| Saga of the Campbell and Howard Families- Mrs. Ruby Campbell was one of the earliest pioneer women of North Bend (Yankee Bend.) Her brothers Ralph, Frank and Bert Howard and her husband, William Campbell had filed on homesteads in the fall of 1901. The first winter we lived in a tent on the Hillmond hills so the wind would blow away the snow. "Our only equipment says Frank, was a bedroll, a 5 1b. lard pail and a frying pan. We did trapping and chased coyotes to obtain supplies but enjoyed some of the best times of our lives." The Campbells came to North Bend or Yankee Bend as it was called then in 1903. Mrs. Ruby Campbell and Mrs. Dolly Howard were the first white women in the district. '~We came as far as Lloydminster and out to the Bend and moved into our tent. There was three inches of snow on the ground. Fernando was one year old and caught the whooping cough but I nursed him through the illness. We had our barrel of apples and the Prairie chickens were so plentiful you could shoot them any time." We prepared for our first Christmas. The spirit of the times was to give so I made up small bags of homemade candy as a present for each person. I made three extra bags and on Christmas Day three strangers came along so they also received some candy. Grandma Dolly and Grandpa Bert Howard came up a year later and they also lived in a tent. Dolly put up her bed and laid the carpet on the ground. Apple boxes were nailed on the trees for cupboards. Grandma had bought her organ along so they could all enjoy some music. Ruby Campbell also brought her camera and took many pictures of those early days. Mrs. Dolly Howard is now one of 5 generations; Cliff, Freddie, Betty and her three children. As she thought of those days, she remarked, ~neighbors in those days were not just the family who lived down the road. Neighbors helped one another in times of need and exchanged labor and when someone went out, they bought supplies for all." She told a story that was one of the many in her memory. Rabbits were used for food and one winter Jack Kirby went to Edam. He had lived on rabbits during the summer so when he went into the restaurant the Chinaman said, '~labbit stew, labbit fry and labbit bake." It was too much so Jack didn't stay. Before long there was quite a number of oxen in the neighborhood. Mr. Tucker had a team that could walk to Lloyminster just as fast as any team of horses. Frank Howard was such a good shot that he kept us supplied with moose and deer meat during the winter. Frank is still whole though 90 years old and still tends the garden. He says, '~in later years I wintered at Chetwynd, Alberta. Ben Mudge and I built cabins for Fernando Campbell and also a store for WA Campbell. It was a race to get the roof on before winter set in but we made it."
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| The Howard Clan webpages submitted by Patrick K. Best The Howard Clan who were some of the original homesteaders of the North Bend District. It is hoped that you and many more people enjoy this history that this clan went through everyday to strive to live and provide a great part in making the history of Saskatchewan come alive. sites.rootsweb.com/~sklloydm/Howard/Saga.html NOTICE: 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 (including notices and submitter information), must obtain the written consent of the contributor: Patrick K. Best or the legal representative of the submitter: Patrick K. Best and contact the listed Lloydminster Gen Web Region Project web master or Saskatchewan Gen Web Webmaster with proof of this consent. We encourage links to Lloydminster Gen Web and Howard Family Tree Web Pages. The Lloydminster Gen Web makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification. You are our [an error occurred while processing this directive] visitor-- thanks for stopping by! |