The Huron Expositor, 1975-04-17, Page 27(Continued from Page 10)
black horse which his neighbour
described as one that might have
been in the ark with Noah,
In the fall, he harvested his .15
acres, stacked the wheat against
his shack to dry and set out to
earn some money threshing in the
north.
When he returned, the stack
had 'burst' right in the centre and
the grain was scattered. There
wasn't much left but a man
named Hall threshed it for him
with his horse-drawn machine.
The next spring, using a tC long-handled walking plough, he
ploughed 'sixty-five acres.' He
ploughed in the daytime and
picked stones at night. Colclough,
across the line had hardly a stone
but Bill had hundreds many of
them big ones.
In the West where moisture is
scarce and the weather cold all
winter . with no freezing and
thawing -to bring stones above
ground, the, stones stay just at
the surface ready to catch the
plough. Every one had to be dug
out by hand. Out on the prairies
in winter, even at forty below, it is
possible to dig down in the earth—
like summer - there just isn't
enough moisture in the earth to
freeze solid.
It was sixteen miles to the Post
Office and those, first years. Bill
or his neighbours usually walked
for the mail - it took the whole
day. On Sundays, a 'farmer-conic
preacher' held a church service at
the Post Office you could also
pick up supplies at the same time.
One Sunday, a friend Jack
Samson and Bill went with Jimmy
Colclough to the Post office and
stayed for the service.When they
started for home, it was dark and
forty below. Bill couldn't keetp his
feet from freezing so took off his
boots and ran behind the sleigh
on his sock feet.They 'reached
Colclough's and when they were
warmed up, Jack Samson and Bill
started to walk the mile home.
You couldn't get lost on the
prairies when the weather was
clear but it wasn't always that
easy! Bills says this• particular
night, a heavy white frost settled
over the land blotting out
everything but the stars and the
hard-packed snow beneath. That
snow was so hard that not a track
showed.
A111 night they walked, not
daring to stop in the cold and
afraid they would stray too far
south where there wasn't a
building for 130 miles.
A Pail of Syrup
Bill, who was carrying a pail of
syrup in one hand and a little
white dog in the other arm finally
gave in and abandoned the pail of
syrup but kept the dog. Some
time later, Bill had to drop the
struggling, whining dog. The dog
ran off into the darkness with
Samson and Bill in pursuit - the
dog led them right to the door of
the shack. By the time they had
breakfast, it was daylight' and
when they looked out they could
see the pall of syrup sitting out in
the field so they hadn't lost it
after all.
Three Years
It took three years of hard work
to plough the whole 160 acres
then he bought the quarter
section adjoining for four
thousand dollars, and since it was
only half broke up he had to start
breaking again.
In 1912, he came home for a
year, drew gravel for the present
church in Walton and laid the
groundwork for the next visit in
1916.
Bill headed west again, this
time determined to build a bigger
better house. He wasn't going to
bring his bride into a shack!
In 1913, the railioad came. Bill
chuckled, "They had it surveyed
a half-mile north of us and boy we
thought we were right in it. Then
they moved it six miles north
along the lake,"
In 1916, he came back east to
marry Jean _Barrows from the
thirteenth of McKillop.
Grigg's (couSins of Jean's and
former Morris Twp. residents)
who had gone to Alberta were
visiting the area. They attended
the wedding and accompanied the
bride and groom as far west as
Winnipeg. In• Winnipeg, Bill and
Jean bought their furniture then
headed by train for the
homestead.
They had to get off the train
about 15 miles from home and
stay the night at a hotel. The
temperature was forty-two below
and that hotel was so cold that
nobody went to bed, just•• Sat
around the big pot-bellied stove.
A friend on the train had his
cutter at the station so he drove
them straight home the next
morning. There wa's no worry
about finding the right road - just
straight ahead over the wind-
packed snow to the house. The
land was so flat and the air so
clear that v ou could see for miles.
Tom McDonald, another forMer
Grey TWp. neighbour lived near
Sovereign, fifty miles away and
you could sec the town from
Bennett's.
