The year 1912 was remarkable one of many achievements.
1. A branch of railroad was built from Biggar to Battleford, with a station named Cando 10 miles west from where we framed. Later elevator was built, and that’s where we were delivering our grain.
2. A Queen Mary school was built by initiative of my brother Ivan and others, and he was one of the first three trustees. Brother Ivan moved from Canora to Lizard Lake Queen Mary School
3. A section of land 17-39-14 West 3rd was bought in 1912 jointly by my three brothers and my father on terms, with first down payment paid by father. As father had a joint share of this undivided section of land which had not full amount of acres due to lake and to divide in four parts will be only about 129 or 130 acres per person.
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| Close Up of Shakotko Farm Lands Established 1912 |
So my brothers was displeased with it that father retained a share for himself. Of course father had a vision and had me in his mind, but father said that I don't need land, as they will educate me. (Like sending me to Arlee to be a labour boy?) This section of the land 17th is odd not an even number is C.P.R. land as all odd (not even) numbers belong to C.P.R. Company, given by government to the company for building Trans Canada railroad, and they are side by side with the government land of even numbers. But for some reason it was already in Mortgage Company and was bought not from C.P.R. but from this Mortgage Co. Prior to settlement of this lake, even there was ditch dug from this lake to big ravine south of this lake. To drain the water from the lake, as to have more grazing land and more grass in the shallower lake. So probably he bought this C.P.R. in the 17th section of land, and on leasing sold or loaned money from Mortgage Co.
4. And in this same year my three brothers jointly bought case steam threshing outfit. Of course not for cash, but on credit, as at that time farmers had no money yet. So even when farmer was quitting and had an auction sale, he could sell it for cash only up to 10 dollars, what is over this sum, all goes on credit, or on time , as farmers used to say.
School was built in 1911 teaching at school started in 1912. Though the Queen Mary School
So we did not learn much English, but other children learned more of our language. So my English was progressing very slowly. I tried to learn at home at spare times from English to Russian dictionary that had no pronunciation, but this way it was hard too because one English word there so many words that you don’t know which is right.
Also the conversation in community and our church services were in our own language. So we nearly never used English, and if you don’t talk, how can one learn it! So that’s why my English was never perfect.
Fires of forest prairies and the toil of our hands.
In the pioneering days there were many forest fires and also prairie fires, as there was a lot of old grass accumulated during the years, and it was dangerous for settlers, unless they protect themselves by plowing a wide strip around their possessions and watch and try to put out fire before it reaches their abode. As in the event of wind, which nearly always accompanies fire, may throw a bunch of burning grass across the plowed strip, and all your possessions will disappear with the smoke.
When we first settled in this district where there is plenty of land, water, forests just everything what famers need. But we never thought or dreamed of unfavorable climatic conditions and their effect, after which farmers had to make hazardous fires themselves, in which all their yearly earnings and toil went with smoke too.
One chilly night early in the month of August and still unripened wheat was frozen. As father did not have much, so we hauled the sheaves into a stack. But our neighbor who had settled here prior to us had whole quarter of section of sown wheat, harvested it and stocked, and after it dried there was no kernels just husks. So one sunny day when wind was light and favorable from the north he took fork and matches and from north side of his land bordering father’s quarter , lit one sheave and carried to each row of stocks. What a fire it was of whole quarter of stockhead sheaves.
The road on south side between his and our 17 section didn’t stop the fire. So seeing this, he hitched his oxen in walking plow and tried to intercept the fire, but what one furrow can do, it didn’t stop the fire, all the grass on west side of section 17 was burned too.
By and by father had broken on his land 80 acres of arable land and also besides the steers he bought from A. Eichler, he also bought one mare, from which later we had off springs of Ben and Jessie. So now we had three horses, and whenever we had to take our grain to Cando, to sell, I had a team of horses, and father had a team of one horse and one ox. This young one was not so slow, as the other we had previously. But all the same when he gets tired he just lyedown and the standing horse has to wait until he get rested.
Can’t remember exactly what father done with his stocks, perhaps fed it to cattle. But following year he had in stacks again too. So I remember my brothers was threshing by their threshing outfit. Living in such circumstances we had to make living somehow so had to go to bush or forest, cut the willow pickets or dry wood and take it to Biggar to sell to residents and for pickets T.H.C. agent Mr. Tom Ellis gave us 7 cents apiece for the trade on sleigh. So we (father and myself) got ourselves another sleigh but besides selling, we had to provide ourselves, logs for buildings and wood for fuel, also pickets for fences. So there was no time to be idle or attend school.
Well it is not only at the beginning of farming, we had such fires, but in later years two years in a row I have to burn my crop in same manner. But it will be said about it in my latter narration. Also want to make a note that the crops on higher elevation wasn’t so badly frozen.
Starting to break prairie soil on Sec.17th
Well as the land of the 17th section was acquired, we had started to break its virgin prairie the same year of 1913. Brothers started to plow on the south side of section, which was a little higher in elevation, and myself started on north side.
It was a slow job, to break this prairie with 4 oxen and a sulky plow (one furrow plow with a seat) but one thing was good, we didn’t have to feed oxen, as there was lots of grass and plenty of water in the lake, which was part of the land. I just had to unfasten the hand straps pull the harness off the oxen, and here they go straight to the lake, which is full of grass. This I was doing for the lunch time and in the evening as I left the oxen therefore overnight too. As to myself, I went home for the night.
One thing I want to mention, that in the evenings, there were many mosquitos that you can hardly breathe, as the nose and mouth will be full of them. Only one thing helped at the time, it is a smoke. So I had to take some dry and green grass and lit it with a match, and carried it with me in my hand just in front of my face and the smoke of mixed grasses chases them off for a while. Also we had to make fire that produces lots of smoke for the cattle too, and as soon as they see the smoke, all start to run for it, to get rid of swarms of mosquitos.
