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A sketch of Catherine Weldon1967
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In 1881, the Marquis of Lorne, while serving as Governor-General, made a overland journey of the Territories. During his travels he stopped at the Humboldt telegraph station and stated in English newspapers:"Many a weary wayfarer remembers gratefully the open door and warm hospitality of the Weldon home in Humboldt."
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Sketch by Urban Lukan.1975
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George's accounts of work on the Telegraph line attest to the hardship of the time.June 18 - "Bulldog flies are bad. The horses can only make 15 miles per day. Mosquitoes are so bad I put green trees on camp fire and get into the cart to sleep. I woke about midnight and find a fire spreading from the smudge I made to keep flies from horses. Catching up a coat, I beat out the fire."
September 30 - "Piercing cold. I am lulled to sleep by the mournful hum of the wire; neither bush, brush nor shrub for shelter. I sleep soundly. I travel without shelter, make a fire on clay tossed up the badgers. Very windy nights."
October 27 - "A large purple circle appears around the sun. We are in for a storm. I take 27 trees off the line; line grounded in grass in places; this for a hundred yards. I climb nearly every pole, making only five miles. We turn out at 4:00 am, take 8 trees off line and reset 5 poles. Our provisions down to one meal.
February 21 - "The fiercest storm I have ever looked at. Can't see an object more than a rod away in any direction."
March 29 - " My eyes get dim. Snow blind. Painful."
"During 1879, I have taken 1 573 trees from the line, reset 373 poles, placed 37 new poles and traveled 2 748 miles."
Information from George Weldon's diary as in the Regina Leader Post, April 24, 1931.
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George Weldon and niece.1882
Grenfell, Saskatchewan, Canada
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In 1882, George and Catherine left Humboldt and moved to Grenfell. George became the C.P.R. station agent.The Humboldt Telegraph station went through a series of temporary closings and changes of personnel when the line was rerouted and the telegraph company changed hands.
During the fall of 1882 and the summer of 1883, the old line east of Humboldt was abandoned and a new line opened south from Humboldt to the CPR line at Qu'Appelle. In 1883, Alfred von Lindeburgh was transferred from Humboldt to the Touchwood Hills area where he established the station at Kutawa while acting as line repairer between Fort Qu'Appelle and Humboldt. He was replaced at Humboldt by Mr. Macdonald who acted as agent-lineman with R. Matheson as telegraph repairer. By the following spring, the Humboldt station was temporarily closed.
The specific date of the move to the second location near Wolverine Creek is unknown. The old telegraph station was still operating in December, 1884 when Corporal John C. Donkin of the NWMP stopped over, but the new station to the south had been built by the time he returned in September, 1885. The move had taken place by March 22, 1885 when Commissioner A.G. Irvine of the NWMP sent a telegram from Humboldt: "Arrived here 4:30 this afternoon. Camp tonight at Stage Station, six miles further on." Similarly, the accounts of Middleton's march also refer to two complexes five miles apart. The Old Humboldt mail station was still operating in 1888.
The second site was in operation until March 31, 1923, when service was discontinued.
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Charles Weldon (in the centre).1892
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Their son, Charles Grenfell Weldon was born at Grenfell, North West Territories on June 13th 1883 and died in Regina, Saskatchewan, on January 14, 1943.22
Charles Weldon1911
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Sketch by Urban Lukan.1975
Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Catherine passed away at Grenfell on November 20, 1908. She was known for her warmth and hospitality to weary travelers.George Weldon passed away on September 28, 1913, in Grenfell, Saskatchewan.
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George and Catherine's struggles, triumphs, and lives reflect the personal stories of the early development of western Canada. |
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