The Ranch was located on Section 16 and Section 15 T4 R23 W4
and the NE part of Section 17 east of Pine Pound Creek.
According to the Land Titles Office section 16 and I
assume section 15 and part of 17 were done at this time
too under separate titles, but section 16 was purchased
in 1910 by Karl A.Smith and Harry H. Over, both of Spring
Coulee - farmers. In 1921 the land was transfered to Nettie
L Smith of Sterling, Illinois - Spinster for $19,790.00 (I
think they could see financial difficulties at this time,
hence the transfer) and in 1927 back to Harry H. Over
of Sterling Illinois, broker and Karl A. Smith of Denver
Colorado for the same amount of money $19,790.00.
In 1937 Section 16 was transferred to Ernest William
Long of Raley - farmer for the sum of $12,800.00.
Section 15 was bought by Jack MacKenzie.

When Smith and Over shipped their farming equipment
and stock to Alberta from Illinois, anywhere it was possible
they used hardwood lumber to line and partition the box
car. The lumber was then available for repairs, eveners,
doubletrees, reaches etc..

Buildings. The house had two bedrooms upstairs and
downstairs another bedroom or office with a lovely roll top
desk, a small living room and a Heintzman piano which my
aunt played (it is still in the family) a radio which we
listened to with head sets, sometimes they would take the
headsets apart and two people could then listen with one
ear phone. The Dempsey Tunney fight was one such
occasion. This radio was a wonderous thing in those days.
The kitchen was big with a long table almost the length of
the room. The kitchen had a set of cupboards from floor to
ceiling and about 8 feet lone for dishes and baking supplies
etc.. There was a wood and coal range with a water reservoir
at one end and a warming oven on top. A line strung on the
wall at the back of the stove and was great for drying mitts,
socks and towels etc. in the winter months. There was no
basement but a cellar was accessable from a trap door in
the house. Canned goods, potatoes. vegetables, etc. were
stored there. There was an entrance to this cellar from the
outside too. Light was supplied by coal-oil lamps later a
32 volt delco plant was installed supplying electricity for
lighting.

Water for drinking and washing came from an artesian well
and was piped into the house. There was no sewer just a
slop bucket which had to be emptied. The artesian well
ran continually into a big watering trough outside that the
stock drank from and eventually the water drained away
into a gully.

Other buildings were the bunkhouse for the men, and machine
shop with a forge anvil and other tools that were big enough
to bring a horse in and Uncle Bill would shoe some of the horses
and repair machinery here. It was in this shop that Uncle Bill
got a sliver of steel in his eye and had to have the eye removed
in Lethbridge by Dr. Woodcock.

There was also a barn and corral for the stallion, another big
barn split down the middle and stalls on either side with 4
or 5 stalls for milk cows and the rest for horses with a loft
above for hay, another building like a pump house with water
from the artesian well in it, a scale for weighing stock, a little
shed to store the coal and wood, a hen house, several well
built corrals. Across the road on Sec 17 there was a big
machine shed and the turkeys used to roost in the rafters
there.

Percheron horses were raised. I remember them breaking a
few horses to harness but I think the horses were mostly
sold as colts. They had a beautiful big Percheron stallion
named Ballard. Dr. Christie the veterinarian from Cardston
had bought this stallion from the -U Ranch which was owned
by George Lane. The -U Ranch was suppposed to have the
biggest and best herd of registered Percheron horses in
North America at the time. Percheron are probably the only
draft horses with Arabian blood. Ballard was a beautiful
big dark stallion. He had his own barn and exercise corral
made of 2x8s nailed to large poles. As a little girl I was
warned not to enter this corral but I remember looking
through the bars at him prancing around and his beautiful
wavy mane and tail. He was a magnificent horse.

Rambouille Sheep: My memories of these were mixed.
One afternoon I was in the corral where the sheep were
with all the little lambs, many of them twins and a few
triplets, when suddenly I realized a big ram was trotting
toward me. I turned and ran for the fence and I remember
hearing his feet pounding behind me as I ran. When I got
close to the fence I made a leap for the top of the fence
and at about the same time this ram hit the bottom of the
fence just about dislodging me. My Aunt rushed up from
the other yard calling "Oh my Duckie (a favorite expression
of hers) "Oh my Duckie! you could have been killed." I
don't know if this was so or not but I didn't go near any
mature sheep after that. In the spring it was always a thrill
to bottle feed the 3 or 4 lambs who's mothers didn't have
enough milk. The collie sheep dogs were good pets.

