Stories of pioneer life in the Holland district have been difficult to find. Fortunately, it has been possible to obtain a detailed writing by Mrs. A. C. Holland of Kenton, describing early life of the Holland family.
Arthur Charles Holland and Elizabeth Mary Farmer were married on October 13, 1859, at St. Peters, Berton County, Wentworth, Ontario. From this marriage, six children were born. Between 1867 and 1870, Arthur Holland with his wife and family moved to Fergus Ontario. While in Fergus, Arthur Holland opened a brewery business with two partners, Dr. Orton and Mr. Saunders. In later years, Dr. Orton was a well known physician in Winnipeg. About this time James Holland, ( Arthur's brother ) returned to England to claim money, which had gone into chancery through the dispute of relatives. He was successful in his claim and returned to Canada with a share for each of his brothers.
It may be added here the John William Holland, father of these boys played the violin at the Coronation of "Queen Victoria" and was presented with a silver soup ladle along with a letter from the Queen. This talented gentleman died at the age of 91. The letter and the soup ladle are still in the Holland family, also a pearl pin, which the Queen very graciously took from her bonnet and gave to the violinist.
George Holland, a brother of William John and uncle to Arthur Charles was the first actor to be buried from the "Little Church Around the Corner". When George Holland died, his actor friend, John Jefferson asked an Anglican minister to conduct the funeral services, but the minister declined, as actors were not considered within the pale of respectability. He suggested that the little church around thr corner might consider performing the service, thus giving the church its name. It is still known as the church of the actors.
To get back to the life of Arthur Holland, whom this story really concerns, the family was comfortably settled in Fergus, with the father bookkeeping in his own office.
The first break in the family came when the eldest son, Arthur George at the age of seventeen, left home to join the navy. The heart breaking tragedy concerning this lad, is the fact that he disappeared completely. The last that was heard of him was from Tacoma, Washington, where he had started a turkey ranch. It was thought by his parents, after fruitless investigation, that he must have deserted the navy and was captured and imprisoned.
About 1879, the first great rush to Manitoba began and people were leaving the little town of Fergus daily, for this Utopia. It was likened to the rainbow with its pot-o-gold, and amny migrated with the hope of improving their fortunes, alas, only to find that hardships almost beyond human endurance was their lot.
In the spring of 1879, Arthur Holland with his two sons, William John age 13, and Joseph age 11, set out for the West. In April they arrived at Emerson, and trekked from there with oxen to Tiger Hills. As the trek was made in spring, many hardships had to be endured. Creeks swollen by melting snow had to be forded, wagon wheels stuck in the soft mud roads. As the days grew warmer mosquitoes added to the discomfort of the three travellers. After many weeks if trekking they arrived at their destination and secured a homestead on 28-7-11. The father left the boys with the storekeeper at Beaconsfield, while he returned to Nelsonville, a distance of sixty miles to enter his land. One Hundred Sixty acres was given as a homestead, which cost $10, and one hundred sixty acres as a preemption.
The two boys remembered seeing the storekeeper drying used tea leaves, and mixing them in with tea to be sold to the settlers. Alas, we find the unscrupulous,with the honest pioneer, each playing his part in this new country.
When the father returned from Nelsonville, he and his two sons started building a house, which was made of sod.
On September 11, 1879, the rest of the family came west. They came by train to St. Paul, then to Emerson, Manitoba. At Emerson, Arthur Holland re-united with his wife and family. While the wagons were being packed the family was able to rest. New lumber and four new chairs were bought to add to the comfort of the new home.
When all was securely packed the long trek with oxen commenced. It took two weary weeks of patient trekking and as the wagons were heavily laden, they would get stuck in the mud roads and have to be pulled out. The last day of their journey the wagons stuck so securely in the mud that the family had to sleep that night in the hayloft belonging to Mr. Dodds, the minister.
Eventually, they arrived at Tiger Hills, Manitoba. As the house was not quite completed, the family had to live in tents.
One more trip had to be made to Winnipeg by Arthur Holland, to get the remainder of his household effects, which through some mistake had not arrived at St. Boniface as arranged. The railway at that time went to St. Boniface, and a ferry had to be boarded to cross the river to Winnipeg.
