INTRODUCTION

Since families are now so spread out across the world, it might be interesting to publish some stories about some of our members so that a broader audience can enjoy their adventures as well. The first family story follows. It was written in 1993 by Corena Dykshoorn née Staal who lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. She has graciously given us permission to put it on the internet. It is called Memories.

If you would like to enter your family story, please direct it to the author of the family homepage as shown on the front page of this site.

by Corena Staal-Dykshoorn

Marinus Dykshoorn Sr. - born May 31, 1885 - died Nov. 26, 1973.

He was the second son of Willem Dijkshoorn (1858 - 1900), a Christian school teacher in Brandwyk, The Netherlands, and Dirkje Christina Van Staalduine (1856 - 1924). They were married on March 30, 1883.

As his father had passed away when Dad was only fifteen years old, he had to work out to help support his mother, older brother, three younger brothers and a sister. One of his jobs was in a cycle repair shop and he was quite proud to ride the motorcycle of a customer when getting it or delivering it back to it's owner. Dad had learned to play the organ so he was one of the organists in the Geref. Kerk (Christian Reformed Church) in Brandwyk. (We visited this church which was completed in 1897 and we saw the organ Dad played and possibly the same Psalm book). Dad's nine-year old brother Abraham sat on the organ bench with him as his widowed mother had four other children to control.

There didn't seem to be much hope for future advancement in Holland so when posters appeared and ads came in the newspapers proclaiming 'Canada - the land of milk and honey' and 'Opportunities in the New World' etc. they drew a lot of interest. We don't know how the discussion went at home but it doesn't seem like Grandmother protested too much when her son decided he wanted to go to Canada in 1907 when he was 22 years old.

Dad didn't know very many people in Canada but (Kees) Kase Kamp was on the same ship that Dad was on so he became acquainted with him. They enjoyed the trip together and were soon good friends, the two opposites. Kase was a huge man with big bushy eyebrows, a loud booming voice and laugh. Dad was a slender, quiet, refined gentleman. After arriving in Canada they took the train to Lethbridge, Alberta. They found a boarding house to stay in and also found work in the harvest fields nearby. When a new block of land was opened up for settlement they each filed on a claim, the same section, Dad's was the N.E. quarter of section 22-7-12. This was Nov. 19, 1907.

In April, 1908 they set out from Lethbridge for their homesteads. They had one horse, a light wagon and a few other worldly possessions. After buying a load of lumber in Grassy Lake and hiring someone to deliver it, they set off across the prairie. When they located the right quarter they unloaded the lumber and the day was almost gone. After it was dark they saw a light in the southwest about three miles away and spent the night with a Mr. Erlandson, who had moved in some time earlier. The next day they went back to their property to build their shack. Since their land adjoined they built one shack between them right on the dividing line of their land, so each could sleep on his own land for the designated time as the law required, this way they would both be living on their own homestead. We think the shack was 10' by 12' or 12' by 14' as was usual at that time.

We don't know if the shack had a peak roof or a slant one. A slant roof was easier to build onto so was more popular. The barn was built into the hill. The well was a bit farther down in the coulee. One of the first things they needed was some good water, so Dad picked a spot and they dug their well. At twelve feet there was plenty of good, cold water. many early settlers used it for their water supply and this well is still producing good water today.

One misfortune was when their horse pulled the stake where it was tied and wandered away. There being no fences, there was nothing to stop it. After looking for it on foot for many days, they could not find it and never saw it again. In a few days they needed supplies, so they took their light wagon, one pulling, the other pushing. They took it all the way to Grassy Lake, twenty four miles. The only help they had was up the Forty Mile Coulee when a cowboy had his horse pull the wagon up the hill. After buying another horse and the supplies they could drive back to their homestead. Later Dad bought three more horses at the McHugh ranch in Namiscam coulee and started breaking the land and putting in the crops. Dad and Kase Kamp each worked up ten acres or more and also helped their neighbours as they arrived. It must have been quite different from what they were used to in Holland. The dry, arid, rocky land, the treeless wide open spaces, the yapping and howling coyotes at night, the jack rabbits, gophers and badgers. They saw the grass waving in the wind and circles of stones where Indian teepees had stood. In those days the grass on the prairies was thick and about two feet tall, some called it buffalo grass. Hay could be cut anywhere. Buffalo bones, horns and 'chips' were laying everywhere. The 'chips' (dried manure) were good fuel for the stove until coal could be afforded and hauled. Also the flowers were much different - the cactus, buffalo beans, sun flowers, snow drops, honey suckle and others. It must have been quite a cultural shock as they say these days!

