It is interesting to note that the recollections regarding Gustav and Eva vary from person to person. By including the memories of different people, the intention is to provide the most complete picture possible. Keep in mind that all written is not truth and all truth is not written.
Rofina, granddaughter of Gustav and Eva writes in the Bush
to Bushels History book, Gus and Eva were very active in the community, in
the Moravian church and school board. Gus was a long time secretary-treasurer
of the Bruderheim (Mud Lake) School from 1906 –1930. …Both Gus
and Eva were always ready to help newcomers establish themselves in this new
land. They became friends to many. …I considered it a real honor to
help grandmother (Eva) put on her shoes and stockings. She needed help because
of a stiff leg which she received in a farm accident. …Another recollection
that I will always treasure is the memory of rolling up in a wine colored
drape that served as a door for my grandparent’s room. I assumed that
they had gone for their noon nap. Apparently grandfather (Gustav) did, as
he was snoring loud enough to keep the whole household awake. To my surprise,
there was grandmother (Eva) on her knees praying out loud and she remembered
grandfather and all of us in her prayers.
Ruth, granddaughter, writes, rabbits were plentiful, so they
dug a pit, covered it with branches and in the morning they had caught rabbits…One
morning they caught a cat…Gustav picked it up…however it was really
a skunk and it sprayed him….A Mennonite settlement in Manitoba provided
one cow for each German family in the Bruderheim settlement. Gustav traveled
to Manitoba by train, loaded the cows and took care of them all the way back
to Edmonton. Once in Edmonton, they walked the cows to Bruderheim….Michael
Eichelt went into the woods to find young trees which he somehow cut into
slender, flat strips and wove them into a fine tapestry to make chairs. He
sold many chairs in Edmonton…. Gustav took local farmer’s cattle
to the Pete Burns packing plant in Calgary and apparently knew Mr. Burns….All
his life Gustav would only drive a Dodge car….Gustav always voted Liberal….Gustav
and Eva were one of the first to ride the train through the Kicking Horse
Pass….In the Werner house, Gustav and Eva each had their own rocking
chairs in the dining/family room, others sat on straight back chairs. Gustav
had made a recessed china cabinet with glass doors. On one wall there was
a clock that Gustav wound every night. A windup gramophone and radio was also
there. The dining room table could extend to a large size. This was used when
many family members came together for a big meal. Hilda and Rudy’s wedding
reception took place there. The bridal couple sat at the head of the table
till everyone had eaten. The kids were the last to eat. The parlor is where
some family weddings took place. It was a room that was seldom used. Once
the French doors were opened a large moose head mounted on the wall was visible,
with two favorite hats hanging from the antlers. In the corner was an intricately
carved organ that had a built in carved lamp stand. The other wall had a dining
room buffet with mirror. It held special dishes and prized things. The curtains
had lace panel with heavy wine colored drapes which matched the wine velour
chesterfield. The floor had a wine colored rug which had to be taken out and
the dust beaten off it. Flowered wallpaper and fancy chairs completed the
parlor. The upstairs had a bed and dresser. The guest room also had a fancy
wash stand on which stood a large basin, pitcher and potty all made of blue
pottery….Outside, a little fancy iron gate led into the house yard and
garden. Along the wooden sidewalk which led to the house, Eva had planted
“dahlias” which grew almost to her shoulder, covered with lots
of blooms….Large flowering lilac trees shaded a swing that Gustav had
built. It had two seats facing each other, each able to hold two to three
people. On hot days Eva took her spinning wheel here in the shade. We kids
sat opposite here and learned not to swing much so grandma could spin. She
(Eva) spoke to us of many things. After the spinning was done she fastened
three threads to something then turned the thing which twisted the yarn into
a fine three-strand yarn suitable for knitting very fine gloves. She also
spun heavier yarn for socks….In the early years, a pioneer family living
seven miles from their place already had a plot of vegetables. Grandma (Eva)
was invited to come and dig potatoes so she could have some for her family.
