OT Peace River Country for Hugh

They found a site 18 miles south of the railhead and the nearest town. That dirt road, which dad called the The Trail of Aching Hearts was our only link to anywhere. It was either mud, snow or dust. One 1/4 was set aside as the home place and they set to work felling trees and building homes (shacks) from green lumber which promptly shrank the first winter so there were 1/2" gaps between the boards. Of the 36 souls there only my Mom, who was raised on a farm, knew how to plant a garden or milk a cow. They built a schoolhouse for us kids where we took correspondence lessons.
There was a war surplus TD18 used for clearing land. It had been built for building runways in Burma or somewhere like that and had a special transmission which gave it a top speed of 18mph. Dad said he only tried it once and gave it up when the tracks were about the level of his ears! A 22-36 was used to pull he breaking plow and we had a Cockshutt and an Oliver 88 on rubber.

There are many stories to tell but after a few years the various families in the cooperative venture packed it in and moved back to the cities. We were the last to leave. As a kid I did not realize how brutal it was for my folks.

Now it is a rich land with paved roads, electricity, etc. The small farms have all been amalgamated to holdings of many sections. An experience I appreciate but am glad it is over. My little 53 acre farm in the Gulf Islands of BC suits me just fine.
Karl

I do know of a guy that went, however he went to forested land. His only interest was the forest industry, thus he cleared his land then resold it for agriculture. Don't have a lot of details on this guy, other than buy the 1980s he was quite heavily involved in the forest industry at Grand Prairie and in Slave Lake. He was employing a lot of Nova Scotians at that time. I know some of the guys that went at that time with forestry equipment and they made big bucks. Paying for big trucks, skidders, etc. in as little as 18 months.

They never stayed there very long, but I do know they left NS with the seat out of their trousers, so to speak, and they returned wearing 3 piece suits. Quite a transformation. I expect northern Alberta was all about timing, when you arrived there, and when you decided to leave.

My dad had a cousin, went to the grain belt on harvest excursion in the 1920s. In those days it was a free trip west by rail and a free trip home as long as you returned on the same year harvest train as you went on. Well, dad's cousin developed a special affection for his grian farmer employer's daughter. They married and he became the grain farmer. He never returned to Nova Scotia until 50 years had passed. I remember he and my dad meeting at a family reunion in Nova Scotia in the 1970s. Dad asked why he stayed so long. His reply, "First it was love, in the 30s couldn't afford it, by the 40s lost interest in returning, and after that too many children and grand children." I truly believe his only reason by 1970s, his wife wanted to see the place he came from and meet his relatives. I don't think you can ever go back once you've made a major move in life.