Part II – Alain Family Stories

HENRI DELPHICE ALAIN

Henri and Alma's story has been compiled with assistance from the Saskatchewan Archives; Alma's sister, Marie-Louise LaClare; Louis, Clara, Smokey and Rolland Alain; Yvonne O'Brien; Omer and Ida Cartier; and the Hudson Bay History Book, Valley Echoes.

Joseph Henri Delphice Alain was born January 25, 1882 in St. Ubald, Quebec. His parents were Henri and Arthemize (Folley) Alain. Young Henri left home in 1900 and lived in Sudbury, Ontario that year. From there he went to Duluth, U.S.A. where he worked in the bush. He had done this kind of work before in his native Quebec. Also, Henri had been engaged as a cheesemaker there.

Then, in the fall of 1902, Henri came west to Saskatchewan with his brother, Alphonse. The following spring, in April, Henri and Alphonse each applied for a homestead patent in the Jackfish area. While Henri cancelled his application less than a month later, Alphonse remained for a couple of years.

The presence of these two young men in the Jackfish district created some interest in at least one home. Moise L'Heureux, upon meeting them, invited the two Frenchmen to his log cabin for two of his daughters were of marriageable age. When Henri met Moise's oldest daughter, he was quite taken and was heard to remark, "Alma is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Alphonse felt drawn to the second girl, Josephine, and soon after he began to court her. However, courtship for Henri was not as simple for his new homestead was many miles distant.

Henri's new location was the N.W. quarter of Section 16, Township 43, Range 13 West of the 3rd Meridian in the fertile area of Ruddell. Assuming squatter's rights at first, for he did not apply for his homestead patent until December 10, 1903, Henri set to work. He built a house of logs that measured fourteen by seventeen feet with a sod roof and floor. Its total cost was $75.00. Henri also worked at clearing the land and by late fall ten acres were broken. Then he left for Battleford where he worked from October through to April. He purchased two horses which were a great help when he returned to the land. He broke twenty acres the second year and sowed twenty-five acres. In that year of 1904 he built a log stable for his horses. After harvest he did not return to Battleford.

The following spring, Alphonse applied for another homestead after abandoning his first one. This time his quarter was on the same section as Henri's in the Ruddell area. No doubt the two brothers would have found the move one of mutual benefit.

In 1906 Henri acquired six oxen, while Alphonse had six horses. That year Alphonse cleared 32 acres, sowing fifteen of them, while Henri cleared eight and sowed thirty acres.

The year 1907 was an important one for Henri. In March he received the title to his homestead. Then on April 8 he married Alma L'Heureux in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Leon at Jackfish Lake with Alphonse and Josephine as their witnesses. Henri and Alma made a striking couple. Henri stood about five foot eleven though he seemed taller for he always carried himself very straight. His rich, reddish-brown hair belied his mild tempered nature. His blue eyes twinkled as he gazed upon his "beautiful Alma" with her hazel eyes and light brown hair which lay in soft waves. She was small boned and measured a few inches over five feet in height.

The newlyweds returned to the L'Heureux home for the festive meal. The following morn-ing they left for Ruddell. It would take almost three days of travel before they would reach their home. However, Alma didn't mind for she knew that in a few short months Josephine would be her neighbor as Alphonse and her sister were to be wed in the summer.

When Alphonse and Josephine arrived in August shortly after their wedding on the fifth, Alma shared her good news with her sister. After several years of caring for her many brothers and sisters, Alma was now going to have a child of her own. As her time grew near, Henri prepared to take her to her aunt's in Delmas. There, at the Bellavance home, their first child was born on January 28, 1908. It was a very difficult birth for the little woman so it was fortunate that a mid-wife, a "vieux savagesse" had been sent for. A healthy son, Moise, was born. Alma remained a month with her kind aunt, Malvina, and family before returning home. Even then Alma's younger sister, Matilda, came to help for several weeks. Moise, her father's namesake, gave his mother much happiness and would long be her favorite.

A year passed. Again Alma was with child. A second son, Louis, was born at home on March 6 with the assistance of a local midwife. As Alma remained in bed for some time after, her sister came again to care for the babies and see to the housework. Matilda had her hands full that spring for Louis was a colicky baby who tried even the patience of his mother.

