14

Ada Huble on the left and Bertha Huble on the right ca. 1913.
1913
Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage on the Fraser River, North of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

15

Ada and Bertha

Ada, pictured here on the left, is Annie Huble's daughter by a previous marriage. Ada was born around 1906 in Ontario. Bertha, on the right, is the first daughter of both Annie and Al Huble, she was born October 17, 1911 at the Giscome Portage near Prince George, British Columbia. Ada is wearing a sailor style dress, which was fashionable for the day. The two girls are holding flowers, which were likely picked from Annie Huble's garden beside the family home. The picture was taken circa 1913.

Thursday 11th March, 1915 "Bert and I returned from Willow River. Fine bright day. Ada started school." from Al Huble's diaries

16

Bertha and Martha Huble are pictured outside the Huble family home at the Giscome Portage in 1915.
1915
Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage on the Fraser River, North of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

17

Bertha and Martha

Bertha and Martha Huble are pictured outside the Huble family home at the Giscome Portage in 1915. Bertha is four (born October 17, 1911) and Martha is two (born April 25, 1913). The rocking chair they are seated upon was commonly used to rock the Huble babies. It has been said that there was a Chinese cook named Ah Yee who worked for the Huble family. This man would rock the babies in the Huble family kitchen, pictured here at the back of the main house (the darker log structure). One of the family dogs is lying at the feet of the girls. Bertha has a pair of muddy gumboots on, so it was obviously quite muddy when this picture was taken.

When Bertha was born , she only weighed two pounds. She was put in a soft cotton-lined shoe box and placed on the open oven door of a wood stove to be kept warm.

18

Pat Huble, at the age of 16, in 1930.
1930

19

Pat Huble

In 1915 Pat would have been the baby of the family.

Pat is pictured here at about 16 years of age in the year (circa) 1930. Pat is wearing a low waist cotton dress, which was the fashion at that time.

20

Gladys May Huble, Al Huble Junior and Sam Huble at the cabin at Summit Lake in 1925.
1925
Summit Lake, British Columbia, Canada

21

May, Al Jr., Sam and Dean(not in photo)

The Huble's had four more children after 1915. As in this photo it was a common thing for the kids and family to go to the lake often in the summer.

"Stayed at home. Bert, Annie, and Sannis [sic] went to the lake fine day." from Huble diaries, Sunday, August 1st.

The children are out at Summit Lake at the cabin around 1925. Pictured here are Gladys May, Al Junior and Sam. Sam is a cutie, all dirty from playing. Al is nicely dressed and May is licking her lips with her arms crossed. The children lived in Prince George in these years after the Giscome Portage, but they spent some days in the summer both at the portage and at Summit Lake in their cabin.

22

Clara Radke(left) and Martha Huble
1914
Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage on the Fraser River, North of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

23

Household staff

The Hubles had some regular help at the homestead to help raise the children, cook, and do other domestic chores.

The pretty lady to the left in this picture is Clara Radke. Clara was the midwife and nanny for the Huble children.

The little one in the centre of the picture is Martha Huble. Martha is sitting amongst the flowers by the kitchen garden on the northeast side of the Huble family home. Mrs. Huble grew a number of flowers and many northern vegetables in this garden.

24

Ah Yee who worked at Huble Homestead
1915
Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage on the Fraser River, North of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

25

Household Staff

Ah Yee

Ah Yee originally worked as a farm laborer for A.G. Hamilton and later worked for Al and Annie Huble. While working for Mr. Hamilton on his farm, there was a story passed on of a giant of a man named Harry Seeley, with very wide shoulders and arms, which hung to his knees. According to Russell Walker, in his book, "Bacon, Beans and Brave Hearts", Harry was a "river-hog", who cleared rocks from river channels in rivers. Harry's feats of strength were said to be fantastic. One evening Harry got drunk and carting a double-barrel shotgun went looking for trouble. It is said that when he was sober, he was gentle as a lamb, but when drunk he was a devil of a man. He spotted Ah Yee going over to the trading post and fired a few shots. Ah Yee sought cover and scuttled to safety. The Chinese man recounted his experience the next day and his story became tops at a vaudeville act in the community.

The Huble family recollection of Ah Yee was not quite so colorful. According to the Huble kids, Ah Yee helped cook, wash, and rock the Huble babies. On June 14, 1921, Ah Yee was reported very ill at Stuart Lake. The Citizen wrote,"�Ah Yee has been working for many years for A.G. Hamilton �Dr. Stone, who attended him, believed that his case was hopeless. No one knows Ah Yee's age, but he must be somewhere near the hundred mark. Old timers � at Giscome will remember him." Russell Walker recalled Ah Yee as a Man Friday of A.G. Hamilton who was "a diminutive Chinaman, no chicken in years and a bantam in weight." According to Walker, Ah Yee was never called anything else but "I.E.", and he was "a shrewd trader who looked after Hamilton's trading post better than its owner could." Interestingly, Al Huble mentioned Ah Yee a number of times in his diaries as, "I. Yee, or I. Yea".

Audio
Aug. 12, 1976, Sam Huble
"There was some chinamen just above us. We used to call it Chinatown ------
Up on the hill sort of?
They worked on the barge.
That's interesting because one of the references that I found refers to a few Chinese shacks at the Giscome Portage. And that was up the hill somewhere, was it?
Up river a bit. We used to call that Chinatown."

26

The Huble House, under construction, with the scaffolding still attached to the building.
1912
Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage on the Fraser River, North of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

27

The Huble Homestead Summer, 1912.

Since Al Huble and Ed Seebach started their partnership in 1904 Al Huble with the assistance of his partner and people from the community including many First Nations people built several buildings on the site. Much of this work was done in the winter while Summertime was filled with gardening, farming, freighting and trading.

The photo shows the site on the Fraser River, the newly built house, the cabin beside the house was moved to the back of the house by 1915 and used as the kitchen. The building to the right is the blacksmith shop. Note the cultivated fields at the right. The Hubles grew wheat, oats, hay, peas, turnips, and potatoes.

By 1915 Huble had two barns, several cabins, a warehouse, a fine squared log house, buildings for caching meat, plus a warehouse and other buildings at Summit lake.