Grain was grown. My aunt used to take dinner out to the
threshing crews maybe on Section 15. One incident was when
Roscoe Brown who was a very good rider and a favorite of mine
when I was five or six years old, took the handle of a large pot
the potatoes were in, and something spooked the horse and it
began crowopping and twirling in circles and before long the
potatoes came down like a shower of rain all over the field,
no potatoes that day. Everyone laughed and I was so
embarassed for my hero.

In the photograph album there are pictures of them breaking
the virgin prairie with a 2 bottom Moldboard plough, six horses,
three abreast in tandem. Discing with a tandem disc, 6
horses abreast. Harvesting the grain which was hand stocked,
then the stocks were forked onto bundle wagons, then fed
from both sides, onto the feeder of the threshing machine, a
separator man was standing by to make sure the bundles went
in head first. The threshing machine was powered by a gasoline
tractor. The grain was hauled away in straight sided grain wagons
pulled by 4 horses then hand shovelled into granaries or hauled
and sold to the elevator. It would be hard to find anyone today
to do all the manual labour. At the end of the day the horses were
brought in unharnessed, watererd and fed, the cows milked and
finally the men were fed. In all the pictures they seem to be a
happy bunch, all sharing in the hard work to get the job done.
There was probably other machinery at various times but I don't
remember what.

The following by Dick Boulton: Cattle on the ranch were mainly
shorthorn and hereford cross, compulsory. Most steers were
marketed as three and four year olds. The year 1919, was
very dry and very little feed available for the livestock. Bill
Blance acting for Smith Over bought a farm in the Innisfail,
area and they shipped their cattle up there. Cattle prices in
the fall of 1919 were strong. Bob Hearne had put down
$1000.00 option on Hyssop Bros. steers rather than sell
they paid Bob Hearne a bonus to drop the option and they
decided to move their cattle to the Sundre-Olds area for
the winter. This move proved to be a disaster. The cattle
wintered poorly, the grass and hay was of poor quality,
unlike the hard prairie grass. Livestock losses were high.
Harry and Bob Hearne spent a month skinning dead animals
(cut the head and feet off, split them down the middle then
pulled the hide off with a team of horses) the hides were then
sold. To further complicate matters cattle prices dropped
badly. The whole transaction was a bad deal. Harry Hearne
(Bill Blanche's brother-in- law) told me this deal and a
threatened lawsuit over the Innisfail land was very costly to
Smith and Over.

In the possession of the Hearne family is a horse hair bridle.
On the cheek straps on each side of the head stall is the
American Flag. The bridle is a work of art and the colors
have maintained over the years. I asked Bill Blance how
he came into possession of this bridle (1910-1911). He
told me some of Smith and Over's cattle had become
mixed with McIntyre cattle. They were sorting the cattle
out and were close to the American and Canadian border,
where they had been pasturing on the Ross lease. During
the day they were hungry and felt like something to eat.
Riding for McIntyre was an Indian cowboy who said they
could get a meal across the border at an Indian Rancher's
place. They rode over and had something to eat. Bill
Blance say this bridle and traded the Indian for it. We
believe the bridle was made in Deer Lodge Penetentiary
in Montana.

The men worked hard but so did the women. My aunt had a
girl to help during the spring and summer. The one I
remember was Foncy who had come out from Belgium
after W.W. 1, some of her family had been killed during
the war. There was a large garden with gooseberries,
reapberries, strawberries, rhubarb, potatoes, asparagus,
spinach, carrots, beets, cabbage, onions etc.. All this
produced was picked and readied for the table, also
canned for the winter months. No opening cans or going
to the grocers for vegetables.