Alma's days were busy ones as she cared for her two small boys. She worked hard to keep their home neat and clean. Evenings were pleas-ant, though quiet; Alma knitted while Henri, a keen reader, relaxed with a good book or the Ruddell News, a local newspaper published by the town merchants.

In the spring of 1910 a third son was born. He died soon after. Henri built a small wooden box. The infant was buried in the local cemetery.

As the years passed, the Alain family increased with the birth of Yvonne Medirise on March 9, 1911;
Rolland Francois on October 27, 1913;
Marie Paule Jeanne on October 27, 1915;
Edithe Marie Blandine on December 21, 1917;
Berthe Marie on March 20, 1919;
and Paul Emile Michael Joseph on October 6, 1920.

It was a fall day in 1920 when Henri drove to Battleford to bring Alma and Paul home from the hospital. With Paul's birth on October 6, Alma had the skillful help of a doctor as at the previous births of her daughters, Edithe and Berthe. Alma had learned in the hospital that Paul was troubled with poor digestion as most of her babies before him. She was given directions for a formula which she passed on to Marie-Louise, her younger sister, who was minding the children and would stay as long as Alma needed her.

Henri had moved his family into Delmas some ten years before. At first they lived in a simple wood shack. It was not very warm; in places you could see the 2 x 4's. The floors were kept up by oiling them. Then Henri began to make plans for a large home similar to those frequently seen in his native Quebec. His first step was to set up a sawmill. Once the saw, the

mandrel and other necessary parts were purchased, he built the rest. The mill was set up about a mile and a half from Delmas on the North Saskatchewan River. Henri was joined by a couple of men who also wished to build homes. Together they cut and sawed the black poplar logs.

When Henri's house was finished in 1917 it was a three-storied building, well built and roomy. It held six bedrooms on the second floor with a hall running down the centre. Alma was happy with her new home and was especially pleased when Henri saw to it that closets were built in each of the bedrooms. Downstairs, maple cupboards lined the west wall in the kitchen. This was where the family usually ate except, of course, on Sundays and on special occasions when the dining room was used. French doors opened from here into the living room. A large master bedroom and an office for the man of the house completed the main floor. There was enough space on the third floor for another four rooms but, as their needs were well cared for, this part of the house had not been finished. The floors were hardwood and were kept shining by the girls. A wood furnace with a grate in the centre of the floor heated their large home. The staircase ran up the middle of the house to the top floor and from there to a trap door which allowed you to step outside where you could walk around the roof for an excellent view of Delmas. A three-foot parapet made the little balcony safe. Looking down, you could see the large brick veranda with wooden posts on the front of the house. With the purchase of a thirty-two volt power plant and a gas washing machine, their home was complete and rather modern.

Situated on the edge of town in the northeast corner, their home was a half mile from school. Yet the Alain children were often late and, on these occasions, were scolded by the Sisters. Alma valued the educational opportunities provided for their children as her own schooling had lasted only a few years. However, she had continued to learn through her own efforts and, in time, she mastered reading and writing in both English and French. She looked forward to each of their boys attending the Catholic Boys' College at Gravelbourg. The Priests and the Brothers would be a good influence on her rambunctious and wild-scheming boys. Their rough ways were apparent; they were never able to keep a back on a chair.

Even the boys themselves - now men - admit to their mischief as in the following incidents related by Moise, better known as "Smokey." (Moise had been given this nickname by his Uncle Archie. One of the stories told is that Uncle Archie was so impressed with Moise's speed in running that Uncle said, "The lad ran so fast, he made smoke!")

"Louis and I were always up to something. One Saturday, Dad had to go to a municipal council meeting. As soon as he was gone down the road and turned the corner to Battleford, Louis and I decided we were going to move the shack which was actually the old house. We quickly dragged some eveners, got some twine and came in with eight chickens. All of a sudden Dad was coming back into the yard and asked what we were doing to which we said, 'Nothing', and away he went again.

