From Horse and Buggy to GPS: Life on a Saskatchewan Farm

From Horse and Buggy to GPS: Life on a Saskatchewan FarmThis book tells the story of my parents and grandparents, from horse and buggy days to increasing specialization and mechanization in agriculture. My grandparents, Flicien and Bertheline Beaujot and Paul and Julienne Mullie arrived in Canada from Belgium and France over the period 1892 to 1911. After a discussion of the conditions that allowed for European settlement in Western Canada, I summarize the history of the community of Saint Hubert in

This book tells the story of my parents and grandparents, from horse and buggy days to increasing specialization and mechanization in agriculture. My grandparents, FŽlicien and Bertheline Beaujot and Paul and Julienne Mullie arrived in Canada from Belgium and France over the period 1892 to 1911. //

After a discussion of the conditions that allowed for European settlement in Western Canada, I summarize the history of the community of Saint Hubert in Southeastern Saskatchewan, where my grandparents lived their lives and my parents Leon and Dorothy Beaujot were married (1945) and are buried (2014). Originally called ÒLa Rolanderie,Ó this settlement was established in the mid-1880s by ÒFrench countsÓ who sought to start a new life on the prairies of what was then CanadaÕs North West. While the aristocrats soon returned to Europe, they and others who came at that time had started a vibrant community that has since essentially disappeared, with only the church and cemeteries remaining. //

In order to compare experiences to those of family members who remained in Europe, short descriptions are made of the lives of uncles, aunts and first cousins of Leon and Dorothy Beaujot, across the four families of origin: Beaujot, SŽnŽchaud, Mullie, Smets. I pay special attention to how the wars differentially affected the families in Canada and Europe, and the continuing contact across families on both sides of the Atlantic. //

This story of my parents and grandparents shows how life changed on family farms: shelter and food, earning a living, family and community.