The first spring and summer on the prairies was a busy time for the new homesteaders. After buying fence posts, wire and staples, then hauling them from Grassy Lake they were ready to put up some fence to keep the horses in. Then the post holes had to be dug, sometimes with difficulty when rocks were hit with the shovel or bar. A pick axe was then used to get the rock out. The men were discovering how many rocks were in the soil! Finally the wire could be stapled to the posts and gates made to open and shut. The enclosure wasn't very big at first so the horses needed extra hay cut for them.

Four horses would be harnessed up and hitched onto the double-trees of the sulky plow, which had one blade, two levers and was a riding plow. Then a landmark (probably a big rock), was picked out to head for to plow a straight furrow. It was quite a hard job keeping the plow digging just the right depth, it dug too deep at times and popped out of the ground when a rock was hit. Then rocks had to be picked up and hauled off the field. A lot of effort, sweat and blisters went into a ten acre plot of land. The good, cold water from the well was really appreciated.

They, of course, had to do their own cooking. We imagine they ate a lot of bacon, pancakes with Rogers syrup or sugar on, beans, potatoes and onions. Not many other staples would keep in the hot weather. One day Kase Kamp went to town for supplies and saw some delicious looking raisin bread. He bought a loaf, loaded up the supplies and headed home. As the wagon rolled along he kept thinking about that bread, as they seldom had bread, let alone raisin bread! Temptation got the best of him, he just had to taste it. He kept 'tasting' until the whole loaf had been eaten. He apologized to Dad for depriving him of any of it. They probably didn't get much fresh meat but one time in colder weather, Dad was in Grassy Lake for supplies and saw some oxen being unloaded from a boxcar. One ox fell and broke it's neck, it was butchered and pieces of meat sold. Dad bought a hunk and packed it home. It was enjoyed very much.

Being the only 'Dutchmen' out on the prairie it was a bit lonesome at first. In the fall of 1908 another 'Dutchman', Richard Statema, arrived on his homestead about seven miles northeast. After his small two roomed house was built they would visit back and forth often to play checkers and chess. They exchanged reading material, read and reread newspapers. They always hurried home before dark since there were no lights on the horizon and no fences, getting lost was a real possibility. One time Kase stayed too long and darkness overtook him. About two hours later there was Kase back again where he had started from, having walked in a circle. After a second try with the same result he decided to stay the night.

Dad and Kase spent the winter of 1908-1909 in their little shack. One bitterly cold day a Royal Northwest Mounted Police officer on patrol came to the door. He was invited in for lunch but he said it was too cold for his heated horse to stand out in the freezing weather, so the horse also came indoors. We wonder how the English speaking and Dutch speaking men could make themselves understood, lots of sign language probably.

The spring and summer of 1909 brought quite a few more Dutch homesteaders. Soon lots of them were dropping in. The little shack was about bursting at the seams when the Matter family stayed until their house was built. Another of the many families that arrived was the VandenBergs, whose oldest daughter, Johanna Petronella, became Dads girlfriend. She worked for Mrs. Edgar McHugh, the wife of a rancher from Texas who came to Canada as early as 1904 to establish the Diamond Cross ranch near Nemiskam. Edgar McHugh was a cousin of Edward McHugh, the famous gospel singer. Johanna was taught the art of making bread while working there and was noted for her light, tasty bread in the following years.

