1
Arthur Adair Brooke was like many of the second wave of farmers to the region. He purchased land homesteaded by someone else. The website collectionscanada.ca credits Thomas Davis with having done the back-breaking work of pre-empting the first piece of farmland Brooke purchased.Pre-emption begins with staking a block of vacant, unsurveyed Crown land. Davis applied for the land, and, after improvements, a residency qualification, and a legal survey, received his letters patent. Most homesteaders in the area had to clear dense brush that covered the valley landscape, build a house, and plant a garden. The Crown expected its pre-empted land to be cultivated.
In 1890 the original Davis homestead was 120 acres and forty acres less than a typical quarter section. By 1905, when Brooke, a farmer and artist, first appeared in the Mt. Ida District of Salmon Arm, the property had been subdivided. Brooke purchased 40 acres of the NW quarter of Section 5. The subdivided land sold for $2000. In 1906 Brooke purchased 60 adjoining acres of the Goforth farm in the NE quarter of the same section. Brooke now had 100 acres.
The Enderby Commoner, the neighbouring community newspaper, reported when the family arrived in March of 1907 with two carloads of settler's effects. They had travelled by train on the CPR line from Didsbury, Alberta, after selling a homestead there. According to the Commoner, the family moved to the Goforth farm. When they set up residence, they called their home Asterfield.
(Click images to enlarge.)
2
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 21 - Showing Asterfield, their family home.March 1925
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
3
Brooke was active in the community, sat on municipal council, and was a member of the Baptist Church. His dairy interests led him to propose a Creamery Cooperative Association in 1910 and hold the office of President.Like many farmers in the Salmon Valley, Brooke practiced mixed farming. According to his watercolours, the family had a large garden. Brooke planted strawberries, alfalfa, mangels, and potatoes.
4
The Story of Ruth - Book Two - Image 04 - Family gardens.Circa 1923
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
5
The Story of Ruth - Book Four - Image 50 - Coiling alfalfa hay.Summer 1928
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
6
The Story of Ruth - Book Four - Image 51- Loading hay.August 1928
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
7
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 43A - Harvesting mangels.Circa 1925
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
8
A potato bake at harvest time was a treat looked forward to.9
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 41 - Harvesting potatoes.1926
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
10
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 42A - Enjoying roasted potatoes that were just harvested.Circa 1925
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
11
Everyone worked on the farm, including the youngest member of the family.12
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 39 - Ruth feeding the hens.Circa 1920's
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
13
Ruth tended the chickens, plowed the fields, and drove the horses.14
The Story of Ruth - Book Three - Image 01 - Ruth trying her hand on the plow.Circa Spring 1924
Brooke residence "Asterfield", Mt. Ida District in the Salmon Valley, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Credits:Arthur Adair Brooke
 |
 |
 |
 |