Family Research - Classes - Workshops - Consultation
Sometimes I try to imagine what my grandfather would think if he could see this blog…100 years after he wrote the words and took the pictures! What a world!!! “Lest We Forget” On Sunday, January 19, 1913, Clem and his co-workers decided to “sleep in”. He didn’t get up until 8 o’clock!! Half the day…
Read more
Here’s today’s entry: We did a little better today. Weather was a little warmer about 10⁰ below. Steve and I walked to Carval (?) left Stony Plain at 1 oclock and got back at 3.25 PM. 17 miles. Cullerne went to Edmonton in the afternoon. I wrote to Jim Fisher. [Note: At this point in…
Read more
….or what would become the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway! Clem mentions “the car” which is, of course, the railcar where they lived throughout the construction project. No mention of the temperature today, but it did snow. So much for today’s weather report! Here’s today’s entry in “Lest We Forget”: Steve and I in the car…
Read more
Weather much warmer about 20⁰. We did nothing but clean up the car in the morning. Steve and I walked to Spruce Grove on rail drainage. Walked both ways eight miles. After we started it started to snow and it lasted it till we got back at 4.30 and the car was very cold. [From…
Read more
The cold snap conitnues and yet Clem and Steve still made it “uptown” for some relaxation. Saturday, January 11, 1913: Same old story stayed in the car all day could not work as it was only 35 below. We found it bad enough to go to our meals. I had to get up at 5.30…
Read more
When he describes the weather that day, he states that it was “35 below”. Now that’s cold! But keep in mind that he’s talking about 35 degrees Celsius, not that 35 degrees Celsius is tropical….That’s still pretty cold! At any rate, here’s the entry for January 10, 1913 in Saskatchewan. I know it’s Saskatchewan because…
Read more
Stuck in a rail car for days at a time with no hi-speed internet connection, no cell phones, no “Words With Friends” and certainly, no cable TV!! The cold snap continues! Here’s what Clem had to say about Thursday, Januaary 9, 1913…one hundred years ago today: Stayed in the 7 spot all day keeping on…
Read more
Keep in mind that when my grandfather, Clem Dickson, wrote this diary 100 years ago, he was working on the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad in northwest Canada, a bitterly cold and primal wilderness . He worked with the team that was responsible for construction westward from Winnipeg, Manitoba toward the team that began in Prince Rupert, British Columbia and…
Read more
The sign reads: “SUMMIT of YELLOWHEAD PASS and WEST BOUNDARY of JASPER PARK ALTA.” Each corner has the name of the railroad, “GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC RAILWAY”. Clem Dickson, arms folded, stands just above the word “TRUNK” over the upper right hand corner. The left side of the sign reads, “PRINCE RUPERT 498 MILES” and the…
Read more
This will be a series of blogs that I should have started January 1st. By sheer luck, I happen to have the diary that my maternal grandfather kept while he worked for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad. He made an entry every day during the year 1913. That’s right; the diary is exactly 100 years…
Read more
Recent Comments