Glimpses of Pioneer Life

My Grandmother Kate emigrated to Canada from Poland as a young woman, and her family settled in Saskatchewan. She soon got a job as a housekeeper for a widower with a farm and 10 children. After two weeks, she quit because the job was too hard (and likely the pay was not enough). The farmer came to see her a few days later and asked her to marry him - she said 'yes', married him, and went back to work in the same job for free. She and the farmer, my Grandfather, went on to have three more children...

I remember her as a workhorse. She was the little old lady that was always hauling water, firewood, and groceries for all the other little old ladies in town. She was very charming. We still have a tape recording of her singing Polish songs and telling stories of her youth. "She sounds like she has dirt under her fingernails," Jim always says, with admiration. Grandma Kate was a peach.