A Little Lefse Humor

An Ole Scandinavian Lefse Recipe

Yew tak yust ten big potatoes
Den yew boil dem til dar don,
Yew add to dis some sveet cream
And by cups it measures vun.
Den yew steal 'tree ounces of butter
And vit two fingers pench some salt,
Yew beat dis wery lightly
If it ain't gude it is your fault.
Den yew roll dis tin vit flour
An' light brown on stove yew bake,
Now call in all Scandihuvians
Tew try da fine lefse yew make

Case and John Deere

Carragana had a John Deere and Case Implement Dealer, remember wandering through the shops and seeing the dismantled engines and transmissions.

The Case eagle was sitting outside the shop on the highway curve.

Mr House teaching me Chess

My neighbour across the street was Mr and Mrs Wm. House. I went over to visit and he taught me how to play chess. He carved me a crude set of chessmen that fit into a eyeglass box.





William House was born in 1883 in Monmouth, Wales. He came to the Cut Knife area in 1904 and homesteaed there. He enlisted in WWI and served in Belguim and France. Upon returning from the army in 1919 he filed on Soldier Settlement land in the Carragana District. In Nov 1920 in Winnipeg he married Elizabeth Thornby from Kent, England.

4 - H

Took woodworking in 4-H, Tom Murray, elevator agent, was the leader. We held the classes in the basement of the elementary school. I built a doll crib for my sister April, and I built a tool box for myself.

My mother taught sewing and knitting in 4-H.

The tradition of the country fair is as old as the province itself and celebrates rural life and the valued elements of the community in which it is located. The Shand Fair takes place each summer on a fair grounds situated mid way between Somme and Carrigana and some six miles north. The atmosphere at the fair is absolutely the highlight of the event as neighbours and friends come out to experience the day together, swap yarns and renew acquaintances from years gone by. This fair has a parade in the morning with a line up of antique tractors, equestrian displays and good spirits. There is animal showing and judging, a gymkhana, children's races, excellent food, a music programme, exhibits and mostly a lot of conversation.

The exhibits are a major part of every fair and the Shand fair leads in agricultural products, flowers, baked goods, art work, photographs, crafts and amazing creativity.

A highlight for most visitors to the Shand Fair is the outstanding home baking. Above are the pie ladies and they had peach, raisin, and cream pies. But other booths had perogies and cabbage rolls and a full chicken supper.

The Fair was a highlight of the summer for me and my family, I think it still held every August.

Old Leather Photograph Album

This was the album that dad kept his army pictures in, it used to be stored in the bottom drawer of the cedar chest. I used to take it out with his medals and be proud of my Dad. The old leather Photograph Album is on my top shelf, and my brother Arlen and I trade it off ever so often.

Over 60 years since the war was ended; I decided to write a blog about my dad's service in the Canadian Army between 1942 and 1945.

Here is the blog http://leonardpaulrundvall.blogspot.com/

I am extremely proud of my dad war service and his life after.

Paper Boy

Delivered the Regina Leader-Post rain, snow, sleet, or -30. Was very good money for a kid, Dad talked me into purchasing a Swiss Waltham self winding watch with my earnings instead of junk food. Plus I ate a lot of junk food.

Jello Aircraft Wheels

These are a plastic coin / wheel that came free in packages of jello in the early 1960's.
They are approx. 1 1/2" round with a full color picture in the middle of either cars or airplanes.
A full set is made up of 200 different wheels.

Still working on completing this set, I have over 140 aircraft.

Dad winter hunting with the tent

Dad loved hunting big game such as elk, moose and deer. We had a 8x8 canvas tent with an 8 X 6 extension on the back. Dad took the tent hunting one early winter and put a stove in the extension and cut a round hole for the chimney through the canvas roof. I can still hear Mom mad at him.

Post Office

My dad was the postmaster of Carragana from 1951 till 1967, when he transferred to Naicam Sask where he served till 1982. His grandson Devon is now a letter carrier in Edmonton. The old timers say the equipment has not changed very much.

I used to enjoy go into the post office in Carragana seeing the safe, mailboxes, and especially the scale from the letter scale to the parcel scale.

