South Cypress – CRUMBLING MEMORIES

February 27, 2021

TUCKED AWAY

My fellow abandoned seeking friend Lee found this house a while back, very close to two that I had previously photograghed. I finally got out there this summer.

The property is very grown over and getting a good shot with all the foliage was really hard given all the broken trees and branches around the front of the house. The landowner wanted to be out there with me when I took the photos and it had been some time since she had been here herself. The home had never been lived in by her family and was purchased for farm land. She wasn’t able to tell me much about its history and a search of the property and original owners didn’t tell me anything.

While walking around we scared up an owl. She also told me that she would be willing to attend with me to some of her other properties that also have abandoned houses on them. We talked about doing that in the fall after the crops were off but that didn’t happen. We will shoot for Spring.

While we were out and about on the property she did advise me that for the longest time there was a boat near the house which is no longer there.

She assures me that the homes on her other land are far more exciting so I’m looking forward to getting out there to see what she has.

August 9, 2018August 10, 2018

WILD BEES

The original descendants of this family came to Canada in 1855 from Ireland and settled in Ontario. In they moved to Manitoba 1882 he bought the section of land on which this house was built.

This was not the original home. This house was built in approximately 1904 and replaced a log home along the Long River.

Even through hard times Mr. & Mrs. K managed to keep food on the table and keep the house warm, cutting wood from the area and keeping a large family warm, fed and healthy. The land was located on a trail used by travellers and in winter many stopped for directions, weather reports and possibly warmth.

What I found very interesting in this home was the honey comb we found everywhere, right when we came through the back door and further into the house.

I thought it was neat that wild bees had found themselves a place to build a “hive”.

I loved that I could read up and find so much history about this family and the land they lived on. The kids enjoyed the exploring, skating on the river and tobogganing down the hill in the winter. Over the many generations the family was active in their community.

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018

NORTHFIELD SCHOOL

Settlers in the area east of Wawanesa established a school district in the spring of 1882 and, by June, a one-room school had been erected.

northfieldschool3

An early student of the school was Nellie McClung.

Nellie Letitia McClung (born Helen Letitia Mooney was born October 20, 1873 and died September 1, 1951. Nellie was a Canadian suffragette, politician, author, and social activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s. In 1927, McClung and four other women, who together came to be known as “The Famous Five” (also called “The Valiant Five”),^[2] launched the Persons Case contending that women could be “qualified persons” eligible to sit in the Senate. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the current law did not recognize women as such. However, the case was won upon appeal.

Nellie also taught at the school briefly, in 1896. The first Northfield School was destroyed by fire on February 16, 1933 was rebuilt according to the original design, this time with a basement.

In 1960, the school closed and the sold to the town and was designated as a municipal heritage site in May 1995.

My co-worker is a history major and LOVES this sort of stuff. When I got home and realized this little bit of history, I wished that I had paid more detail to all the finer details of the building.

The building is well cared for and holds some neat artifacts inside. I’m glad we ventured off the highway to see what the little roof in the distance was.

August 2, 2018January 24, 2019

GONE FISHING

On Mother’s Day my family wanted to fish! Works for me, I guess. I just take a book and my camera.

On this day as my husband drives around searching for the perfect fishing spot, I search the area for roofs and old buildings. On our travels through the back roads I spotted this old house. Not familiar with the area, no maps in hand and no neighboring houses around, all I could get were some road shots.

Its a lovely stone home nestled up against a tree line. A big brown barn stands out in front.

It wasn’t your standard home. Rectangular, one-storey. You can see the bay window on the side and the way the home changes direction off the front entrance. Lots of corners, windows and doors. And bricks, not stone. I imagine it was a beautiful home in its glory.