On September 18th, 1888 Archibald Stansfield Belaney better known as Grey owl was born. He was brought up by his two aunts in England till he was fifteen when he decided to run away and go to Canada. Following many failed attempts to follow the big boom in silver mining he was found sick and starving by an indigenous guide and was brought to the Ojibwa camp.
After arriving there he was befriended by the members of the tribe. They then taught him their ways and he made friends and even became a guild at one point. After a while he began to hate the fact that he was a white man and it made him feel left out because he looked different from all his friends. To try and get around this and not to be the odd one out he claimed he had an apache mother and an English father who raised him in England. His new friends all believed his claim and with that he started to withdraw even more from the white man and threw himself even more into the ways of the indigenous people and even became a forest ranger. He accepted every challenge that came with it to prove he was just as good as anyone else. Grey Owl served in the armed forces from 1914 to 1917 where he was wounded. After his discharge he retreated even further from the White people also believing they were the reason for forest fires. He spent most of this time with the Ojibwa Tribe. As an indigenous person he was received by King George V. In 1920 he was officially adopted into the Ojibwa tribe as a blood brother. During this time he became famous as a naturalist. He was also known to have been one of the first men to tame an adult beaver. He later set up his sanctuary in Prince Albert National park where he stayed until his death in 1938 at the age of 49. Grey Owl will be remembered for his attempts to eliminate cruel practices like trophy hunting. To hear more about Grey Owl you can read his books such as The Men of the Last Frontier, Pilgrims of the Wild, The Tales of an Empty Cabin, Her Beaver and The Tree, and more. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors.
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The year was 1891, Canada had been a country for 24 years and European settlers were still flooding in, looking forward to their new lives. Swift Current, or at the time, Assiniboia, Northwest Territories, had been an area that many people were starting to settle in.
On May 19, 1891, Walter and Mary Elizabeth Richardson welcomed their baby girl, Rachel Richardson, into the world. Rachel ended up being the first Caucasian baby to be born in Assiniboia, Northwest Territories. At age 21 Rachel started working for Senator Kirchoffer and his wife in Brandon (and later Ottawa) as a maid. While in Brandon her employers were hosts to the Duke and Duchess and Princess Patricia, Colonel Lowthes, Major Worthington, Captain Buckley, and the Duke’s valet and Duchess’ maid. Lake Manitoba provided them with a beautiful spot to canoe. The Duchess gave Rachel a brooch with her initials on it as a token of remembrance. The brooch is still within the family. At the age of 25 in 1916, Rachel married Alexander Murdock, together they raised 4 boys and 4 girls. Rachel believed in the importance of the proper use of grammar and she taught her children to work hard, but also take time to sing, dance, and use good manners. Rachel had a few hobbies, and was apart of the Glen Kerr homemakers club, but her main interest was politics. Being an enthusiastic member of the NDP, she attended their meetings and her children went to CCYM. Rachel lost her husband in 1958 and lived in Moose Jaw at the Ina Grafton Gage Home before spending her last days in a home in Herbert. Her legacy was her wonderful influence on her children and grandchildren who reflect her in a multitude of ways. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. You may remember this story from July 2021, but it is definitely worth reposting. I have since found the original correspondence between Erma and the Morse Museum and that it was Western People who published the story on July 3rd, 1986. I have also added pictures!
Tucked away, almost hidden, among other papers strewn about on a display case in the Morse Museum’s Town History room is an old article titled simply – The Silver Liz. Throughout my life, it seems Elizabeth is a name that marks important people and I always take special note when I’m introduced to another. I can now add a car to the list of friends and mentors! I’m not sure who published the article but it is written by Erma Rabourn and begins, “The time was 1939. The place was Morse, Saskatchewan. My teenaged brother Tom and two of his buddies decided that they were too grown-up for bicycles. They sold their wheels, pooled the money they received for them, and went looking for something more sophisticated.” What did the boys get? A very old, run down, Ford model T, or a ‘tin lizzie’. The crew of boys worked in the old red barn on the back of Erma’s family home. Eventually the car was up and running and met the boys’ approval. It did, however still require a push start and as the article explains, “(Morse citizens) …were bribed to put a shoulder to the back of the Ford by a promise of a ride all around the four-mile block. As they drove through town, more and more little boys joined the part. By the time the motor took hold, they were as thick as flies on sticky fly-paper.” It was when the car was painted with silver aluminum paint that it was christened The Silver Liz. In those days the boys paid 20 cents a gallon for gas (or about 5 cents a L) and had local businesses advertised on Lizzie for one dollar. With a tank full of gas and some spending money the boys would head out to Herbert to go courting and just below the windshield was written ‘HERBERT OR BUST’. Sometimes the gas ran out and the boys would walk the last mile or two home leaving Liz behind. On July 1st, they managed to make it all the way to the fair grounds and even took 1st prize in the parade. This spark of joy and boyish fun was between the decade of depression Tom saw previously and the war that would call him and his friends away. Erma shares what happened to the boys after the war, “Bob May returned to his hometown after the war…Irvin Bleich came back from overseas, but not to Morse…Tom didn’t come back.” And what became of the Silver Liz? Erma recalls, “…the Silver Liz met her demise in a blaze of glory against one of those lamp posts one late, late night when Tom was home on embarkation leave. Luckily no one was hurt” A special thank you to the author Erma Rabourn, Bob May and Darlene Nicholson who assisted Erma in re-telling the story of the Silver Liz and to Western People who saw fit to share this story. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. In the late 1800’s the Prairies were a very different place. Few towns, cities or people could be found among the prairie landscape. The brave, the young, the adventurous came from all over the world to ‘settle the west’. Homesteads began springing up, towns were formed and the railroad came. Harry Richardson was one such soul who came to what was then the Northwest Territories but what we now call, Saskatchewan.
