Oliver Thurston Grue ²

  Research Notes:

Alberta Homestead Index, post 1930 -- www.abgensoc.ca

- Section 11 Township 49 Range 21 Meridian 4 --- couple of miles east of Jonas Lofgren
Film # SL-89 in Accession # 1974.048 at Provincial Archives of Alberta File # 1363-2

12 July 2022Alberta Provincial Archives, Edmonton


2. Oliver Grue farm: NE and SE of Sec 18, Twp 48, Range 20, W4th

- farm stead (house, barns, sheds) near the south east corner of the NE quarter

- the NE¼ of Sec 18 - was initially a homestead quarter by Nils K Dahl, with entry in the summer of 1901 and patent on
22 Aug 1904; AB Homestead records, Reel 2066, file 599028; images start, 2204; link, https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/40082:60865?_phsrc=bfK537&_phstart=successSource&gsfn=Nils&gsln=Dahl&ml_rpos=1&queryId=41be073edf326939312a0ffd64b3e6fe

ALSO: note: Thore S Grue had submitted a letter of support for Nils Dahl, living on Sec 8, Twp 48, Range 20
and signed on 20 May 1904

NOTE: Ole O Skaret, first took out homestead on the SE¼
reel, 2471, file 980426,


3. re; farm: (from mom's writings: Mom rarely dated her writings, so the timelines are confusing)
Also: see my photo document, "Old and New house, barns, and sheds", 9 Jun 2016


.... From mom's book (1994; starting on page 159) and hard cover unpublished booklet, "This Old House" (around 1982):

1) Dad and mom had purchased the farm in the spring of 1940.
2) Dad and mom rented the fields to Norman for the summer of 1940 and 1941. Dad had been working in the summer for the Cornhill Municipality (now, County of Beaver) on a road building crew. After they were married, Mom, became the crew's "cook"
3) Dad and mom, had purchased the farm in the spring of 1940 from George Hendrickson from Bardo for $5500 with the mortgage held by Mr Doherty, a lawyer from Camrose. Mom's time frame is a bit confusing, but it seems that Dad had borrowed $500 from the Larsons at Hay Lakes (they were friends of grandpa Grue and at one time owned the "Larson's Store in Hay Lakes). This $500 was paid directly to George Hendrickson. Mom had paid $300 on this loan ($500 loan from the Larson's), from a cash payout of life insurance policy that she had when she started teaching. Then they paid a $1000 to Ed Hendrickson who George Hendrickson owed (where did the $1000 come from ?? - likely from the mortgage loan from Mr Doherty, but mom doesn't say).
4) Mom and dad tried to pay $45 a month on the mortgage, sometimes a bit more after the fall harvest.
5) After their week honeymoon trip (mom and dad were married on 24 July 1940) to around the end of October 1940, they went back to the road building. Mom did the cooking.
6) by November 1940, they moved into the house on the farm and mom started to "calcimine" the walls

.... From mom's 'booklet C pdf' re; grandparents ; bottom page 13 - By now [Aug 1950] dad had a good new tractor and he and Norman bought together a brand new red Massey Harris combine

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Alberta Homestead Index, post 1930 -- www.abgensoc.ca

- Section 11 Township 49 Range 21 Meridian 4 --- couple of miles east of Jonas Lofgren
Film # SL-89 in Accession # 1974.048 at Provincial Archives of Alberta File # 1363-2

12 July 2022Alberta Provincial Archives, Edmonton
- 2 images/pages: dated, 31 Dec 1938. Handwritten letter to the "School Land Department
[Dept of Lands and Forests]
- inquiring whether the NW¼ of Sec 11 was for sale
- and a response, 6 Han 1939 - land not for sale, since it is under a Cultivation and Grazing Lease, held by
Antonius Pearson of Hay Lakes

Note: there was another letter similiar to dad's
- Anton Pearson or Person - there were a number of pages regarding his information but I did not take photos





.......................................

Oliver 88 tractor: from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Farm_Equipment_Company

Oliver farm equipment: Started in South Bend, Indiana as the Oliver Chilled Plow works; tractor building started after a joining of 4 companies. Oliver Chilled Plow, Nichols & Shepard (initially a steam engine company and later into farm equipement, thresher; from Battle Creek, MI), Hart Parr (gasoline engines; from Charles City, Iowa), and American Seeding Company (Springfield Ohio). The merger of these companies was in 1929


----- 10 Jul 2022

I had driven down the back alley to take a look at dad's back yard. newer fence, but the garage is still there and in good shape - Dad built that garage, likely around 1968-1969 [I probably helped some, but don't remeber]. I did build a fence in the back yard - Dad told be what to do, but it wasn't really very good - posts started leaning etc. ⁴

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Skating: Oliver and Mary skating sometime before they were married, Abt 1938-1940, Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada. Mom and Dad skating at the Sulitjelma rink, just north of Dad's home place. Exact date is not known

2. Land: NE & SE, Sec 18, Twp 48, Range 20, W of 4th, 1940 to 1966, Oliver Grue farm, Armena, Alberta, Canada. ^2,5 Oliver and Mary bought their farm in 1940. Oliver continued farming until about 1965 when he started working in Camrose. Mary started back teaching full-time in the fall of 1964 at Armena. They moved to their house in Camrose in the late fall of 1967.

3. Residence, 1966-1990, 6217-44 B Avenue, Camrose, Alberta, Canada. ^2,6 Oliver worked with Schnell and Barrie, first as a farm machinery mechanic and later as a Partsman. Mary continued teaching at Armena and later at Sifton School in Camrose. Both retired in 1980.

4. Residence, Aug 1990, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada. ^2,7 Oliver and Mary moved to Rocky Mountain House in August of 1990.

5. Exploring: Oliver and Mary exploring, Oct 1991, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada. Near Rocky Mountain House - exact location unknown. This is the most last picture I have of Mom and Dad together (Dad died almost a year later on 31 Aug 1992).

Oliver married Mary Elizabeth Lofgren, daughter of Jonas August Lofgren and Anna Margreta Naslund, on 24 Jul 1940 in Scandia Parsonage, Scandia Lutheran Church, Armena, Alberta, Canada.¹ (Mary Elizabeth Lofgren was born on 27 Oct 1915 in Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada,¹ died on 5 Dec 2001 in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada ¹ and was buried on 11 Dec 2001 in Wilhelmina Lutheran Church Cemetery, Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada ^1,8.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

1. Marriage, 24 Jul 1940, Scandia Parsonage, Scandia Lutheran Church, Armena, Alberta, Canada.

  Marriage Notes: