| Even before a twister removed the roof off the little barn and deposited it on the ground next to the building, Fred had set up a sawmill near the entrance to the pasture. As we brought the cows home for milking we passed by piles of squared-off logs loosely stacked to dry out. The older boys helped Fred saw off four sides on each log. But we young children did not question it.
The small barn stood east of where the big barn now stands. Each summer the small loft under its heaped roof was filled with hay and green-feed. A trap door above the manger allowed the hay to be dropped into the manger for the cows and horses.
When as a small child I first heard the story of the birth of Jesus, I pictured Him to be born in a barn like our small barn and laid in a manger like ours. It was in the small barn's manger that we found George (just a little fellow of 3 or 4) fast asleep after a long and desperate search for him by the whole family. (By the way, George was born on Christmas Day!)
When the twister removed the roof it seemed that it was a definite sign that we needed a new barn. Fortunately, the logs were ready.
Fred, in spite of only four years of formal education, likely did a lot of thinking and planning. The building he planned would be a major undertaking.
The war was upon us before the building was begun. John and Dan were both in the RCAF. Mike died two years before war was declared. Nick in his later teens, helped now and then. Steve was in Hairy Hill taking his high school and then worked for the Imperial Hardware and Lumber Company. And George (also in Hairy Hill) was just in Junior High. So Fred worked on the barn alone
Large rocks that had been thrown along fence-lines while breaking land were now hauled home and used for the foundation. The stacks of logs near the sawmill grew smaller as the walls of the barn pushed upward.
Nick told me that the huge curved trusses were erected using ropes and the help of neighbors. I wondered how that was done. (I attended Hairy Hill High School when that part of the barn was being completed and did not see it take place.)
During a recent visit to the farm (for Reg and Brenda's 25th anniversary) Stan and I studied the structure and came up with two theories on how the trusses (almost one and one half times as high as the lower part of the barn) were positioned after the log walls had been completed. We speculated that Fred might have built the loft floor after completing the lower structure. Then the trusses could have been built on that floor. With ropes each truss may have been pulled to an upright position. A second theory was that the trusses were built in the barn, positioned up side down and then pivoted up (180 degrees) to an upright position with the use of ropes. Later I spoke with Kathleen. She was at home during that time. According to her memory, the trusses were built on the ground and hoisted up with ropes and manpower.
Because the barn stood alone at that time (no fences nor sheds attached to it), Fred could work from all sides.
During the war the country's economy improved. Fred bought boards, shingles and siding for his barn. As in all barns, trap doors were designed to push the hay from the loft directly into the mangers. A door on the west end of the loft was the only way to get hay into the loft. But because balers had not yet been invented, the hayrack full of loose hay was stationed below the door. The hay was then heaved into the loft with forks. Helpers in the loft threw the hay to the far end until it reached the rafters. It was hard work and we were glad when at the end of summer the loft was finally full.
On the main floor a concrete slab between the two large, adjacent doors helped with the removal of manure.
Over the years Fred saved the used oil from his tractor, car and engine. The thick black oil, mixed with lampblack (purchased), was used to paint the roof. It was absorbed by the shingles, prevented them from drying out, and also repelled rain and melting snow. Over the years, many hands, (including grandchildren), applied paint to the barn. When Doug was about twelve (in the 1970s) he helped Dave put a second coat of used oil on the roof.
I still ponder over the design of the trusses. Did Fred design them himself or did he study a barn that he liked? Certainly, there were no barns of that magnitude in the immediate neighborhood.
The boards taken off the sides of the logs (rough bark on one side), were put to good use. They were used to construct tall fences around the yard and the pigpen. For many years our home resembled Fort Edmonton !
It would seem that the sawmill, (bought or borrowed?), was used primarily to prepare wood for the barn. After several years at the farm, it was gone.
We marvel at Fred's talent and skills as an architect and builder. He had a ‘feel' for design and construction. His barn withstood the test of time for more than 60 years.
At one point during a recent visit I found myself alone in the barn. I studied the construction, ran my hand across the log wall, counted the trusses and marveled at my father's workmanship. I felt near to my dad. It felt good.
The Well
During hot summer days, even though there may have been a full pail of water in the summerhouse (where we lived in the summer), Maria often asked for ‘apa prospeda (fresh water). So after pointing the finger at one another, one member of the family took a pail and walked the rather long distance to the well. A bucket, fastened to the end of a rope that ran through a pulley was lowered into the well. The bucket was then filled and drawn to the top of the well, the water was poured into the pail and carried to the house.
During the hot summer, sometimes perishables like meat or cream were set into the bucket and lowered into the well, the rope firmly fastened to keep food just above the surface of the cool water
Even though I once saw my father ‘witching' or ‘divining' for water, I do not know if he used the technique to locate the well that we used during our growing up period.
When divining, Fred used a willow branch that had two tender twigs on its end. By holding a twig in each hand and allowing the end of the main branch to dangle, a ‘diviner' slowly moves across an area where he would like to have a well. He must possess a delicate sense of touch. Presumably, as he moves forward at a very slow pace, if there is water underground he will feel the slightest suggestion of a pull or tug. The ‘scientific explanation' is that the willow (thrives in wet areas) will want to seek the water. There were only one or two known ‘diviners' in the community. Not everyone has the gift.
When Fred dug his well he built several wooden boxes without the tops and bottoms – sections of a ‘crib'. Acccording to Webster, a crib is used ‘…to line or support with a framework of timber…'). Each crib section was three to four feet on each side. As digging (by spade) progressed to the depth of the crib section, it was lowered to prevent the sides from caving. When digging progressed further, the previously positioned sections were pushed downward, and a new one was added on top. Cribs sections were added until the digging reached the water. A final section was added on the surface with its top high enough to make for convenient handling of the pail. During the excavation, the digger filled buckets full of soil. One at a time each load was pulled up and emptied. Digging a well by hand was a slow and difficult process.
In Fred's well, water was found at approximately 15 feet – a shallow well. According to Nick, digging had to stop because the digger hit a rock. However there was enough room to dig a reservoir, (a hole that allowed the water to collect). Fred claimed that our well was actually a spring. Water did not sit in the well and stagnate. It always moved and so provided constant fresh water at all times. Every few years a slender person was lowered into the well to clean out the reservoir because over time it filled with silt and sand. During those times (when the well was being cleaned), water was collected prior to the commencement of the work - and stored for house use. If the water ran out before the work was completed, we took pails and walked through the pasture to a ravine near the river where we got good drinking water from a natural spring (the First Creek). The cows drank there all summer.
Fred built a wooden trough and supported it off the ground to prevent the bottom from rotting. It was situated near the well to supply water to the horses and cows during the winter.
On laundry days, lots of water was hauled from the well. Although there was a shallow well at the foot of the present garden area, (near the lake) for the animals' use, it had a slough water quality about it and was not suitable for domestic use.
During those early times Fred and Maria did not foresee a time when they might have running water in the house. But they could dream about it. When the bungalow was completed, their dream at last came true. |