Dance at Sod House NW of 36-27-10
It is really fortunate that we have such amazing records of familial history on both sides. This is a small story with huge heart of my husbands' people who came to Canada in 1903 with lots of hopes and dreams to build a good life on the wide and wild prairie.
They arrived from England in 1903. In April of 1905 they set off by ox team from Saskatoon to their newly claimed land section in the (then) N.W. Territories. The province of Saskatchewan did not get established till later that year. They lived in a tent until they could build their sod house. Although great grandfather was a very good carpenter he did not know that you built the sod house first and then could lumber line it from the inside. He built a frame first and then put sod around it. Well it worked but wasn't as efficient as the usual way.
These were amazingly efficient homes when you consider it. A floor was dug down below the frost line and filled with chips and then a thick layer of packed clay. The temperature of the earth stays fairly constant once you dig below the frost line. The best sods were cut from dried out slough areas as the roots were much thicker and therefore held the house together much better. The sods were usually about 100mm deep by 0.91m wide by 1.5m long. These were then layered to the height you wanted and a roof put on. It was solid sod on three sides with door and windows only on one side, away from the wind. The high density of the earth changes temperature very slowly and so provided a fairly consistent temperature even when the temperatures fluctuated between -40C in winter to +40 in summer.
Great grandparents' home became the centre of the social scene. A dance was held in their sod home every two weeks and a Club was formed. Music was supplied by several bachelors and Mr. Bert had a gramophone. Great grandmother would clear the room of beds and stuff and put them in the shed. Dances started at 8 pm and carried on until morning. Great grandmother and grandmother Flo served two lunches. One at midnight and the other before the dance ended in the mornings. The Club would all contribute to these goods. At the end of the season the Club presented the family with an armchair and a rocker to thank them for their hospitality and the express how much the community appreciated the fun.
It is easy to think that times were tough in those days and they were, but it is sure wonderful and inspiring to know that they took the time to enjoy friends and music and dance the night away on a regular basis. It must have been great fun.
Everyone had arrived in Canada with similar hopes, dreams and aspirations. Everyone was a stranger and yet they formed tight and solvent communities in a very short time. Everyone pitched in, helped each other out. They worked hard together and then they played and rejoiced in their accomplishments.
I had the pleasure of knowing Grandmother Flo for a short time. She was a woman ahead of her time. She was the forerunner of the woman's movement let me tell you. She was great. Still took the stairs instead of the elevator at 98, liked to beat men at cards and liked her finger of rye each night.
Don't make them like that anymore.
