Posted 12 years ago
walksoftly
(167 items)
This is the shanty that my Great Grandfather built for his family when they moved from Ontario in 1883.
He had come west to Manitoba in 1882 found a suitable parcel of land broke the sod, built the shanty & went back east for the winter.
They had three children when they moved here & added three more in the years to follow.
They moved on to another farm sometime before 1891, hopefully to something bigger & better.
This photo was taken in 1915, 32 years after it was built.
The man in the photo was a neighbor who lived in a bid house across the road.
Reproduction of this image in any form without permission is prohibited.
Wow, I can hardly imagine how brave and bold your great grandfather must have been to stake his claim with such vulnerable housing! Ah, he was a giant of a man, wasn't he? A man to be proud of. The photo looks to be in superb condition. So glad that you have this astonishing photo!
Very nice photo David !!!!!!!!!!! Our family came from hardy stock didn't they :-) I love this photo :-)
I just realized that I didn't mention in my post that this photo was taken in 1915 many years after they had moved.
The man in the photo was their neighbor, a rather unique Englishman, his daughter gave this photo to my Grandfather.
Thanks miKKo for those kind words, the amazing part is that these men could convince their wives to come west with them into the harsh realities of the Prairies.
Even when the shanty was new, with all it's boards in place & a covering of tar paper, I would not have wanted to be in there come winter.
It would have been brutal when it was 40 below & a NW wind blowing.
Thanks for the love & the comment Mani.
No body would do today what these pioneers did to open up the prairies.
Some people figure they have it tough if they don't have more than one bathroom & a walk in closet.
Thanks for the love, pw-collector & musikchoo.
Lovely old photo...Can! imagine what they said to their wives... air-conditioned a few nails here and there and a lick of paint a womans touch!..as good as new!!...:-o
It definitely needed a woman's touch, thanks for the love & the comment Inky
Thanks for the love, Phil & Gargoyle.
Too cool walksoftly!
Thank you Signaholic, for the love.
Was that an intended pun? ;-)
Thanks for the love & the comment Bellin
Thanks for the love, official.
Thanks for the love, Hems, spiffyvintage, ericevans2, & scandi.
Thanks for the comment scandi, even if the missing boards were put back on I still couldn't imagine living in it.
Thanks for the love, undreal.
Great photo! These used to be all over the deserts here in the southwest. You don't see many of them anymore. There have been so many cities going up over the years, besides age and vandalism...
Thanks for your love & comments on this post shareurpassion.
These old shanties don't/didn't last forever.
They grow irrigated potatoes on this ground now, the only thing that grows well on the sandy soil.