Notes for Della JOHNSON

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Notes for Della JOHNSON

The August Peter Johnson Family

Submitted by Della Lindemann

Our father, August Peter Johnson, was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1864. He was one of a family of twelve. When he was eighteen, he and an older brother come to Minnesota, after having been in the Swedish army for three years. He took a homestead at Wadena, Minnesota. That is where, he met and married Phebe Bevens from Quewana, Illinois, who had traveled by covered wagon with her family from Quewana to Deer River, Minnesota.

Dad and Mother lived there on the homestead for twelve years. We three girls; Mary, Della, and Iva, were born there. Then Dad had a sale and we moved to Olympia, Washington where we lived on a fruit farm for three years. Dad didn't like it there because it was always rainy and damp. Dad made a deal with Walter Jorgenson, who operated a creamery in Olympia, for the place Walter owned twelve miles south of consort, just east of Roland School. Walter Jorgenson had bought his farm from a syndicate of which Jack Lambe was overseer. We moved to the farm south of Consort the fall of 1921. There was a two-story lumber house, but the windows had been taken, along with some buildings and even the pump was gone from the well. Dad had been up earlier to look at the place, and nothing had been missing then.

We came to Alberta by train, stopping off at Calgary to buy some second hand furniture. Mother brought quite a lot of things with us. When we arrived at Consort, it was midnight, main street was one long, dark, high hill which we had to walk up carrying our suitcases and bags. Suey Sangs had rooms to rent above the restaurant. That is where we stayed for a week while Dad went out to fix up the house so we could move into it. Mrs. Johnny Adamson came with a one-horse buggy, taking Mother and Mary with her in the front seat and Iva and I rode at the back. It was a long ride with just a trail and no fences. We stayed with Herb Brown across the coulee east of our place in a sod house until Dad got the windows put in our house.

We girls did not go to school that winter as there were not enough children to have school at Roland. In the spring, we started school at Willowbrook. We rode in a two-seated buggy with Lorne Wade, our4 teacher, and his two brothers, Edgar and Cecil. They also picked up Arnold Knudson. We again rode with Lorne to Berryfield school when he taught there. Finally, Roland had enough pupils to hold school. They wereArthur, Annie, and Louis Smith, Doris Adamson, Iva and I. Vera Anderson was our teacher at Roland. Other teachers we had besides Lorne Wade were Gladys (Tozer) Johnson, Mrs. Liknes and Bob McCullough.

Later there were fourteen of us when the children came from Bohnets, Lomsdal and Haugens. We had Christmas programs for which we practiced two weeks ahead. We drew names for exchanging gifts. There was a Christmas tree a box of apples and a bag of treats from Santa Claus. The ladies brought food for lunch and there was a dance. A box social was held earlier to raise money to buy treats.

We had good times at Roland. The Fossum family; Albert, Henry and Marion, played for the dances. The whole family went to the dances and they sometimes carried on until four o'clock in the morning. Children slept on the desks or on the cloakroom floor. Some older people played cards. There were also dances at Berryfield, Sounding Valley and Westville. In the summertime, there were ball games in the afternoons on Saturday, and the sometimes a dance at night.

Mother and Dad always took us to Naco Sports, traveling there with a team and wagon. Our spending money was the twenty-five cents which we each had earned weeding the potato patch. Twenty-five cents would buy an ice-cream, a chocolate bar, a package of gum, an orange and five cents left to buy some candy. I also ran races to get extra money.

We girls helped with the chores, milked cows, fed cattle and took them to Roland to water them in a tank. Mother melted snow for house use.

During the Second World War, we were rationed on all kinds of things. We used flour sacks for such things as curtains, underpants, nightgowns, pillow cases, aprons and other uses. We cured our pork in a salt brine, had chickens and beef to eat, and our own milk and butter. At one time, we got some relief stuff like apples, fish and bedding.

Our neighbours were Adamsons, Wades, Bohnets, Fossums, Hyland, Haugans, John Ference, Schoolers and others. We got together in the homes for Sunday School on Sundays in winter and at Roland for church in summer.

Mom and Dad stayed on the farm until Dad was too sick to work anymore. They bought a house in town and moved in after having a sale at the farm. Dad was 86 when he passed away, and Mother lived on alone until she was 76, having lived ten years in Consort.

My elder sister, Mary, married Richard Magee of New Brigden in 1929. They have three children. Richard lives with them on their farm at Clive. Betty and Roger Wyatt live in Red Deer and have two girls, Marion and Myrna. Donna married Glen Chilton. The live in Lacombe and have two boys, Garth and Kent.

My younger sister, Iva, married Sam Covlin of Consort in 1946. Sam passed away in 1971. Iva continues to live in her home in Consort.

I, Della, married Albert Lindemann of Veteran in 1936. We have two children. Shirley married Danny Matheson of Consort. Their three children are Cathy, Sharon and Kevin. Donald married Mardie Wheatley. They live in Edson and have two girls, Shawna and Angela.

Albert worked twenty-five years for the C.P.R. and is now retired. We live in our home in Consort.

SOURCE: Unknown publication, Page 428 & 429

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