My Saskatchewan Childhood
Carmen Moore bareback on “Dusky”. Photo courtesy of author.
The youngest in a family of six and five- and one-half years younger than my nearest sister, I was for some years in a sense 'an only child', my siblings having moved on to adult pursuits. Although I missed out on a lot of the camaraderie enjoyed by my older sisters, there were many bonuses to the one-on-one relationship I had with our parents.
Our father homesteaded in 1910 at Alsask. He farmed the first few years with oxen and then with horses until his retirement in 1947. Consequently, he was in the field from dawn to dark in the summer months and it fell to us to attend to the chores.
Father Harry Moore, bringing in a load of wood for the cook. In the background, the barn, chicken house and granary. Photo courtesy of author.
Like our parents we all loved horses so working with them was no hardship. In the morning we helped with all preparations - bringing the horses in from the night pasture, feeding and harnessing them before breakfast, watering them and coupling the outfit and opening and closing gates to whatever field Dad was working. After school the water troughs had to be pumped full, mangers and grain boxes filled in preparation for their return.
Cows had to be fetched and milked and an early supper consumed in order to be ready to meet Dad and the outfit at dusk when the process was reversed - uncoupling the horses, watering them, securing them in their stalls for feeding. Afterward would come the unharnessing, currying and finally the release into the barnyard pasture where they would immediately roll.
In later years when I was alone responsible for these tasks and no longer delegated to the trivial bits by bossy older sisters, I took real pride in the jobs.
Moore family granaries and horses, circa 1940s. Harry Moore homesteaded here in 1910. Photo courtesy of author.
There was always an interlude between the preparations and Daddy’s return, and I recall those times with Mother as being special. Even with her sixth child she still had enthusiasm for small pleasures. She was always there when I got home from school, usually with fresh bread or cinnamon buns which I would delve into while recounting the events of my day. Sometimes she would pack us a picnic supper while I was doing the chores and we would walk with the dogs to a nearby slough and eat our supper there. Each spring she would remind me to bring her the first crocus I saw. The sight of crocuses still brings me a wave of nostalgia. In berry time we would hook Dusty to the buggy and drive to a more distant coulee to pick saskatoons or chokecherries, making sure to get home again for chore time.
Farming with horses in the 40s: Irvin Bell's side delivery rake on swathed barley, Kerrobert, September 23, 1942. Everett Baker Slides. Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society.
Winters were special, too, with long cozy evenings with a warm fire in the big heater. I did my homework at the dining room table while Mother and Dad read nearby. We had our favourite radio programs - Major Bowes' Amateur Hour, Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall, Fibber McGee & Molly among them.
Farming with horses in the 40s: Gust Miller mowing, Medstead, July 29 1944. Everett Baker Slides. Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society.
I remember the frustration of static and fading batteries at the most crucial moments during Lux Theatre.
After the local country school closed due to the dwindling student numbers, I took one year of high school by correspondence, an interesting and disciplinary experience. My instructions by mail were of high standard and when I attended Alsask High School for my last two years my standing was at a par with my classmates.
High school completed, it was time to leave the refuge of home, join sisters in Montreal to get a job and attend university at night school. What a cultural shock that was for this prairie kid.
Memories of my prairie childhood remain vivid and enriching. In spite of the restrictions of tight money, I never felt deprived.
Carmen Moore.
CARMEN MOORE was born in 1926 in Alsask, Saskatchewan. Her parents, Harry & Lucille Moore homesteaded five miles from Alsask in 1910. Carmen is the youngest of six girls. She married Arthur Moore in 1948.
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