Kase Kamp built himself a house a half mile northwest of the shack as his fiancee was coming from Holland. Dad worked in and around Lethbridge as he only had to be on his homestead to 'prove it up' six months of the year. The next two years he worked in construction, mixing cement for the C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railroad) bridge, carrying bricks for the building of the jail and as teamster when Henderson Lake was dug. (A man-made lake in Lethbridge). The workers were usually paid the 'big' wage of $ 1.00 a day. A few men, H. Matter, Kase Kamp and Dad contracted out to dig a ditch from Kipp to Lethbridge, approximately seven miles. They made more money this time.

Early in 1910, after working in Lethbridge that winter, Kase Kamp was returning home as his bride-to-be would soon be coming. The Bos family, who had arrived from Holland the previous fall, were living in his new house so he was bringing a load of groceries back with him. He was on the evening train, intending to get off at Burdett, but he had fallen asleep and did not wake up until reaching Bow Island. So there he was in the dark of night, thirty degrees below zero (F), and all those groceries, which included a hundred pound sack of flour, a sack of rolled oats, a sack of sugar, salt, etc., and a five gallon can of kerosene. How to get all that the seven or so miles back to Burdett? He scouted around and found an old table at the back of the station. So he turned it upside down on the track, piled the groceries on and started pushing it back to Burdett. When he had gone part way a freight train came thundering down the track, so he had to get everything off the track. In his hurry he spilled some of the kerosene and it splashed on the groceries. Then he had to pack the table and the groceries all back on the tracks and started pushing again. Recollection is that there was a wagon and horses waiting for him at the livery stable in Burdett, how this had been arranged we don't remember. A member of the Bos family recalls that times being what they were, they had to eat kerosene-flavored food for a while before buying any more.

Another incident, concerning Dad this time, happened a few years later, around 1913. With his four horse team and plow, Dad was working up a field for one of his neighbours to the north. A car had stalled so Dad went to see if he could help. The driver was a 'Loan officer' from Grassy Lake, a town twenty miles away. He asked Dad if he would pull him back to town, he said he'd pay him for his trouble. So Dad unhitched his horses, tied two of them up, took off a double tree, chained it to the car and hitched the other two horses up. With Dad on the hood and the loan officer in the drivers seat, they headed down the trail. All went well until they were going down the Forty Mile Coulee, one horse felt the call of nature and stopped dead in his tracks to answer that call. The car bumped into the horses, one horse rebelled and kicked both hind feet right through the radiator. The trip was completed though and Dad was paid $10.

Dad was a devout Christian and he lived his life accordingly. Sunday was always the 'Lord's Day' and the day was spent in quiet devotion, whether only two were present or more. When the Matter family stayed there, Dad read a Dutch sermon in the crowded shack. A daughter of Matter tells an amusing experience. "On Sunday. we were all inside to listen to a sermon Dykshoorn read to us and we sang psalms. Then we sat around until we had something to eat. I was sitting next to Kase Kamp on the bed. All of a sudden Kase was going to kiss me. Of course I tried to get away and in our struggle I kicked the frying pan with the spuds off the stove, so no spuds that Sunday. Maybe I should have let him have his way!"

Dad, Kase Kamp and H. Matter were members of the Christian Reformed Church of Nijverdal and their membership papers had been transferred from the Netherlands to the Nobleford-Granum church. Also the VandenBerg families, W. Kruit, R. Statema, S. Visser and E.P. Hunting had joined the group. Weather permitting they travelled all the way to Granum for services, but as more members arrived from Holland and the hardships of winter hindered regular attendance they began having reading services in the larger homes of F. VandenBerg and H. Matter.

