Author Archives: Dave Robison

About Dave Robison

Professional Genealogist with more than 15 years experience. Currently engaging in lectures, instructional classes from introductory to advanced level research and contract client research. A Mayflower descendant and a pending member of the Sons of the American Revolution with more than 18 direct Revolutionary War Patriots.

a cold morning in Alberta! February 3, 1913 “Lest We Forget”

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Today I start transcribing again. The past few weeks had already been transcribed so posting was as simple as a copy/paste with a few comments. Here are the comments from the January 3rd entry, one hundred years ago!

Monday, February 3, 1913
We got up at 6 30 and the weather was much colder than Sunday. After breakfast and I got ready to go to Lemon on the rail change notes. We left at 9 30 and got to Lemon at 12 oclock sharp and had dinner. We did not start back till about 2 oclock because we did not want to get to early we would make the walks longer. We thought 22 miles iwas enough for one day. We got back about 4 00

Well, there you go! Walk 22 miles round trip for dinner??? In January??? In the CANADIAN WILDERNESS!!! And we worry about getting a parking spot right outside the entrance to the mall so we can wander around in a temperature controlled environment! I’ll be honest, I’ll take the mall over a walk in the woods to a place called “Lemon”….

February 2, 1913—Do They “Celebrate” Groundhogs Day in Canada???

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Here’s the last page that I’ve transcribed ahead of time. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be transcribing directly from Clem Dickson’s diary, “Lest We Forget”. It’s getting pretty fragile so I hope I can work with it without causing any additional wear and tear.

Sunday, February 2, 1913

We did not get up till 830 this morning. Our morning to sleep. We had breakfast in Jenkins. Then the day’s work starts.

By the way, Karen and I went to a fundraiser at First Church in Ludlow this morning called “Ice Cream for Breakfast.” This a “really?” moment: Ice cream for breakfast? REALLY?!?!? The place was MOBBED!!! I think this will catch on….go figure!

And yes, “First Church in Ludlow” was the first church in Ludlow, MA. It was established in 1774 and the first minister was a guy named Pelatiah Chapin. By an outrageous coincidence, Rev Pelatiah turns out to be an early cousin of mine, a few times removed, of course! More on that in another post…it gets sorta interesting!

Dangerous Spam E-Mail!

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WARNING! I just got an e-mail allegedly from PayPal. It stated that they had successfully changed my address. The “new” address was somewhere in California. Has nothing to do with me. There was a ZIP file attached which I DID NOT OPEN! I’m sure there a virus or a trojan buried in there somewhere. On closer inspection of the originating e-mail, it came from “help -at- notify.paylap.com” [I replaced the @ with at to prevent an e-mail address popping up] which could easily be mistaken for a legitimate e-mail from “help -at- notify.paypal.com” Can you spot the difference? I couldn’t delete this one fast enough!!!

Here’s a screen shot of the body of the e-mail

SPAM e-mail with ZIP file attached

SPAM e-mail with ZIP file attached

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway January 30 and 31, 1913

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Missed yesterday….Sorry! Getting behind in a few areas and I need to get caught up. Here are yesterday’s and today’s diary entries from my grandfather, Clem Dickson, as he worked the construction crews building the short lived Grand Trunk Pacific Railway:

Thursday, January 30, 1913

Today is the same as yesterday with a little more snow and a little warmer. We were to go east today but the snow did not let up and Cullerne feeling blue because we had to stay in. He made us work. Steve was copying notes all day. I (hunge?) two axes all day at it

Friday, January 31, 1913

Snow all day so that we could not go out to work. Cullerne was raising cane all day because he could not work.
About 4.30 Cullerne got word not to run in spine (?) and to move to Junkin on saturday that was ok for us.

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From WIKIPEDIA: “Entwistle was founded by James Entwistle, an employee of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Entwistle knew that construction of the railway would be halted on the east banks of the Pembina River for a few years as a bridge was built over the river. A boomtown would most certainly spring up. Seizing the opportunity, Entwistle staked a claim on a section of land very close to the Pembina River and the surveyed line for the GTPR in 1907. In 1908, as the railway construction camps drew closer to the Pembina River, Entwistle built a general store on his land, and left it in the care of his wife and children. The railway soon arrived, construction on the railway bridge started, and the boomtown formed around Entwistle’s store.”

Now, here’s Clem’s entry for January 29, 1913, one hundred years ago today!

