Richard Sarauer

Richard was born October 15, 1925 and grew up with his parents and family on the NW½ 39-21-W2, five miles west of Annaheim. Being eighth in a family of ten was a blessing in a way ... his older brothers and sisters were able to take care of most of the hard work ... Richie found it certainly wasn't a drawback when growing up in the "dirty '30's". Richard began his education at Schuler School, 1½ miles from the farm home, in 1932. "We were one of the more fortunate families as our father always had a spare horse in the summer and a team in winter for us to drive to school. Going to school was, at times, a waste of time, but most of the time was enjoyed. The school was a one room building and in the first years we had a big pot belly stove in one corner which went out every night and by the next morning it was nearly as cold in the inside as out. One of the older boys had the job of getting to school early and starting a fire. By nine o'clock the temperature would be about 55°F. to 60°F. We had a record player and a record with a march tune and the teacher would wind it up with the crank and start the music. We would march up one row and down the other to get our feet and bodies warmed up. Recess and noon hours were very seldom spent inside the school. A game of shinny was always going in front of the school with willow sticks and either horse apples or a small piece of someone's firewood served as a puck. Spring was always looked forward to .... someone was always on the look-out for a gopher that dared stick his head above ground. The water pail was never too far away. Many a gopher got an awful surprise when he came through the water on- ly to find about 15 boys waiting with a stick and many a gopher lost his tail before it was dead. Later on when the grounds dried, baseball and softball were played every spare minute ." "Getting out of school in the spring of 1940 was one of the highlights of those days as then we considered ouselves as 'men'. This proved to be far from the truth as that fall my father bought two new binders. He drove one and as I was too young and weak to do some stooking was put on the other binder . After the cutting was done the threshing machine was pulled out. That also proved to be a job for a man and not a boy of 15. Many a night I was so tired that I couldn't even sleep. 

A shower of rain was most welcome ... so a rest could be had ." Richie spent the winter of 1944-45 working for The Pas Lumber Co. at Carrot River. This proved a very enjoyable winter as there were about 25 men from the Lake Lenore, Marysburg district in that camp. For cutting logs with a cross-cut saw they made $6 - $7 per day. After Christmas Richie worked in the kitchen as "cookee" until Marcll. The head cook rarely spoke to his underlings and shocked the boys one day by his friendly advice. It seems that some fruit had fermented and someone got the brilliant idea to brew some wine. They stole some sugar from the kitchen and hid the barrel and its contents in the root cellar. Whilst peel- ing spuds one day the cook came in and inquired about this barrel and didn't the person who was making wine know that it should be kept in a warm place instead of the cold root cellar!! In March, a call came from the Army so off to Regina for a medical but Richie never heard anything further. The war ended that spring. . On October 2nd, 1950 he married Valerie Ramler. She was born Jan . 20, 1930 to Anton Ramler and Clara (Busche). Val went to Solo school for nine years then went out working for various families until she got married . Seven children were born to Richie and Val: Judy (Saskatoon) - one boy Trevor; Kathy (Mrs. Brad Steele) in Prince Albert - one girl Lindsay Anne; Linda (Mrs. Richard Rumberger) in Melfort - two boys Brian and Allan; Brenda (Mrs. Kim Berscheid) in Lake Lenore - one girl Sherrie Lynn; Marilynn (Mrs. Gerald Silzer) Lake Lenore; John and Gordon are at home. The three oldest kids went to Schuler School for 3 years and then were bussed to Annaheim school where they completed grade twelve. Richie and Val lived in Granpa Sarauer's house until 1965, when they built their new home and moved in just before Christmas. The old home was getting pret- ty drafty by then. Richard continues mixed farming today and they enjoy community activities