EXTENDED BROOKS FAMILY GENEALOGY

1929 - 1930 - 1931 DIARY of Marie (Grégoire) Brooks of Bluesky Alberta

1929: February / March

Marie Grégoire Brooks

Hubert Brooks "Papa"

Editor's Note: My cousin Hubert Brooks has spent considerable time and effort in digitizing and translating the February 1929 to October 1931 historically preserved period of my great grandmother Marie Gr�goire Rousseau Brooks' DIARY.
In adapting Hubert's work effort for the web - translating to HTML language - I hope that no errors were introduced. THANK YOU Hubert for sharing your work effort with me.

This diary provides not only an interesting portal into my ancestors life in the 1929 / 1930 / 1931 period in the North Western Alberta Peace River area of Bluesky, but also the life of subsistance farming families across the nation with the constant fixation on the weather, farming activities and the remarkable extended-family community of neighbours who seemed to help each other when needed and drop-in on each other on a regular basis.
I have added an abridged family tree below such that the relationships between the principle players is clear.
My great grandfather, Fred Brooks and his wife Laura, by this time had moved to Ottawa and later Montreal. So the bulk of this diary revolves around Hubert (Rousseau) Brooks (Papa), Marie (Gregoire Rousseau) Brooks, Joe Brooks, Otto Brooks and to a lesser extent Aime Brooks.
In reading the diary for the first time, I was surprised at the supportive role played by Marie's brother Paul Grégoire (born: (Alfred) Hyppolyte ("Polyte") Grégoire) in coming to his sister's aide upon the death of her husband Hubert.
I was also surprised at how closely Theodore ("Chick") Knott worked with the various family members around the farm being paid a wage of $10/month. He was most certainly a backbone to mother Marie.
Hope you enjoy.

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Commentary By Joe Brooks' Son HUBERT BROOKS

For years Marie Brooks (nee Gr�goire) maintained a daily diary.
The only known copy left has remained in the hands of the Joseph Brooks family from 1946 when we moved away from Bluesky to Falher, Alberta.
For context, Hubert (Rousseau) Brooks and wife Marie moved from St. John, North Dakota to LaFl�che, Saskatchewan arriving in Bluesky, Alberta in late 1915 to early 1916.
Sons Aim� and Alfred had preceded their arrival but eventually moved away.
The two daughters Nelida and Theodora (Dora) did not accompany their parents for the move.

The diary covers the period from Februay 1^st 1929 to October 31^st 1931.
By this time only the two youngest boys Joseph and Otto remained with them.
The diary is handwritten in French using a lead pencil. Much of the text has faded.
Regrettably , I as a child along with my siblings scribbled in it extensively. However, it remains in sufficiently good condition that I have captured close to 100% of its content. It is written in her vernacular with probable limited formal schooling. For the original French version I have reproduced the words exactly in the order written, with or without proper spelling, punctuation, accents etc. The English translation loses this quaint flavor but conveys the thoughts and narrative in an exact manner. The asterisks, parentheses and their content or inference, are mine.

Préparé par: A. Hubert Brooks (fils cadet de Joseph Brooks) mai 2015.

(Joseph) Alfred (aka FRED) Brooks (b. Feb. 18, 1891) (d. May 13, 1944)	Joseph (aka JOE) (Albert Antoine) Brooks (b. Dec. 20, 1901) (d. Jan. 8, 1982)	Otto (Hubert) Brooks (b. Nov 10, 1903) (d. Oct 26, 1969)	Aimé (Hubert) Brooks (b. May 17, 1895) (d. Jan 15, 1952)	Marie (Theodora) (aka DORA) Rousseau Brooks (b. Sept. 25, 1887) (d. Aug 8, 1970)	Marie Eugénie Nelida (aka "Nellie") Brooks (b. Jan. 12, 1885) (d. Oct 12, 1937)
Fred Brooks	Joe Brooks	Otto Brooks	Aimé Brooks	Dora Brooks	Nellie Brooks

