Grand Trunk Pacific Railway January 30 and 31, 1913

Missed yesterday....Sorry! Getting behind in a few areas and I need to get caught up. Here are yesterday's and today's diary entries from my grandfather, Clem Dickson, as he worked the construction crews building the short lived Grand Trunk Pacific Railway:

Thursday, January 30, 1913

Today is the same as yesterday with a little more snow and a little warmer. We were to go east today but the snow did not let up and Cullerne feeling blue because we had to stay in. He made us work. Steve was copying notes all day. I (hunge?) two axes all day at it


Friday, January 31, 1913

Snow all day so that we could not go out to work. Cullerne was raising cane all day because he could not work.
About 4.30 Cullerne got word not to run in spine (?) and to move to Junkin on saturday that was ok for us.

From WIKIPEDIA: "Entwistle was founded by James Entwistle, an employee of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Entwistle knew that construction of the railway would be halted on the east banks of the Pembina River for a few years as a bridge was built over the river. A boomtown would most certainly spring up. Seizing the opportunity, Entwistle staked a claim on a section of land very close to the Pembina River and the surveyed line for the GTPR in 1907. In 1908, as the railway construction camps drew closer to the Pembina River, Entwistle built a general store on his land, and left it in the care of his wife and children. The railway soon arrived, construction on the railway bridge started, and the boomtown formed around Entwistle’s store."

Now, here's Clem's entry for January 29, 1913, one hundred years ago today!

Today we all were to go to Gainsford east of Entwistle but it snow to [sic] hard in the morning so we let it go till this afternoon but the snow did not let up, on that account we did not go out at tall [sic]

[caption id="attachment_479" align="alignnone" width="300"] Entwistle, AB, the Diamond Capital of Canada[/caption]

(For the record, Gainsford is about 14 km or 8.6 miles from Entwistle. Notice that Entwistle was a GTPR employee!)

Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program

Well, I'm to be congratulated! I've just completed the first module in the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program. It's an on-line course (back to school???) with 5 modules scheduled to run about 14 weeks in all. The schedule is tight: get through every section and submit the work for grading on time. And there's a very good reason....the modules disappears one at a time for good! If your not done, you've failed that section.

This first module is titled "Foundations of Genealogical Research". It covers standards, processes, source citation (not easy!), finding information and what to do when you find it, manuscripts (any unpublished document---who knew?), repositories, on-line resources, planning and reporting. This is a great deal more disciplined and structured than I ever could have imagined.

But, here's why I'm to be congratulated: Not because I finished...I snagged an "A"!! Good for me!!

Heads up, though. The upcoming modules are promised to ramp up in difficulty.

Now stop congratiulating me and wish me "good luck!"

"Lest We Forget" Entry for January 28, 1913

I'm running out of transcriptions! I started this a long time ago, but never did anything with it. So, I've had a Word document on my computer from which I've been just doing a copy/paste....pretty simple. But starting February 5th, I have to go to the original diary to continue posting the entries. I just have to be careful not to break the binding or the spine. It's a little brittle!

Tuesday, January 28, 1913

We went out on the line to the Quarrie (sic). We run levels over it in the afternoon

Steve and I put in the station on it in the morning

We had dinner at the hotel

Weather was very mild a little rain and snow all day sun came out for a little while in the afternoon

Pembina Hotel Reference---January 27, 1913! It's still there...

Monday, January 27, 1913:

We three all worked on line all day. We had dinner over town at the Pembina Hotel. We had a very good dinner
Weather was very soft all day with a little rain fall but not enough to do any harm.

Two thoughts here:

1) I Googled "Pembina Hotel" just to see what the search would return. The Pembina Hotel is still operating in Winnipeg! The room service must be world class!

2) Rain??? On January 27th??? In Canada??? Global warming 100 years ago??? I'm jus' sayin'.....

After 2 days of technical meltdown....January 25 and 26, 1913

First, the furnace, then the trip to New York, then the water heater leaked all over the floor, so, new water heater, then, it wasn't the water heater, it was a condensation drain that led outside that should have gone to the laundry drain but went through the sill plate (who knew???) and froze which caused another water leak, then Microsoft Office 2007 crashed, then the upgrade to Office 2010 wouldn't install properly, then a Microsoft tech fouled up EVERYTHING, then I didn't get the promised call back from Microsoft on Friday, then I've been on the phone ALL DAY TODAY with a level 2 tech who claims that what he's set up should finish processing later tonight and he'll call tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, I've had to catch up on 3 modules of my on line course at BU.....So, I missed yesterday's post! Here is Friday and Saturday!!!

