Hubert Brooks: The Life and Times

The 1921 Canada Census (circa June 1921) had Joe, aged 19, living with his parents Hubert and Marie and his younger brother Otto (aged 17) at Hubert's farm just south of Bluesky.

In 1921 Joe Brooks purchased property of his own adjacent to the family's, and in June of 1932 married in Bluesky a French-Canadian girl named Bertha Chailler (b. Nov 29, 1905 in Chartierville QC).

The end of the Brooks' Bluesky dream started with the depression of the dirty thirties which hit the homesteaderws hard.
The price of wheat dropped to twenty cents per bushel. For a number of years, Joe had contracted Hans Struck from Denmark to farm portions of his land. But with yields dropping, that luxury quickly stopped. The farmers, with no money to buy fuel for their cars and tractors, fell back to horses. Many a useless motor was removed from the car and a tongue and double-tree attached so horses could be hitched to the conveyance. (Thus the birth of the Bennett Buggy, a derisive reference to the Prime Minister of Canada, who was blamed for the situation.)
1935-1936 brought the coldest winter on record with unprecedented blizards hitting Alberta. The summer of 1936 was even more devastating with only a negligible grain crop produced.The grass hoppers ate everything that tried to grow. With crop failures year after year, incomes dropped drastically taking a heavy toll on human spirits and some of the pioneering families were forced to move away.
The Brooks families were amongst those that left and moved east to the cities.

In 1946, the Joe Brooks family moved from Bluesky south east to Falher � located in the Smokey River Region of Alberta's Peace District. Otto Christian (Chris) Eriksen (from Aalbad Denmark) bought Joe Brooks' farm when the Brooks� left the area and moved to Falher.

Philip Brooks wrote the following JOE BROOKS FAMILY STORY for the Falher History Book:

"In the summer of 1946, with all our belongings packed into the truck box of Uncle Joe and Cecile (nee Chailler) Boisvert, the Brooks traveled from Bluesky to their new home in Falher.

They bought a big farmhouse from a family a few miles north of town and had it skidded onto the lot opposite Pepere & Memere Chailler and Octave and Marguerite Chailler families. With the closeness of the three families, as well as the numerous other Chailler's in town this was the gathering place.

I like to recall our end of town (the far end of Gamache Street) as ‘Chailler Town’. What wonderful memories we have. We could always expect an extra plate or two at the table on any given day. Even though Pepere & Memere's house burnt down in the early 50's, they rebuilt on the spot and the tradition continued.

For Mother, the move to Falher was a return, as she had lived with her family on the farm 1 mile west of town. She was born in Chartierville Quebec on November 29^th, 1905. With her family, she moved to Alberta in 1911. They lived in Brosseau, Duverny, Morinville and Bluesky before moving to Falher.

Dad (Joe) and his brother Otto owned a general store in Bluesky for several years.

It was in Bluesky that Mom & Dad met and married in June of 1932. Soon the family started to grow.
Jeannine was born Aug 26, 1933 on the farm in Bluesky, Irene, June 13, 1935 also on the farm in Bluesky, Gerald, November 9, 1937 also on the farm in Bluesky, Robert, March 29, 1940 also on the farm in Bluesky, Philip, March 3, 1943 also on the farm in Bluesky, Hubert, July 25, 1944 in Fairview Hospital, Fairview Alberta; and Yvonne, August 2, 1946 at McLennan Hospital in McLennan Alberta.

Upon arriving in Falher, Dad started work as a grader operator with the Municipality of Smokey River. How he was able to raise a family of six kids working for the wages of the day still escapes me. Many is the day that I recall Mom sending one of us to the municipal office for an advance of a few dollars to make it to next payday.

Things really took a turn for the worst in the early 50's when dad became ill and was hospitalized. Adding to the dilemma was Yvonne and Hubert becoming ill also. This of course was well before such things as "sick pay", Medicare, and any kind of social assistance. But we survived, and the Brooks Family will always be grateful for the kindness and generosity of the Chailler family. In particular Aunt Margarite and Uncle Octave for sharing whatever they could from their farm. Faced with no income and mounting hospital bills, Mother took to having boarders. The boardinghouse style of living continued for many years and became the way of life while growing up. On top of the six children, it was not uncommon to have five or six boarders. I know Mom never made any money from having boarders, but it was her way of keeping everybody fed. Those of you with any kind of memory will recall that I was particularly well fed.

No doubt the "boarding house lifestyle" brought about an early rough demeanor to the Brooks Boys character. Living with many of the "roughnecks" (as Mom called them) exposed us at early age to behaviors not tolerated in a traditional home setting, However, we prefer to think that the exposure to the mild mannered long time residents like Philip Deschambre, Paul Aubin, and August Lefebre, and others, were a very positive counter balance to the roughness. Mom had no tolerance for swearing, particularly at the dinner table. She made a bit of a side income (especially from long time resident Joe Nadeau) by having them contribute to the nickel jar every time they offended.

For as long as I can remember we shared our front yard with a bachelor named Joe Allarie. He was a great old guy despite how much we teased him. He had a history of being a "rum runner" from the Prairies during Prohibition days. Next to him were Gaston & Blanche Gervais. We grew up with their three children, Edouard, Doris and Louise. Ed was my best friend through childhood and the best man at my wedding. The rest of the street towards town was heavily treed until the hockey arena was built.