‘What is a memory worth?’ On August 26th, 1980 this line began Darlene Nicolson’s fundraising letter. Her goal as president of the Morse Cultural and Heritage Assoc. was to save the old school from demolition. The association sent countless letters to former students and members of the Morse community. Now, more then forty years later I sit in ‘the old school’ surrounded by the fruits of that effort.
Tucked away in the basement of the Morse Museum is a red and gold scrapbook filled with historic ‘gold’ but not the sort you sell on Ebay or buy at an estate auction. It is filled with precious memories. Pasted on the first page is a copy of this historic letter. The pages that follow contain hundreds of, mostly handwritten, notes, cards and letters. Former residents sending what they could to help the cause from across Canada, the US and even countries beyond. As I took the time to read through the letters, I was touched by the love people had for preserving history and connecting with this community. Letters saying “I’m sorry I can’t send more…”, “say hi to so and so if you see them…” and “are you related to…” but also reminiscing of their teachers, employers, even the wheat fields and prairie dogs. People who left the area back even before the school had the addition built. They remembered so fondly this place even though some knew they’re ‘traveling days were behind them’ and they wouldn’t be seeing Morse again. One letter read, “I am not in a position to help but will give you my two brothers’ addresses”. I laughed, I cried and when I reached the end my heart was so full. I had caught the passion that caused those early advocates to stand up and fight to save ‘our old school’. Although I never attended classes here, I felt a kindred spirit with those who had. For the coming weeks, I will share some of these letters with you. I hope they stir your heart as they have mine. I also invite you to purchase a membership with The Morse Museum & Cultural Centre and to continue sending your cards, letters and support. Memories are historic gold here in the museum and we always love to hear from you. For details on membership and contacting us, please follow this link. https://morsemuseum.weebly.com/ You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Blogs are written by museum staff and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. Previously on this blog we have discussed Ernest Grossehmig and his contributions to the community of Morse along with his life history. So today I would like to honour his spouse Nora Alma Drisler, Strauss.
Nora was born in Naperville, Illinois in 1868. For unknown reasons she was not cared for by her parents, John Drisler and Matilda Strauss. Instead, she lived with her grandparents Johannes Simon Strauss and Mary Elizabeth in Naperville. By the age of 12 Nora had taken the last name Strauss and she listed Simon Strauss and Mary Elizabeth as her parents on her wedding certificate. Nora married John H, Hepler in Aurora Illinois on January 15th, 1898, two years after her grandfather died. She and John has two children, Rosalind and Wade before John drowned. Shortly after his death Nora gave birth to their third child, Earl. To support herself and her children she worked as a cook for a 63-year-old bachelor. Within a year she met Ernest Grossehmig and they were married a few months later on January 1st, 1901. In 1909 the family moved to farmstead approximately 9kn west of Hodgeville, SK. During the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 Nora nursed many sick people in the district. She was a popular and highly respected person in the community. In 1926, the family moved up near Ernfold to sheep ranch. Nora passed away at the age of 98 on June 7th, 1961. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors This pump organ has been in the Beach family for over 100 years. The original owners were Benjamin and Susan Beach who came to Ernfold in 1912 from Ontario to join their son Palmer Beach who has a Coal and Wood business. In January 1914 Benjamin, Susan, and Palmer moved into their newly built farmhouse a mile south-east of Ernfold. The organ was likely purchased that year as the organ is in the 1914 photo of Susan Beach and her niece Floria Henna. Floria came to Ernfold from Roland Manitoba in 1913 to tach in the Ernfold School. Floria and Palmer married in 1915 and raised 11 children. The organ was an integral part of the family’s musical entertainments during these years. Floria would play the organ in the evening when all the children were in bed. All the children took music lessons on the organ from their Aunt Beth who also came to teach school in Ernfold in 1915. The family, relatives, friends, and Ernfold United Church Minister’s family would come to the Beach home for Sunday dinners. The evenings always included a hymn sing of everyone gathered, the organ initially played by Aunt Beth. Floria’s oldest daughter Joy Beach played the organ from the age of 13 for may sing songs and accompanied her brother Dexter on the clarinet. In 1943 Joy remembers playing the organ for a “young peoples” dance in the living room. The organ has travelled in later years along Beach family members. First to Floria’s daughter Pauling Beach Biggs home in Moose Jaw in the 1970’s. The organ then went to Floria’s Granddaughter home in Winnipeg to return in later years to Pauline’s. Kevin Beach delivered the organ to the Morse Museum in October 2016. As spring begins to spring this year, we will take a look back at April’s of the past. This season of growth and rebirth has shown to be a pleasant one in Morse. With businesses opening or being renovated it is a season of fresh air and fresh starts here in Morse. So take a few moments with me to reminisce on what happened in April in Morse in the past,