Month/Day	Marie Brooks Bluesky Alberta Diary Entry
1929 Fev 1	Vendredi fait encore bien froid Nous avons encore le Dr pour dad Otto est aller le ramener a Berwyn
	Friday still very cold. the Doctor is here again for dad. Otto drove him back to Berwyn.
Fev 2	Samedi fait pas aussi froid les garcons scie du bois dans le bois Nous parais un peu
	Saturday not as cold. The boys are sawing in the bush it seems
Fev 5	Fait beau la *janette est arriv� *jeannette et/ou narcisse
	It�s nice, the narcissus flower has arrived.
Fev 7	Fait pas aussi froid le Dr revient encore pour dad
	It�s not as cold. The Dr. has come back for dad.
Fev 9	Samedi fait une belle journ� Otto est aller chercher la nurce Dora est aller a Whitelaw avec les garcons fait toujours assez froid mais les chemins sont toujours bons pour les autos Nous sommes aller chercher la nurce pour Papa
	Saturday, it�s a nice day. Otto went to pick up the nurse. Dora went to Whitelaw with the boys. It�s still quite cold but the roads are ok for the cars. We went to pick up the nurse for Papa.
Fev 10	Beaucoup de visite pour Papa mais ne le voit pas
	Plenty of visitors for Papa, however, they don�t get to see him.
Fev 11	Nous avons le Dr encore pour Papa
	We have the Dr. again for Papa.
Fev 12	Fait beau et Papa est pas empir� malgr� qu�il est bien malade
	It�s nice out and Papa has not worsened although still very sick.
Fev 13	Joseph, Aim�, et Dora sont all� a Fairview vente fort nous fesons un bon lavage moi et Nelida
	Joseph, Aim�, Dora went to Fairview. Strong wind, Nelida and I do the washing.
Fev 14	Fait pas froid Papa nous semble prendre du mieux les garcons scies du bois, et neige le soir
	It�s not cold. Papa seems to be getting better. The boys are sawing wood, it snows in the evening.
Fev 15	Fait une grosse temp�te un froid terrible nous allons pas a la malle
	Big storm, terribly cold. We don�t pick up the mail.
Fev 16	Samedi fait encore bien froid les chemins sont bien mauvais Papa prend du mieux
	Saturday, still very cold, the roads are real bad. Papa is getting better.
Fev 17	Dimanche fait froid nous sommes ceux Papa prend du mieux
	Sunday it�s cold, we are alone. Papa is getting better.
Fev 18	Lundi fait un peu plus beau Joseph est all� scier pour John Veale
	Monday, it�s a little bit nicer. Joseph went to saw for John Veale.
Fev 19	Aim� la nurse sont parti Otto est aller les conduire au chars
	Aim�, the nurse have left. Otto drove them to the train station.
Fev 21	Jeudi une grosse temp�te un vent terrible du Nord Est
	Thursday, a big storm with a terrible North East wind.
Fev 22	Vendredi fait froid il faut voir la neige qu�il a tomb�
	Friday, it�s cold. The amount of snow that fell is something to see.
Fev 23	Fait une belle journ� un beau soleil Papa se leve pour la premi�re fois et il est assez fort Mr Foran est venu le soir
	A nice sunny day. Papa is up for the first time and he is quite strong. Mr Foran came in the evening.
Fev 24	Fait une grosse poudrerie mais fait pas froid. Mrs Salmon nous a apport� du boeur
	Driven snow but it�s not cold. Mrs. Beatrice (Bea) Salmon brought us some butter.
Fev 26	Les filles sont partis il fait une petite temp�te en allant les conduire au chars
	The girls are gone. There is a small storm when driving them to the train station.
Fev 27	Fait beau assez John Veale est venu pass� une parti de journ�e
	It�s quite nice. John Veale came to spend part of the day.
Fev 28	Fait beau assez les garcons arrange le tamis pour moude le mois est finit
	It�s quite nice, the boys fix the sieve for grinding. The month is over.
Mars 1	fait un gros vent du ouest terrible pour oppos� de moude un vrai chinouk et l�eau coule partout nous sommes contant