In 1910 the request was made to Classis Pacific in Lynden that they be separated innto individual churches due to the great distances. This request was granted and Rev. Borduin was sent to conclude the arrangements. Thus in March 1911, the congregation of Burdett was organized, H. Matter and P. VandenBerg were elected as elders, A.E. Guichard and Dad became the first deacons. At the first congregational meeting it was decided to build a small church on land to be purchased near the centre of the congregation. The structure, 16' by 24' was completed that summer. An incident recalled was that Dad hauled lumber for the church from Burdett, an 18 mile distance. As he arrived home with the big load there was a severe storm in progress, Mother ran out to open the gate for him and it was torn out of her hands by lightning. Dad also helped the VandenBergs build the church along with other volunteers. This building accomodated the congregation until 1917 when due to more members it became necessary to build on an addition of 22' by 28' and also a 30' by 64' horse barn.

In March 1910 Kase Kamp married Anna Bakka who had just arrived from The Netherlands. Dad often told the story of how Kase scared his fiancee. He had let his black beard grow and with his black bushy eyebrows, wearing a thick overcoat and cap, he grabbed Anna in a big bear hug. She didn't recognize him and screamed loudly, to the amusement of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Kamp moved into their new house and Dad had the shack to himself. They all went back to Lethbridge for the winter.

The Kamps weren't too satisfied on his homestead so they rented some land near Burdett, a new town. Dad rented their homestead.

On June 10, 1911 Dad married Johanna Petronella VandenBerg - born Jan. 4, 1886 - daughter of Frans VandenBerg and Klaasje Willempje Harthoorn. In one long day, with a team and buggy, they rode to the Justice of the Peace in Taber, thirty miles away. They moved into the house Kase Kamp had built, as they were renting his land.

On June 3, 1912 their first child was born. They named him William in honour of Grandfather Willem Dykshoorn. Also in 1912 Dad and his brothers-in-law Paul and Frank VandenBerg Jr. bought an Aultman Taylor separator and an I.H.C. Mogul tractor and moved around the country threshing for several falls. Mother went along as cook for the threshing crew. They had a special 'Cook car' with a stove and the necessary utensils to cook and serve the meal. Most of the pots, pans, plates and cups were enameled, quite sturdy but the enamel chipped easily. Dad, Mother and baby William lived in the Cook car on the job-site. This was done for a few years and two more children to care for. A busy life for Mother with the washing and other household chores to do.

In 1913 Kase Kamp sold his homestead to Dad, 160 acres at $12.00 an acre (if memory serves us correct). This put Dad in debt but he worked hard and repaid his friend. The Kamps bought land five miles northeast.

On April 18, 1914 a baby daughter was welcomed into the family. She was named Clasina Wilhelmina in honour of her maternal Grandmother. The crops were not very good this year so the family probably wasn't in the Cook car too long. Also Aunt Corrie VandenBerg helped in busy times.

In 1915 there was an abundance of rain and the prairie bloomed, as they say. All the farmers were plowing up many more acres for planting grain, so they were very thankful for the moisture. There was a bumper crop that year and they were able to pay debts and get back on their feet. If Mother was cooking for the threshing crew that year she must have put in some long days because they worked until dark. She would have had to quit toward the end of Sept. because on the 24th another son was born. They named him Frank, in honour of his maternal Grandfather VandenBerg.

1916 was another year of good rains and a bumper crop. Hope for the future was restored and after paying off debts there was money to put in the bank. Much needed additions were built onto some houses and even a new one here and there. Cars began to make an appearance and this was quite a shock to the livestock. Teams of horses on the roads were especially spooked as they couldn't get far enough away. Some heated arguments between team driver and car driver were not unusual.

In 1917 quite a few new barns were built and an addition built onto the small church that had been built in 1911. Dad helped on both these projects along with the VandenBergs who were good carpenters. Dad also bought his first car, a 490 Chev. He paid $800.00 for his new car. It came in handy when another baby was expected and Aunt Corrie had to be gotten. She had married and moved to Alderson, 50 miles away. It was a busy time with harvest in full swing. As Dad usually started the I.H.C. Mogul tractor that ran the separator, he gave instructions to his brother-in-law and helpers. They worked all day trying to get it started and when Dad returned at 4 p.m. he started the machine and they worked until dark. On Sept, 19 another baby boy was born and he was named Dirk Christian, in honour of Grandmother Dirkje Christina Dykshoorn.

