MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
William Lloyd Baxter
and Ethel Aldrich Baxter
and Ethel Aldrich Baxter
A History of Del Bonita and
Surrounding Districts, Pages 266 - 267
written by Irene O'Bray
Dad, Lloyd Baxter and Mother, Ethel Aldrich were both
born in Adrian, Michigan, Dad in 1879 and Mother in 1885.
They became engaged and decided to live in North
Dakota when they were married.
Dad and his folks moved to Dakota, and each bought a
farm where they built their homes. Dad then sent for my
mother and they were married. Times were pretty hard
for them as they had never farmed before, and it was hot
and dry.
My brother Russel and I were their only children. They
moved to Sand Point, Idaho, where they bought a
confectionery store and did quite well. A few years later,
they heard there was some land being opened up for
homesteading in Sunny Southern Alberta so Dad and friend,
Roy Winters, decided to go up there. They drove up with
a team and democrat. They came through the mountains
on a logging road and forded rivers and streams. I think
it took them about a week to get to Lethbridge, where
they camped on the lawn in front of the City Hall, to wait
their turn to claim their land.
The next day Dad and Mr. Winters drove to the McIntyre
lease with a load of lumber and started their new homes.
My dad built a two roomed house, twelve by twenty-four
feet, and Mr. Winters built a sod house.
In 1913, they sent for their families. We came by train to
Magrath. Dad met us with a team and hay rack, as we
had brought all our furniture. There were no bridges at
that time, so we had to ford the river at Page's ranch,
now owned by Herman Hilimer. It was in April, and the
ice was breaking up, making it very dangerous. Just as we
got into the middle of the stream, a large cake of ice came
down and knocked the horses off their feet. They would
have drowned if Dad hadn't walked out on the tongue of
the wagon and unhitched them, so they could get up.
My mother and brother and I were taken across on
horseback by some of the cowboys who worked for Pages.
When we got home, my brother and I were allowed to do as
we pleased as there were no neighbors to bother us. As
Mom had been in a city all her life, it was a disappointment
to her to be in such a lonely country and not have neighbors.
There were no roads or fences for miles and miles. All we
could see were herds of cattle and occasionally a few
cowboys.
This land had been leased by a big rancher named McIntyre,
and although the lease had expired, his cattle were still
running on it, so no one could plant gardens or hang their
clothes out to dry. It was really frightening to go outside,
because the cattle stayed near the houses to be in the
shade, and to keep away from the flies. Many people were
chased by the bulls and just made it to their door. My
mother frightened them away with a big tin dishpan and a
long mixing spoon several times at night so they could get
some sleep. After they built their fences around their place,
they were able to start farming and have gardens. Mom and
Dad planted a big garden, and it was growing lovely. We
walked over to our neighbor's place two miles away, and
when we got home we found the cattle had broken in and
destroyed everything. So the people got together and
decided to build a pound to keep the cattle in until
McIntyre was notified of the damage his cattle had done
to us all. He decided to move his cattle off the lease.
A big snow storm came up, and we had no barn, so Dad
put the horses in the cellar under the house till it stopped
snowing.
Most of the children walked to school, which was two and
three miles away. Winter clothing was very hard to get,
and at times we all wrapped our feet in gunny sacks to
keep them warm and dry. Our teacher would help us to
unwrap our feet and dry the sacks by a big heater.
In 1918, Mr. Roycroft told all of his pupils of the flu
epidemic coming, and that if any of us started sneezing,
we were to go home right away. In about five minutes
we all started to sneeze, so he sent us all home, and
in two days every one of us had the flu. Only one or
two were able to have a doctor, as the nearest one was
thirty miles away, and there were no cars to go and get
him. The parents just had to do the best they knew how
to take care of us. Even though they all had it, not one of
the children died, and to my knowledge, the old home
treatment must have been good.
For amusement, in the evenings we sat around the table
and looked at the old Eaton's or Simpson's catalogue,
which we called the homesteaders' wish book. We were
allowed to cut out pictures from them too.
As more people came, we put on house parties and dances
in the homes. Some of the people had violins and guitars
and the old fashioned accordion, called the Wind Jammer.
Everyone was friendly and the children enjoyed it as much as
the grown-ups. When we got tired we threw coats in the
corners, and slept there the rest of the night. There were
no delinquents in those days, because we always went with
our parents.
My mother was a mid-wife for quite a few families. She had
no doctor to help her, but they got along just fine.
When the people started farming, they hauled their own
grain to Milk River or Magrath by team, wagon or sleigh,
and brought back their winter groceries with them. Quite
a few of the men bought threshing machines. Some
were stationary. Later the tractors came to replace the
horses.
My father built quite a few houses in the early days. He
also constructed big sheds for some of the ranchers.
In 1922 dad was building some fence. He rested the
crow bar on a post, and stooped over to get his gloves,
and the crow bar fell on his head. Two weeks later
he died from a blood clot on his brain. Mother rented
her farm and we moved to Magrath, where she cooked
for a farmer, Mr. George Heathershaw, who owned a big
steam threshing outfit. I went to a nearby school,
called La Prairie, five miles south of Magrath. I also
attended school in Magrath.
In 1923, we moved to the farm on the lease again, and
I went back to school in Del Bonita. Mom rented the farm
to E. E. Bussian for three years, as we had no machinery,
and my brother had to work out. He worked for a time
at Hilimers, and later at the Knight Sugar Company Ranch.
In 1925, Mom married Ed Bussian. He had a farm to the
west of Shanks Lake, I believe. Powleslands own it now.
He bought a half section in Twin River, and Mom took
a homestead there. They farmed till 1944, then moved to
B.C.
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Mary Tollestrup