| Notes |
- ~Nov 16, 2002 Conversation with Gordon Barker
" I knew your Dad before your Mom did. He worked for my Uncle, James Belyea when he first came to this part of the country" (uncle of the Jamie Belyea that I knew)
This story was pieced together from records of various forms. Stories, pictures, letters, legal documents and receipts that R.G. kept, were some of the material. There were boxes of items necessary for income tax purposes!
Roy Gilbert Lester was born Tuesday, 23 October 1906 at Nauwidgewauk, New Brunswick the son of Humphrey Lester and Harriet Wood. He had a sister Mary who was just under 3 and a brother William who was 1 ½ when he was born. Not much is known about his early life although in a letter to Agnes, Grandmother Harriet said that he liked to climb trees and the higher the better. He later had 2 younger sisters, Laura 1 ½ years younger, Mildred 3 years younger and 2 younger brothers, Harold 8 years younger and Allen 11 years younger.
He went to elementary school in Nauwidgewauk which was about 2 miles away. He told us that when he was in school the Canadian school year was finished at the end of June but in the U.S. the school year finished at the end of May. Very annoyingly the American cousins used to come to visit before he was finished the year. These cousins would likely have been the Carson family, Millie who was 9 years older, Walter who was about 6 years older and Lester who was about 4 years older or any of his Uncle Allen Lester’s family of 9 children ages 9 years older to 11 years younger. The U.S. cousins all lived in or near Boston, USA.
Roy went to Hampton Consolidated High School a distance of about 6 miles away where he did very well academically, competing in math with Mabel Bannerman who sometimes had just as good marks. His interests at that time were in sports, especially track and football. He won a mile race in a provincial meet and was given a medal for a record time. This record stood for many years. While he was going to school he was also working for Harry Henderson, who had a dairy farm on Darlings Island. At this time he developed a life long friendship with Barney Henderson, Harry’s son.
He graduated in 1925 from Hampton Consolidated High School.
He then went on to Wolfville, Nova Scotia to Acadia University where he had a scholarship in the year 1925-1926. He could not afford to remain there so he left for the west, probably in the fall of 1926. His nick-name in the west was Pete and the story is that when he came west he was with someone from N.B. who knew his family and thought the Roy reminded him of Uncle Peter and so called Roy “Pete”. It stuck.
He told us that he came to the Saskatchewan town of Unity to work on a Power installation and was there for some time as he played ball with the Unity Cardinals. We have not been able to document this.
By 1930 he was in Calgary working near Shepard, possibly for Bill Sutherland. He went to the Provincial Institute of Technology in 1931 through 1933, taking two years of a three year Electrical Engineering program where again he did very well academically. He was living at 101 5th Ave E in Calgary and later at 911 16th Ave N W. During this time he became interested in Social Credit politics and in Winnie Christofferson who was from Milo.
In about 1934 he went to work for John MacKenzie where he met Agnes Mackenzie. Exit any interest in Winnie.
He purchased a car in 1935 for $90, a 1927 Chev Serial Number 184751 which was licensed for the following three years.
Also in 1935 he finally wrote to his parents to let them know where he was. Letters were exchanged and he decided to go home in the fall of 1937 for a month. He and Agnes were an “item” at that time and were waiting till they had money enough to get married.
They were married December 14, 1938 and began farming the N.E. quarter of section 26 township 23 range 28 west of the 4th . This section had been homesteaded by Robinson Laycock and later purchased by John and Kate MacKenzie. It had a few buildings on it. There was a one-room shack later to become a garage, a good well and a barn.
In order to farm he needed a tractor. He bought an Allis Chalmers Rumley for $1350 on September 18, 1939. He was share cropping the land with John and Kate MacKenzie, his in-laws. He sold his first crop October 6 1939.
The shack needed to be heated and so he bought 9600 Lbs. of coal in November 1939.
In December 1939 exactly one year to the day after they were married, Katherine Harriet Lester arrived. The Grace Maternity Hospital received $35 for this delivery. The doctor and the Associate Clinic also received $35.
One of father’s priorities as the family expanded was a house, which he built himself with the help of Wilson Glover. He bought the material from Revelstoke Sawmill company. R.G. and Agnes started farming with a pig operation but in 1940 one of the carcasses was condemned for T.B. He decided a gradual change to dairy was in order. At first they shipped cream only, milking the ten cows by hand. The cream separator was kept in the well-house where it was cool in the summer and could be kept warm enough in the winter. Agnes had chickens and shipped eggs. They built a large hen house to accommodate the flock. On March 29, 1940 they shipped 5 ½ dozen eggs ranging from grade A large to eggs with cracks.
At this time refrigeration was a problem and there were no freezers so meat was kept in a commercial food locker. One of these was Merchants Cold Storage Co. at 348 11th Avenue W. where the Roy and Agnes had their meat. Other places that they shopped were MacLeods and Ashdown’s Hardware.
Calgary was close enough that they went in once a week. It was an all day affair with lunch (dinner as it was usually referred to) at a restaurant on 8th avenue at about 2nd street east. R.G. liked to order breaded veal cutlets. Most people also shopped the Eaton’s catalogue and Agnes was no different.
You had to apply each year to renew your drivers licence. There were numerous questions about your physical ability to drive and the fee was $1.00 in 1940.
In February 1941 R.G. started to think about building a new barn. He drew up plans and wrote to various lumber companies for prices.
R.G. was still raising registered hogs and shipped ten of them March 27th 1941. They were also still shipping eggs to Swifts. They had started grocery shopping at William’s Brothers, a department store that they patronized for many years. The grocery department was not self- serve. You took your list up to a counter and told the clerk what you wanted. He would then gather the items and pack them in a box. String and paper were used to tie up some items. You would then stop at the butcher shop and let the butcher know what you wanted and he would cut it right there on the spot.
In the fall of 1941 R.G. received a licence to operate a threshing machine from the Department of Agriculture.
1942 saw the War progressing with both of Roy’s younger brothers overseas. As a farmer he was perhaps better off than some as he could buy some of the essential items such as fuel and tires. However all these things were rationed and ration books were issued to every person in a household even the babies.
In April 1943 R.G. entered into an agreement with M.D Carlyle, a neighbor for crop share. Rationing was still in place. Since R.G. was not a drinker, and some of those he did business with were, he usually used his liquor coupons to buy liquor for others.
At this time, he was dealing with Oughton Brothers, a fuel supplier. Gasoline cost $0.18 per gallon. Highways were being paved and tractors were being banned as many of them still had steel wheels and they would chew up pavement. You needed to get a permit to take a tractor on the highway which R.G did July 14th to allow him to haul home a combine.
He was still shipping cream and Oct. 4 received $4.76 for 29 lbs of cream.
Late in 1943 Fred Woods died. He was the Western Irrigation District agent at one time. He had retired from W.I.D. and had obtained land to farm just to the north of the ditch rider place. Mrs. Woods had an auction and it was held Nov 16 1943. The weather was nice and R.G. went, taking a couple of children ( I remember it!) who he left in the truck. The cars and trucks were lined up for quite a ways. After all the goods were sold off R. G. made an arrangement with Mrs. Woods to farm her land.. Mrs. Woods then moved to the city and lived just off 16th Ave. behind Balmoral School. After she died R.G. farmed it for the daughters. He farmed it for the next 30 or more years, finally purchasing it. Telephones were installed in the country side and R G’ s phone number was 91-3511. Grocery shopping in 1944 was still done at Williams Brothers where bread sold at 6 loaves for $0.54.
Recreation in the summer time was a soft ball league. There were teams at Chestermere, which RG played for and Shepherd, Indus, Dalemead and Langdon. Games were very much a family affair and I am sure most people went for the socialization and friendly rivalry. The evening after a ball game always ended with an ice-cream cone or soft drink at the local store of the home team. RG was a catcher for the Chestermere team, and the fact that he had to squat while playing (as well as squatting to milk cows) meant that his knees bothered him a great deal in later years. He also had a finger tip which was permanently bent, probably broken, when he caught a ball the wrong way. He used to oil his catcher’s mitt with neats foot oil. As a child I always wondered what kind of animal had a neats foot was.
Hand milking was not the most efficient way of producing milk and cream and a 32 volt electric system was put in. The house was wired for lights at the same time. A gasoline powered generator was the basis of the system.
John R. Munro Oil & Refining was where RG was getting purple gasoline at $0.15 per gallon. This business later became Hub Oil Company. At the same time Oughton Brothers was selling regular bronze fuel also at $0.15 per gallon.
In February of 1945, Roy got word of his Mother’s death. Although he would like to have gone home there was no question of this in the wartime travel conditions that existed.
The same year in August the Dominion Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey of farming information. RG reported that he was milking 10 cows and had produced 6800 lbs. of milk of which 300 lbs. had been consumed at home. He had purchased purebred Jersey cows that produced very rich milk. Some jars were almost half cream when allowed to sit overnight. The dairy was paying a premium for this milk.
In February 1946 he got word of the death of his father almost exactly a year after his mother. Again he could not, because of family responsibilities, go home.
In the summer of 1948 RG was at the Holy Cross Hospital as he had emergency appendectomy. Agnes was very worried about this, as her best friend’s husband and witness at their wedding had died from a burst appendix only a year or so before. She was not only worried but had small children and cows which had to be milked each day. The hired man of the day, Allan Trout, was there and she helped out when she could. RG was in the hospital 10 days and then was cautioned not to do any heavy work for some time. This right in the middle of haying season. Regardless of the Dr.’s warning he was out doing the haying before long. As a result of the incident they decided that if his brother Allen would move west it would be a good thing as he had worked on a dairy farm and had some experience. RG sent the invitation and started to build a house for him. However it was Harold, his wife and baby daughter who came west.
Renfrew Motors was charging $2.00 to change the oil in 1948 and the M.D. of Conrich #44 was requiring $68.00 in taxes.
The years 1948 to 1952 were very wet years and sloughs never dried up. As a result there were hundreds of ducks in the area. They had water and grain from crops which could not be harvested because of wet conditions. If you wanted to eliminate them out of season you needed to get a permit from the Province, which RG did in the fall of 1948. The City of Calgary issued licences for milk producers and cost $1.00.
The Income tax levy was based on an income of $1094.69 for 1948. R.G. paid $202.00 to the income Tax Department.
Harold H Lester received $110 in wages for the month of October that year.
J.E Love & Sons Feed Supplies sold R.G. 2 cans, probably 45 gallons each, of molasses for $39.00. This was used as a feed supplement with the chop. The cattle liked it and we would lick fingers also. As far as I could tell it was the same stuff that Agnes had in the house.
George MacLean Auction was where RG purchased a weed sprayer for $132.50. Technology was changing and farming ideas of how to do things were changing as well. Weed spraying was becoming common practice.
MacLean Auctions were also the place to dispose of bull calves. Bull calves can not make milk so there is no point in keeping them on a dairy farm.
Ed Wenstrom’s Garage in Langdon was where R.G. purchased oil and baler twine. Langdon was getting to be much easier to get to than driving into Calgary. He sold oil for 7 qts oil for $2.45.
R.G. sold 11320 lbs straw to Kelvin Grove Farms in 1950. (We are not sure why as this was a Land Developer and not a farm?)
A Tax notice for $220.00 from the MD of Conrich was received. The MD was still in smaller units and had not yet formed the very large Rockyview MD.
About that time R.G. had enough farm help that he could take some time away from the farm. He got together with a neighbor, George Rae and the two families traveled to B.C to Dutch Creek for a fishing holiday. Both families look back on this time with enjoyment. We lived in small cabins and everybody caught fish. R.G. had a pair of hip waders and could go out in the water. The water was swift running and the banks were rocky in some places. One needed to be careful. Helen Rae slipped one summer and R.G. filled his hip waders helping her out. We had to purchase a Non resident anglers licence at the Dutch Creek fishing camp operated by the Davis. Mrs. Davies was a likeable lady and sold milk and bread in her store as well and fishing gear including maggots for bait.
The City of Calgary required that milk producers get Business licence each year which cost $10.00.
In 1952, a particularly wet year, the Red River in Manitoba flooded, causing a great deal of damage. R.G. issued cheque to the Manitoba Flood Relief fund for $25.00. Since there was so much water around,
In 1952 the Province started a program of hail suppression by cloud seeding and this seemed to cause more hail than it prevented. Agnes was heard to say that she hoped they would take their suppression somewhere else. There was also insurance for farmers against hail damage to their crops.
By 1953, R.G. was shipping milk to the Union Dairy. Union Milk sent out slips with each cheque indicating quantity and quality of milk shipped. There were 10011 lbs. shipped in June with no bad quality milk.
Agnes was still selling eggs to Swifts. She had the “help” of children to feed, water and gather the eggs. On the 30th of July 1954 she shipped 14 dozen eggs and received $3.18 At that time a Licence as a milk producer was required from the provincial government. In April 1954 Jack MacKenzie died very suddenly. R.G. took over farming the MacKenzie lands. He also made accommodation for Kate MacKenzie who was to live with her daughter Agnes in the summers.
The W.I.D. was charging $13.25 per year for water rights. Now it is about $700 per year. Income Tax Assessed in 1954 was $145.20. In August of 1954 R.G. wrote a cheque to Renfrew motors for $2250. It was probably a new car or truck but we are not sure which one. The only “new” vehicle at that time was a ’55 International pickup.
