Our family treasure featured today is a set of old phones from my Grandparents Bill and Isabel Irvine’s farm near Young, Saskatchewan.  The wire for these old phones ran on the barb wire fences between farms.

Old Phone c. 1940s

Edward John Kerr 1919 - 1983

Dad going courtin’ in 1951 in Saskatchewan. I believe this picture was taken at Manitou Beach. He caught Mom.

What kind of truck is this?

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© Joan Miller 2010

Minnie Moss at her Homestead at Meeting Lake. Click for a larger view.

Minnie Moss probably never envisioned she would be a pioneer woman in Saskatchewan when she was growing up in Nebraska and Michigan.

And she probably never envisioned having to build and live in a log cabin with a sod roof and mud chinks between the logs.

She arrived in North Battleford, Saskatchewan in January of 1917 with her daughter Verna, grand-daughter Gretchen and Verna’s spouse John Aumack.

Minnie Moss and John Aumack both applied for homestead land and were granted adjoining parcels along the curving shoreline of Meeting Lake.

The purpose of the landgrants (as noted by the Saskatchewan Homestead Index) was:

To encourage settlement in the west the Dominion Government offered a free homestead of 160 acres for a $10 registration fee. In order to receive the patent for the land the settler had to be a male 21 years of age or a woman who was the sole support of her family. Before being granted a patent the applicant had to reside on the homestead for a period of time, usually six months of the year for three years, make improvements to the land by cultivating at least 30 acres of land, and erect a house worth at least $300.

John, Verna and Minnie went on to build a thriving summer resort on their homestead parcels at Meeting Lake.

My mother in law Yvonne Aumack Miller and I tell the story in the Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan Book 2, soon to be published by the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society.

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P.S.  For the cousins reading this – The oldest girl in the picture is Gretchen and the girl clutching the doll is Minnie (jr.) who was born to John and Verna soon after they arrived in Sask.

Related links:

John Henry Aumack Western Land Grants Map (Meeting Lake is at the very top, a third of the way from the left).

Search Land Grants at Library and Archives Canada for your homesteader.

Search Saskatchewan Homestead Index

If you do, Saskatchewan Archives would like to hear from you.

An unidentified Armoury… Presumably Saskatchewan but where?

Do you know any of the young men in this photo of Rosthern’s Home Guard 1915?  How about the little boy by the drum?

There are several other photos to be identified and the SAB would like your help….

Go here to view the Saskatchewan Archives Board Photo Blog.

In May of 2003 a small group of family members and myself decided to spend a day in Moose Jaw seeing the sights and playing the tourist.  That meant I took photos of some of the treasures not knowing at the time that within months they would no longer exist.

We visited the former Joyner’s General Store (30 Main Street North, Moose Jaw) to see the “world’s largest operational Lamson Cash Carrier System installed in 1915.”  It had over 1000 feet of track installed on three levels.  (Joyner’s had closed in 1994 and became an antiques store.)

What a wonderful system!  Stretching throughout the old department store it wound its way along the sides and ceiling of the rooms. In its prime it moved cash from 15 clerk stations throughout the store.

Cash Cable Story Sign Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. Photo (c) Joan Miller

A sign prominently posted near the front of the store read:

The Cash Cable Story

Installed in 1915 by Walter Joyner, this Lamson Cash Carrier System Made in England is the world’s largest operational Cash Carrier System.  The system is only one of two still remaining in the world today and the only one still in operation in North America.

This system is over a 1000 feet in length and still operates throughout all three levels as well as all three sides of the building, the cash cars travel at 22 miles per hour on the system.  With 15 clerk stations, this was the quickest and most economical means of handling cash in the early years of the Joyner’s Department Store.

In 1992, the Joyner family was offered a substantial dollar for this system by Walt Disney World for their Euro-Disney, however Mr. Joyner decided to honour his late father’s wishes that requested the cable system always remain in Moose Jaw.  The cable system remains in the building on lease from the Joyner family and is used now soley as Moose Jaw’s Newest Tourist Attraction.

If you would like to see the Cash Cable in operation please ask for a demonstration from the cleark in the Candy Department up front.

