You can find the old farmhouse by following Cowichan Lake Road out of Duncan to Creighton Road. Turn down Creighton to Curry Road. The house is on the right near the end. The outside dimensions of the house remain the same except the woodshed is now part of the main floor area. Pa used to sleep on the outside porch on a warm summer night.
 |
| Photo of the Smith house taken from Curry Rd in 1999 |
(Murray) "The farmhouse had a sizeable kitchen with a very large cookstove, a large table opposite the stove where meals were prepared, butter churned, doughkneeded, etc. By the back door in the corner was an enamel sink, and in early days a hand pump connected to a well outside. Later on, a tank tower was built, water pumped from the front creek, with great difficulty in winter. On the other side of the door was a very full gun rack, then a sizeable woodbox that could be filled through the outside from the lean-to shed. The front room was very large, with a buffet on the side wall and a tin heater and Pa's big easy chair against the kitchen wall. The outside wall had a front door and full verandah, both hardly ever used, and a crank telephone. The end wall had a large window, chairs and a big battery operated radio. There were 4 bedrooms upstairs... big pantry filled right up with bottled fruit, vegetables and yummy venison."(Murray) "Thinking back it was amazing how quickly they got a big orchard and vegetable garden up and running: hayfields, chicken yards, barns, garages, separator house, etc as you say, for subsistance living. The only outside job I ever recall Pa having was on a road gang during the Great Depression."
(Murray) "The farm was a 40-acre block cut in half longways, 20 to T.W.S. (Pa) and 20 for Creightons, and a 1 acre excised off the latter for my paternal g'parent's house. He was a master builder in Wales and played a large part in the construction of the three houses; his own, the family farm house, and later, on the 19 acre block, a 2-storey one for my parents, J.B. and Josie." Dave's note: All three houses exist today in the same location at the corner of Creighton and Curry roads. In 1919, much of the farm had already been cleared, but stumps dotted the pasture.
 |
| The Property circa 1930 This photo was taken from the low hill above the farm. To the left is pasture and the Creighton house. The biggest building is the newest barn. The end of a garage pokes out on it’s left and a hen house is visible on the right. Following the fence line down takes you to the woodshed attached beside the main house. The small, peaked roof with white trim at the left end of the house is the bathroom with plumbing added in the late 20s. |
No comments:
Post a Comment