Growing up on the Erickson hjemsted
These stories need to be recorded, shared, and kept for posterity. I can only write about what I have learned visiting with aunts and uncle and hope that others will do the same. I would appreciate any additions and corrections and maybe together we can produce a small book illustrating what life was like growing up on the Alberta prairie.
The Ice House
Growing up in Mount Vernon, Washington, in a maritime climate, we often heard about the ice house at the farm from mom, but until a recent trip to Phoenix visiting with Aunt Evelyn, I never understood what it was and how vital it was to survival on the northern prairies. Our family is now 3 generations removed from ice houses, comfortably opening the freezer door and reaching for our pop sickles and ice cream sandwiches, oblivious to the hardships experienced 4 and 5 generations ago.
The ice house also served as the milk house where the cream separator was kept and also became the butcher shop in the late fall when the butchering of cattle and hogs was done as the weather was cold enough to freeze the meat. Meat could eventually be thawed out throughout the winter and canned or salted (ham and bacon) for more permanent storage.
The cream separator was essentially a centrifuge (like the one in your high school chemistry class) which separated the cream from the milk, enabling the family to make butter from the cream. The by product could be used for the household or mixed with grain and fed to the hogs. The separator had to be disassembled, cleaned with hot water (carried from the cooking stove reservoir in the house) and reassembled after each use.
The ice house itself was a hole in the ground covered with a trap door. Evy thought the dimensions to be something like 6ft. by 6ft. and about 12 ft. deep. Of course this probably looked bigger and pretty frightening to a young girl asked to go out, lift the heavy cover, climb down the ladder and get some cream. Throughout the winter Grandpa Elmer would tell someone in the family to go out and throw a couple of buckets of water in the ice house and by winters end the hole was filled with a solid block of ice. About six inches of sawdust was scattered on top to keep it insulated. Amazingly, this block of ice kept things refrigerated throughout the summer according to Evy. It was necessary to haul out the water as it melted from the block, ensuring that there would be plenty of ice to make it through the summer.
Hitching up the horses
Although the farm had transitioned into the age of the internal combustion engine with the use of diesel tractors and gasoline driven trucks and cars, the horse still provided an advantage during certain situations, especially in the winter. When the roads were perilous with ice and snow, grandpa Elmer would hitch up the horses to the sleigh to haul grain into Jarrow. Evy would often ride along and get dropped off for her piano lesson. The sleigh might also be filled with straw and heavy blankets for family to hide under on moon-lit evening rides to Ludvig and Dicka Fluevog Hollingers. One could only imagine how beautiful this evening ride must have been with numerous red noses poking out from under the warm blankets, the smell of the breath of sweating horses, and the silence of a moonlit snow covered prairie.
After dinner on summer evenings, the horses might be hooked up to the wagon and the family would ride out to the brush areas to pick saskatoons. Evy said the horses could maneuver the wagon close to the bushes and they could stand in the wagon while they picked. The Saskatoon bush is tall and the best berries were always at the top of the plant. The following day grandma and whoever was available would help to make Saskatoon jam and syrup.
Don
The Ice House
Growing up in Mount Vernon, Washington, in a maritime climate, we often heard about the ice house at the farm from mom, but until a recent trip to Phoenix visiting with Aunt Evelyn, I never understood what it was and how vital it was to survival on the northern prairies. Our family is now 3 generations removed from ice houses, comfortably opening the freezer door and reaching for our pop sickles and ice cream sandwiches, oblivious to the hardships experienced 4 and 5 generations ago.
The ice house also served as the milk house where the cream separator was kept and also became the butcher shop in the late fall when the butchering of cattle and hogs was done as the weather was cold enough to freeze the meat. Meat could eventually be thawed out throughout the winter and canned or salted (ham and bacon) for more permanent storage.
The cream separator was essentially a centrifuge (like the one in your high school chemistry class) which separated the cream from the milk, enabling the family to make butter from the cream. The by product could be used for the household or mixed with grain and fed to the hogs. The separator had to be disassembled, cleaned with hot water (carried from the cooking stove reservoir in the house) and reassembled after each use.
The ice house itself was a hole in the ground covered with a trap door. Evy thought the dimensions to be something like 6ft. by 6ft. and about 12 ft. deep. Of course this probably looked bigger and pretty frightening to a young girl asked to go out, lift the heavy cover, climb down the ladder and get some cream. Throughout the winter Grandpa Elmer would tell someone in the family to go out and throw a couple of buckets of water in the ice house and by winters end the hole was filled with a solid block of ice. About six inches of sawdust was scattered on top to keep it insulated. Amazingly, this block of ice kept things refrigerated throughout the summer according to Evy. It was necessary to haul out the water as it melted from the block, ensuring that there would be plenty of ice to make it through the summer.
Hitching up the horses
Although the farm had transitioned into the age of the internal combustion engine with the use of diesel tractors and gasoline driven trucks and cars, the horse still provided an advantage during certain situations, especially in the winter. When the roads were perilous with ice and snow, grandpa Elmer would hitch up the horses to the sleigh to haul grain into Jarrow. Evy would often ride along and get dropped off for her piano lesson. The sleigh might also be filled with straw and heavy blankets for family to hide under on moon-lit evening rides to Ludvig and Dicka Fluevog Hollingers. One could only imagine how beautiful this evening ride must have been with numerous red noses poking out from under the warm blankets, the smell of the breath of sweating horses, and the silence of a moonlit snow covered prairie.
After dinner on summer evenings, the horses might be hooked up to the wagon and the family would ride out to the brush areas to pick saskatoons. Evy said the horses could maneuver the wagon close to the bushes and they could stand in the wagon while they picked. The Saskatoon bush is tall and the best berries were always at the top of the plant. The following day grandma and whoever was available would help to make Saskatoon jam and syrup.
Don