In April on 1974 the CPR station was demolished In April of 1982 the new Saskatchewan Wheat Pool opened In April of 1985 Reed Lake Welding opened for business with proprietor Rod Bakus In April of 1996 the Herbert Lions celebrated 50 years and the Ernfold Lions celebrated 40 years In April of 2004 The gallery in the Morse Museum received an exhibit from Anthea Loran who travelled to Burma with a British Ambassadors family as a young sick children’s nurse from 1952-1954 In April of 2009 a decision was made regarding the status of the Morse School, it was slated to close at the end of June In April of 2016 the Morse Museums Country Cupboard Gift Shop received a full renovation In April of 2017 Bob and Judy Olynick had a grand opening for their new fertilizer shed. It was celebrated with a tour, supper and a dance. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors The following article was found in the Morse History room, titled a Historical Midsession and was written by an unknown author sometime around the 1950’s. The article details some key historical facts of Morse as well as what Morse looked like at the time of publication. Enjoy!
Here is today’s town history broadcast and out point of call is Morse in west-central Saskatchewan The town was established in 1912 on a flat prairie section of the province which had been settled in the early days by such pioneers as G.A. Paul, J.J William, J.B. Ogden, H.B. harder and F.M. Wood. The town was named after the inventor of the telegraph. The first mayor of the town was J.J. Williams. The town has a large hotel, three up to date filling stations, a well-equipped auto camp, good sports ground with racetrack. There are four general stores, two hardware, a drug store, oafe and branch of the Royal Bank, a lumbar yard, barber shop, beauty parlor, a weekly paper and a large town hall with includes the town office, theatre, and dance hall. In the same building are the fire department and the council chambers. There are three churches, a good curling a skating rink, post office and telephone exchange, and six grain elevators. The town has a population of about 400. In 1915 Morse set up a record by shipping 2,250,000 bushels of wheat. Back in 1906 when the country was being opened up, the town had 6 lumbar yards, 5 livery barns and two hotels. In 1916 the Rolling Plains Co-Operative Association was organized at Morse. Clifford pepper was the first secretary-treasurer. Among other prominent in the organization was Willian Hutchinson, who was later secretary-treasurer of the association. Since the date of organization this association has amalgamated with other co-operative associations and has developed into a strong co-operative known as the Morse Co-operative Association, In 1940 they provided more than 75,000 gallons of gasoline and fuel oils, 3,200 gallons of lubricating oils and 5,600 pounds of grease. The Morse Co-operative Association has more than 70 members. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors Brigadier-General Carla Harding is a former resident of Morse, and somebody who I believe holds the spirit of Morse. Brigadier-General Harding grew up in Morse and joined the military straight out of high school in 1990. She attended the Royal Military College in Kingston first enrolling as Army Supply Officer, upon graduation she began climbing the ranks.
In 2013 Lt. Carla Harding took over as new commanding officer for 2 service Battalion in Petawawa. She has also served in Afghanistan for more than one tour and in 2015 was awarded the Order of Military Merit. Among her awards Brigadier-General Carla Harding also has many degrees, including Masters of Arts in Defense Management, Security and Policy, a Masters in Defense Studies and most recently a Masters of Science in National Resource Strategy. In 2019 she was promoted to Brigadier General, in so doing she became the youngest female ever in Canada to hold this title. Currently Brigadier-General Carla Harding serves as the Director of General Support at Canadian Joint Operations Command. Brigadier-General Carla Harding has many other high points of her career, all of which cannot easily be summed up in this small blog post, but what can be said is that Brigadier-General Carla Harding is a source of pride to her home community of Morse. We thank Brigadier-General Carla Harding for her service to our country, and for bringing such pride to our small community! You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors |