MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
John Flett Bews was born in Orkney Island in June
After two and one half years they all moved to Helena,
The year 1910 was very dry so Jack decided to
On April 25, 1914 Jack married Alice Sweeney, who
"A very pleasant event took place on Wed. April
The following years were busy ones for Alice and Jack;
In 1920 before Calgary Power came Jack hauled coal
He was a member of the Highwood School Board,
Jack and Alice had two sons. Jack passed away in
1883 and came to Canada to join his brothers
Malcom, James and William at Longview in March
1906. He worked for James Rooney until fall when
he decided to go to B. C. to work in the Hard-rock
mines at Moyie. His first job was hauling powder
with a six-horse tearn and as it was a Sunday morning,
he wondered what his mother would think if she knew.
He later went to work in the mines and made many
life long friends especially James Finall and Paddy
Bonnar, the head driller.
Mont. as the pay was higher, but living conditions
were so poor and the camp was stricken with
Typhoid fever; hospital accommodation was poor
and all work was stopped. Jack was very sick,
but the Finall family came and took him to their
home and nursed him back to health. The doctor
advised against him returning to the mine work, so
he decided to quit mining and work in the open air;
he went to Washington to work in the harvest
and as he was an excellent horseman, got a job
driving a 40-mule team on a combine. Then
back to brothers Jim and Bill on Bill's farm.
take work with the Highway crews, mostly bridge
work, and with his experience it was an easy
step to road construction when the old wagon road
south from Calgary to Macleod was up-graded as
far as Okotoks. After some years he bought 1/2
section south of the Highwood River in the
Pekisko area, but as water was a problem he
sold and bought a farm in the Highwood district,
NW '/4-36-18-Rl-W5, later adding two more
adjoining quarters, which he farmed until his death.
was born in Tipperary, Ireland, and who had come
to help her aunt Mrs. Jarnes Bews in 1907. The
following article was taken from the High River
Times describing the shower held in her honor,
the first to have been held in the district:
22nd at the home of Mrs. C. Hoggan when the
ladies of Longview united in giving a shower for
Miss Alice Sweeney, whose marriage took place
on Saturday April 25th to Mr. Jack Bews. The
ladies spent a very pleasant hour together and then
Miss Sweeney was called upon to, unpack the
"shower" which was packed in a tub. She was
provided with a clothes pin apron, pins and a line
and a very merry time ensued as she unpacked the
various parcels and pinned them on the line. The
following is a partial list: Mrs. James Bews, a clock;
Messrs C. and J. Hoggan and Mrs. C. Hoggan,
dinner knives and forks; Mrs. James Hoggan, gold
ry spoon; Miss Miller, silver spoons; Miss Sue
hmond, silver butter knife, Miss Dorothy Richmond,
ver sugar shell; Mrs. McBee, pair of towels and glass
cher; Mrs. Watt, five o'clock tea cloth; Mrs. Camps,
centre piece; Mrs. Bischoff, a cushion top; Mrs. Shaw
Mrs. Weidenharnmer pair lace curtains and cushion
and towels.. Mrs. Allan, salad bowl and servers. Miss
Sweeney made an appropriate speech and Mrs. G. Hoggan
served lunch."
he took haying contracts for the OH Ranch. This was
all horse work, but Jack raised good horses, so he
had plenty of power; good horses brought good
prices in those days, but when prices dropped,
raising horses became a hobby with Jack.
to High River from the Longview mines, 22 miles,
which was cold, hard work in the winter, but when
the power took over he went back to road construction.
and he with Harry Cascadden, and Robert Primrose
organized the Mutual Telephone Company in our area
when the Government turned it over to the farmers.
1930. Mrs. Bews was in poor health which confined
Jack to his farming.
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