Canvas Bag for mail, it had a lock built in, we used to pick up and deliver the mail from the train

Safe for money, and stamps etc

Sask Wheat Pool Elevator

Tom Murray was the Pool Agent when we were living in Carragana. They moved to Yorkton in 1966 and we moved to Naicam in 1967. When my dad died and Tom's wife died Tom and Doreen got together and they married in 1995 and live in Yorkton.

The gas motor that ran the elevator sounded like this putt, putt, putt, it ran a big belt under the office that transferred the power through pulleys, gears and various implements of destruction.

Tom hired Bernie and I to shovel grain in an annex when he was loading box cars. It always was when the weather was hot and dry.

Carragana had one Wheat Pool Elevator, One Federal Elevator and one seed plant Newfeld Seed and Feed was run by my friends dad Mr Friske.

Dosie Doe

Carragana Junior Square Dance Club

My Parents lead the Club and "I" was a member even if I didn't like it, but the girls were nice!

My parents went all over to jamborees, they even danced on CKOS CTV in Yorkton.

Cordwood

The bushman hauled cordwood out of the bush and piled it in big piles near the railway siding and then train would spot the cars and they would be loaded by hand, a big job. And we (the boys) would be warned off of the piles because if they start rolling we would be crushed.

Boy Toys

These were my favorites, I made buildings, planes, caterpillers etc, I still have them somewhere.

Toys at Christmas: trains, blocks, steam engine, and chemistry set, sure I was spoiled.

A real working steam engine

Let's go to Baker's

A favourite pastime was going to the Baker farm; I walked a few times on the tracks. Exploring the old homestead log cabin with toys and stuff was exciting. I remember in ’67 I was home alone when Les came to use the phone because his dad had a heart attack.

Herbert Baker was born at Grass Lake, N.D., he came with his parents to Canada in 1905 when they homesteaded near Kelliher. Myrtle McCallum was born in Minnesota. Herbert and Myrtle were married in 1921 and they lived near Kelliher.

In 1940 they came to the Carragana District and they bought Charlie Rodney's homestead N.E. 36-41-9, where they farmed until Herbert passed away in 1967.

They have one son Les who farmed the home place. Les served in the R.C.A.F. in WW ll. AS well farming Les is a very able carpenter.

Les was a tail gunner in a bomber. I used to enjoy looking at his pictures on the wall of planes and RCAF men. We used to go to the hunting cabin at Piewe Lake in winter with horses and sled. And we walked in the summer and fall. I wish I had a picture of the hunting cabin, with the log barn.

I visited with Les in 2002 before he died, the same old Les.

Darrell on the tracks west of Carragana

Four Generations

Mom's Grandpa Kjelshsus was so excited when he became a great grandpa,

when Darrell was born in 1951. He thought the paper's headline "Four Generations Travel to Golden Wedding Anniversary in North Dakota" was great. We had gone done to Grandpa's sister Julia 50th Anniversary in July 1952.

Great Grandpa passed away five months later on Dec 17 1952.

Cheese Slicer

The only thing I remember from Mom and Dad's store; is the cheese slicer and cheese underneath a glass cover. I think that's why to this day I like Old Sharp Cheddar.

Greenwater Lake Provincial Park

Square dancing jamboree at Greenwater, my parents took part in a jamboree each year, and I had the run of camp yah haw. At midnight all those crazy dancers went square dance in the lake, and they would called the Square Duck Dancers.

Summer at Greenwater Lake

The Village of Carragana is located 10 kms east of Porcupine Plain on highway 23. It is situated just outside of Greenwater Provincial Park in the lush Porcupine Provincial Forest. We drove through Porcupine and turned at Chelan and then proceeded to the lake. Before the early 60th when it rained the hills were impossible to get up except have a tracter pull you up.

Even after the new highway was contstructed the big hill was hard to get up especially with older vehicles. I remember dad backing down the hill and having another go at it.

Big slide for little boys

Camping in tents, rental cabins or friend’s cabins at Greenwater in the rain, taking swimming lessons.

Rental Cabins

Mrs Lozinski Mrs Bloski My Mom

Bill Bloski Les Baker