Now I want to mention about the dog we had by the name of “Pakan”. He was an ordinary size dog, but his resemblance was like a lion, he had no hair on his back, just around the neck and underneath, but he was a valuable one especially for me.
In the mornings when I am ready to go about a mile to my work, I am taking this dog with me. You may ask why? Well you will know in a moment. When I reach my destination of work and find my four oxen scattered in the water of this lake and only visible their backs and heads grazing on the grass (as west side of the lake was full of grass) so what can one do? Even if you take off all your clothes and swim there, you can’t get them out. So that’s when I needed do g. I will take him in my hands, lift him higher and will point with my hand to the ox and instruct him to fetch it. Obeying he immediately leaps into the water and swims unto the ox, and by barking and biting them, he chases ox to a shore, and the rest is my job to get others.
So climbing on his back, I am going there, and when I chase them out of the lake I take them to plow, where their harness is lying and harness them, and here goes again slow progressing work for the day. Also for the subsequent days the same procedures, and also this same thing for next year until the land was cultivated.
Tiny black hoppers
As I had already disclosed inconvenience of mosquitos at day time, and evenings, now I want to relate about worse disturbances at night time. When you need a rest from daily work, you can hardly have a wink of sleep during the whole night. Only rolling from side to side and scratching yourself. Well I know what you are thinking and what going to say, “it’s a bed bugs!” Yes partly but it is only minor part of the situation. Bed bugs are clumsy and large and you can easily get rid of them finding them under the bark or crevice in a wall log and destroy them and plaster the white wash with lime, this particular place again. But there are such tiny black jumping insets, that you can hardly see them never the less to catch or kill them. The name? Well I think the reader guessed it by now. It is fleas.
Previously in my narration I mentioned that I slept on an ant hill, but that was only for a short time. All I had to do was brush them off me and change place, but this kind of a insects, live with you in your house and in your bed, and suck the blood out of you.
I don’t know how true it is, what others say, that when you build your house on the spot where badgers and gophers holes were, so you are liable to have fleas. Well maybe there is some truth to it, as father’s house was built on such higher spot, with a dug out cellar, and surely they were there in the sand. Another thing, father’s house was a shelter, for many later coming immigrants. Well one way or the other, it was a nuisance to have them, and we didn’t know how to get rid of them. When first teachers mentioned above already was hired, she stayed for short time at our place sleeping in attic, until there was found place for her near school at Mr. Haplevhite. So during her short stay, mother had to give her, her own Russian night sleeper, but of course that won’t help for long, as these insects were everywhere, and were bothering everybody through the night.
I want to relate to you an incident, and I know you will laugh while reading it, but it wasn’t funny for those who could not have a wink of sleep during the night. In the same year 1912 arrived from old country a widow (with two sons) by the name of “Ergraf Savelevitch Bulani” and as usual had a first shelter at my parents place.
Well as they couldn’t sleep from these bothering insects, my father and Ergraf they made a huge fire in the middle of the yard, took off their clothes twisted them and held over fire, while the clothes were untwisting. I don’t think that by this method they destroyed much or any, as they are not so dumb and while they were undressing, they got away by jumping off their clothes. Maybe it is hard to believe for those who never experienced this discomfort, but it isn’t fun, and it took us a few years before we got rid of them by washing floor with coal oil, without father knowing and getting blame, that coal oil was spilled while filling lamps.
First crew and first year of threshing by three Shakotkos brothers.
As I mentioned already that my brothers acquired threshing machine, which in the fall of year 1912 was delivered to Perdue Lake, from where it was taken to a district north west of Perdue, where they secured jobs from these farmers, to thresh their crops. Usually crops of this district ripen week or two ahead of ours at Lizard Lake
They hired Englishmen as engineers from Lizard Lake by the name Jack Powel, and obtained some single immigrants from Saskatoon , supplying ten with their own teams, and some farmers came from Lizard Lake
Crew consisted of 16 men and 20 animals
8 men, 8 teams of sheaves haulers
1 man, 1 team of water delivery
1 man, 1 team of straw delivery
1 Engineer
1 Separator man
1 Fireman
1 Water man
2 Field pitchers
= 16 men
With this large crew and favorable weather, farmers field of crop can be cleaned in reasonable time, depending on how large this field, but if the weather is unfavorable especially rainy a different story.
I still remember very vividly when we moved to a poor English farmer, whose field of grain crop was small and could be done in a jiffy, but alas the rainy weather came. In later years when such weather occurs the workers will go home, as they are residents of the same district, but it was different at that time, as the laborers was from Stoor and Lizard Lake, so we had to stay at his place all week. Living and sleeping in barns, and of course laborers from Saskatoon
Insert Russian singing here ---STILL TO COME
Well it was okay for them to sing but poor farmer, after few days all his provision of food has gone and I saw him carrying on his shoulders chunk of meat from some neighbor’s farmer that will serve for a meal or two. Just at this time brother Ivan came to see how the work is progressing and found out a food shortage, and told farmer's wife to make Russian borsch, giving her recipe for it. Well we had something similar to it, but it is better to have something than nothing.
Next we move to Russian farmer by the name of George Ignatoff (bother of Mike and John Ignatoff) There Mrs. Ignatoff made a huge pot of borsch, and was bringing to the table just in small bowls but seeing that we were hungry as wolves she brought back huge pot and placed on the table, saying “help yourself.” Well here we had plenty of food, thanks to Mr. and Ms. Ignatoff, and the weather turns to be sunny and dry. So their crop was threshed successfully.
I am the great grandson of Michael Shakotko, Leon's Grandson and unbelievably proud to be a part of this amazing legacy!
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