Weather very mild with very little snow about 10° below. We all stayed in the car all day on account of the snow. We all got some mail. I only got three one from Agatha Laurena [?] and a real estate one from frig [or possibly Peg?].
Karen has heard me say this a million times… When I talk about the diary in my genealogy presentations, I describe the hardships that were everyday living for my grandfather and the men he worked with. And yet I get nervous when I can’t find the remote control for the TV!!!
Unidentified men from the Gran Trunk Pacific Railway construction crew
Here’s the 21st of January. At least the weather was better!
Got up at 6 o’clock AM had breakfast and Steve and I got ready to walk to Entwistle. We started at 8.30 and got to Entwistle at 500. 21 miles and took station sur. Fine weather sunshine all day
By the way, I’m blogging from my sister’s house in Cortland, NY. We’re spending a few days with her and her husband while the kids are home “taking care” of the house. You know, bring in the mail and feed the dog….They should be able to handle it until we get back!
Although in this entry, Clem did not put a “$” sign on the “windfall”, he did underscore the “30” which is how he usually wrote dollar amounts. The underscore won’t copy over to this post, but trust me….it’s there! And I can easily see how he meant to say he had $5.30 left for the week. Some “wind fall”!
First snow for some weeks Snowed all morning we did not work. In afternoon Steve and I went out and made station sur. And I went up to the store and bought over shoes and 2 pair socks. And cashed my cheque and still got some left. Wind fall about 530
Wooops! Missed the 17th because of the mix-up in the pages where Clem wrote his daily entry on the wrong page and…. Oh, never mind, it’s too hard to explian here…
Here’s the entry for the 17th:
Cullerne bill the outfit out and there was no trains west, so we stayed in car all day. On that account it was about 30° below this morning no wind bid Ellen goodbye but did no go. Steve and I played 2 games of Pool on the last two bits we had. Broke now till pay day that won’t be long till the 20th
And now we’re up to date…
I may not have time to post tonight…We’re still on the road heading to my sister’s house. I hope the kids have let the dog out a few times!
Diane’s grandson has asked to see some of the genealogy artifacts I’ve collected. He saw the Grand Trunk Pacific stories on the blog and wants to learn more.
Needless to say, I brought “more” ….. and more and more… He may be sorry he asked!
(Blogged from I81 near Homer NY)
I really love teaching genealogy! I have to say that it doesn’t matter if it’s a large crowd or a small, intimate group. Tonight I met 4 very enthusiastic “students” of family history research in the first of 5 sessions being held at The Yellow House Community Center of Learning in Palmer, MA. Nancy, Emy, Marilyn and Paula came out on this very cold night to learn about genealogical research. Some have done an extensive amount on their own and some are relatively new to the field. Everyone had great questions and I think that everyone left satisfied. There will be 4 more sessions and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences in the hope that it will help everyone improve their researching skills and habits.
From Clem Dickson’s Album of photos taken in Manitoba and Alberta Canada
Sometimes I try to imagine what my grandfather would think if he could see this blog…100 years after he wrote the words and took the pictures! What a world!!! “Lest We Forget”
On Sunday, January 19, 1913, Clem and his co-workers decided to “sleep in”. He didn’t get up until 8 o’clock!! Half the day was gone!!! The transcription here is exact with all the misspelling and grammar as he wrote it.
Our morning in, didn’t get up till 8 AM. went and had breakfast at Smith. When Steve and I came back I had a bath and did a big washing, suite of underware shirt towel, two pair sock 4 hank. Got through about 430 then had a little sleep till 6 oclock then went to supper after supper I wrote to Maud. Cullerne still in Edson. Three trains ran over us and Cullerne didn’t come home.
[Maud was Clem’s eldest sister. Her married name was Fisher and her husband may have been the “Jim Fisher” to whom he had written a letter on the 16th]
What follows is the entry Clem made on the “Friday” page. But as explained in the earlier post, he made a mix up in which day was which. Who could blame him….the pages were probably frozen together at the time! Good thing they thawed out over the past 100 years!
At any rate, this entry is dated January 18th, 1913. Please remember that this is a direct transcription, warts and all!
We stayed in car alle (sic) day waiting for to snow. Cullerne three trains ran over me and the fourth picked me up at 1045 AM.
Steve and I wished that all the trains would have run over him as we wanted to be in Stony Plain foe (?) over sunday.
Arrived at Wabamum at 1245 AM. Steve and I went to Smith for dinner. Cullerne walked in from Carval to here. Arrived at 520 PM. Steve and I did a little in the afternoon he wired rail change and I made up the reports. Cullerne went to Edson on #1 1222 PM.
Some of these men must be the “Steve” or the “Cullerne” referenced in the diary
(I finally figured out how to hi-lite the entries in bold italics to distinguish it from my own rambling!)
Tomorrow is January 16, 2013. Not a particularly auspicious day, but it will be the first time I’ve been back in school in over 40 years! Well, saying that I’ll be “in school” is a stretch because in the 21st century you can be “in school” and in the living room at home at the same time. So, we’ve broken at least one of the basic tenets of physics: an object can now be in 2 places at the same time! And I’m here to say it works.
I’m not intimidated about taking a class even if it is Boston University, but I’m a little intimidated about the fact that it wasn’t cheap and I feel highly motivated to be successful…no pressure!!! Making a time commitment; doing the reading; writing the assignments; passing…and all in a mere 16 weeks. Wish me luck!
The class will be a very intensive course in genealogical research. In it, I hope to expand my knowledge of where to go to get the data I need and what to do with it once I’ve found it! It’s not good enough to just find something at somebody’s web site and transcribe the information. It’s all about documentation, sources and proof. There are certainly many challenges, many of which I’m likely not even aware of.
I’m always aware that I don’t know what I don’t know, and that’s what makes this new adventure so interesting. Since I obviously don’t know what I haven’t learned yet, the prospect of improving my skills in multiple areas is a pretty exciting prospect. Although I’m arguably a bit of an expert in my “other career”, genealogy can be a daunting field to undertake. Just reading blogs from other expert researchers over the past year or so shows that just having a subscription to a couple of genealogy web sites barely scratches the surface.
I’ll continue to post about the course….if I have the time!
Please visit Old Bones Genealogy and Family Research
This is the diary “Lest We Forget”, a small 4X5 book in its 100th year!
Here’s today’s entry:
We did a little better today. Weather was a little warmer about 10⁰ below. Steve and I walked to Carval (?) left Stony Plain at 1 oclock and got back at 3.25 PM. 17 miles. Cullerne went to Edmonton in the afternoon. I wrote to Jim Fisher.
[Note: At this point in the diary, Clem started filling in Saturdays’ log on Friday’s page. So he crossed out “Friday” and “17” and wrote in “Saturday” and “18”. Then he did the same for Saturday and Sunday, making “Saturday” “Sunday, January 19” and “Sunday” “Friday, January 17”. In the interest of accuracy and to maintain the way the diary was written, I have followed the exact transcription as it appears.]
