Lögberg-Heimskringla - 03.10.1986, Blaðsíða 5

ALDARAFMÆLISÁR, FÖSTUDAGUR 3. OKTÓBER 1986-5
History of the Bjornson Family 1980
(Copy of original as written by
Skuli Bjornson)
This is a family history of the
Bjornson family as best remembered
by Skuli Bjornson at 85 years old
with apologies for lack of memory on
my part. This was written in April of
1980.
Our family came to Yorkton in
November 1900, from Winnipeg,
where I was born, on September 23,
1894. My parents Bergthor Bjornson
and Kristin Thorsteins dotter
(daughter), came from Iceland in
1889 to Winnipeg, where he worked
until moving out west. The end of the
railroad was at Yorkton, and we ar-
rived late the evening in November
1900.
We stayed overnight with the John
Janusson's family and the next morn-
ing we started off to Foam Lake. We
were met in Yorkton by our cousin
Ofeigur Ketilson, with a team of
horses, and wagon. There was not
enough snow for the sleighs as yet.
We camped overnight, half way to
Foam Lake in a tent. It was close to
90 miles from Yorkton to Foam Lake
by trails, following the high ground.
The next night we arrived at Gisli
Bildfell's who lived on the south side
of Foam Lake. At that time there
were only about seven families
around Foam Lake. Thonas Paulson
on the northwest side. Then Nar-
fason and Ingis on the northeast side.
Halldorson's and Bjarni Jasonson on
the east and Gisli Bildfell on the
south side and the Helgason's and
Th. Thorsteinson on the west side of
Foam Lake.
Our first winter of 1900, we lived
with Ofeigur Ketilson, our cousin. He
lived just northeast of the big gravel
hill where later lived C.A. Clark who
married our sister Jona. Clark and
Stefanson later built the first store in
Lesiie in 1908, where the railroad
went through to Saskatoon. This big
hill is straight north of Leslie, about
three miles on the Range line be-
tween Range 12 and 13 West 2nd.
Later on the Gislason family moved
there and still are farming there
today.
In the spring of 1901 my father
built a house about two miles north-
west of where Leslie is now on CPR
land just north of the present railway
where Mr. Dayly farms now.
I always remember when going on
the train west from Leslie a few years
later, our old well with its four posts
just north of the railroad fence, and
the farmer’s private crossing.
It was there for a long time after we
left. 1903 was a very wet summer: all
the sloughs full of water and the lake
(Foam Lake) where the old timer's
had always put up their hay, began
to fill up and they had to go to higher
land for their haying, much to their
disgust.
That summer Ofeigur Ketilson and
dad went up to north of Little Quill
Lake — that would be south of Clair
From left to right: Skúli, Bergþór,
May 86). In front: Ivy and Elva.
or Second Station west from where
Wadena is now. The flats just north
of the lake had been covered with
water in the early part of summer.
But when the rains let up in August,
the water drained off and Red Top
Grass sprang up which made won-
derful hay later on in the summer.
Kristjan Helgason had his cattle up
there the year before. So dad and
Ofeigur moved into his buildings
which were a sod house 16x20 or less
with sod roof and a small lean-to built
out of sod.
The house had no floors. Just virgin
earth floors and two small windows.
Ofeigur and dad went up there to put
up that wonderful Red Top. They
took their mower, rake, hay rake and
wagons. They cut and raked the hay
and put it in coils to shed the rain if
it let up. They came back to Foam
Lake and we started off on
September 22, 1903, for our new
home north of Little Quill.
On my birthday, September 23, we
were at our first stop south of
Wadena. As of now, I was a man of
nine years that day. There was no
Wadena then, as the railroad went
through the next year or 1904.
Ofeigur and dad had just a few
head of cattle of their own. So, they
took 50 head to winter from Jos
Milligan and 50 head from Frank
Bray to eat up all that hay. They got
$5 a head for keeping them through
the winter.
When the family arrived at our
new home north of Little Quill, we
got busy to help with stacking the
hay right on the meadow. It was
hauled to the ranch in the winter, a
matter of about four miles north. We
had just wonderful weather that fall
after all the rain earlier in the sum-
mer. My sister Bertha and I caught
over 200 muskrats in the little creek
that went just past the ranch on the
south side on its way to the lake. We
got a number of other fur bearing
animals such as skunks, wolves,
weasels, etc.
