THE WOLD FAMILY

by Mrs. Wold

John Wold born in the Stananger district on Norway in 1897. He came to Canada first in 1914, along with Edward Haarr, a school chum. They arrived in Lethbridge and went to work that summer for a farmer, Lousi Larson, near Coaldale Alberta. The next years they worked for C.S. Noble (for whom the town of Nobleford is named.) They tried farming near Coaldale for a few years, and after a visit to Norway, John went to work for Lord Angelsay on an oil well near Dewinton, for a year, then the "rig" was shipped back to Spokane. John came to Turner Valley in the spring of 1927 and worked for Bill Foran on roads along with Edd Haarr. Edd had a shack in Turner Valley and John was rooming over the Chinese restaurant and getting his meals with Edd and Etta. John was working "derrick man" for Floyd Welker, on Maylon No.1 and Johnnie Visser was working "Cat Head". John stayed with Royalite for several years. He worked on Mayland No.4. He was now rooming at the Royalite camp and getting meals there. John then worked with the Royalite road crews, building a road south of Hartell, to the old Mercury Plant. He then went back on the rigs and worked Mayland No.5 and several others.

In 1929, on "long change" in Calgary John met Hazel Bonham, an Alix girl, attending college there. We were married January 16, 1931 and for a 'birthday present' 25th June 1931 he was 'laid off' from Royalite.

He worked in harvest on the farms for Nels Sorenson. We returned to Turner Valley about two months later for winter. We had a shack on the street west of the Royal Bank next to Lorne Featherstone, Gordon McRae's were just south. The McLeod flare lit the place up as bright as needed and going all the time. The "Transients" built crude shelters around this flare, using it for heat and light also cooking as there would be a small leak back far enough so they could cook their stew on it and they were able to stay the winter in fair comfort 'camping'. This was the HUNGRY THIRTIES for Alberta.

Then on February 6, 1932 our son John Narlond Wold was born. In the spring we moved to a farm house across the road from "Bab" Johnson, one mile north of Tom Mydland. He had the farm rented and John worked for him. Field work was done with horses. I was cooking for three or four other hired hands beside ourselves. The farm was 7½ miles west of High River and our only entertainment was going to High River Saturday evening, after milking, other chores and dishes were done, to shop for groceries for the next week.

John ran the separator for Tom Myland that fall. During the winter John rode a horse two miles to Nels Sorenson's and along with Slim McDonald, helped Nels 'break' some 21 head of horses to harness for spring work in the fields. Thus we got through the worst of the 'Hungry Thirties'.

After spring work in 1933 John got back on the oil rigs again, working for Head & Snyder Oil Co. This was in the south-end of the Valley before the towns of Royalties or the post office of Longview was moved west to its present place. When these towns first started to grow they were dubbed "Little Chicago" and "Little New York". Light crude oil was just being discovered. Before this it was naptha gas, clear enough that the "separator" (and others) just drained it through a felt hat and put it right in their cars. Although rather smelly, and not refined, the cars ran okay. When John was working for Head & Snyder, the "derrick mans" wages were $2.50 a day and $2.50 "on production" if the well came in. Luckily the one John was on did. The then well National No.2 paid $3.00 and $3.00 on production.

We were living in a two room shack, in the "shack town" ½ mile west of Naptha. We bought it from Alf Conibear. The Calmont flare was just about ¼ mile from there in the field back of Howard Steel's old brick house. Just across the road from there, was where the Glenmede grade school house was (in the square of trees). Gordon Hanna had the farm around it. Other neighbours in old Naptha were the Blackie Murphy's and Crooks.

On January 6, 1934, our daughter Ethel Gretta Wold was born. Thus our son got a sister on his second birthday. For the next five winters I spent more time in the Holy Cross Hospital than I did at home. Every little cold seemed to turn to pleurisy or pneumonia or both. Luckily John had steady employment so we were able to manage although it was hard to get reliable girls to look after the house and children. When the children were old enough they attended grade school at Glenmede. John was still with Head and Snyder and worked on such wells as Sterling, Century and Carlton. He then worked as separation man on Carlton, on top of the hill above the present town of Longview, for about two years. Ray Becker pumped all the water from the river to the top of the hill for Carlton.

These were the war years, with gas and food rationing. Men got on for a while "sharing" rides but finally such companies as Royalite had to put on busses to get the men to work. John was now working for Snyder on a rig north of Bill Jackson's at Millarville. They were "rigging up", just ready to start, when the backer died, so the rig was shut down. About 1942 John went to work for Royalite Oil company. Later he transferred to Valley Pipe Line, working with Curley Howatt.

We had moved to Black Diamond when John Jr. was in high school, as it was too hard to get him to school from Naptha. John was still working for the pipeline when the company changed hands, and a lot of the older men were "pensioned off". It was about six years early for him, but he was given a fairly good deal. We still had the farm so he had something to do for six more years, when the doctor advised him to sell and retire.

I remember the prairie fire that burned down about half of Hartell. There hadn't been any snow that winter and there was a strong wind from the west so the dead grass caught fire from a 'flare' west of Hartell. Several women from Hartell were out with wet sacks setting a back fire by the trail in order to keep the fire from burning around the buildings at Old Naptha. Not many of us got much sleep that night. The men were trying to control the main fire. This was in February.

We also remember the tragic accident, when they hit the deadly pocket of gas at National 3. That was where the Cassidy boy was overcome with gas and fell into the sump pit, getting the mud and oil into his lungs etc. He died in local hospital. Another man literally 'froze' to the drill pipes and it was said his body had to be pried loose. He died holding tight to the pipes. John had taken us all to Alix, as it was his 'long change', so we didn't hear of this, till later. We were on our weary way home, when the foreman of the rig stopped us by the Black Diamond Hotel corner and asked John if he would go out that night as watchman. As John was not due on his job till four the next day he agreed to go. They never told him till later of the accident. He was making the usual rounds of the rig; and remembers going through the derrick. Next he remembers he was picking himself up off the ground about half way to the boiler house. He surely felt miserable for about a week.

Humphry Hemus - Quote - "I remember when I was working on Vulcan 1, in 1923 or 24 and the separator blew up. There wasn't a piece of metal larger than your hand left. There was no one close to it, so fortunately no one was hurt, but some were certainly shook-up."

Frank Chamber - Quote - "I remember camping where the town of Turner Valley is now. In 1925, I think."

John - Quote - "I remember in the spring of 1931 when about half main street of Turner Valley burned down. It was the night before 'pay-day' so everyone knew a lot of money was in the Royal Bank, and they simply couldn't let it burn. It burned most of the shacks from the side of McLeods old store down to the shoe store, by the bank. They hooked on to several of the shacks with a bulldozer and pulled them out of the line of fire. Later some of them were moved back. All is changed or rebuilt now, even the Royal Bank, although it was not touched by fire."

Chambers - Quote - "I remember when 'Skinny' Droppo was camped in a tent by a slew near where the town of Turner Valley now is. He was there all summer, working on the roads for the Royalite.

From, "IN THE LIGHT OF THE FLARES," pg 738-740
1979 published by The Sheep River Historical Society