Looking for work in Saskatoon
(Returning to 1914 with my thoughts)
Early in the year of 1914 by brother Ivan moved from Lizard Lake to Saskatoon, and he found out that post office situated at that time on corner of the 1st Ave. and 21st St. needed a boy to hand over parcels and newspapers to customers, so he did let me know. When I arrived to Saskatoon and had interview I was told to come in a weeks’ time, at that time George Bogdashefsky arrived to Saskatoon, and he was presented there, and he was hired by P. O. To this I see two reasons: first as he came to Canada in 1903 he spoke English more fluidly and second; he had stronger recommendation as his brother was driver of a streetcar in Saskatoon. So I had no luck.
I obtained a job at where arena building steam bath enterprise stands now on south side of 19th Street, there were a few small buildings at that time, and one of them was used as a steam baths. One German man by the name of Edinger, rented it from proprietor, and he needed a boy to help him to promote his business.
So that's where I was hired, and spent there two months, giving treatments to people with rheumatic and arthritic diseases. There were half a dozen boxes, caskets only on four legs, they are full length of a man, except the head is outside of a box resting on the shelf, and the opening is closed around the neck by a towel! The top fully opens to get the man in, and he lays not on the bottom floor, but about 6 inches higher on narrow boards with spaces between them, so all the dirt from the body and disease will drop on the bottom floor. At the rear end of this boxes there are two burner small gas stoves standing on the floor by the wall connected to a gas pipe, and for each stove two covers for burners with a pipes to insert into round holes at rear of box.
My first job when I come in the morning was to pump the air into gas tanks situated outside at rear of building, then to welcome the customers and start to prepare steam baths for them. I had to light both burners, one first heat, on the other I place a plot of plain water or sometimes solutary water from Manitou lake, near Watrous, Saskatoon. Sometimes my boss gets a barrel of this miraculous water. This pot of water is for steam. Then I cover it with already mentioned covers and though small opening at the top of a steam box, and trying with my hand to determine, if it is ready or warm enough for occupancy.
The patient then enters the steam box and lays there sweating for half an hour, or as long as he can stand then he plunges himself in a bathtub to wash himself out of a perspiration, and after each such steam bath, he tries to raise his hands by the wall or door to see if he can raise them a little higher. Especially remember one wretched man, possessed with this rheumatic illness. Every day he comes to have a steam bath, and every time he tries to raise his hands measuring if he can raise them a little higher but of no avail. One time right after steam bath, my boss rubbed all body of this man with an ointment, by the name Capsoline. All at once he became so red, and poor man started squeaking and squealing like a madman, the boss started to wash him with a cold water, trying to ease his painful burning body.
Well this was the last time we seen him; he said he is going to the farm and climb into a barrel of fresh cow manure up to his neck, that will help better than your baths. Well it wasn't pleasant job, to wash and clean the steam boxes, after each patient, as on the bottom there were lots of mucus stuff from sweating of sick persons, and furthermore the boss stopped to send towels to laundry, and bought a bar of soap and told me to wash them and as the towels were already shabby, he told me not to rub too much, just a little bit, even showed me how to do it. As the businessman was inadequate, so lady owner came to oversee and to take part in it, so I wasn't needed anymore and was discharged from the work. For those two months I earned $40, and the renter paid me $26.00 before the lady owner came. Then they shared equally, so lady owner paid me her share of $7.00, but the renter Mr.Edinger did not, and I did not see them anymore. He quit his renting and has gone away with my earned $7.00 dollars as that enterprise in a short time was sold.
So from that $33.00 what I got for my job, I remember that I bought shoes, and other things I needed and when Mrs. Shakotko my brother Ivan’s wife was shopping I gave her some money, but not sufficient to cover my board and room, as I stayed in their shack house on Avenue J. on the outskirts of the town and thus as I came to town with empty pocket and went back to farm with same thing.
P. S.
As the enterprise quit its business and was selling out, so brother Ivan bought two steam bath boxes. One for Philip Zadko and one for brother Eli. I saw it was standing in the house of my brother Eli, taking the space in a small two room house, and never was used as there were no adapters (attachments) to it.
Year 1915
In 1915 my father donated two areas of land on his quarter section of land, as a site for a church building which was started the same year but finished in 1916. About the Christian religious life of our immigrants and myself will be related later in a separate chapters.
Looking for Homestead
As in the autumn of 1915th year, I had to be 18 years old, and eligible for a free homestead (quarter of a section of land) so I started to look for one, but to no avail, as by this time nearly all were taken. I tried to cancel couple quarters that were taken, but no improvements were made and no one lived there, but had a reply that they are going to keep them, and will fulfill government regulations.
Mr. Dimitry Ackmenko had his homestead about 5 miles south from our place and he told me, that there in his section still available land for homestead, and northwest quarter was not too bad. So by train I traveled to Battleford to claim this quarter (or taken) but the agent told me that southwest quarter of the section is still open. So I paid $10.00 for this quarter and without seeing it.
Now when I came home from Battleford first thing to do, was to see the homestead which I obtained from government for $10.00 fee. So I mounted the horse and rode horseback to the location of that quarter section of land, to inspect it. When I arrived there I did not find even a small stretch of level land, but irregular hilly, strong and unfit for cultivation, the purpose of my intentions. So I decided to cancel my claim to this homestead of mine (for a few days) and wrote about it to land office at Battleford. This was my last effort to obtain a free homestead from government
Bought a quarter section of land
As 1915 was a favorable year for the farmers; that harvested a good crop and better price for the grain. So farmers were revived little bit from their misery. As I lived and worked together with parents, we had a good crop too. After disposing all of the grains, and consultation with father, I started to look for the quarter of land to buy. There was a quarter section of land on the west side of section 17th with 18 acres of summer fallow. It was Mr. Jillie’s homestead for which after three years, he obtained title to it and then traded it to Mr. Cross for lots in Edmonton, as though Mr. Cross was farming 4 miles south, at that time he lived in Edmonton. So in the winter of 1915-1916, I started to correspond with him regarding that particular quarter of land, and we came to terms of eight dollars per acre, and set the time when he will come to Biggar to make the transaction.
