to this land and made it at home with his family. History says that upon their arrival to the home it was noted there was a large patch on the west side of the house. Said hole was made by a team of runaway horses and the end result was the tongue of the sleigh going through the house.
In March 1920 there was a severe, 3 day winter storm. As a result of the accumulated snow, there was no school and the drifts around the farm were very high. So high in fact that Alex could not get into the barn like he usually would so he had to use the Gothic windows and access the inside of the barn with his milk pails to tend to the cows.
Alex passed away at the home in 1944 only two years after his retirement from farming.
In 1948 the Talman family from Fertile, Saskatchewan purchased this homestead. Marion was a renowned dog trainer and because of this the headquarters for the field trials were held at this farm.
There are two houses on this property and I am going to assume that the second was the home of Marion’s oldest son and his wife who moved to the land shortly after his parents when their home in Fertile caught fire.
Alex and Annie served their community in many ways and were honored for their contributions to the many orgainzations that they volunteered their time to.
Its nice to find a rich history on a property after you’ve been to it and photographed it. When we were at this farm, I contemplated taking a photograph of the old barn and I’m happy I did because, while it doesn’t happen often, someone thought to mention it in their family history.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 