"Lest We Forget" Sunday, March16, 1913---Not much going on!

Still snowing I stay
at Birts' all day and
read nearly all day
too much snow to
work. It cleared up at
4 oc. got colder.

[caption id="attachment_785" align="aligncenter" width="252"] "Still snowing"[/caption]

Not much going on because of the storm. We all know that Clem wrote in the diary every day, but I wonder what he was reading? The bible? I know he was a reasonably strong Catholic. The newspapers? Were there any available out in the boondocks where they were building the Grand Trunk Pacific? Did they bring books with them for days like this? We'll never know!

Saturday, March 15, 1913: Big Storm!

[caption id="attachment_777" align="alignleft" width="236"] Big Storm![/caption]


Saturday, March 15, 1913

"Lest We Forget"

Last night a big snow
storm snowed all night
and all day I left Lea. [Leaman, where he went on Friday]
for Jenkins at 8 oc
arrived at Jenkins
at 11:30 I had to pull
the spreader about 8 miles
had dinner at Jenkins
and left for Entwistle
arrived at Ent. at 4:31
had to pull the spreader [-?-]
all the way 10 miles

Well, I hope there are no "big snow storms" in our forecast!

When he says "I had to pull the spreader", I imagine he's pulling it with some kind of motorized rail car. From what I think a spreader does and how big it must be, I can't believe that a man was required to just throw a rope around it and tug it up the line for 8 or 10 miles!

Big Snow Storm, Wednesday, March 12, 1913

[caption id="attachment_746" align="alignleft" width="219"] "Big Snow Storm!"[/caption]

Weather cold with big snow storm. To much snow to work. Cullerne and I in car all day a lone. Mr. Juno came down from the front to join this outfit.

Alberta, Canada...Grand Trunk Pacific Railway...February 7, 1913

From "Lest We Forget", Clem Dickson's diary entry for February 7, 1913:

Weather a little milder with sun shine all day. Steve and I took the Local from Otley to Leaman and walked from Leaman to Otley 15 miles. We got in about 4:30. We sat around the fire till supper. After supper I went out and had to cut some wood for the next day. Went to bed at 8:30 because we had a long walk.

[I can't find any contemporary reference for Otley but Leaman is a "populated locality" in Yellowhead County, Alberta.]

February 5, 1913....A Little Warmer!

There's a word or two in this post I can't figure out for a couple of reasons: 1) Clem's handwriting skill was atrocious and 2) Clem's spelling skill was atrocious! So, here's the best transcription I can offer based on the entry for Wednesday, February 5, 1913

The weather is much warmer but a high wind. And a little snow. Cullerne went to Edson this morning so Steve and I had the car to ourselves. Steve worked on nots [?] ahd I read Cradane [?] X all morning. This afternoon I went out and had to hunt for wood.

And Grampa, if you find the remote while your out there, text me!

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.

"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.

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...

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]

"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.

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.

"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.

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(?)

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