CANOE POINT - SICAMOUS B.C. Saturday March 19, 1948

       The pioneers of Canoe Point were an eccentric bunch.  They were drawn together despite differences in education and language.  The Woods family were the closest neighbour farmers and were well known for their ingenuity.  They developed a "phone system" between the houses which allowed for basic communication.  They also created their own electricity by channeling Blackwood creek into a power house. The farmhouse had a pulley system which allowed the Woods family to choose to route the power either to the house or to the dairy barn.  The dairy barn itself was a beautiful structure and the parlour had a system installed for cleaning the floor as well as an automatic watering system.  The Ranch did not have such a watering system until 1995. 
The Herald Family lived 11 kms. to the west of the Ranch but despite the distance the families shared pasture and labour.  Dundas Herald graduated from Queen's University Medical College in 1891.  He immediately moved to British Columbia and worked in Vancouver for a number of years.  He then moved to Quesnelle Forks where he practiced for five years.  He married Edith Walsh of Corona, Ontario and moved to Bonnie Bray which is now the famous Herald Park.  There he lived a very isolated existence with his three children.  Jessie Herald lived her whole life on the farm after she sold it to the B.C. government in 1975.
       It appears that the residents of Canoe Point began to object to their isolation.  In 1948 they began to try to pressure government to build a road to Canoe Point.  The road fell short by about ten miles.  There are two letters dated both in March, but one in 1948 and the other in 1949.  They were addressed to the Editor of the Salmon Arm Observer. Evident in the letters is the frustration of having endured the winter in challenging conditions. The letters were written by Renee Miege, representing the people of Canoe Point, referring to a petition that had been sent for support for a road. Renee writes in the letter that "small farmers need and must have a chance to live properly and decently. Their biggest drawback is the lack of road leading to a town....personally, I am concerned about the road, first because I now live here, and because most of our neighbours want a road very much. Then my son has studied to be a farmer and circumstances made it happen to come to this Canoe Point. Now if the young who want to be real farmers making a living on it, having studied all the modern methods are impeded by one vital point - NO ROAD - how in the world will they keep going? Youth has not much patience when it says an easier way out elsewhere and the young men will not stay on in such a job but will look for a job in the city. And the big world cry is for more farmers! Renee claims in the letter that the residents feel that they "live further than the North Pole in winter" as the lake completely freezes right to Salmon Arm. In the winter of 1948/49 the lake did not freeze enough to be used as a crossing for three months which Renee stated was a "very big pill of ice to swallow". Renee goes on to describe the challenges of crossing the lake on the ice, trying to determine if it is strong enough to support an animal or even a sleight to assist in transporting the goods. At times the only way to carry the cream to Sicamous was on their backs as the lake could not support a sleigh. The other problem encountered that winter was that the feed became low on farm, necessitating a purchase of hay from Salmon Arm. Renee describes how the farmer has to walk across the lake, take the train to Salmon Arm to order the hay. Then the hay is shipped by freight train and dumped along the tracks opposite the farm. Renee writes that "two old men and one young one have to do the job if they do not want their cattle to starve before the grass is grown". Three tons of hay is moved, using the risk of a sleigh in fluctuating temperatures. Renee states that one day it rains so hard that "not even a duck would go out".   Renee ends the letter claiming "it may thaw, it may freeze again, who knows? It is in such suspense that people have been living on the Canoe Point all winter".


Click on letters to view (click on image until letter is magnified)

A sense of belonging

 

She dreamed of a green pasture and a green oak tree.
She dreamed of cows. She dreamed she stood
under the tree and the brown and white cows
came slowly up from the pond and stood near her.
Some butted her gently and they licked her bare arms
with their great coarse drooling tongues. Their eyes, wet as
shining water, regarded her. They came closer and began to
press their warm flanks against her, and as they pressed
an almost unendurable joy came over her and
lifted her like a warm wind and she could fly.
She flew over the tree and she flew over the field and
she flew with the cows.

(Excerpt from the poem by Norah Pollard "She dreamed of cows") 

What is between you and freedom?

