Mr. and Mrs. Richard Francis Gwatkin, Grandpa and Grandma
Gwatkin, came to Lethbridge via Quebec City from Pontypool,
Wales, in 1901. They settled in the Six Mile District,
southeast of Lethbridge where they bought A.R. & 1. land
from Jim Ashcroft at $9.00 an acre. Their house was built
by Job Reed. The wagon bringing the building supplies
from Lethbridge, got mired down in a mud hole on the Fort
Benton trail. To move the wagon, it was necessary to
unload the lumber. The lumber stayed and the house was
built on the site. That house burned down in 1921 and had
to be replaced. Mr. Gwatkin Sr. bought his first car to settle
a debt - a 1920 Mitchel - a good car but a weak rear end.
Mr. Gwatkin died on March 7, 1932 at the age of 74, and
Mrs. Gwatkin was 91 when she died Oct. 26, 1953.

The Gwatkin family consisted of Barney, born Aug. 2, 1894;
Pearl (Dolly) born March 28, 1896; Gwenyth, born Aug. 7,
1897, and John, born Dec. 20, 1903.

Irrigation was in its infancy. Water had been turned on in
1902 but that year there was an abundance of rain, so it
wasn't until 1903 they spread out laterals to begin their
first irrigation. Through the years, the Gwatkins raised
chickens, turkeys, hogs, sheep, cattle, including milk
cows, grain and twenty acres of beets.

Neighbours included Furnalds who lived on the Windmill
Place one and one half miles east of the school, the
Preacher Whites on the Edgehill Farm, the Childs who
lived adjacent to the crossing that became Stewart Siding,
the Keffers who lived four miles east from Gwatkins on the
Porter place, later the Kuiper Place, now Bob Lien place,
the Tiffins, the Parrys, and the George Heathershaws.
Barney recalls meeting Kate Brodie as a young girl and
valued the friendship of Kate and Bill (Andrews) through
the years. (Bill and Barney shared a passion for bird hunting.)

Lethbridge was the market town. The city boasted a
Hudson Bay store, a butcher shop, liquor store and groceries,
Harry Bendey's Dry Goods, Higginbotham's Drugstore, Riley
and McCormick Saddlery, Sherlock and Freeman, Lethbridge
Hotel, the Station and the Square. Barney said they didn't
depend on the stores as they do now. When asked about
the Depression years of the Thirties, he said "Never went
hungry - just thirsty once in a while."

Barney was christened Bernard and hence the nickname
Berney (Welsh) which evolved into Barney. Barney credits
that to a bachelor farmer from England, Jim Thompson Atkinson.

His education began at White School the day it opened on Sept.
2, 1902. Barney remembers the early teachers: Mr. Hudson,
Miss Sutherland, Mr. Angus, Mrs. Robinson. He continued in
school completing Senior Fifth (today's Grade 9) with teacher,
Miss Waterman. He remembers the time he and Melvin Tiffin
did the janitor work for one dollar a month.

Barney, it has been said, spent more time in the saddle than
most people do in bed. Oh, the life of a cowboy. He helped
in the feeding of cattle 1906-07, involved himself in the
Horse Round-up, branded on the Reserve and the McIntyre
Ranch, summer of 1916, REP (representative) for certain
ranches selling beef which was shipped to Swifts Co. in
Winnipeg, performed in rodeo when he was 16, and was
a member of the Lethbridge Exhibition Board in 1928.

He started farming in 1927 and took over the farm in 1932.
The Gwatkins continued to use horses during the thirties.
The first tractor they bought ended up in the corner of
the field. No one could repair it! (Barney said "John did
become a fair mechanic.")

Barney met Emily Boucher when she was Assistant Night
Supervisor at St. Nfichael's Hospital. Emily was born and
raised in Saskatchewan, 22 miles south of Prince Albert.
She trained as a nurse at St. Boniface Hospital.

Barney and Emily were married Feb. 19, 1944 and
continued with their farming/ranching operation.
Barney and Emily raised two children,

They retired from the farm and moved into Lethbridge.

Barney died Nov. 25, 1984 at the age of 90, and
Emily died Sept. 28, 1993 at eighty years of age.

Dorothy Francis Gwatkin (Anderson) (Dolly) also
known as Pearl. born March 28, 1896, died June
8, 1993.

John Richard Gwatkin was born Dec. 20, 1903,
died Sept. 10, 1990. John married Molly Berry, born
Feb. 3, 1903, died Oct. 7, 1981. They also had a
farm on the Six Mile Coulee.

The Gwatkins used horses until John proved himself
a mechanic and could keep the tractors in repair.

In 1939, John bought a farm in the Milk River area
from Bert Tiffin. He sold that farm in the spring of 1948
and went back to farming his home place on the Six Mile
Coulee.

It's hard for a farmer to retire completely, so he took a job
with Noble Cultivators selling machinery. After a few
years, he did retire and Molly and he enjoyed their
summers on an acreage just outside Waterton Park.

Lethbridge Herald, April 20, 1908

First spring lambs are on the market from the
Gwatkin farm.

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