Mother came out and said, 'You little beggars, quit that. I'm going to tell your Dad when he comes back.'

We told her to go back into the house and do her own work."

Another story related by Smokey is the following:

"Another Saturday, some years later, Dad told Louis and I to go to Section 8 and bring back the two hay racks that were there. When we got there we had to do something. There was an old house but we couldn't move it. Off to the side was a breaking plow which gave us the idea of breaking up the nice yard a bit. We broke the yard up going first in one direction and then in another and so on till we grew tired of that. Then back to what we were supposed to do - bring the hay racks home. Now the racks were facing back to back so we decided to tie them like that and

haul them home - back to back. We went about 100 yards and one wheel started to come off. Both of us were laughing. We couldn't lift the wheel back on as it hadn't fallen completely off. There was a box on top of the wheel and it was leaning on it. In the meantime Dad returned from his meeting and, seeing that we weren't home, he decided to check on us. So he and a neighbor came over and found us trying to cover up what had happened. He was not too amused when he saw the two racks back to back. We told him that was how we found them - and we thought they'd go that way. Dad said, "Don't you know better than that? You can't go backwards with these wheels - they fall off!''

Although Henri did reprimand the youngsters on occasion, for the most part he was easy going. At times when Alma needed his support to keep the children in line, his reply was often, "Tu un s'appeur les autres" (Ah, kill one and scare the rest).

All the same, Henri was a good father. He spent many Sundays playing with his family. Together they enjoyed ball and cricket while cards were the favorite indoor pastime. At an early age each youngster was taught cribbage and bridge.

Not much excited Henri. One day he was sitting in his chair reading the newspaper. As he was holding it in both hands in front of him, one of the youngsters crept up, struck a match and left quickly. Then the flame caught his eye; his newspaper was on fire! Rather quietly and with little fuss, he extinguished the fire.

Another time he lost a good team of horses from swamp fever. Henri took the news calmly. Alma remonstrated with him, "But it was your best team, Henri." He replied, "If I didn't have any horses, I couldn't lose them."

Often folks took advantage of Henri's nature. It is said that a good many owed him money. When he would go to collect, he would see the financial need of the family so the matter of the bill would be shelved. Very often Henri never saw the money.

In every large family there was always much to be done and the Alain family was no different. The children were expected to carry their share of the daily chores. The girls could not have found a finer teacher than their mother in the culinary skills. Her bread was very good and was turned out in quantities of fourteen to fifteen loaves at each baking. She was known for her delicious cream puffs, doughnuts and fudge. Alma was able to use that which the land offered, be it dandelion greens, rabbit, partridge, prairie chicken or their homegrown vegetables to make a tasty and filling meal. Visitors were frequent guests at her table; on Sundays it was not uncommon to have eighteen or nineteen gathered around. Everybody was always welcome, whether they were strangers passing through, temporary help or friends which the children brought home.

While the girls learned the skills needed in the home, the boys helped with the outside work of the farm. Henri always had at least twenty-five head of cattle, with the number reaching over a hundred one winter. That fall Henri had gone to Winnipeg with his father-in-law, Moise L'Heureux. Each had purchased two carloads of steers for their feed was plentiful and come spring, they sold the feeders. As well, Henri kept between twenty and twenty-five horses. There would be up to seven foals each spring.

So there were always plenty of chores for the boys and often, at a young age, they began to take on adult responsibilities. Louis was only ten years old when he began to ride the range each summer. At eleven Smokey began to drive the tractor. The first was a Mogul which was later replaced by a 1527 Case, followed by a larger Case tractor.

Henri readily accepted progress and the changes that followed. In partnership with his brother-in-law, Arthur L'Heureux, Henri bought the first threshing machine in Delmas. The engine was an International 1020 Mogul with a Goodison separator.

Harvest for Henri, his boys and other hired hands lasted from early fall till Christmas, for they threshed over a large area, travelling as far northwest as Paynton. Later Henri bought a fifteen-foot Rumley combine, the first pull-type in Delmas. With this labor-saving machine, the

large threshing crew was no longer needed.

Henri had the first car in Delmas. It was a McClaughland or Maxwell and had been purchased from Moise L'Heureux. Alma's father sold it because he had several boys and the car created friction among them; instead, Moise bought each lad a horse and sold the car. It is interesting to note that some years later Henri did not purchase a license for his car for the same reason.

One day Henri began to seriously consider a move for the family. He had heard about land that was available in the bush country close to Hudson Bay Junction. Although he was considering another sawmill, his main concern was for his boys as the older ones were now eighteen and nineteen years of age. So, in November of 1927, Henri went to see the White Poplar Settlement, a few miles west of the Junction. It was bush country covered with a second growth

– probably the result of a forest fire in the early years. There were many willow, fir, birch, tamarack, spruce and bluffs of white poplar in this northerly district.

On this, Henri's first visit, the area boasted a railroad siding where Louis Veillard's sawmill was located. There was also a store owned and operated by Louis and his wife. There was a school. It had the same name as the settlement: White Poplar. The school had opened some years earlier.

The next month Henri, accompanied by his sons, Smokey and Louis, and another resident from Delmas, Louis Strasser, went to the Land Office in Prince Albert where Smokey applied for his homestead patent. Then, early in the new year, Henri and Strasser went back to the White Poplar area. This time they built a shack on a knoll of land belonging now to Smokey. The shack would be for the boys. On January 24, 1928, Henri applied for his homestead, the Southeast Quarter of Section 20, Township 45, Range 4, West of the 2nd Meridian. Henri also purchased some land from Angus Pulchenski, the Southeast Quarter of Section 9.

It was here that Louis helped his dad build a house for the family. There was already a large barn and a few shacks on the place for Angus had homesteaded here some ten years earlier. The granaries served as living quarters while Henri and his son worked. They began building while it was still winter so when the family arrived in April, the house was ready.

When the time came to move, Louis travelled by freight with six head of horses, the sleigh, cutter, feed and some of the furniture. The journey took three days; the first night the freight stopped at Humboldt, the second was spent at Melfort.

However, when White Poplar Siding was reached, the conductor informed them that they would need to continue on to Hudson Bay as they were running short of coal and couldn't risk stopping. Louis arrived at Hudson Bay at 11:30 that night.

In the meantime, Henri was waiting at the Siding for he had travelled down on the passenger train and so had arrived earlier. Undeterred, he simply walked the six miles to the Junction and found Louis who had bedded down at Marcotte's Hotel. As it was sometime after midnight when Henri arrived, they waited until morning to unload their belongings, then started for home. It was Sunday. That night they, along with Charlie Paradis, slept in Louis Veillard's bunkhouse. They did not put in a good night and in the morning they discovered why. They had picked up body lice. This meant they needed to wash their underwear and bedding in boiling water.

The move was not an easy one for Alma. It meant leaving her large home in Delmas equipped with many conveniences. As well, she found the hundreds of miles an obstacle separating her from her sisters. Arriving at their new home set in bush country, Alma was convinced that this new land of Henri's was fit only for the Indians and the mosquitos.

Soon after Alma became ill. Her recovery was slow and took several months. Whether it was due to her illness or a lack of interest in the new land, Alma's presence was not generally known to the community at large. In time the ladies of

the district were heard to remark, "We were not certain in those years if there was a Mrs. Alain." When she did go to visit, it was usually to the home of Rachel Strasser whom Alma had known in Delmas.

That fall Henri rented Louis Veillard's sawmill. The mill was located between the railroad tracks and the future site of the Catholic Church. October saw the first snowfall and that was when Smokey and Louis began skidding logs.

Once cut down, the trees were limbed then cut into twelve- or fourteen-foot lengths to be dragged along the trail to where the logs would be loaded. One of their cousins, Joe Pichette, was hired by Henri in December to build two large logging sleighs. They were almost finished when the building in which the sleighs were being constructed caught fire. Everything was destroyed. The financial loss to Henri was close to a thousand dollars and he was still without a sleigh. It was January when the sleighs were finished and Louis began hauling logs out. Using two teams, he hauled a total of twenty-four miles each day.