They raised Plymouth Hard-rock chickens, turkeys and geese
for eggs and for roasting, these were hand plucked after
being dipped in boiling water. The down from the geese
was saved for down quilts. I remember I never did fancy
the turkey or goose eggs, I think they were used mainly for
cooking. I used to help collect the eggs and remember
getting pecked by some of the old hens. I liked throwing
old broody hens off the nest. I also remember the fluffy little
chickens which were kept with their mothers in separate little
chicken-wire pens with a little wooden house for each hen.
There were weasles, coyotes, badgers and foxes around and
the chickens had to be penned each night. Surplus eggs
were sold or stored in big crock of waterglass where they
would keep for weeks.

My aunt separated the milk giving them butter, which she
churned and cream as well as milk. The separator had to
be taken all apart, and its many parts washed and dried
ready for the next milking, this happened twice a day.

The washing was all scrubbed by hand on a wash board,
with water that had been heated on the stove in a big
copper boiler then the clothes were hung on a line to dry.
What a time she had in the winter when the clothes
were frozen stiff like sheets of ice. Finally they were
brought in and ironed or mangled. Later there is a picture
of an old washing machine (agitator) with a wooden tub
and a big wheel attached that was hand turned to swish
the clothes around in. Later when they got a delco
plant installed they could have an electric washing
machine.

I remember when she made bread, It smelled so good and
she made wonderful bread, buns, and pies. I think she
made as many as 8 or 12 loaves at a time depending on
how many men were being fed. She would bake two or
three times a week.

Their pigs were butchered then smoked to make hams and
bacon.

The men were well fed on this ranch and there were quite
a number of them. They lived in a bunkhouse a little
distance from the main house.

In a 1920 letter to Bill Blance from Smith and Over they agree
if the farm is ever sold to furnish him with money to make
payment on their 1/2 section of land and enough money for
stock and equipment to operate the same.

December 7 1926 Lettie Smith the owner of the ranch writes
giving Bill Blance Power of Attorney to sell the land.

There are several letters at this time. Harry Over who is City
Clerk for the City of Sterling Illinois writes saying someone has
a judgement against them for quite a sum of money. They
aren't making money on the horses or the cattle which had
been profitable in previous years. The price of grains is down
and land prices are lower than what they originally paid for the
ranch. He says he always hoped Bill could get on his feet so
he could buy Sec 16 and part of 17 but seems like everything
has gone wrong, farms in Illinois are selling for 1/2 price.
After all the years of grief it is sure too bad it just seems
they are pounding the farmer when he is down (sound familiar?)
Bill and Tot left the ranch in 1932, the ranch was sold in 1937.

Looking back I am amazed at these people. My uncle Bill a
sailor, seemed able to turn his hand to many things, farming,
raising stock, repairing machinery, building, shoeing, cowboying.
My aunt who had come from England and had had maids and
servants was capable of doing almost anything that was
required of her. She always made the best of things, was
very positive, never seemed tired, always looked nice and
was always fun to be with. I spent many months with her
before going to school and then would be there for summer
holidays. I was 19 years old when they left Victoria, where
they bought a large rooming house which they fixed up.
They didn't have a lot of money when they moved to
Victoria but they always had a comfortable home, good
food, nice clothes and many friends who were always
welcome. Uncle Bill didn't change much. They had a
lovely big bear skin rug with head attached on the
living room floor, but he didn't see that well and after
tripping over the rug a couple of times he immediately
took his jack knife out and cut the head off. Aunt bowled,
played cards, went to the senior centre. They went
fishing and to various events with Horace Darby who
had also retired in Victoria. They were happy and had a
good life in Victoria. While in Spring Coulee they must
have had some good and bad years. I remember they had
a McLaughlin Buick car, the kind the rum runners used.
In July of 1923 it was decided to take in the Dempsey
Gibbons fight in Shelby Montana. Bill Blance, Bob and
Harry Hearne made the trip. Bob Hearne was the driver.
Bill Blance always maintained the car never was any good
after that trip. Aunt had a beautiful grey squirrel fur coat
which she look so elegant in, and three big diamond rings.
When she broke her wrist while cranking the car (it kicked
back) and had Dr. Shillington set it; our father Harry Hearne
said the bill for setting her arm wouldn't have been nearly
as much if she hadn't been wearing that fur coat and all
those rings. I always felt like I was with royalty when I went
anywhere with her she seemed so regal and in charge of
any situation.

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