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February 8, 2013? 3 feet of snow…. February 8, 1913?

It’s Friday, February 8, 2013 and we’re getting up to 3 feet of snow. What did the weather bring 100 years ago on Saturday, February 8, 1913? As usual, Clem always gives us a brief weather report: We got up at 6:30 weather very nice a little cold till the sun came up and then…
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Happy Birthday Carter!

Carter Reid was born this morning just after midnight. He’s our latest grandchild and the son of Karen’s daughter, Caitlin. He was born at Holyoke Medical Center where our good friend Ginny manages the the birthing clinic. Caitlin is a phlebotomist at the same hospital and knows just about everybody there…she has no lack of…
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Alberta, Canada…Grand Trunk Pacific Railway…February 7, 1913

From “Lest We Forget”, Clem Dickson’s diary entry for February 7, 1913: Weather a little milder with sun shine all day. Steve and I took the Local from Otley to Leaman and walked from Leaman to Otley 15 miles. We got in about 4:30. We sat around the fire till supper. After supper I went…
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Busy Day for Genealogy!

Busy day for genealogy. The latest class began today in Brimfield, MA. This si the second series I’ve conducted at the Hitchcock Free Academy. Small group but we will still cover all of the material. As a matter of fact, we might even be able to get a little farther as there are fewer lines…
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Too Cold to Work Today! February 6, 1913

Too cold to work! Weather a little colder. We did not go out to work today. I cut wood in the morning. In the afternoon about 3:30 we moved to Ostley. Arrived about 4:30 NOTE: In the interest of true transcription, the “:” between “3” and “30” or “4” and “30” above were not in…
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Genealogy Research Made Simple

There was a cartoon in the paper a while ago that I had to save: “Shoe” by Chris Cassatt & Gary Brookins. The character “The Senator” was being interviewed by the reporter who asks, “What initially inspired you to run for president?” The Senator goes on to explain his interest in tracing his family’s roots,…
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February 5, 1913….A Little Warmer!

There’s a word or two in this post I can’t figure out for a couple of reasons: 1) Clem’s handwriting skill was atrocious and 2) Clem’s spelling skill was atrocious! So, here’s the best transcription I can offer based on the entry for Wednesday, February 5, 1913 The weather is much warmer but a high…
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More “Clem” news on the Grand Trunk Pacific—January 4, 1913

From “Lest We Forget”, here’s my grandfather’s entry in his diary from Tuesday, January 4, 1913: The weather is about the same 20 [degrees] below. We did not go out to work today because we had run out of coal and Steve and I had to look around for wood. Cullerne went to Carval and…
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a cold morning in Alberta! February 3, 1913 “Lest We Forget”

Today I start transcribing again. The past few weeks had already been transcribed so posting was as simple as a copy/paste with a few comments. Here are the comments from the January 3rd entry, one hundred years ago! Monday, February 3, 1913 We got up at 6 30 and the weather was much colder than…
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February 2, 1913—Do They “Celebrate” Groundhogs Day in Canada???

Here’s the last page that I’ve transcribed ahead of time. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be transcribing directly from Clem Dickson’s diary, “Lest We Forget”. It’s getting pretty fragile so I hope I can work with it without causing any additional wear and tear. Sunday, February 2, 1913 We did not get up till 830 this morning.…
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