The next seven years were dry, dusty ones and times became hard again. Some of the settlers had spent all their hard earned money on new farm buildings, large hip roof barns, new houses and could even afford to buy paint for them. With some new machinery and cars, things were looking up, but now the drought was back. With poor crops and no money many people left in the next few years. This gave the ones that stayed the opportunity to rent or buy more acreage. Even though money was scarce they managed to keep going.

Dad had been saving money to pay for a trip back to Holland, he wanted to see his mother yet and his three brothers and one sister. His younger brother, Willem, had come to Canada a couple years ago. He was working on ranches north and east of Burdett and was known for his love of animals, especially horses. He never married. So in the winter of 1919-1920 Dad managed to break away and spend time with his relatives in Holland. We wonder how he dared to leave his wife with four young children and another baby on the way. It's a good thing he did though as times got tougher and his mother passed away four years later. Arrangements were made for a neighbour, Mr. Schaafsma, to do the chores while Dad was gone, but there's always the fear of fire or an accident. All went well though and Dad returned home in January. Among the things he brought back home were two oval ornately framed photos - one of his mother and one of himself. A few weeks later another son was born on Feb. 20. He was named Marinus - in honour of his father and his Great Grandfather Marinus Van Staalduine. Later in the year Dad had to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to have a kidney removed.

The years that followed were dry but life went on as usual, with seedtime and harvest. There was not much money but always plenty to eat and serviceable clothing. Mother did a lot of knitting and sewing - darning and patching, she was always busy. One big chore was the Monday washing. First the water had to be hauled (Dad did that), then it had to be heated, this was done in boilers on the cook stove. Some of the most soiled clothes were boiled with lye in the water. Fels Naptha bar soap was put in the hot water to dissolve, then the hot water had to be carried by buckets-full to the wash tub. Beginning with the white clothes, each load was scrubbed on the wash board, then washed in another tub of water and twisted and wrung to get out as much soapy water as possible. A tub of clean, warm water waited to rinse them in and the white clothes would be put in water with bluing added to make them nice and white, then more twisting and wringing. Lastly, the dress shirts - ladies and girls dresses - table cloths etc. would be starched, wrung out once more and hung on the line to dry. Multiply this by ten loads or so, with water change when necessary, and you have a hard days work. Usually the clothes dried quickly in the arid breeze but sometimes a gusty wind came up bringing rain or hail and always dust, making for a mad dash out to the clothes line to rescue the clean clothes - otherwise they may need washing again! The diaper washing on other days was less hectic.

Tuesday was ironing day. First the articles that needed ironing would have to be sprinkled, then folded tightly or rolled up so thhe dampness would penitrate through. Often this was done the noght before. Then the three or more heavy cast iron 'sad irons' with detachable handles were heated on the cook stove, not too hot or they'd scorch, but hot enough to nicely iron out the wrinkles and iron in the creases and pleats. Special care had to be taken with the white 'Sunday' shirts as they scorched easily and also had those starched collars to iron just right! The embroidered pillow cases and table cloths needed extra effort too, to get the design to stand out good. The trick to this was to place a 'turkish' towel on the ironing board, then turn the articles over and iron on the back side. Care had to be taken to get all the dampness out before folding the clothes to prevent mildew.

Some years later the gas irons came into use. They had a more even heat but were still heavy as the small gas tank was attached. They were rather tricky to start and would need pumping up whenever the pressure got low. They also gave off quite a bit of heat on a hot day but not nearly as much as the cook stove did that had to heat the 'sad irons'.

The next three days of the week were spent mending clothes, baking bread, churning butter, and in the summer, gardening, canning and the usual mothers duty of caring for the children, making beds, lunches, meals, washing dishes, sweeping and dusting. On Saturday preparation was made for Sunday with baking, cleaning, pressing clothes, polishing shoes, peeling potatoes, etc.