Saturday January 25, 1913:

Saturday, January 25, 1913
Cullerne and Steve went in to Edmonton to a meeting of the real estate. I stayed in the car all day. In the morning I hung an axe for the first time and was told it was alright. In the afternoon I copyed (sic) a few notes. In the evening the station agrey (?) and I went up town and got a hair cut. Got back about 9.30


Sunday January 26, 1913:

Steve, Cullerne and Harry got back from town about 1.30 AM. I was in bed. we all stayed in the car all morning. Harry worked on a plan .In the afternoon Steve went hunting and I went for a walk in the bush. Bart came over to the car with Cullerne and Harry




Everybody wore a hat! I believe the man in the center (or rather "centre") on the boat is my grandfather, Clem Dickson.

January 23 and 24, 1923 Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

Thursday, January 23, 1913

Weather about the same about 8° with out snow but cloudy. Steve and I worked up to the pembina bridge this morning and got back about 11.30 for dinner This afternoon we all went up to Entwistle gravel pit to run in a P.L. worked all after got in about 5.30
*******

Friday, January 24, 1913

Steve and I were in the car all morning. Cullerne went up to the Quarry and got back about 11.30
In the afternoon we then took the car and went to the next siding [---?---] Emrie with rail drainage. Got back about 5.30 Weather was very mild.

January 22, 1913 Alberta, Canada

Weather very mild with very little snow about 10° below. We all stayed in the car all day on account of the snow. We all got some mail. I only got three one from Agatha Laurena [?] and a real estate one from frig [or possibly Peg?].

100 years ago today....A message from the Canadian wilderness on January 21, 1913

Karen has heard me say this a million times... When I talk about the diary in my genealogy presentations, I describe the hardships that were everyday living for my grandfather and the men he worked with. And yet I get nervous when I can't find the remote control for the TV!!!

[caption id="attachment_380" align="alignnone" width="300"] Unidentified men from the Gran Trunk Pacific Railway construction crew[/caption]

Here's the 21st of January. At least the weather was better!

Got up at 6 o’clock AM had breakfast and Steve and I got ready to walk to Entwistle. We started at 8.30 and got to Entwistle at 500. 21 miles and took station sur. Fine weather sunshine all day

By the way, I'm blogging from my sister's house in Cortland, NY. We're spending a few days with her and her husband while the kids are home "taking care" of the house. You know, bring in the mail and feed the dog....They should be able to handle it until we get back!

"Lest We Forget" January 20, 1913

Although in this entry, Clem did not put a “$” sign on the "windfall", he did underscore the “30” which is how he usually wrote dollar amounts. The underscore won't copy over to this post, but trust me....it's there! And I can easily see how he meant to say he had $5.30 left for the week. Some “wind fall”!

First snow for some weeks Snowed all morning we did not work. In afternoon Steve and I went out and made station sur. And I went up to the store and bought over shoes and 2 pair socks. And cashed my cheque and still got some left. Wind fall about 530

This post gets us up to date in "Lest We Forget"

Wooops! Missed the 17th because of the mix-up in the pages where Clem wrote his daily entry on the wrong page and.... Oh, never mind, it's too hard to explian here...

Here's the entry for the 17th:

Cullerne bill the outfit out and there was no trains west, so we stayed in car all day. On that account it was about 30° below this morning no wind bid Ellen goodbye but did no go. Steve and I played 2 games of Pool on the last two bits we had. Broke now till pay day that won’t be long till the 20th

And now we're up to date...

Cortland, NY

I may not have time to post tonight...We're still on the road heading to my sister's house.  I hope the kids have let the dog out a few times!

Diane's grandson has asked to see some of the genealogy artifacts I've collected.  He saw the Grand Trunk Pacific stories on the blog and wants to learn more.

Needless to say, I brought "more" ..... and more and more... He may be sorry he asked!

(Blogged from I81 near Homer NY)

Class is in session!

I really love teaching genealogy! I have to say that it doesn't matter if it's a large crowd or a small, intimate group. Tonight I met 4 very enthusiastic "students" of family history research in the first of 5 sessions being held at The Yellow House Community Center of Learning in Palmer, MA. Nancy, Emy, Marilyn and Paula came out on this very cold night to learn about genealogical research. Some have done an extensive amount on their own and some are relatively new to the field. Everyone had great questions and I think that everyone left satisfied. There will be 4 more sessions and I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences in the hope that it will help everyone improve their researching skills and habits.

