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Tag: diary

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January 15, 1913 aboard the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway….

….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…
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Much warmer on January 13, 1913 near Spruce Grove, Alberta in “Lest We Forget”

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…
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Cold Snap Continues in “Lest We Forget” Saturday, January 11, 1913

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…
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“lest we forget” that it was 35 below zero on January 10 1913!!!

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…
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Clem Dickson Diary “Lest We Forget” Wednesday, January 8, 1913

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…
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Lest We Forget for January 7, 1913

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…
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Lest We Forget

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…
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