Charles came into Alberta in 1909 from North Dakota to
get a homestead at Etzikom. There he met Gladys Watson,
whose parents were also homesteading there. They were
married in 1914. The first years were hard for them as
that area was hard hit by the drought, and they moved
to Magrath after a few years, and then to a farm about
seven miles northwest of Stirling about 1924. By that
time they had four boys - a daughter was born in 1926.
Their two older sons had been attending the Farm HiII
School situated about four miles north and west of Magrath
and they completed the spring term at the Galt School in Stirling.

The two oldest boys continued to take classes in Stirling for
the year 1925, travelling to school on horse back, and
being joined in 1928, by younger brother in a two
horse farm cart built from the running gear of an old Grey
Dort car. Since there was a good deal of open uncultivated
land in the area at that time, they were able to head off in
the general direction of Maybutt over the bed of Stirling
Lake, which at that time was dry. Duck hunters had been
shooting at this lake for many years so they were able to
find empty beer bottles which they traded at "Pa" Loders
grocery store in Maybutt for jawbreakers or licorice strips
when they picked up the mail. During the winter, travel
was too difficult for youngsters so Gladys and the children
moved to Maybutt for the winter months while Charlie stayed
on the farm to take care of the livestock. The first winter,
a house was rented beside the livery stable in Maybutt,
and the second winter an apartment of three rooms was rented
in the Maybutt Hotel.

Families with children were beginning to move into the area
and in 1927 the McMahon School opened its doors. Charlie
Patching was the Secretary Treasurer and also supplied
quarters for the first classroom until the school building arrived.
Along with other district residents he helped build a barn,
build fences around the school yard, and erect whatever
playground equipment was available at the school. Since
there was no school teacherage, the teacher often boarded
at the Patching home.

Charles was a good farmer, and very progressive. The farm
had electricity back in the 1930's (a wind charger) and
indoor plumbing (a windmill and large water storage). Most
of the building and work on the farm was done with very
little outside help, with the exception, of course, at harvest
time. For the first years there were teams of horses and big
threshing machines, but these gave way to tractors and
combines in the '30's.

Charlie, and the boys, loved cattle, and always had some lovely
Holstein calves in the fair, and some good milk cows. Gladys
made a lot of butter, and took a lot of cans of good rich
cream into the Crystal Dairy.

Charlie was usually on the school board and in his later years
was on the Lethbridge Fair Board. He was active in the United
Church, and after retirement spent a lot of days working at the
Canyon Church Camp in Waterton. He also pursued his hobbies
which were fishing and curling.

Gladys was also active in the united Church, and a staunch
member of the Ladies Aid. She was involved with the IODE in
Lethbridge, and they both enjoyed their games of bridge.
Charlie loved baseball, having played it when he was younger,
and was quite well known around the Foremost-Stirling area
as a good ball player. They loved their church, and their
community, and their family.

They farmed full-time until 1945-46 when two of the sons returned
from the services and took over the farm, then Charles moved into
Lethbridge and only helped on the farm in seeding or harvest time.

All of the Patching children went to McMahon School through the
ninth grade.

About 1920 the family moved not too long after this to a
farm north of Magrath, and then in 1925 to a farm
between Wilson and Stirling with the farmstead on the
N.E. corner of 11-7-20.
In 1926 Charlie completed a house on the farm. Meanwhile the
family stayed at the Maybutt hotel (Maybutt was a small village
on the north end of Stirling that had a store, hotel, church,
train station, elevators and several homes. It is now quite
deserted with the exception of perhaps a couple of elevators.)

The family attended McMahon School, which was about 3/4
of a mile west of our home. School attendance in those years
varied from 9 to 18 students, and of course all nine grades
were taught by only one teacher. A lot of credit goes to
those young women that did such a fine job with such
varied classes. Other families that attended McMahon School
were Smiths, Hudsons, McMahons, Jorgensons, Wocknitz and
Hydechucks. One of the highlights of our school year was of
course the annual Christmas concert, with the borrowed sheets
strung across the front of the school to hide the make-shift stage.
The endless exciting hours practicing our plays and drills, and
of course Santa's visit. For a number of years I felt bad that my
dad was never there to see Santa when he came in -- Dad
always had to go out and check his horse or car at that time.
Another highlight of our school years were the visits of the
music teacher, Mr. Williams, from Lethbridge, and then of
course, the Music Festival.

During those years of the dirty thirties many times we were sent
home from school in a big hurry when the big black cloud
appeared in the northern sky, and several times the
Hydechuck children had to stay at our home which was
closer than theirs, the dust making walking further impossible.

The Bishop family later provided van service. The roads
were still very poor, with just a few miles of gravel - the
rest being dirt - and the Bishop boys did quite a heroic job.
We did have a lot of snow drifts to shovel, and ditches to
get pushed out of, but we usually managed to get to school
on time. White School at that time was growing, with several
school districts getting pulled into it, so we met a lot of
students that we hadn't known before. It was a good
experience, and we had a lot of fun times. Of course we all
remember the fine dances that went on till two in the morning
- with time out at midnight for lunch. And I remember the good
music that we had usually Herb and Lew Bishop, Layne Harvey
and Bert Parry. Oh, those moonlight waltzes! Oh, those sore
feet when the dance was over!

We have had a good home life, and I am glad that I experienced
the little one-room school house, and the joy of having been
a little prairie kid in those by-gone days.

The Patching children have fond memories during the
time that we were growing up. More initiative was required
to create their own activities. There was activity in sports
with local baseball teams and of course basketball when
in high school. With four boys in the family and only one
little sister there was always a lot going on. There were
the many fishing trips with Dad and then there were times
too when the boys would get a little rough with each other,
like pups, and the parents would tell them they had better
get outside, then go to it. Despite the depression of the
thirties there was still the camping holiday in Waterton
each summer.

Return to Individual Histories