by Myrtle Arnott (nee Givens)
My mother, Alice Mitchell, came west with her parents in 1909 to Wilkie. They travelled by wagon all night to reach her brothers Percy and Will Mitchell's homestead which was located in the Ruby School District.
They lived on the Tom Bielby farm, where seven people lived in a small shack for the first winter. The shack was 12 x 16 and they had to put the table outside at night and bring the bed in. Her youngest brother caught pneumonia and died. They took him back to Ontario and buried him there during the first winter.
Mother married George Givens in 1914. They lived in the Ruby School District with their two children, William and Addie. Later they moved to a farm two miles east of Tramping Lake Park, across the road from the former Mons Jamme farm. They had two daughters born while there. Myrtle was born at home in the house that is now on the Alfred Ambrose farm. Elizabeth, I believe, was also born there, with Mrs. Mills in attendance.
While they lived in the Ruby District it was nothing to see William and Addie stuck in a slough trying to reach their father, working in the field.
George Givens lived for 4 days after his horses ran away and he was run over by 4900 pounds of coal. He was buried November 13, 1928 and his daughter Elizabeth was buried January 18, 1929, both buried in Kelfield's first graveyard. Mrs. Givens stayed on the farm for a short time, but was unable to continue for too long. She worked at various places including Dan Toner's several times, eventually going to Dodsland to Norris School District. Mrs. Givens is now residing at Beuna Vista Lodge in Kerrobert, reaching the age of 94 in November, 1980.
William worked and lived at various places. Addie married Leslie Hurst in October of 1937 and is now living in Dodsland. I married Blake Arnott in June of 1949 and now reside in Saskatoon.
Blake's parents moved from Dodsland to Kelfield where Fred bought grain at the Pool Elevator until he retired and moved to Biggar where he died on January 10, 1974. Mother Arnott died April 11, 1980.