Today we all were to go to Gainsford east of Entwistle but it snow to [sic] hard in the morning so we let it go till this afternoon but the snow did not let up, on that account we did not go out at tall [sic]

Entwistle, AB, the Diamond Capital of Canada

Entwistle, AB, the Diamond Capital of Canada

(For the record, Gainsford is about 14 km or 8.6 miles from Entwistle. Notice that Entwistle was a GTPR employee!)

Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program

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Well, I’m to be congratulated! I’ve just completed the first module in the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program. It’s an on-line course (back to school???) with 5 modules scheduled to run about 14 weeks in all. The schedule is tight: get through every section and submit the work for grading on time. And there’s a very good reason….the modules disappears one at a time for good! If your not done, you’ve failed that section.

This first module is titled “Foundations of Genealogical Research”. It covers standards, processes, source citation (not easy!), finding information and what to do when you find it, manuscripts (any unpublished document—who knew?), repositories, on-line resources, planning and reporting. This is a great deal more disciplined and structured than I ever could have imagined.

But, here’s why I’m to be congratulated: Not because I finished…I snagged an “A”!! Good for me!!

Heads up, though. The upcoming modules are promised to ramp up in difficulty.

Now stop congratiulating me and wish me “good luck!”

“Lest We Forget” Entry for January 28, 1913

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I’m running out of transcriptions! I started this a long time ago, but never did anything with it. So, I’ve had a Word document on my computer from which I’ve been just doing a copy/paste….pretty simple. But starting February 5th, I have to go to the original diary to continue posting the entries. I just have to be careful not to break the binding or the spine. It’s a little brittle!

Tuesday, January 28, 1913

We went out on the line to the Quarrie (sic). We run levels over it in the afternoon

Steve and I put in the station on it in the morning

We had dinner at the hotel

Weather was very mild a little rain and snow all day sun came out for a little while in the afternoon

Pembina Hotel Reference—January 27, 1913! It’s still there…

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Monday, January 27, 1913:

We three all worked on line all day. We had dinner over town at the Pembina Hotel. We had a very good dinner
Weather was very soft all day with a little rain fall but not enough to do any harm.

Two thoughts here:

1) I Googled “Pembina Hotel” just to see what the search would return. The Pembina Hotel is still operating in Winnipeg! The room service must be world class!

2) Rain??? On January 27th??? In Canada??? Global warming 100 years ago??? I’m jus’ sayin’…..

After 2 days of technical meltdown….January 25 and 26, 1913

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First, the furnace, then the trip to New York, then the water heater leaked all over the floor, so, new water heater, then, it wasn’t the water heater, it was a condensation drain that led outside that should have gone to the laundry drain but went through the sill plate (who knew???) and froze which caused another water leak, then Microsoft Office 2007 crashed, then the upgrade to Office 2010 wouldn’t install properly, then a Microsoft tech fouled up EVERYTHING, then I didn’t get the promised call back from Microsoft on Friday, then I’ve been on the phone ALL DAY TODAY with a level 2 tech who claims that what he’s set up should finish processing later tonight and he’ll call tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, I’ve had to catch up on 3 modules of my on line course at BU…..So, I missed yesterday’s post! Here is Friday and Saturday!!!

Saturday January 25, 1913:

Saturday, January 25, 1913
Cullerne and Steve went in to Edmonton to a meeting of the real estate. I stayed in the car all day. In the morning I hung an axe for the first time and was told it was alright. In the afternoon I copyed (sic) a few notes. In the evening the station agrey (?) and I went up town and got a hair cut. Got back about 9.30

Sunday January 26, 1913:

Steve, Cullerne and Harry got back from town about 1.30 AM. I was in bed. we all stayed in the car all morning. Harry worked on a plan .In the afternoon Steve went hunting and I went for a walk in the bush. Bart came over to the car with Cullerne and Harry

Clem Dickson Album (10)

Everybody wore a hat! I believe the man in the center (or rather “centre”) on the boat is my grandfather, Clem Dickson.

January 23 and 24, 1923 Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

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Thursday, January 23, 1913

Weather about the same about 8° with out snow but cloudy. Steve and I worked up to the pembina bridge this morning and got back about 11.30 for dinner This afternoon we all went up to Entwistle gravel pit to run in a P.L. worked all after got in about 5.30
*******

Friday, January 24, 1913

Steve and I were in the car all morning. Cullerne went up to the Quarry and got back about 11.30
In the afternoon we then took the car and went to the next siding [—?—] Emrie with rail drainage. Got back about 5.30 Weather was very mild.