In April Henri began working on the mill; he wanted it to be in running order by the end of that month. Unfortunately, they had only sawed a few days when the crankshaft on the steam engine broke. Henri took the train to Saskatoon where he traded his combine which was still in Delmas for a larger steam engine. The engine was loaded onto a flatcar for the trip. When they arrived at the Siding they used logs to unload the engine. However, the logs were green and slippery and the large engine was upset on the main line of the railroad. A crew made up of local men came and, using a stump puller, they were finally able to put the engine back on its wheels. In the spill a gear had broken so it was sometime before the sawmill was operating.

That spring, while the mill was shut down, Smokey and Louis worked on building a road north of the Siding. Using horses they cleared brush and removed stumps. Then the land was broken, disced and finally graded. It was considered one of the best roads in that part of the country.

In the summer there was always land to clear for farming. Louis had his own homestead by the spring of 1929. Then, too, Henri had purchased another quarter, this time from Russell Carter. By the early forties, Henri had passed the Pulchenski farm to Paul and Louis acquired the Carter land from his dad.

Back in 1933-34 Henri had a smaller mill on his farm. In 1941 this mill was moved three miles south of Mile 9. Henri continued to operate this mill each winter until 1946 or '47 at which time his son, Rolland, and Art Lamontagne purchased the mill.

In 1936 Henri contracted to haul sawdust. This was shipped to the Prairies where it was used as poison bait for the grasshoppers. Henri was helped by Rolland in this task, one which lasted for three years.

In the early fifties Henri and Alma purchased the house from Slim Rothpletz's mink farm. The house was moved to a site a couple hundred yards from Smokey's home. Alma was especially pleased with the new location. Shortly after, she and Henri were settled into their little home where they remained for many years.

It was around 1952 when Henri was seventy years young that he retired. Shortly after, he was approached by the Forestry Branch to take on the duties of a tower man. The local history book, Valley Echoes, tells us that the combined Porcupine and Pasquia Forest Reserves covered 1,055 square miles. Lookout towers were located as to allow a better view of the area. At first the towers were constructed of wooden poles to a height of forty feet. They were replaced in later years by steel structures with a lookout cabin on top. One such tower located at Mile 13, north of Greenbush, was to be Henri's responsibility. His tower stood eighty feet high. Climbing this was a feat in itself considering Henri's age. His duties were to spot smoke and potential fires and report them by phone to the Forestry Branch.

Once at the tower, Henri usually remained for the week. He drove home Saturday evenings. After attending Mass Sunday mornings, he would collect his supplies and return to the tower. Henri's fire tower duties lasted but a few years.

In July of 1957, Alma and Henri celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary beginning with Mass in Saint Anthony's Church in Veillardville. This was followed by a Come and Go Tea at their home. Also, the Veillardville community held a social in their honor.

In the fall of 1960 Henri suffered a stroke which left him severely handicapped. Following a period in the Union Hospital at Hudson Bay, Henri was moved to the Geriatric Centre at Melfort, Saskatchewan. It was here that he died December 19, 1967.

Alma took up residence shortly after in a little wood-frame house in the yard of her daughter's home. Alma enjoyed reading and letter writing for she corresponded frequently with a goodly number of her children and grandchildren. She was always so pleased to receive letters that she lost no time in replying. She also delighted in the many visitors who called. And always the grandchildren warmed her heart in a special way. Together, they would play cards and be treated to the many bonbons she always had on hand.

Her interest in her large family lent purpose to her days. She looked forward to Sunday when she could serve her family as she had in the past. On this day, some made a point of visiting her after they'd been to Mass. Alma prided herself on still being able to do everything herself as she served tea and sandwiches. She and her visitors would reminisce of things of the past, look at old family photos and exchange bits of family news - Alma was interested in each of her thirty-eight grandchildren, forty-six great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

She was hospitalized shortly before her 95th birthday in the Hudson Bay Union Hospital. Family and friends continued to call on her daily. It was here that she remained under the care of her "good Doc Silver" while she was looked after by the many kind nurses who cared and ministered to her in her later years. And it was here that she ended her days on December 15, 1982, at the grand age of ninety-nine. Alma was laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery at Hudson Bay beside Henri.