In 1922 a second daughter was born on Oct. 10. She was welcomed by the family and named Maria in honour of Great grandmother Maria and Aunt Maria Dykshoorn. Wilhelmina was happy to have a baby sister.

As the farmers were barely scratching out a living in those dry years Dad began thinking of settling in a different area. He went to northern British Columbia - in the Houston area; but after seeing all those tall trees that had to be cleared off the land he changed his mind about moving. Some time later he also checked out the Flathead Lake area, Montana.

There were a lot of disappointments and hopes dashed when hail storms came up and wiped out acres of beautiful grain. It was a continual struggle but they had faith and hope that next year would be better. They also had their enjoyments with Church picnics, meetings at Church, friends and relatives gathering for birthday celebrations, neighbours helping out on butchering day, etc. One memory of butchering is when a new immigrant wanted to help so was asked to hold a squealing pig by the hind leg - after witnessing the killing he was not so anxious to help again.

One time, around 1924, Dad had hauled wheat to Foremost with a four horse team. As he returned home and was getting off the wagon to open the gate the dog barked and spooked the horses. They bolted, knocking Dad down and injuring his head. He crawled to the house and was incoherent, not knowing what had happened. The family was quite worried but he recovered by the next day. Also in 1924 a fifth son joined the family on Nov. 7. He was named John Peter in honour of his mother Johanna Petronella.

It wasn't until 1927 that they were blessed with adequate rain and another good crop. There weren't enough threshing machines to thresh all the grain so many stooks stood all winter and were threshed in the spring. Dad bought his first truck, which was used for hauling grain and also transporting the family to picnics etc. Another bumper crop was enjoyed in 1928 but a disastrous grass fire swept through the community in Oct. It was five miles wide and travelled twenty two miles before being put out. 100,000 bushels of grain in bins was destroyed. It burned some of Uncle Paul and Uncle Frans VandenBerg's fields and graineries. As it was headed towards Dads farm he got his Minneapolis tractor and a one-way disc and made a fire break which kept it away.

The crops were fair in 1929. The grain was too short to make bundles so Dad built a stacker using angle iron from an abandoned mine. He pulled this behind the header and made stacks of cut grain 10 by 14 feet. In 1930 a cute little girl was born on May 5th and she was named Christine, probably in honour of Grandmother Dykshoorn.

The 'Dirty Thirties' had arrived. Disastrous dust storms were experienced as most of the land had been worked up and it was very dry. The winds were so strong they blew the planted seed right out of the ground. Grain prices were down and with early frost that lowered the grade of grain and the drought, grasshoppers, army worms and gophers, times were tough. As fuel was too expensive and the car worn out anyway, the motor was taken out, the body moved forward so a flat deck could be built on, a pole put on so horses could pull it, it was used for transportation. They called it 'The Bennett Buggy' named for Hon. R.B. Bennett who was Prime Minister at the time. It rode much more comfortable then the iron-tired buggy.

In 1939 Dad bought a small dairy farm in Clayburn - near Abbotsford, B.C. Dad and Mother annd some of the children spent the winters there and most of the summers at the farm at Foremost, Alberta. In November of 1941 Mother passed away in Lethbridge of complications following surgery. The family continued to have two homes until 1945 when Dad sold the Clayburn property and helped three sons buy a 190 acre farm near the U.S. border in Huntingdon, B.C. area. Frank, Marinus and John each had a parcel and started dairy farming. Dad continued travelling back and forth from Alberta as Dick was on the grain farm and Dad loved to help at harvest time. In 1950 he married Greta Van Ryn Bach and bought a house in Abbotsford. He passed away following a heart attack on Nov. 19, 1973.

Special thanks to the members of the family who shared their memories of Dad.
A few paragraphs were taken from the Burdett C.R.C. Anniversary book and Burdett Prairie Trails.