John and Elizabeth (Gibson) Hogg

John Murray Hogg came from Carlisle, England to Canada when he was seventeen years old, date unknown. He bought a ticket to Vancouver but sold the ticket to someone in Winnipeg and laded up at Oak Lake, Manitoba. He worked as a farm hand for sometime, then he went to Lenore. He married Elizabeth Gibson in 1900.

Elizabeth was born in Scotland. She was an orphan and it is believed she got out to Canada with a church group, when she was between six and eight years old. She was raised by a foster mother, a Mrs. Goodwin. They lived for a time at Lenore. And older brother Jim and older sister Mary were born there, when they moved to Pipestone.

Mr. Hogg’s brother worked for him until his wife came to Canada. Both worked for Mr. Miles for a summer.

Mr. Hogg’s farm had poor buildings on it, especially the barn. All the work was done by horses in those days. His brother David and a Scotch friend came over to Canada. They were both carpenters so Mr. Hogg had them build a big new barn. It was a grand barn, stalls and passage way in front of the stalls to feed the animals, a sling track to put hay in the loft. That was something in those day.

They had a lot of cattle and horses. In summer Mr. Hogg put all the cattle but the milkers in Mr. Pigg’s pasture up around Oak Lake. A standing joke was that Mr. Hogg had his cattle in Mr. Pigg’s pasture. What’s in a name is right.

Mr. & Mrs. Hogg worked hard, taking holidays only by day to visit. Horses were the only way of going anywhere, Mr. Hogg did buy a dodge touring car in 1917. He tried to drive it but it wouldn’t stop when he pulled on the wheel and yelled “whoa”.

In 1915 they had a bumper crop but they only got seven hours of threshing. The snow came early and stayed. The snow came early and stayed. The grain was all stooked in those days about six shelves to a stook. It snowed so much that all the stooks were covered with snow and the wind blew drifts so high in places that you could step over the telephone wires. The kids sure had fun in the drifts with their hand sleighs. And they had a big hound that they would harness up and hitch to this sleigh. He could easily pull two children. Sometimes he’d see a jack rabbit and away he’d go sleigh and kids – no one remembers him catching the rabbit.

In the spring of 1916, having so much snow that winter, the Pipestone river overflowed and flooded the country for miles. There was over two feet of water on the field. One could see the sheaves floating down the ravine with nests of mice on them.

All the children went to Belleview school. They mostly walked unless it was storming in the winter, then their dad would come for them. The pupils were half English and half Belgian. The big boys only went to school in the winter. There were the Barre’s, Huttons, Campion’s, Gabriels, Gontys, Hewitts, Fehrs, and the O’Neils. The Campion boys rode Shetland ponies to school. The boys were so tall they had to hold their feet up to keep them from dragging the ground in some places. There was a lovely Xmas concert every year and they had to practice their pieces and drills for weeks. Always there was the most beautiful Christmas tree and the pupils never did know where each was purchased. Christmas at our place was different too now. The floors were all scrubbed and the stoves nicely polished. The table was set with just plates with names on them. In the morning on the plates were candies, an orange, some peanuts and a present.

In 1919 Mr. Hogg sold and moved to Swan River. He loaded his horses and cattle at Belleview in two box cars. Belleview was four miles by the road, so instead of loading the two pigs, he told Jack and his brother to bring them, and don’t ride them since they were going to have some little ones. But the boys rode them until they thought their dad might see them. It took them quite a long time. They had little sticks and when they went off the road they’d tap them on the ears and they’d go along again.

In the following years at Swan River, Mr. Hogg worked harder than ever. The land had to be cleared. Mrs. Hogg worked hard too. The house was too small for all which made the work harder for her. She took sick and had to have an operation. She went back to Virden to Dr. Clingham. She died in May of 1927. Her bill at the hospital was $1.75 per day.

Mr. Hogg carried on There weren’t too many left at home. He died in the 1950’s. Murray is the only one that is around Pipestone. He lives at Cromer. The other eleven of the family are here and there, scattered around the country.

written by Jennie Hogg Holmes

for “Trails Along The Pipestone”