The summer days slipped into harvest. We experienced long days of harvest again.

World news over the radio took a turn. The King and Queen of England were on a

visit to Canada. It seemed a joyful time. There was however a gloomy shadow of a

World War on the horizon. Meetings between England and European countries

were taking place. Germany was flexing its military muscle. Then it happened.

Britain proclaimed war against Germany. Canada followed soon after. We were at war.

Canada began calling men to join the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Men, who had been out of

work, riding the rails, flocked to the enlisting depots.

People of German descent cheered with glee as news of Hitler’s advance into each

country was announced.

In the fall of this year I worked for a German family, neighbors who were highly

respected. I remember witnessing the family sitting around the radio after supper to listen to

the news. As the German victories were voiced the room would burst into cheers and

applause. I usually sat in the background quietly. I wondered if my Uncle Steve would be

back in uniform as he was in the First World War. How long would this War last? If it goes

on long enough, could I be called up for service? This was a frightening thought. I continued

working outside the home as was required, as well as working at home.

The fall harvest was completed and fall fieldwork on the summer fallow and stubble

fields was started. The frost soon stopped fieldwork and the usual farm chores of caring for

the livestock settled into a daily routine.

Around Christmas time in 1939, I received a letter from Nick inviting me to work for

him the following spring. I really didn’t know what to do. I didn’t like leaving my parents,

who needed help with farm work. However the younger boys were a great help, so it seemed

that I could leave. I didn’t receive much objection from Dad and Mom. Furthermore this

thing about being saved really concerned me. I reasoned that maybe if I were to go to Alberta

and attend some church that the older members of my family frequented, I would understand

what was needed of me.

After Christmas my brother Bill came home for a visit. He stayed for several weeks

through January and February. He planned to return to Lethbridge in early March. It seemed

as though my leaving home was made easier because now I could travel with Bill, for I had

not traveled anywhere alone before.

Now it was necessary to arrange for the disposal of my livestock. I arranged to sell

the young calves to a cattle buyer, for some forty dollars. That was the only money that I had.

The horses I agreed to leave for Dad to use, with the understanding that I would be paid for

them when money was available. I was later paid the full asking price.

overnight in a hotel in Yorkton and boarded the CPR train for Lanagin, Regina and

Lethbridge. We arrived there on Friday. Bill picked up his truck at Ann’s and loaded some

coal for use on the farm. We remained in Lethbridge over the weekend in a hotel. On

Sunday March 9 we went to an evangelical church, the Lethbridge Pentecostal Assembly,

which was something new for me. That evening after hearing a wonderful Gospel message

on Acts 27:13, preached by Pastor John Cook, I accepted the Lord as my Savior. What a joy

and peace flooded my soul. Praise the Lord I was saved! The person who dealt with me

encouraged me to tell the first person I encountered to share what had happened to me. So I

did that before I left the church building.

The next day, Monday morning, Bill and I set off in his truck to Skiff. Nick was

home alone as Marion was staying with Ann. Nick and Marion were expecting their first

child and Marion needed to be near her doctor.

First Bill took me to his farm, a short distance northwest of Skiff. After unloading the

coal, Bill took me to Nick’s farm, where I was to begin working as a farm hand.

It was so different to be on the prairie where sight was not restricted, except seeing

over the hills. Nick’s farm was three and a half miles from Skiff. The grain elevators were in

plain view from the farm.

The home we lived in

was a cook car, which was

the living room and kitchen.

The living room had a pullout

bed, which served as my

sleeping quarters. Nick and

Marion’s bedroom was an

up-graded granary attached to

the cook car.

Nick was a good

cook. We got along well

during my training period. I

was eager and willing to learn

the operation of a tractor or

driving the truck or car. The

only things that I had driven

previously were horses.

There was no snow

left on the ground and the

frost was out of the ground.

The first job that we engaged

in was to clear virgin land in

preparation for breaking.

