MEMORIES OF THE PAST
by Grace (Nelson) Hellquist
My father, Andrew B. Nelson, after acquiring land in the North Park area, moved from Holden in 1919 with some of his stock and his machinery. He built barns and some other buildings. Then in the spring of 1920 he moved the family and horses.
Dad, Uncle Ernest, my brother Leonard, and a hired hand herded the horses up. Mother drove the family car with the rest of us -- Bill, Lily and I. There was also a crate of goslings to complete the passenger list.
I remember most of the trip well, although I was only seven years old. Bill was nine, Lily five and Leonard eleven. I recall that we got stuck in the mud, or gumbo, when we ran into a lot of rain along the way as we were nearing our destination. Mother and Bill got the spade out to try and get the car free. Finally someone came along who gave us a hand. We were on our way again!
We were all excited about our new home place. A tent was our home until a house was built by Knut Rinde. We all thought this a lovely country with its many hills to roam up and down near the North Saskatchewan River. There was also lovely wild fruit in abundance, some berries we'd never seen before, and natural springs. By comparison, Holden was a flat country, and good water was hard to come by there.
Alice, Mrs. Nelson, Andrew, Leonard 1927 or '28