The sod house, when completed proved to be very cold, as the only means of heating was an open fireplace, and here the cooking was done. To give an idea of the temperature in this house, it is told how the batter would freeze in the bowl beside the fire while the mother was making pancakes. A dutch oven was used to bake the bread. This oven was a triangular afffair made of tin, and sat in front of the fire. The heat reflected off the tin, and in this way the bread was cooked. A dutch oven similar in style can be seen in the Hudson's Bay museum.
Picture the interior of this sod house, the open fireplace, the home-made furniture, three-legged stools made from large logs, beds made from poplar poles, the table with its legs of poplar, and four bought chairs. The mattresses for the beds were made of straw, but one mattress boasted feathers.
An organ had been brought all the way from Ontario, also a large mat, made in what was known as the hit and miss pattern. The making of this mat, no doubt had been one of the pasttimes that occcupied the three daughters in their comfortable home in Fergus, as each girl tried to sew together one pound of rags per day, and rolled them into balls. When sufficient balls were completed they were taken to the mill and woven into a mat. This mat, along with the organ played their own particular parts in cheering the lives of the settlers that first year in Tiger Hills.
As there was no church or school in the settlement at this time, the church service was held at the Holland home, every second Sunday. On these special Sundays the hit and miss rag mat was laid on the floor. Here we can picture the stillness of a Sabbath morning, all the weekly tasks completed, and the home made ready for the humble service and the gathering of friendly neighbors. Mr. Conway Dodds was the minister who conducted the services and Mary Holland, the eldest daughter played the organ.
On one particular Sunday the family was startled by the crowing of a rooster! The rooster had been sick and was shut off in the back part of the house and forgotten, but he decided to make his presence known by crowing during the service.
Mail day was another event in the lives of the settlers and was an occasion for mirth and melody. The mail was brought every second week from Portage La Prairie, a distance of fifty miles. It was brought to the Holland home and here again the neighbors gathered to receive their mail and spend a few happy hours in singing with Mary accompanying on the organ. The Holland home developed into the Post Office for the settlement and as Arthur Holland was the first Postmaster, the town of Holland was named after him.
In January 1880, Arthur Holland made one more trip to Winnipeg. It took much longer than he anticipated, owing to blizzards and extreme cold. Long treks like these were made possible and easier, by the knowledge that a hearty welcome was waiting at each stopping place by the kindly settlers.
A cook stove was brought back from Winnipeg on his trip and added to the comfort of the home.
Many were the hardships and discomforts endured that first year in Manitoba. The sod house was cold and the roof was mean enough to leak on New Year's Day during a heavy rainstorm.
The menu that first winter had no variety as the main fare was fat pork brought in barrels. Milk had to be done without, as they didn't have a cow. The first fresh meat the family tasted was a roast of bear meat. William and Joe, with the help of some Indians had shot the bear.
The second year a clay house was built and this was decided improvement on the sod one. This clay house was unique in itself, as the walls were built after the style of our modern cement basement walls.
The clay dug from the foundation was mixed with straw and water and trampled by oxen. Two boards were erected to form the thickness of the walls, the clay was packed in between. When dry, the boards were taken off and the wall almost three feet thick was completed. This house proved warm and could be whitewashed inside.
We can picture a very cheerful interior, as houseplants could be grown. Now these plants were of a very original species. The hanging baskets of bright green foliage at each window proved to be large carrots scooped out and filled with water and allowed to grow. Wheat kept moist in a bowl formed another plant; also a sponge moistened and sprinkled with cress seed grew green and made a very attractive plant.
The Holland family lived in this house for six years and in 1886, a frame house was built. This new house was situated on a very pretty ravine and had all the pretensions of the successful farmer who had overcome the difficulties of the west.
There are many families who settled in the Tiger Hills District in the year 1879 who can tell the same story of hardships and discomforts in the first and second years. Many, like the Hollands, left comfortable homes in well settled districts in Ontario, but the west possessed a charm as well as hardships that held these pioneers and has since repaid them for their hard work and perseverance.
As time went on the pioneers had time for picnics, entertainments and sports and it is a very great pleasure to have an old timer take us back with his memory to the early days where we find real enjoyment indeed.
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