NOTE: This is a Free attraction and as well as any demonstrations, Donations are gratefully accepted at the front in the Large Jar for the continued upkeep and maintenance of this rare piece from our past.  Thank-You.

Lamson Cash Cable System Moose Jaw. All photos copyright Joan Miller

Cash Cable System Former Joyner's Department Store Moose Jaw, Sask. Photo (c) Joan Miller

Lamson Cash Cable System Moose Jaw Sask. Photos (c) Joan Miller

Lamson Cash Cable System Moose Jaw Sask. Photo (c) Joan Miller

Lamson Cash Cable System Moose Jaw Sask. Photo (c) Joan Miller

Sadly the building burned to the ground on January 1, 2004.  (Story of the fire appeared in the Leader-Post (Regina) 5 Jan. 2004.)

After the fire I felt others would be looking for photos and memories of the old store and its unique and original Lamson Cash Carrier System.  I posted the photos on the web and had many people from all over the world stop by to comment.

Whether it was a walk down memory lane or reliving their childhood,  I had many folks comment on their time growing up in Moose Jaw.  Many had visited the store in their youth.  Joyner family members stopped by expressing their gratitude for posting the photos.  We also had Cash Cable System aficionados visit.

A year ago a computer server change necessitated that the photos come down and I hadn’t had time to re-post them until now, prompted by an inquiry from someone wishing to see the photos.

For more on Lamson Cash Carrier Systems.

Please leave your comments below.

[Note: All photos and content subject to copyright laws are not to be used without express written permission of the author.]

What’s in a name….lots apparently!

Punnichy, Quentin, Raymore, Semans, Tate, Viola, Undora, Watrous, Xena, Young, Zelma.

Do you see a pattern here?

I grew up near Nokomis, Saskatchewan.  Dad was into history so we heard often about the naming of the little prairie towns along the Canadian National Rail line.

We’d head for Saskatoon to visit relatives and rattle off the names as we travelled.  After Zelma the alphabet would start over with Allan, Bradwell, Clavet as we flew by the towns.

Just about every letter of the alphabet was represented across the prairies, in a line along the CNR stretching from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba west to Alberta.

There were very few breaks in the Alphabet Railway naming system.  Nokomis being one of them (there is another story there which I’ll share with you one day).

Here is a great website listing the Alphabet Railway town names along the CNR from 1922 maps.

Three quarters of a mile seemed like a  long walk on six year old legs.  I must have been with one of my parents but my first recollection of making the journey on our own was with my younger brother.  Maybe I was 8 by then.

We would make our way down the road, across the track and turn north to go to school.  The trek wasn’t to bad in the spring and fall, but brutal in a cold wind driven Saskatchewan blizzard.  On those days we were either snowed in or Dad would hitch up the horse and pull the stoneboat with two very bundled up kids on the back.

Vehicles don’t start well when it is -40C.

We were headed for our one room school.  One room, one teacher, 8 grades….and the entire school population was 10 kids.

When I started school I was in the largest class.  There were actually three of us in the same grade.  Carl Frohaug, Dick Scott and me (and we were in the same classroom every year until we hit Grade 12).

Our little school was located in the hamlet of Hatfield and our proud little school was considered to be a school district!

One Room School = One School District

We were Cuthbert School District # 1934 located in Tsp 28 Rge 22 West of the 2 Meridian….just north of Govan and south of Nokomis.

When I reached grade 4 we were bussed into the town of Nokomis for school and my days of attending a one room school were over.

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[Editor: the author's mother taught in Saline School (School District # 1863 Tsp 29 Rge 23 W of the 2 Meridian) prior to her marriage.  Go here to learn more about Saskatchewan's One Room Schools. Your comments are welcomed in the area below.]

[News] The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society has announced they will be publishing“Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan, Book 2”

Isabel Irvine, a Women Pioneer of Saskatchewan and her daughter Betty. Taken Fall of 1934 or 1935.

After the considerable success and interest in their first publication Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan (due to be released January 2010.),  the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society is planning Book 2.

Here is the notice:

Another Exciting Publication

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society will be publishing

“Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan, Book 2”

“We believe they deserve recognition and what better way than to publish their stories in a book. We want you to help us tell their stories.