When Bill and Jean went to
town in the cutter, they would put
a large rock, all they could lift, in
the oven" the night before. They
would put it in the cutter in the
morning where it • would stay
warm all day.
The year their first child Mar',
was horn, Grandma Barrows
came out for a month. Mary was
'born in Saskatoon. Two years
later—lean and baby Mary came
East around Christmas. Their
second child. John. was born in
January but they did not go back
West until ,October.
The Dirty Thirties
The thirties were dirty alright!
Farmers' had summer fallowed;
cropped and. burned the stubble
and straw every year, returning
nothing to the parched soil until it
was so light that the relentless
winds just picked it up, and blew
it away.
• No crack was too small to keep
out that dust. Even the best
louses let in a layer 9f dust every
day the wind blew.
Bill said, "One spring we had
eight-five acres of wheat - just a
lovely crop and one night it blew
all night and in the morning there
wasn't a spear left. The wind had
taken everything right to the
bottom of the ploughing."
"There were sloughs on the
section to the front of our place
and in the fall 1 ,eut what little
wheat we had froth the sloughs on
the prairie." The moisture of the
filled-up sloughs had kept some
of the transplanted grain alive.
Bill continued, "In that period
we were lucky to get one crop in
five. They seem to get more rain
now. Since '4 4 they have only
missed one crop."
Bill continues "There was a big
outfit to the west of us with a big
L-shaped barn and it blew so
much stuff around that barn that
it cost them two thousand dollars
to move the dirt away from
around the barn.
In 1944, the Bennett's moved
back east and purchased the farm
now owned by Chris Lee, where
they farmed for several years
before retiring to Walton. Mrs.
Bennett passed away in 1958 and
Bill has lived alone since that
time.
Time has never 'hung heavy'
on his hands - his garden has
always been the earliest and best
in Walton. He baked bread,
pickled and preserved.
His house is conveniently
situated near the school and
during the fifties and sixties when
the grandchildren were attending
„4.
SOD BARN ON THE PRAIRIES — A young Bill Bennett holds two of his horses
after taking them out of his sod barn in the background. On the ground under the
barrel is part of Mr. Bennett's first home made wagon, Bill homesteaded in
Saskatchewan in 1907.
CLEANING THE GRAIN — Bill Bennett Is one of this group who were cleaning
grain,after the harvest on his Saskatchewan•tarm. In the background at left is Bill's
first shack, with a curved or "car" roof where he spent the first winter on his land.
After he built his new farm house, Bill used the shack as a blacksmith's shop.
school, it became a ritual for them
and their' friends to call on the
way home from school. Grandpa
Ben always had homemade
candy, cookies or bread. It is still
the custom for the children in the
school yard to call across to
Grandpa Ben in the summer.
In later years, he has raised
rabbits. He started—with one pair
as a hobby but discovered there
was a market for rabbit meat.
Bill says "You will never get
rich at it but I n1--le a nice bit of
money with the rabbits". Last
summer, he• sold one hundred.
One of his best does produced
twenty-three in two batches. Dick
Marks is keeping them for the
winter but Bill hopes to be back in
business in the spring. Just, as
soon as the snow is gone and the
ground begins to get a little gray,
you can be sure that Bill will be
up inspecting his garden; stirring
it up a bit; and getting the rabbit
pens ready for action.
This winter. Bill is staying with
his daughter Mary - at least at
night. On nice days, he goes up to
check on things, puts a fire in the
cook stove and enjoys the feeling
of still owning his own home. The
day before our interview, he had
been up and made 'a batch of jam
from fruit which he had in the
freezer. He says that he still has
one loaf of bread in the 'f reezer
that he baked himself.
Bill Bennett's daughter Mary
and her husband Stewart
Humphries 'run Humphries
General Sto're and -Post Office in
Walton and Stewart has a mail
route. •
'His son John, is a retired
veterinarian and lives in
Newmarket. • There arc three
Humphries grandchildren and
one Bennett. Bill also has four
great grandchildren.
and
• Best Wishes
to the
TOWN OF SEAFORTH
and all its residents
on the Centennial Year."
R•E• •McKinley, M P
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, APRIL 17, 1975 —11