In what was one of the last letters that Gus wrote to Renee before her arrival on the Ferme Fleur de Lys he writes of the long discussions about the stable for the horses.  There is much thought where the stable should be and where the cows would go as well.  There seems to be no resolution in sight and he ends with "maintenant c'est des tracteurs que l'on parle" - now it is tractors that we are talking about. 
Gus said that by the second day he already felt "chez moi" - at home.  "The four of us live very well together...in the evenings we often speak of Geneva and all that we would want to see there one day..but of course especially you....Edmond waits for you so much and wants to make the house bigger.  We are very close together in the house which is good during the winter as it helps to keep us warm!".  Gus feels he has adapted very well to the farming life, even getting up before Edmond and waking him up.  He writes that he watches, thinks and reflects on how much he would like to live in this very beautiful country that offers so many opportunities.

The immigrant experience to Canada often reflects a sense of sovereignty.  I think that is what appealed to my grandmother; the ability to direct her own life and develop new interests without the confines of old expectations.  In Canada the newcomers had the immigrant experience in common and differences in background, education or culture became less significant, particularly in the isolated areas.

Gus on Molly

Gus

 Renee

To Love What Is

Renee left Canada as a widow with three young children, John being only a baby.  Renee had never met her late husband's mother, Mathilde Miege, who she was to live with.  Mathilde was a widow herself who quickly developed an aversion to my father as apparently he strongly resembled her late husband. This resemblance unfortunately did not bring her joy.  Mathilide was an intense, complex woman.  Renee had the top floor of the house but never felt truly independent while she lived there.  As a young grieving woman in a new country it was a truly challenging time.

Madame Mathilde Miege

I believe that Renee struggled to define herself and move forward with her life during her years living with Mathilde.  Renee's work with the Red Cross became a source of pride to her which many years later still gave her pleasure to talk about.  However, the family did survive, and indeed flourish.   

On June 28 1948 Renee made the choice to leave Switzerland to go to Canada. 

Best of Show

Renee moved to Montreal from Switzerland when she was about 5 years old.  She came with her father,  her mother was delayed for health reasons and joined the family a few months later.  During those long months without her mother Renee claimed that she stayed alone in the house while her father went to work.  Renee married her first husband at a young age and quickly had her three children; Michele, Edmond and John.  Her husband, Henry, had come from Switzerland in 1922 with a goal to develop the arts in Canada. The major part of this plan was to open an art school with his friend, Michel Jolivet. Michel was an instructor at the Shawinigan Technical Institute. Henry had graduated from an Art school in Geneva and had started to establish a reputation for himself when he decided to travel. His work had been noted for its qualities of "simplicity and harmony while retaining a practical use". In both Geneva and Montreal he had been awarded "best of show" in various expositions. In Montreal he taught lessons in textiles, pottery and oil painting and actively marketed and sold his work. The "Art Moderne Francais Limitee" at 448B Rue Guy, Montreal was founded in 1926 by Henry. In 1929 he moved his pottery production to Shawinigan Falls.  The year before his death Henry was in the process of purchasing a building on Melville Island in Shawinigan Falls for the cost of $40.00, payable at $5.00 per a month.  He faithfully submitted his payments and in May 1931 the building was his and was to become a Technical Institute for the Arts.

It was a financial struggle to support his growing family on Art and Henry started to work as a chemical operator at "Shawinigan Chemicals".  He worked the night shift and used the ovens in the factory to fire his pottery.  The long nights in the factory took a toll on his health.  He died at home in 1932 of Scarlet Fever. His infant son"s Baptism papers state "John Henry David Miege, infant Son of the late Henry Louis Constant Miege chemical operator of the Shawinigan Chemicals of the City of Shawinigan Falls...." Perhaps the arts were not recognized as a true occupation but  I know for certain that Henry did not see himself as a chemical operator. A record of his addresses in Montreal, and later at Shawinigan Falls, consistently report his occupation as Artist.

Below is the death certificate which is signed by his friend, Michel Jolivet.

Renee and Henry