MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
a History of Spring Coulee - pages 16 - 19
In the early years of 1907 and 1908 a great
influx of settlers came from parts of the U.S.A.
to Spring Coulee, among whom was Harry Jolliffe
from the Isle of Wight, England-first stop with
some farmers in Ontario. By 1908 he came to
Spring Coulee district and was employed by
George W. Culp, who had a large number of men
to help with the breaking of the virgin sod of many
farms around, viz the Smith and Over place,
Horace Darby, H. Johnson, Tom Morrow, a few
of the places known in later years. Harry soon got
broncos to break and started farming on his own,
of course breaking the land before seeding it.
Later found himself a wife, Miss Vella Baptiste.
Her parents operated the Hotel, a busy place
during years of land rush.
Tennis was a popular game with many in their
spare time. Harry and his brother Percy who had
now come to join him from England and other
players such as H.E.Kelley of the Trading Co.
Store and A Embrey enjoyed tennis. A tennis court
was built by H.E.Kelley and helpers on his property
near the store. Trophies were won when playing
teams as far away as Medicine Hat in the early
1920's.
Harry was a leader to get projects going such as
when the Community Hall was built in 1927, as
well as doing a large share of the work. His wife
helped to solicit food to prepare meals for the
many workers who came each day to work.
When the hall was finished, badminton was played.
Norris Blaxall of Magrath and Harry challenged
many to some fine games played there.
The Hall still continues to be used for sports,
entertainment of various nature.
He and others felt need of a Farmers Elevator here
so Harry was delegated to interview the Wheat
Pool officials till they consented to build one
here as well as to getting electricity into our town.
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
by Ruth Jenson
1900 - 1910
The end of the first decade in the new century
saw Spring Coulee well on its way to becoming
a thriving village. The land boom was in full
swing, and the majority of the settlers were from
the United States. They came from Illinois, Kansas,
Nebraska, lowa, Indiana, South Dakota, Wisconsin
and Minnesota. A few settlers came from the
western states such as Utah, Arizona, Idaho and
Washington, but almost ninety percent were from
the Midwest. Land companies, the Canadian
Government and railway companies had targeted
these states as likely areas in which to advertise
the availability of free land, and to encourage
immigration.
One of the government pamphlets distributed
during these campaigns declared, "respect for
law and maintenance of order are very prominent
features of life in Canada." An American immigrant
from Ohio was quoted as saying, "You can't monkey
with law here. You can't grease a sheriff's fist."
Regarding law and order in Spring Coulee, it
should be noted that although there was no North
West Mounted Police post on site, there were
posts to the west in Cardston, and to the east in
Magrath, giving the advantage of having patrols
pass the village from both directions. In addition,
the telephone lines connected the settlement with
these posts, making access to the law a simple
matter.
The prospect of cheap land for themselves and
their children, the excitement of developing a new
frontier, and the promise of living in a country
where security and order prevailed, were compelling
reasons for families to pull up stakes and move on.
They came to Spring Coulee with money, equipment
and experience in prairie farming. Hopes were high
and 'boosterism' abounded in this land of opportunity.
An early map shows the village plan with streets and
avenues laid out, and many amenities included to
accommodate a far larger population than was
ever realized.
In 1910, Spring Coulee could boast of having three
elevators, a railway depot and stockyards, a hotel,
store and post office, a school, a Presbyterian church,
blacksmith and machine shop, telephones, and a
branch of the Bank of Montreal. Much of the
enthusiasm and drive behind these accomplishments
can be credited to the Thompson family which
accumulated a large holding of land near Spring
Coulee. They purchased a parcel here and there
as it became available, and took options on other
parcels. The death of William L. Thompson left a
rather large life insurance benefit, and thus enabled
the family to take up many of the options and
increase their holding to a total of thirty-five
sections.
1910- 1920
The flow of the settlers in the years between
1910 & 1920 slowed somewhat. The land boom
ended and World War I began. There were people
who came in search of land, and others came to
be with their families already established, and
still others came to work on the irrigation canal,
the C.P.R., or to operate an elevator or store.
Some of these settlers were: Bert Dustin, Lee
Carter, Alex Munroe, Soren Anderson, Charles and
Clarence Ripley, W. Wood, George Wildman, George
Malmberg and sons, Jack Curliss, William Crawford,
Mike Beimler, Herman Johnson, Jack Blankenship,
Albert Bossingham, Leo Chapman, Harry Bishop, Earl
Inman, Bill Matson, Jim Mercer, Tinous Theis, Jesse
Sherman, Elmer Beswick Jr., Claus Freeman, Bert
Loveday and Bob Selby.
1920- 1930
With the war over more people began to come from
the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. A
few settlers moved into the district from other Canadian
locations, but the U.S. immigrants still comprised
the majority - a little over fifty percent. By this
time, most of the land had been claimed, and there
was little opportunity to buy. A small number managed
to secure some land, but the majority of the newcomers
had to settle for rented land, positions in farm labour, or
jobs offered by the C.P.R., the St. Mary River Irrigation
District, elevators, schools, stores and hotels. The large
land holdings of the Thompson family provided opportunity
for much employment, either as renters, or as managers
and labour in many of the Thompson enterprises. New
names in the district included: Al Smith, Ray Bennett,
Paul Boettcher, Russell Gilchrist, Paul Dick, Lloyd Dayley,
Peter Hofer, Charles Caldwell, Jim Godlonton, George Lee,
Jacob Gast, William Fortner, H.A.Long and sons Roy,
Ernest and Kenneth, Jim Hunter, Joseph Hofer Sr., Rene
Peirens, Walter Bengry, "Pop" Schofield, Dave Hofer,
Archie Johnston, Thomas McKiver, Peter Matichuk,
Ernest Moulton, Anton and Joe Navratil, Tom Newton,
Hans Olson, Albert Parkinson, Fred Potter, Leslie
Pharis, Elmer Rusk, Lloyd Holland, Nick Larson, Fred
Brestler, Ed. Lane, and Marlin Allred moved back to help
his brother Milford on the farm.
1930- 1940
The uncertain economic times and unfavorable growing
conditions in the 30's slowed U.S. immigration to a
trickle. The small number of new settlers were largely
from other parts of Canada, and came here seeking
security for themselves and their families. Some of
these were Michael Salmon, Jack MacKenzie, Albert
Miller, Peter Peterson, John Salberg, Fred Wagner,
Cary McKenna, Bill Zacknodnick, Mike DeGinnus,
George Gross, Peter Hofer, George Holladay, Harvey
Anderson, Bill Baraniuk and I.V. Law.
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Mary Tollestrup