Lest We Forget January 18, 1913

[caption id="attachment_384" align="aligncenter" width="300"] From Clem Dickson's Album of photos taken in Manitoba and Alberta Canada[/caption]

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 was gone!!! The transcription here is exact with all the misspelling and grammar as he wrote it.

Our morning in, didn’t get up till 8 AM. went and had breakfast at Smith. When Steve and I came back I had a bath and did a big washing, suite of underware shirt towel, two pair sock 4 hank. Got through about 430 then had a little sleep till 6 oclock then went to supper after supper I wrote to Maud. Cullerne still in Edson. Three trains ran over us and Cullerne didn’t come home.
[Maud was Clem’s eldest sister. Her married name was Fisher and her husband may have been the “Jim Fisher” to whom he had written a letter on the 16th]

Next Entry from Clem Dickson

What follows is the entry Clem made on the "Friday" page. But as explained in the earlier post, he made a mix up in which day was which. Who could blame him....the pages were probably frozen together at the time! Good thing they thawed out over the past 100 years!

At any rate, this entry is dated January 18th, 1913. Please remember that this is a direct transcription, warts and all!

We stayed in car alle (sic) day waiting for to snow. Cullerne three trains ran over me and the fourth picked me up at 1045 AM.
Steve and I wished that all the trains would have run over him as we wanted to be in Stony Plain foe (?) over sunday.

Arrived at Wabamum at 1245 AM. Steve and I went to Smith for dinner. Cullerne walked in from Carval to here. Arrived at 520 PM. Steve and I did a little in the afternoon he wired rail change and I made up the reports. Cullerne went to Edson on #1 1222 PM.

[caption id="attachment_379" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Some of these men must be the "Steve" or the "Cullerne" referenced in the diary[/caption]

(I finally figured out how to hi-lite the entries in bold italics to distinguish it from my own rambling!)

Ready....Set...Study!

Tomorrow is January 16, 2013. Not a particularly auspicious day, but it will be the first time I've been back in school in over 40 years! Well, saying that I’ll be “in school” is a stretch because in the 21st century you can be “in school” and in the living room at home at the same time. So, we’ve broken at least one of the basic tenets of physics: an object can now be in 2 places at the same time! And I’m here to say it works.

I’m not intimidated about taking a class even if it is Boston University, but I’m a little intimidated about the fact that it wasn’t cheap and I feel highly motivated to be successful…no pressure!!! Making a time commitment; doing the reading; writing the assignments; passing…and all in a mere 16 weeks. Wish me luck!

The class will be a very intensive course in genealogical research. In it, I hope to expand my knowledge of where to go to get the data I need and what to do with it once I’ve found it! It’s not good enough to just find something at somebody’s web site and transcribe the information. It’s all about documentation, sources and proof. There are certainly many challenges, many of which I’m likely not even aware of.

I’m always aware that I don’t know what I don’t know, and that’s what makes this new adventure so interesting. Since I obviously don’t know what I haven’t learned yet, the prospect of improving my skills in multiple areas is a pretty exciting prospect. Although I’m arguably a bit of an expert in my “other career”, genealogy can be a daunting field to undertake. Just reading blogs from other expert researchers over the past year or so shows that just having a subscription to a couple of genealogy web sites barely scratches the surface.

I’ll continue to post about the course….if I have the time!

Please visit Old Bones Genealogy and Family Research

"Lest We Forget" January 16, 1913...Clem gets the days mixed up!

[caption id="attachment_433" align="aligncenter" width="219"] This is the diary "Lest We Forget", a small 4X5 book in its 100th year![/caption]

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 the diary, Clem started filling in Saturdays’ log on Friday’s page. So he crossed out “Friday” and “17” and wrote in “Saturday” and “18”. Then he did the same for Saturday and Sunday, making “Saturday” “Sunday, January 19” and “Sunday” “Friday, January 17”. In the interest of accuracy and to maintain the way the diary was written, I have followed the exact transcription as it appears.]

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 all day keeping on the fire.  Weather about the same as yesterday with a little snow.  No work all day.  I went out in the afternoon an (sic) started to clean the flat car.  I just got it cleaned when it started to snow.  All that work for nothing.  Cullerne came home on the mixed about 4.30 PM.  I wrote home to father.

 

[caption id="attachment_382" align="alignnone" width="300"] Winter Scenes...Huge Snow Removal Car Up Front[/caption]

I've never said, "...a little warmer about 15 below..." !!!