At the appointed time in April of 1916 as he has to come early in a day by train, I had to go the day before later in the day by horse and spent the night in the livery barn cabin. When Mr. Cross arrived, we went to a lawyer, and made necessary transactions, and I handled the money of $1280, but it so happened that this quarter contained not 160 but 165 acres. So I had to put $40.00 more, total of $1320.
On receiving my duplicate certificate of title dated 2nd of May 1916, with a set value of $1900 I became, the owner of parcel of land namely; northeast quarter of section 18th in Township 39th Range, 14th West 3rd mer, which later became my home throughout all the years of my farming.
As there was 18 acres of summer fallow so I seeded it with wheat named: Marquis. It is a late variety, and takes longer time to ripen especially on rich soil of summer fallow. The straw grew so tall when I was harvesting it with a binder and oxen, it was level with the backs of oxen. When I started to harvest and went around two or three times, and it seemed to me, that the grain is still on a green side, so I quit and waited maybe 4 days, and then began to harvest and noticed on the heads of wheat underneath and all kernels a little black spot. It was a black rust, and what kernels wasn't eaten by it on the stand, so it was finished in the stocks. Only that few rounds I made at first was good kernels.
This was the only year we had black rust, there were years of red rust on the straw and heads, but it doesn't do damage so much as the black rust. Well anyway I stocked the sheaves and my brothers with their machine threshed charging me $15 per hour. Can't recollect how many hours it took to finish these 18 acres but I could be better off, if I didn't thresh it at all.
I threshed one wagon box of thinnest eaten grain and when I took it to Cando, elevator man wouldn't buy it. So I brought it back, and tried to feed chickens, but they too ignored it, as there were no kernels, just wrinkled shells. So first year on my own quarter, I had no luck. Other crops not on summer fallow was not bad. That summer I improved more land by breaking virgin prairie on this newly bought quarter.
Intention to go to Bible school
At the beginning of 1917 year at New York USA there was a Bible school, founded by Rev. W.Fetler, and three boys from Arelee, Onisim Rowney, Clim Melashenko and George Skondin, has gone there for Bible courses (and also Philip Wernigora).
So my brother Ivan wanted me to go there to, so he wrote me to be ready, while himself being at eastern Canada at that time, has gone to New York to see this Bible school for himself and promised to write me. So I started to prepare myself, went to Biggar and bought a suitcase etc. and in a meantime received a letter from him and for some reason he wasn't too enthusiastic about this Bible school, and that was the end of my preparation, or intentions to go there.
Father transfers to me his joint share in 17th section
Now in the month of April of the same 1917 year, my father wanted to transfer his joint share with his three sons in 17th section, to my name. So we went to a lawyer in Biggar and made agreement between us, but all the same, I was paying my share of mortgage installments in my father's name, and that's why this part of northwest quarter of 129 acres with fraction, had to be in my father's will of 1922, when he passed away. And afterwards for many years I was paying my joint share, as on this land of 17th section were all the debts of my brothers, a form of caveats, and as it was jointly bought, so even if mortgage company could consent to my paying them my share of debt, so I could not obtain a title, unless I pay all the debts that is on this land.
Our mortgage company of “Oldfield” Kirby & Gardner” got their money from interest twice the worth of mortgage on this land, so in later years; this company transferred our mortgage to another company. Then I wrote to this company if they could consent and take one quarter of a mortgage money and release my quarter share of land, and they consented to do it.
There came convenient moment, when caveats had expired, and had to be renewed again. So just before they were renewed, I had a luck to get my duplicate certificate of title, on which all back of it, and in front on the sides, were stamped all the debts that were on this land. I appreciated the help of my brother Ivan of rendered assistance to me in these transactions too. The year of obtaining title escaped my mind but it is just before 1930.
1st world war and compulsory military service
As it was a time of First World War and as Canada is subjected to England so she was obliged to furnish men money and materials in aid of mother country. As conservative party was in rule at that time with her party leader Premier Robert Borden, so on January 1, 1916 he pledged that Canada would raise an army of 500,000 men for Foreign Service.
This pledge was not achieved as at the beginning of 1917, a total of 380,000 men were in uniform, a shortage of 120,000 men of the number pledged. Accordingly, the government proposed a selective draft a system of compulsory military service, and so opposition leader Sir Wilfred Laurier and his Liberal party opposed compulsory military service, favoring voluntary enlistment instead, but were defeated. So a system of compulsory military service became a law through the signature of the Governor General, the Duke of Devonshire on August 28, 1917.
As soon as the compulsory military service was proclaimed, the government started to conscript young man to an army, exempting only those who were needed at home in agriculture or other industries. For this reason there were locally appointed board revisions of three men and at the appointed date, all young men were summoned to a Queen Mary school at Lizard Lake to scrutinize them everyone separately. Amongst them was yours truly too, and as the most famous boys were exempted, so I got my exemption from military service too, in form of a little piece of paper prepared for this purpose and was signed by this board.
No comments:
Post a Comment