Who: Saskatchewan women
Why: To continue to produce a record of Saskatchewan women who also played a huge role in the settlement and growth of Saskatchewan
When: Women born within the timeframe of the 1800s to 1935
Where: Within the boundaries of what is now known as Saskatchewan – rural or urban

Submission Deadline:   May 31, 2010

Guidelines for Submission of Articles:

Anyone may contribute to this publication. You do not have to be a member of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society.

Submit electronic (Word doc), typed or neatly written write-ups of about 2,000 words or less on each of the women pioneers in your family.

You are encouraged to also include a maximum of two photographs with captions for each story submitted. Please do not send your original photos; have reprints made. DO NOT SEND PHOTOCOPIES.

If you want your photographs returned, you may pick them up from our office or, if you provide us with a self-addressed stamped envelope, we will mail them back to you.

This book will be limited to the first 200 submissions received. The deadline for receiving submissions is May 31, 2010.

Thank you for your interest. I am looking forward to receiving your submissions. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Submissions may be sent in hard copy or electronic format (preferred) to:

Celeste Rider, SGS Librarian
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
PO Box 1894, Regina, SK  S4P 3E1
Electronic submissions may be sent to:  sgslibrary [AT] sasktel [DOT] net

Want a copy of Book 1 of Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan?

The first book received 413 submissions and all are printed in the book.    SGS has presold about 500 books and will have about 250 copies still available for sale once pre-sale orders are filled.  Anyone wishing to purchase a copy should contact the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society at the following address:

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1894, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3E1
Phone: (306) 780-9207
Fax: (306) 780-3615

--Photo credit: Joan Miller, Taken at Wakaw, Sask, 2005

Finding Vital Records in Sask

Saskatchewan Vital Statistics maintains a province-wide registration of births, marriages, and deaths.  A written application to the Director of Vital Statistics is required, using a  form that can be obtained from Vital Statistics, Saskatchewan Archives Board, or the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society.

The application requires you to show your relationship to the person whose record you want to obtain. If the person in question is living, you must obtain their consent.

Marriage registrations for the area now Saskatchewan began in 1878, birth and death registrations began in 1888. Until 1920, registrations were not always reported on a regular basis.   A fee may be applied to obtain information.

To find out more contact Saskatchewan Vital Statistics (now called Information Services Corporation)

Vital Statistics (link to online search)

Locations and contact information

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Related Links:
Find Obituaries (American) Online

Genealogy Gems

We had our Canadian Thanksgiving last weekend and the family gathered in Vancouver BC to celebrate my Uncle Bob’s 80th birthday.

Bob is the genealogist and family historian of my Mom’s side of the family, the IRVINES…and he has been grooming me for years to step into his shoes.  Big shoes they are too.

He has done a phenomenal job of tracing and documenting the family and its various branches. Bob’s knowledge was also invaluable for an article we co-authored featuring my Grandmother Isabel Irvine (his mother)  that will be published in the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society’s 40th anniversary book, The Women Pioneers of Saskatchewan due out in November of 2009.

One of Bob’s most enduring legacies for our family is the transcription of his father’s (William John IRVINE) diaries. This was my Grandpa.  Grandpa wrote about the life and times of being a pioneer in Saskatchewan.   The weather, the crops, the politics (he was big into politics).  He wrote in those diaries for SIXTY Years. In the most awful handwriting too.

You may recall the romantic story of  my Grandma and Grandpa’s courtship in my blog post  The Mail Order Bride?  The details came from these diaries.

Bob has probably transcribed a third to half of the diaries and has now handed the task to me to carry on.  It is an awesome responsibility.

I’m considering the best ways to do this to share it with as much family as possible and also with the historians who may enjoy the recounting of the pioneer life.

It will be in a blog format I think, and I’ll start with the entries that have already been transcribed, then possibly move onto entries surrounding major events during those sixty years.

I want to honour this genealogy legacy that Uncle Bob has handed me and to honour all of his hard work as the genealogist and family historian.

I welcome any suggestions regarding how best to present this genealogy gem,  my Grandpa Irvine’s Diaries.

Please comment below.