Below is the diary entry for January 14, 1913. There are a few words on this page that I can't figure out, but I've come as close as I can. For example, I don't know what a "clavor" is or an "elavor" for that matter. If anyone out there knows, post a reply! For now, it's the best I can make out from the handwriting. Maybe a "clavor" is a railroad term or maybe it's hard to read because his hands wouldn't stop shaking from the cold! Good grief....15 below!!!

If you're at all interested in the Grand Trunk Pacific, there's an article at this link at Wikipedia.

Here's the transcription of what he wrote 100 years ago today:

Weather a little warmer about 15 below. We stayed in the car all morning. Cullerne went west on the mixed he had some work on the line. In the afternoon Steve and I went out and staked out the clavors/ elavors at Stony Plain worked about 2 hours. After supper Steve and I had 2 games of Pool. Then went home to bed. 9.30 good hours.

Busy Schedule Coming Up!

Today, I'm going to do my best to update my website www.oldbones.co to include all the classes and presentations coming up.  Another genealogy fundraiser for the First Church in Ludlow is starting February 25th, a 4 week course begins this Thursday at The Yellow House Center of Community Learning then the Hitchcock Free Academy would like to repeat what we did last fall.  Finally, the last of 4 monthly meetings will take place February 11, 2013 finishing up a 4 week introductory genealogy lecture series at the Wilbraham Public Library.

In addition, I'm still committed to transcribing and posting each day of my grandfather's diary "Lest We Forget" on a daily basis.  Watch for it!!

Please take a moment and visit www.oldbones.co for more details.  And certainly I'd love to hear any constructive criticism or suggestions from anyone who'd care to comment.

Thanks!

[caption id="attachment_404" align="alignnone" width="231"] Relationship Chart by Alice J Ramsay[/caption]

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 the diary of Clem Dickson "Lest We Forget" on the 100th anniversay of his entry while building the Grand Truck Pacific Railway in Alberta Canada]

It got a little colder??? "Lest We Forget" January 12, 1913

 

 

 

Here's a another few shots from my grandfather's photo album.  It looks as though the bear might have been a camp mascot!  I've got a few others that I'll post with the next few blogs...

 

 

 

 

 

Northwest Canada in 1913...even today...January weather can be counted on for cold!  You see, this is long before "global warming".  I'm sure these guys would have enjoyed a little "global warming"!  They're still in Spruce Grove, Alberta.  I don't imagine they're making much progress on the weekend.

Sunday, January 12, 1913:

Weather was a little colder about 44⁰.  We got up at 7.30  went to breakfast and stayed n car all day.  About 9.30 the sun came out and got a little warmer.  In the afternoon got water for the wash.  No church or I would have gone.

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 to put on a fire or we might have been frozen.  Steve and I went uptown and played 4 games of pool then went back to the car.  The first pool we played for some days.

Wilbraham Public Library: Full House for Session III

[caption id="attachment_369" align="alignleft" width="300"] Wilbraham Public Library Session III[/caption]

This was Session III of "Introduction to Genealogy and Family Research".  This session was titled "Becoming a Genealogy Detective".  Maybe that why so many people showed up!  This crowd was double the number of people who attended Session II last December.  We managed to get through all the material planned for the night.  Lots of great questions and great audience participation.  Although the program was scheduled to end at 8 PM, only one person left at 8....everyone else stuck around for an additional half hour.       These sessions were held under the auspices of the Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society.  WMGS holds monthly meetings in Agawam, MA 10 months of the year where speakers on a wide variety of subjects make presentations which are free.  Membership is only $20/year.

"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 there are references to "Spruce Grove" and other towns that are in that Province:

Friday, January 10, 1913
Weather a little colder only 35 below this morn. I got up at 5 oclock to put on more fire but I didn’t stay up very long. About 10 oclock the sun came up and it got much warmer. Tonight it is getting much colder. Now about 15⁰ below.

"Lest We Forget" diary entry for Thursday, January 9, 1913

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 the fires. 28 below. Cullerne thought it to (sic) cold to work. Only left the car for our meals. It snowed just a little in the morning.
Nothing to do. We talked till 9.30 then all went to rest.

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 worked eastward toward Winnipeg a total distance of about 1,500 miles.

[NOTE: I make no attempt to interpret what he wrote.  What I'll be posting every day this year is a simple transcription of each page of the diary as he wrote it.]

Here's the entry:

Stayed in the 7 spot all day and kept on the fire all day.  Weather was about 24 below and a cold wind blowing the same as day before and snow blowing.  Wrote two letters in the afternoon one to J/A/ R. Bob Dickson Nan(?)

Introduction to Genealogy---Becoming a Genealogy Detective!

