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Mr. and Mrs. Herman Finnen, 50th Wedding Anniversary.
1948
Mather Manitoba

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In the 1960's Mrs Herman Finnen tried to remember and to recall the events in the early life of Mather from January 1st, 1899 to the spring of 1903. This is part of her short story.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Finnen, 50th Wedding Anniversary, June 1948.

Living conditions then would seem primitive to the modern house wife. The oil lamps, and the wood burning cook stoves were a far cry from the present push button days. How would you like to go back to those days with no electric lights, ranges, refrigerators, deep freezes and countless other modern conveniences, got to mention television and radio? There was no butcher, no baker, no candle stick maker! Bread was sometimes shipped in from Manitou or Killarney abut those housewives were very much on their own resources when it came to feeding the family. If you did not already know how to bake you had to learn! Meat, specially fresh meat, was a problem when no modern storage facilities were available. The general stores carried a limited stock of canned meats but there was not the variety found on the shelves today. Salmon and corned beef were the staples. Pork was the most reliable source of supply as it could be "cured", that is processed in brine for several days, then hung up to dry and stored in the coolest place available. The fly-in-the-ointment here was that this pork had to be par-boiled to remove the excess salt before it could be fried or cooked some other way. About this time the packing houses began to ship out smoked bacon and hams. A story was told of a farmer who, when urged to buy a smoked ham, said "Well, well, when I have to buy my meat in a store, I'll leave the farm." But the housewives in places like Mather were glad to have it. Many of us still like the old salt pork!

Vegetables, too, were home grown. No lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers or grapes available in January! Dried fruits such as apples, apricots, peaches, and the good old prunes were staples and it was a re-letter day when the first dried pears came on the market. Do you remember the good old dried apple pie?

Milk, cream or butter were no problem as a cow pasture on the Wm. Vincent farm one-half mile south of the Mather provided all these. Those were the days of the old barrel churn.

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Inside Howard School
1919
3 Miles West of Mather Manitoba

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The nearest school was the Howard school, then a mile and a half west of Mather. The teacher was Miss Isabel McDonald of Morden until 1902, when she married Wm. McCullough of the Bank of Toronto in Cartwright and moved there. Pupils attending then came from the homes of Tom Howard, George and Dowd Fulford, Chris Irwin, Matt and Jerry Jordan, J. Daly and others. Rock Lake school opened as a summer school in 1901. Mount Prospect (east), Graham (south), and Mylor (west) were other schools.

Crops on the whole were good and business satisfactory though prices compared to those of today were a mere pittance. An amusing story is told of a farmer from across the line who, when asked how much grain he had harvested, replied "Wal, I thrashed a pile and sold a heap and I have a right smart bit left yet." What he had left is still a dark secret.

The little red-brick church, which now stands with tightly boarded windows, was built by the Methodist Congregation in 1901, the first church building in Mather. George Ullyott of Manitou was the contractor. Prior to its opening services had been held regularly in the Howard School by Rev. Mr. Dyer. Rev. Chas. Cross was minister when this new church was opened. Rev. G. F. McCullough was guest speaker for the occasion.

Space will not permit a recital of many interesting happenings which occurred during a four year period, nor of the many enduring friendships made, but an old timer aptly expressed it when he said "Them were the Good Old Days". Looking backward we can see that they formed an integral part of our lives and our sole regret lies in the fact that never again can we relive them.