She walked seven miles, dug potatoes, and walked back seven miles. The men
were busy clearing land-besides digging potatoes was women’s work. She
also helped with the farm animals like cows, pigs, chickens and sheep. One
day a ram attacked Eva, knocked her down and dislocated her hip. For the rest
of her life she had a very bad limp, but never complained…Eva was a
woman of prayer. She would go to her bedroom, kneel and pray for long periods
of time….Gustav liked to take his grandchildren for a ride in his Dodge
sedan when he went to Bruderheim for the mail. He also stopped and bought
the kids five cent ice cream cones. They cost five cents at the time….One
time when we were visiting our grandparents (Gustav and Eva), Emil and I were
playing outside. I slipped and my foot went through a window pane which was
part of a hot bed east of the house that Grandfather designed. I wasn’t
hurt but I was afraid of Grandfather. He was very tall, slender, stately,
and stern. He never said much to the grandchildren, especially not to the
girls – so unlike grandma. Aunt Toni came out to where I was crouched,
sobbing and shivering. She assured me in a kindly voice, “its okay,
grandpa will not spank you. All you need to do is go tell him you are sorry
and give him a kiss.” She took my hand and we slowly walked back to
the house. When we got there, all the grownups were standing outside already.
I went to grandpa, told him I’m sorry. He picked me up and I kissed
his bearded face. Then all the grownups laughed.
Ben H., grandson, remembers his Grandpa Gustav as a self
taught individual. Gustav studied English on his own and because of his willingness
and cleverness to excel in this new land, he became a contact person for other
German settlers in the Bruderheim area who may have been less inclined to
interact with the English majority. Ben describes a story of the Werner family
while they were living in the old sod hut. The mosquitoes at times were terrible.
One day a cow got into the hut and it was very difficult to get the cow out.
Ben also remembers two different Dodge vehicles owned by Gustav in addition
to getting the odd swat from Grandma Eva.
James, grandson, describes a green Dodge sedan owned by Gustav
that constantly puffed blue smoke. For some reason, Gustav would always back
his vehicles into the shed…. The original homestead hut on the original
homestead land four miles south of present day Bruderheim was located in the
northwest corner of the property… A close look at photos of Gustav reveal
that he was missing part of his left pointing finger. Apparently, this was
the result of a hunting accident where he tripped over a branch and shot off
his own finger…
August, grandson, recalls a story Grandma Eva Werner used to tell. "I was about three or four years of age and was sleeping between grandma and grandpa. In the middle of the night grandma heard grandpa groaning quite vigorously. She sat up to see what was the matter and found me sitting on grandpa's face."
Another story August recalls occurred in October 1936. "Grandma Eva Werner was at our house helping my mother prepare for Rofina's wedding. They had made a great batch of delicious homemade sausage. The sausage was hung to smoke in a tin barrel. I was eleven at the time and as I walked past the barrel I noticed the sausage was on fire. I panicked and quickly threw the sausage on summerfallowed ground in the garden to douse the flames. Then I ran and told my mother about the incident. She was horrified when she saw all that sausage lying in the dirt and gave me a verbal thrashing. Fortunately Grandma Eva stepped in and calmed her down. She said 'He's just a boy and did the best he could'. They were able to salvage some of the sausage and the guests at the wedding enjoyed the sausages".
August recalls a visit to his Aunt Alvina. August and his cousin Ben Glasman were about eight or nine years old. August recalls, "As we went exploring on a nice summer day we became fascinated with slimy green algae that we found in the slough. We got a bucket and filled it with the algae. We both decided it would be fun to throw it against the farm house because it made such a nice noise as it splattered aginst and stuck to the house. When we were getting ready to leave my mother noticed the results of our fun project and an immediated inquisition took place. Aunt Alvina fortunately convinced my mother that boys will be boys".
Finally, August remembers a story Albert Werner used to tell. It was apparently even published in the local Barrhead paper. "Albert and some of his buddies went fishing at a local lake. They had a great day and landed some great catches. They finally got one on the hook that was so big and strong that it broke all their fishing lines. They eventually threw out a great big rope with bait on the end. The fish bit but they were not strong enough to haul the fish in. There was an island in the middle of the lake so they tied the rope to a huge tree on the island and went to get some help. When they came back the island was gone."