We put out poisoned bait for foxes
and wolves along our trail to the hay
Guðný, Yvonne, Lawrence (died
meadow which was traveled quite
often, weather permitting, hauling
hay. The price of fur was low. About
12 to 15 cents for muskrat and about
$2 to $3 dollars for wolf and so on.
One thing I so remember is that we
were all healthy. I don't remember
any of us ever having a cold that
winter or illness of any kind. Lucky
for us, because we had no idea on
how far away the doctor was; also,
there was no hospital of any kind.
Yes, Dr. Patrick was in Yorkton in
1905, but that would be no closer
than 15 miles and no roads except In-
dian trails.
On April lst, 1904, after a fairly
cold winter and heavy snowfall,
spring came with a bang. Our hay,
being about done, we prepared for
our journey back to Foam Lake and
to deliver the cattle we had wintered
to their owners.
I was given a wagon with a box and
a team of horses. THis was for the lit-
tle calves which had begun to arrive
at a rapid rate. I had only two or three
in the box when I started out. But
when we finally arrived at the creek
at Killigans, it was flooded to the top
of its banks.
The calves were let out and went
to their mothers. The cattle were
driven into the water to swim across.
The little calves made it across, too,
but landed a little further
downstream, not being strong
swimmers.
Gunnar or "Jack" Anderson who
was married to Gudbjörg Ofeiguis’
sister Ketilson, and later of Naicam,
25 miles north of Watson. Members
of their family still there were John
and Arni. Jack and his wife and their
fathers had been our neighbours that
winter north of Quill Lake. Then
later they went to Naicam to home-
stead there. Jack helped us by driv-
ing the family and household effects.
I think they had two wagons.
They travelled much faster than us
with the stock. So they arrived at
Milligans creek just in time for Jack
to get the family over the ice which
was then just breaking up. They left
their wagons for us to take care of
when we came with the cattle.
When we arrived at the creek,
Ofeigur swam his horse across and
Dad and I took the wagons with our
household goods east through the In-
dian reserve folowing the creek
which we could not cross on account
of the deep water. We went east un-
til we hit Fishing Lake then along the
shore where the Leslie Beach cot-
tages are now. Along that ridge with
water on both sides, south and west
to Ingi's and crossed the creek where
it runs out of Foam Lake. It was a
rough crossing over rocks and the
water quite deep, but the horses did
not have to swim.
We stayed at Ingi's or Ingi Mundur
Eurikson's and then went on past the
Narfason's and Paulson's and arrived
at my uncle'.s place on the west side
of Foam Lake. Thorsteinn Thorstein-
son, Ketil's brother and brother to
our mother and foster mother, and
later stepmother Signy. She had
taken care of us five children since
our mother's passing in 1897 in Win-
nipeg, Manitoba.
SPRING 1904
We stayed with the Thorsteinson's
to rest up a little and get organized.
Then Dad took some lumber to his
homestead which he had filed on the
fall before in 1903 on 16-31-12 W
2nd. He built a shack 12x14 which is
still used for a blacksmith shop on
the farm in 1980 when this is written,
Thorsteinn filed on NW V4 of
32-30-12 W and his mother filed on
the North E of the same section and
later moved there from his first loca-
tion just west of the lake. This was
the year of the great influx of new-
comers. All looking for homesteads.
Some of the old settlers even had the
land they lived on filed on by
newcomers. It never had been
thought about by the first settlers to
look for a homestead. All they looked
for was a place where there was
Continued on Page 6.
TAYLOR
BRAZZELL
McCAFFREY
Barristers & Solicitors Wínnipeg phone 949-1312
4th Floor - 386 Broadway Gimli phone 642-7955
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3R6 Winnipeg Beach phone 389-2999
Mr David King attends in Gimli and Riverton on the first and third Friday of each month and Mr. David
■Marshall in Winnipeg Beach in the afternoon on the second and fourth Friday of each month.
Office hours are held in Gimli at 3rd Avenue and Centre Street between the hours of 9:30 a m - 12 00
noon and 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
In Riverton, Mr. King attends at the Riverton Village office between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Office hours are held at Winnipeg Beach between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Winnipeg Beach office
'of Gimli Credit Union.