Poplar Grove (or Langbank) Sask.
March 12th, 1911
Dear Cousin May
Thank you very much for Uncle Ben’s photo and the other little ones. Uncle Ben 1ooks so well and happy. Edith’s is not flattering, I can sympathize with her in having a poor picture for all my Xmas ones were horrid. I am sure I do not look as queer.
Mr. Wrangham took the others. I do not like to ask him for any, else I would send some. Amy has a camera now if she is home any time I will have some taken or I must try and get some films and use Mr. W.’s. In the photo of Amy’s group your Amy looks exactly like our Amy Cairns. I just handed the picture to Tom (and) asked him who it was standing behind those children, he said why Amy of course.
Mr. Dickey is a very jolly man and quite young looking. John could use his fingers when they were frost bitten, you see he would always have two pairs of thick mittens on at his work outdoors.
Poplar Grove church is the School house in which service is held it is 4 miles away, Janet is 3 miles away. We seem very near for prairie homes, generally we get up and down once a week it is not the distance but the housework which prevents us seeing each other more often, and this winter the severe weather just imagine 60 and 70 degrees of frost for eight weeks and storms nearly every other day.
I cannot tell you what we earn or make in a year but this I know we have about 1500 bushels of wheat to sell which will probably be sold at between 80$ and 90$ a bushel. [Amaret’s Smyth’s note: this must be an error. Perhaps she means 80 or 90 cents]. We will have that clear pretty nearly this year, as the cattle and pigs have paid almost all the expenses. That is hire of man 80$ threshing bill 240$, new bull 75$, church subscription 30$, farm machinery 200$. With the usual Canadian carelessness we do not keep accounts so I cannot tell what the household expenses are, we burn wood which we get free, raise our own meat, vegetables, butter, milk, eggs and poultry. I think you must have done wonderfully to live on 110 pounds a year.
John has a quarter homestead of land (160 acres) next to our land he has had two crops off of it, he works for his father and for pay he uses his father’s horses and machinery to work his land. Last summer he paid 100$ to get some more of his quarter broken, so this summer he will have a crop of 60 acres, his land is specially good for wheat as it is high and frost seldom touches it only the land is stoney and perhaps only 120 acres can be broken. John has a pony mare who has had two colts since he got her also he bought a mare and foal at a sale for 116$ now the former owner wants the mare back offers John 150$ for the mare alone. Mares are in great demand as it is a good country to raise foals. That is John’s money earning ways. Tom just works for us yet but people are offering him 35$ a month for the year he is not 17 so that is a good deal, he is so tall, broad and quick. John is tall too but rather heavier in build (and) on his feet. Tom earned about 60$ last year working for F. Gravener at harvest and by gathering up the grain spilled by the threshing machine also by helping neighbours haul grain to the railway.
When a man fills a car he has to get it done inside of 24 hours else he may have to pay demurrage so he hires his neighbours to help him at the rate of 2 dollars a day. Every one does not fill a car, some sell it outright to the elevator at the station, some store it in the elevator, others get the elevator to load it for them. We are so near we can do as we like without hiring any help in hauling. We cannot pay Tom so much as he is offered, I do not know what the result will be. Bob quite earns his living on the farm but his only money has been from a cow he got for pay for herding, 37 dollars that has been his spending money this winter in Whitewood. He is patrol leader of the Scouts he is 14 nearly 15 in September. If Bob had to work for others he could get 25$ a month.
All kinds of our house machinery turn by handles, bread mixer, washing machine, wringer, churn and coffee mill so I would be capable of the barrel organ too. I think I will get a vacuum cleaner if it takes so long to do a carpet, sweeping and sponging would have to do me however I have no carpet on floors now, my carpets hang on a beam in the granary waiting for the new house when it comes. If my finances allow it I shall have linoleum all down stairs with a good mop and self wringer.
My money comes from the hens, turkeys, eggs, butter, wedding fees and prizes from the fairs for knitting, wedding fees are growing scarcer each year but two came my way this year 10$ and 8$. The other things brought in 150$ leaving out the butter money which I did not demand last summer as I had had no hand in working with the milk on account of my poor old leg. My money has to go for sheets, towels, extra groceries, nice graniteware pots and kettles, dishes of all kinds and yarn and everything too numerous to mention but I could hold on to it better if I wanted to. I was in bed nearly all last week with rheumatism in my left shoulder and arm. Mr. Cairns did the housework such a looking place when I came down stairs, he does not believe in sweeping. Of course there was company every day to one meal and then Mr. Cairns brother Robert came who has never been to see us for 25 years however the two of them then manned the kitchen and I came down to order them around.
My arm is nearly well again now. Janet left Susan in her father’s care today while she went to church for the first time since Susan came. Susan weights 20 lbs. at six months.
The snow is going fast the hens have got outside the door of their house for the first time this year.
NOW I must write to my daughter Amy, John has just given me some photos although not what you want perhaps they will interest you.
I remain your affectionate
Cousin Alice Cairns