Removing rock from the

prairie was all that was

necessary to prepare the field

for the plough. The half

section we first worked on

was loaded with surface rock,

which was loosened with a

pick. The larger stones

required a crow bar. Some

larger rock needed to be dug

out of the ground. When a

Sam, hard at work on the tractor at Skiff, 1941.

From Kif(f)iak Family Tree "100 years in Canada" CD

large area was done in this way, a stone boat and truck were used to gather the rocks, which

were hauled to an area in the center of the field.

A few days after I arrived, Nick decided to travel to Lethbridge to visit his wife. I was

left alone to tend to the chores as well as do my own housework. I continued removing the

surface rock during Nick’s absence. The dog usually accompanied me to the field. He

seemed to hang around me as if to watch my every move.

The first day of being alone wasn’t so bad. Then, I began to feel alone, especially at

night when the coyotes would howl and the dogs would answer. This was not unusual

because coyotes lived around our home area in Saskatchewan. I did a lot of singing during

the day to cheer myself. At night I kept the radio on all night. Then, a day later I had a real

dose of my first homesickness. The dog quit being my constant companion during the day,

and finally stopped following me all together and left home.

In order to visit and talk to other human beings on this bald prairie, I walked a mile to

visit with Marion’s folks, the Newtons. Of course my real reason was to find the dog that left

home. I believe that I stayed there for the night and returned back in the morning having not

located the dog. Oh well, maybe the dog took off to find the coyotes for all I knew.

Before Nick returned home I had recovered somewhat from homesickness and

become accustomed to the farm routines. Singing gospel songs during the day on the field

gave me great joy in the Lord. I read my Bible early in the morning and quickly began to

understand God’s plan for mankind. His love for the world was recorded in the Gospels over

and over again. I thanked the Lord for showing me the Light, and for the opportunity to

follow the Lord Jesus, who is the Light of the World.

A few days went by and Nick was on his way back to Lethbridge having become a

new father to their first daughter. I was settled by this time and the duties of the farm became

routine. The cow needed milking twice a day. Chickens were fed, and meals prepared for

myself.

The time for spring work quickly came. Learning to operate a tractor and the power

machinery was no problem for me, but there were always things to watch while operating the

equipment. Proper servicing was mandatory. To overlook a grease nipple was unforgivable.

The machine that took a great deal of time to service was the seed drill. There were many

moving parts that would wear quickly without proper and constant servicing. The fieldwork

was done in shifts using one tractor. I would operate it during the day and Nick would do the

night shift as long as he could – often all night. For me the work was not difficult, but the

hours were long, and they seemed to pass slowly. Mealtime was always very welcome, and

very satisfying. It seemed however that I couldn’t take in enough food to satisfy me until the

next meal. As time passed, I became accustomed to the regular hours of work, but greatly

appreciated the hours of sleep that I got. I usually had to be awakened, as meals were

prepared in the one large room where I slept, so my bed needed to be made up before

breakfast.

Nick was a good employer to work for, but the weekend was a welcome break from

the daily routine of farming. The meetings we attended were held in the district schoolhouse.

The men of the community shared in speaking at these services. Others would involve

themselves in the Sunday School.

Later in the year, a student from Prairie Bible Institute came as a summer Christian

worker. This was a relief to the community Christians. There was a joyful spirit among the

believers. It was a period of rapid Christian growth for me

The spring work being completed, there was time to do some rock picking before

summer fallow work began. Doing summer fallow involved long hot days, riding the tractor,

standing up as a rule. It wasn’t long before harvest was upon us. The machinery was

carefully inspected and serviced for uninterrupted days of combining. Most of the crops were

harvested using a combine, pulled by a tractor. I ran the tractor, and Nick was up on the John

Deere combine operator’s platform, which was elevated above the machine. From that point

he could control the cutting table. I enjoyed harvest time, as I had done while working at

home. This method was easier however than stoking the fields like we did at home. Extra

help was needed at harvest, so Nick would drive into Lethbridge to pick up a truck driver

from the employment office or just someone hanging around the Park near the railroad

station. As the harvest was coming to an end I needed to decide what I would do for the

remainder of the season and the winter.