The building of the arena had a major impact on the Brooks family. Bob, though only twelve years old, dug several of the holes for the footings (for a fee of course). From it's opening day, it became the center of gravity for Bob, Philip and Hubert.

Hockey was a total preoccupation and when not on the ice in the arena, it was road hockey or shinny at the small open-air rink at the school. Summers were spent at the ball park directly behind the Brooks' house. Dad watched many a ball tournament sitting on the back porch.

Dad was a great prankster, and very often, the instigator of some drama that would unfold some time during the evening or the middle of the night. He was also a great story teller and the bench on the back porch was a great place for him to entertain many of the neighborhood kids with his enthralling stories. To this day, we are often reminded by the many who recall sitting on the back porch, certain that "the Indians were soon to attack or the bears were scratching at the back door."

Gerard worked in the oil patch for several years. They later moved to Grand Prairie where Gerard worked as a crane man building bridges for the Ministry of Highways. They later returned to farming on land adjacent to the old Bonnamour farm north of Girouxville. They had five children:

Yvonne passed away Feb 26, 1952, after heart complications from rheumatic fever.

Dad (Joe Brooks) passed away peacefully at home in his sleep on January 8^th, 1982 less than a month after his 80^th birthday. He was sitting in his favorite Lazy Boy chair sipping coffee from a china cup (Joe used a china cup whether it was tea or coffee) watching Canada AM as he did most every morning.

Mom (Bertha Chailler) continued to live at home for a further 10 years after Dad died. She loved to craft things for all of us. There are countless bedspreads, doilies, photo albums from old cards, and knitted slippers, a pair of which I still wear daily. Mom also passed away peacefully at the McLennan nursing home, on June 23^nd 1996."

Irene Cecile (Brooks) Bonnamour passed away on March 31, 2011. Family and friends held a memorial service for Irene on Saturday July 23, 2011 at Notre Dame de Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Girouxville, Alberta.

He was buried alongside his wife Irene at the Ste. Anne Cemetery which is operated and maintained by the Town of Falher located along 2nd Street West.

Gerard was born on January 24, 1934, on his father's homestead, north of Girouxville. He was born to Eva Pelletier and Jean Bonnamour. Gerard attended Gougeon school and later transferred to Girouxville School.

After leaving school her went to work for a seismic crew and then on the oil rigs. On December 24, 1954, in Lacombe (AB), Gerard married Irene Brooks.

In 1956, Gerard and Irene moved to Jean Bonnamour's farm and lived in the "bunk house". Later, they moved to Girouxville, where he and Irene resided until moving to Grande Prairie in 1975.

In 1985, Gerard and Irene returned to the Girouxville area of the M.D. of Smoky River.

He is survived by his children Michel (of Girouxville), Dianne (of Peace River), Lori (of Peace River) and Robert 'Bob' (of Grande Prairie); 8 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren.

Obituary
Joseph (Albert) Brooks

Image: Newspaper Obituary for Joe Brooks

Joseph (Joe) Albert Brooks passed away at his home in Falher on Jan. 8, 1982.

Born Dec. 20, 1901, in St. John, North Dakota, Mr. Brooks moved to the Peace River country with his parents in 1915. The family, which consisted of parents Hubert and Marie Brooks, along with three other sons, Aimé, Alfred and Otto, established a general store in Bluesky, as well as a homestead nine miles south of Bluesky along the banks of the Burnt River.

In 1921 Joe Brooks purchased property of his own adjacent to the family's, and in 1932 married Bertha Chailler.

In 1946 they moved with their family to Falher, where he became employed as a grader operator, initially with the Department of Public Works, but later and until his retirement in 1967, with the Municipal District of Smoky River.

He was predeceased by his father, Hubert, in 1930; and his mother Marie, in 1944; his sisters. Nelida Bolstead in 1937, and Dora Warren in 1970; his brothers; Alfred in 1943, and Aimé in 1952, and Otto in 1969; and a daughter Yvonne in 1952.

Mr. Brooks was survived at the time by his loving wife Bertha in Falher; his daughters Jeannine Roy in Edmonton; Jane Bonnamount in Grande Prairie; his sons, Gerald in Ronfarly Alta: Robert in Riley Alta.: Philip in Fruitvale B.C..; Hubert in Montreal; 16 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held in the Falher St. Anne Catholic Church, and interment was at the Falher Cemetery. Father Frigon officiated. The alter. boys were Fernand and Lionel Chailler. The pallbearers were: Michele Bonnamoure, Daryl Brooks, Rick Roy, Gary Roy, Dean Brooks and Bobby Brooks. The cross bearer was Lise Roy.

****

From Phil Brooks:
Joe & Bertha Brooks were Peace River Pioneers.
No greater people have walked these hills,
This mighty country has grown for from their skills.
They are never far from their loved ones minds,
they are always near,
in the smell of the earth
and the wind in the pines.

Falher Cemetary

Headstone's for Joe and Bertha Brooks, and for Yvonne Brooks are located in the Falher Cemetary.