Agriculture and Settlement

People

Bob Vance, Mr. Greer showing stalks of Rye at Athabasca

Athabasca Archives, 766.

In 1912 I filed east of Athabasca, proved up on it and kept it . . . The first farm equipment came in from Edmonton about 1907 or 08 with teams. Jim Daniel was the International Agent in Athabasca . . . About livestock in the area: Mr. Minns . . . and his uncle bought a bull in Edmonton and started walking him out in the hot summer. They walked him too far and he died; that was in 1904 or 05 . . . About raising crops: we started raising crops on a few acres at Perryvale about 1904 or 05. I had a lot to do with the threshing. Billy Smith got the first threshing machine in the country; he lived at Meanook . . . Billy Smith hauled this threshing machine from Edmonton to Meanook with a team of horses . . . Billy used to thresh all around the country, at Pine Creek and west of Colinton. Mr. Keir and Mr. Willey brought in the second threshing outfit; they did all the threshing, east, west and north of Athabasca. (Athabasca Historical Society 1986, 101)

Interview with C.J. Raynor Whitely talks about Billy Smith's threshing machine. Athabasca Archives, audio tape #8, accession #85.285.

First wheat field, Athabasca, 1909

Log home (corner)

Horses pulling cabin to homestead

Travelling on a trail

Bob Vance, Mr. Greer showing stalks of Rye at Athabasca

Grande Prairie settlers, Athabasca Landing, 1910.

Interview with Jettie "Day" Willey, describes why her family left the United States and came to Canada. Athabasca Archives, audio tape #153.