Anyone near Wilbraham, MA tonight is welcome to stop at the Wilbraham Public Library tonight.  It's the 3rd in a 4 part series "Introduction to Genealogy".  Each week there have been more and more participants so feel free to call the library at 413-596-6141 to make sure there'll be room!  Based on the popularity, I can see that there just might be some future programs.  The last in this series will be held February 11th where we'll work on individual pedigree charts and whatever other subjects may come up.

This series is "sponsored" by the Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society (WMGS) in an effort to help people who are interested in family research and encourage them to take part in courses such as these and introduce them to WMGS.  Annual membership is only $20 and includes 10 monthly meetings held locally.

Over the full 4 sessions, we cover the basics of research, web sites (free and low-cost), definitions (soundex, vital records, etc), specific resources, naturalization, immigration, Ellis Island, name changes, spelling variations and "myth busting"!

Hopefully, some of you can make it tonight!  See you there.

Boston University: Genealogy Research Course On-Line

Today I begin a 16 week on-line course with Boston University to refine my genealogical research skills and, hopefully, learn, learn, learn! I hope that it pays off, mostly in the content that I'll be able to present in the courses and classes that I've been conducting! Wish me luck!!

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 right reads, "WINNIPEG 1045 MILES".  It looks as though the team heading west out of Winnipeg was making better time than the eastbound team out of Prince Rupert.  That makes sense as the Prince Rupert team had a much more difficult job!



Here's Clem's diary entry for Tuesday,January 7, 1913

Left north yards at 9³⁰ for Story Plan (sic).  Arrived at Stony Plain 11 oclock had dinner at the hotel.  The weather a little colder.  The wind was very high and cold.  Snowed a little all day. Weather about 23 below.  Cullerne went to town was in all day came out on the 11¹⁸ train.

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 old. It was written in pencil as a bottle of ink for an ink pen would have frozen in a heartbeat in Northwest Canada in the winter! What follows is as close to an accurate transcription that I can produce, warts and all!

His handwriting leaves a great deal to be desired, but it’s function rather than form here that's important to me. Truthfully, the entries are, by and large, extremely boring. But every once in a while, something is written that piques my interest. I’ll let you be the judge.

Clement Alexis Dickson was born in Williamstown, Glengarry County, Ontario in 1888. As a young man, he went off to help build the Grand Truck Pacific Railroad. It is reputed to have been the most expensive section of a railroad ever built in North America at $112,000 per mile which roughly converts to $2,600,000 in today’s dollars. It was built from 2 directions: Winnipeg, Manitoba west and Prince Rupert, British Columbia east.

To get us up to date, here’s 01 JAN 1913 through 06 JAN 1913:

Wednesday January 1, 1913
This being the first day of the new year. We went into Edmonton Cullerne, Steve and I. Had dinner at the Royal George then took in a show at the Empire. Mr Cullerne bought the three tickets. Then had the pleasure to walk home two miles after the show. The weather was very mild.

Thursday January 2, 1913
We went out to work at 1030 A.M. to get plus (sic) of the oil house. In the afternoon, L. St V. went to town about 1.30. About 4.30 I went in on the train to have a skate that night. I got in about 5.30 went to the rink and had my skates sharpen (sic). I found out that there was a bunch of the caps going out to prac(tice) at 6.30 so I went out with them and had some time with them. Got home about 130 A.M.

Friday, January 3, 1913
This morning we had to get up a (sic) 6 oclock much against our will. We went over town to run levels on a drain for Jan is on over at Strathcona. We had to work till 1.30 took dinner at Strathcona came over to the city. Alvin Cullerne let us do as we like on $2.00 but we got ( ) and he will know the rent. We came home on the 10 oclock train. Cullerne stayed in town with a cold.

Saturday, January 4, 1913
Got up at 10 oclock this morning, went over to Johns to breakfast, then came back and had a little sleep till 1 oclock then went over to dinner and the same thing this afternoon. Mr Cullerne still in town with a cold.

Sunday, January 5, 1913
Got up at 9 oclock had breakfast. The first thing on sunday is washing day had a big washing stang (sic) out side door on 7 spot in the afternoon 20 below. After super (sic) we stayed in the car at north yards all evening. I wrote three letters one home the other two L. J. A. D.

Monday, January 6, 1913
The weather is about the same maybe a little colder. We did nothing but stayed in the 7 spot. About 4.30 I got the train and went to Edmonton for a skate had a little workout with Esk. From 630 to 7.30. Then met Cullerne and we got all the instruments and came out to the north yard at 10 oclock