In 1932; wheat hit an all time record low j

of 32'? a bushel, but with crops failing and

dust storms,- the price of wheat had climbed r
to 67¢ in 1934 In 1935, the rust year for this '
area, smart farmers burned their crops, o- .

’ thers cut them and could not pay for the twins
"It was jokingly suggested that every farmer

should keep- at least one, dog as he never“

knew when he might have to eat it ” Times

were hard but the age of electricity wasupon
us. Electric lights were the ‘luxury’ longed ,
for by many and in 1936 the new Hydro:
station south of Arrow River was installed» V
,. to carry 33, 000 volts of electricity. Very. ;

few farm homes had electrical power or wa—‘
for systems; a few had" motor driven units;
supplying, electric light only. Money was as
scarce as "hen’s teeth." But how very for:
tunate this area was to have an abundance
on wood for fuel and wild raspberries, straw-
“berries,.. Saskatoons, cranberries and black
currents, as wild fruit while some picked
hazelnuts by the bag in the valley. , .r .,

Wloodsawtng Bee

1939 brought the declaration of war and

local boys trooped off toiive years otwar .

‘and waiting; During this time, the district

felt the pinch: of rationing 11d such commo~ V
-dities as sugar,- tea and: gasoline Some-
~ crossed the line to the U S. A; to purchase -‘
" 100 pound bags or sugar in preserving time. '
V For those ladies meetings, several would take

Threshing Scene V_-

trucks, tractors, etc. With the coming cie ec
tricity in 1949, the sad irons were laid away
ice wells were filled in and replaced byi're
irigeration the local theatre was empty,

people set glued to their T. V ’s, cigarette
replaced the thim‘ble and quilting needle; fa

flies were smaller, allowing more time to
freedom of women. As the stores becam
stocked with all the desirable commoditie
in family sized packages, the daycf the seli

sufficient farm table became obsolete”;

During this period, the returned men wer
being rehabilitated, under the Veteran’sL
Act. Many settled in this area. There
a revival of family life, recreation becam.
part of our community life again,-,with
teams, curling etc., and aimed intere
youth activities Much help was given by 11
local Agricultural Representative inthis .
as well as leadership in modern farming
practices. The planting of trees, soil testing

- experiments with seed plots, fertilizers

improvement of cattle breeding. and re d
with the use of silage becoming more pr
valent Hog breeders introduced improv

ments in this field with importedbreeds etc

By the time the ‘60’s had rolled around
the results of automation. with littl i

a little "dab” of tea, to make that much - ' -'

appreciated refreshment. Shortage of labor ’ ,
end gasoline brought about the ruling that no ' ’

gas station could be open before 7 3.111., or » ‘ '

ter '1‘ p 111., and no Sunday sales. The labor '
shortage at this time was acute: Farmers 1
pooled their machinery and help, the outcome"

theing the use of such labor saving machin-

ery as tractor sweeps, and one man oper-_ ;

ated tractor-binder units, and finally the.

soother and combine became general. Hora»

es gradually disappeared, going mostly for

for and mink meat and the age of mechanir- V
cation gradually had emerged Women form-_ 'V
ed a inner part of the labor force! running '

' ' V$weop on front of tractor