One of the men who worked for R.G was Joe Ashmore, first as a farm laborer and then renovating the house that had been Kate Mackenzie’s. He issued a Statement of hours, at $1.50 per hour. His trade was a carpenter and R.G and Agnes had decided to renovate Kate’s house as it was bigger and would be better for having Kate there in the summers. Another of the men who worked for R.G. was George Hennigar. He had worked for Hogsons dairy before coming to R.G. They had shown cattle at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, so George persuaded R.G. to do the same. Cattle were entered in the show in 1955. The entry fee for dairy cattle was $4.50 for class #0483.
R.G. bought 3”x 6’ pine posts at $.49 each, 225 for $110.25 from Canada Creosoting. The pasture lands had been fenced many years before and although cedar posts last a long time they eventually do deteriorate and need to be replaced.
In 1956 R.G. paid $201.39 to the Income Tax Department..
Business establishments each carried their own printed cheques and persons could use them to buy goods. You would have to put the bank name and numbers on them. This was the days before much fraud was done. R.G. wrote such a cheque to Williams Bros.for $10.36 on July 31 1956. Dr. Gorrell charged $2.00 for an eye test for Katherine that year. W.I.D. was still charging $13.25 for water rights.
The MD was now Rockyview and the tax assessment for 1957 was $127.50.
In the summer of 1957 R.G. went to a shoot at Kimberly B.C, leaving.the family at home. While he was away the train ran into a group of cows which had gone onto the right-of-way when fences had been left down. We have letters from lawyers and CNR regarding accident killing cattle
Calgary Car Land sold R.G a new car in 1957. They offer a new car, a blue 1957 Chrysler Windsor, with all the bells and whistles for $3359.00 plus trade-in.
The Animal Clinic was charging $15.00 to make a call to see a cow.
In 1958 R.G’s cousin Edna Howe came from her home in Florida to visit. She really thought this was the wild west, especially after the very mild mannered horse she was given to ride actually bounced/bucked a couple of times. She then went to New Brunswick where her father was living and showed movies of her visit to the folks “back home”. John Lister wrote to R.G. “ Well Roy old dear, Edna was here and told me you had a lovely ranch. I would give a lot to see you… Edna showed me a lot of pictures of your Barn and house….you have a lovely lot of Jerseys cows.”
RG’s cousin Hazel Wood came for a visit at this time and Agnes took her and the Teepee trailer to Banff on a short visit.
At this time RG had run for public office and was a counselor in the MD of Rockyview. He over saw such things as road grading and snow removal. He was on call to his constituents at all times and received many such calls. He had never been particularly gracious on the phone but now he had to be. The common statement was “ It’s that Hamilton woman again!”.
At about this time Union Milk would no longer pay a premium for Jersey milk so RG switched to Holsteins as they produced a good deal more milk per cow.
About this time RG’s sister Mildred and Mary decided to come west to visit. They came by Greyhound bus, a trip of about 5 days. Aunt Mildred spent the time here sewing for RG’s granddaughters.
Also about this time Agnes persuaded R.G to go to Hawaii. They flew Wardair, a charter company and toured around the islands of that state. They also visited Bessie Woods who had lived there for many years.
The next year 1970 RG bought a 27’ 5th wheel holiday trailer and they spent the holidays in Arizona with their friends, the Daigs.
On February 14th 1972, RG and Agnes lost son Roy in an airplane accident. This was devastating to them. RG decided that they could no longer farm the way they had and he sold a good portion of the land he had acquired as well as the diary business.
RG continued to work for the MD as building inspector until about 1975. At that point he needed to get a birth certificate for Pension purposes. He sent to New Brunswick and received a surprise when it came back as he had thought the year of his birth was 1909 and it was actually 1906. That same year he traveled to Halifax for a Municipal Conference. He took time when he was there to go to New Brunswick and visited the places and people who were still there that he knew as a child. He combined all this with the Reunion of Hampton High School. He then retired from the MD.
In April of 1989 Agnes was hospitalized with Alzheimer’s Disease. The family realized that RG was having some difficulty with memory as well after she went into the hospital. He had a heart problem requiring regular medication and was having some difficulty remembering to take it as it was directed. In March of 1991 RG had heart attack, and was directed by the doctor not to drive. This led to the need for different accommodation and he went briefly to Rockyview Lodge at Crossfield. He was not happy there and the family took him home. As he could not stay at home alone he agreed to go to Cedars Villa, a seniors lodge in Calgary. He was there about a year and a half when it was evident that he needed more care than they could give him. He then went to Bethany Care Nursing home where he passed away in June of 1994 at the age of 89.
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Clarke - Lester Families
1906 - 1994 (87 years)
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