Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE by JOHN HAWKES Vol 1I 1924


Dear Saskatchewan GenWeb Enthusiasts,

We come bearing exciting news for those who have journeyed through the corridors of the old Provincial Saskatchewan GenWeb site hosted by Rootsweb and Ancestry. Fear not, for our webpages will not only endure but thrive in a new digital haven!

New Beginnings, Rejuvenated Dedication:

Discover our revamped home at https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan. This transition marks the continuation of our unwavering commitment to document the rich history of Saskatchewan. The legacy of the one-room schoolhouses, cemetery headstones, historical maps, and the plethora of placenames will persist.

Navigating History's Landscape:

As we weave through the diversity of Saskatchewan's past, these webpages serve as a compass, guiding you to the closest one-room schoolhouse, a church or cemetery, or the nearest town or Rural Municipality for your genealogical or historical quest.

Patreon: A Beacon of Support:

The heart of this journey lies in the support of our growing Patreon community. With their encouragement, we've secured a new domain and web hosting provider-ensuring that the flame of this service continues to burn bright.

Grow With Us:

Join our Patreon community, become a pillar in our efforts to persist year after year. Your support is not just a contribution; it's a testament to the value of preserving the stories that make Saskatchewan unique.

Visit Our New Webpages:

Explore the evolving Saskatchewan GenWeb at https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan. The digital canvas is ready to be painted with the vibrant strokes of history.

Support Us on Patreon:

Behind every webpage update, every historical map scanned, and every record documented, there is a dedicated team of volunteers. If you find our service beneficial, consider supporting us through Patreon. Your contribution ensures that the Saskatchewan GenWeb remains a beacon for historians, genealogists, and the public.

Gratitude to Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com:

We express our deep gratitude to Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com for providing the foundation upon which this digital tapestry was woven. Now, as we transition, we seek your support in maintaining paid web hosting.

Sustaining a Legacy:

The Saskatchewan GenWeb service has been a cornerstone for those seeking to unravel the past. Today, we invite you to stand with us in ensuring its continued existence for generations to come.

Join Us in This Exciting Chapter:

Visit https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan and witness the renaissance of the Saskatchewan GenWeb. Thank you for being a vital part of our community and for your enduring passion for genealogy and history in our best beloved province of Canada.

Warm regards,

The Saskatchewan GenWeb Volunteer Team




SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE
1924
Volume II



         

EVOLUTION OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES.


ABOUT PRIMITIVE HOUSES.


Nature seems, in any country, to provide the means of a shelter if man only knows how to use it. The Eskimo makes a comfortable "igloo" out of snow for instance. The prairie man in America was quite a long time before he hit on the happy idea of making a house in a treeless country out of the sod under his feet. When the west was settled the "sod shanty" was a recognised institution on the other side of the line. When well made these sod houses are very warm and comfortable. The trouble is dust unless some means are takeu to prevent it. The log house is tbo well known to need description, and the frame house can be dis- missed with the same remark. A not unusual sight today is to see a fine farm house, with a small log, or sod building near it, the latter being the original dwelling. Nothing tells the story of success more dramatical- ly at a single glance than these instances. It is "Look on this picture an~ on that." While travelling we once saw a huge building looming up for miles, and we wondered and wondered what sort of a public building this could be, miles from the railroad. It was only a settler's house, built by a man and his family, a German by the way. Within a stone's throw stood a little log house which looked like a rabbit hutch beside its suc- cessor. The big house was made of home-made concrete. There was a thirteen-year-old boy there. "You got a big house, Hans," I said. "Yes," he snapped, "too big!" "Ah t" I said, "You cut the stove wood." "You bet I do," he replied. And it must have taken a lot of wood to warm thatbig house.

The most interesting houses are those of continental Europeans. Take Russians who have lived on the steppes. They can make mud houses to the queen's taste. I recall a particular instance in the Pheasant Hills. A frequent feature is for the home to be in two houses. One is used as the kitchen and living room, the other for sleeping accommodation. This was one of those cases. My Russian friend was the leader of the settle- ment, and a superior man. His living house was comfortable enough, but the sleeping house was a dream when one considered it was built of nothing but mud. The walls had been putty-coated with a fine wash of prepared clay and were quite smooth and shiny. There was a neat painted cornice running around the rooms, consisting of flowers and figures. These were home-made and the paint or dye was home-made from vegetables and ochres in the vicinity. He had a new stable with the roof not yet on. The walls were two feet thick. My host said, "That stable last for two hundred years." And it looked it. And the bed! I slept between two of the softest, cleanest, most billowy and restful feather beds I have ever struck.

I remember another beautiful bit of mud architecture. This time the artist was a Hungarian. The floor of the good room was made of poles plastered over. That floor gave under one's feet as if it were rubber; yet it was shiny and solid, and without the slightest indication of a crack in its surface. But these results are not produced by any hap-hazard meth ods. These folk have been sheltered by the mud of Mother Earth for Un- told generations, long before America was dreamed of. They prepare this mud according to formula. Occasionally one might catch a woman not too extravagantly draped, treading mud in a barrel. Oxen might do the rough treading in a prepared slough. The Finns are as handy with the axe as the typical Canadian and they build some excellent log houses. But the ambition of the European is often to have a modern frame house, so as time goes on you see the mud building discarded, and a neat, com- modious frame go up. This is shown on a pretty large scale in the Bal- gonie Russo-German colonies. The settlers started many years ago with mud houses, and they lived on the village plan, going out from their vil- lages to till their farms. All had their farm yards in the villages and in most cases with the stables reached by a door from the house. The result was when hay and grain were stacked in the village to give it, from a way off, the appearance of a populous place. We should say that the Lutheran Russians were exceptions to this plan. Now the mud houses have disappeared; and also the village plan.

It must not be supposed that all Europeans have good houses. There are shacky and dirty Europeans although my experience is that they are more the exception than the rule. I have before me a Galician's house in the bluff, the frame work of poles, plastered over so carelessly with mud that the mud was dropping off. But this man might have been a city dweller in his own country and therefore like any other novice at country life. Whatever kind of house is built it needs to be built right, and to be air-tight to withstand our winter, and many people have suf- fered much from the cold of hastily and imperfectly constructed houses. Bibliography follows:



Previous Page Previous Page SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE VOL II INDEX Next PageNext Page


THE STORY
OF
SASKATCHEWAN
AND ITS PEOPLE



By JOHN HAWKES
Legislative Librarian



Volume II
Illustrated



CHICAGO - REGINA
THE S.J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1924




Visitor # [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Web Master: Sask Gen Webmaster,

for Sask Gen Web Project

Re-published ©: Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 15:54:18 MDT

URL: sites.rootsweb.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/primitivehouses.html






We encourage links to this page.

These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format
for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons.
Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must
obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal
representative of the submitter, and contact the listed WebmasterWeb
master with proof of this consent.