	A strong and terrible West wind, enough to stop grinding. A real Chinook, water running all over, we are happy.
Mars 2	fait assez beau mais trop chaud dans la maison Papa prend toujours du mieux les garcons se d�p�che pour moudre
	It�s quite a nice day, but too warm in the house. Papa is still getting better. The boys hurry to grind.
Mars 3	dimanche fait pas beau neige un peu et fait froid une petite temp�te le soir chez Foran sont venu faire une petite veill� soupe avec nous autres
	Sunday not a nice day, snows a bit and it�s cold. Small storm in the evening. The Forans came for supper and spent the evening with us.
Mars 4	fait pas beau encore une petite temp�te Joseph est all� chez Salmond sci� leur bois
	It�s not nice out, another small storm. Joseph went to Salmonds to saw their wood.
Mars 5	fait une journ�e bien froide nous fesons un gros lavage moi et Joseph sa fond pas il en est loin
	A very cold day. Joseph and I do a big washing. It�s not melting, far from it.
Mars 6	mercredi matin fait terriblement froid encore je sais pas quand nous auronts un Chinouke pour nous donn� de l�eau
	Wednesday morning it is still terribly cold. I don�t know when we will get a Chinook to provide water.
Mars 7	un froid du diable encore et pas de chemin pour sortir nous postons nos lettres chez Fortin il fait une nuit bien froide
	Cold as the devil, the roads are blocked. We mail our letters at (Joe) Fortin�s (store). The night is very cold. Editor's Note: (Joe) R.E. Fortin and his wife Mami were of French origin and operated a small store and the Lothrop Post Office located about 300 yards west of the East Burnt School. Odelia Gamache and his wife lived with the Fortin's and was the mail carrier. He made the trip to Whitelaw once each week with the outgoing mail returning with the incoming mail and supplies for the store.
Mars 8	vendredi c�est pas aussi froid ce matin mais pas trop chaud encore
	Friday, not as cold this morning but still not very warm.
Mars 9	samedi fait beau mais sa fond pas Otto est all� a Whitelaw avec 2 pigs (PHOTO - Whitelaw circa 1929)
	Saturday, it�s nice but it does not melt. Otto went to Whitelaw with 2 pigs. (PHOTO - Whitelaw circa 1925)
Mars 10	dimanche fait beau encore mais sa fond pas S--- Brooks* est venu nous visit� * incapable d�identifier cette personne
	Sunday it�s still nice but it does not melt. S_____ Brooks* came to visit us. * unable to identify this person (Editor's Note: Probably Samuel Brooks who lived just south east of Old Bluesky at Section 28 / Township 81 / Range 4 / Meridian 6)
Mars 11	Lundi fait un beau vent du ouest sa regarde pour un Chinouke les garcons se pr�pare pour scier
	Monday a nice Westerly wind, it looks like a Chinook. The boys get ready to saw.
Mars 12	fait une belle journ�e sa fond l�eau coule les garcons sont all� a Bluesky cherch� la malle j�ai recue 6 lettres
	A nice day, it�s melting and the water is flowing. The boys went to Bluesky to pick up the mail, I received 6 letters.
Mars 13	fait beau encore l�eau coule les garcons arrange le vieux cribbe* et fanning mill** *tamiseur **ventilateur/s�choir
	Its nice, the water is flowing. The boys fix the old screener and fanning mill.
Mars 14	fait beau plus que jamais l�eau coule le soir dans la dam
	Nicer than ever, the water is flowing in the dam.
Mars 15	vendredi fait beau les garcons sont a Whitelaw & Fairview
	Friday a nice day, the boys are in Whitelaw & Fairview.
Mars 16	samedi fait encore plus beau les garcons vont cherch� du bois chez le vieux Louis Veale vient le soir
	Saturday a nicer day still. The boys pick up wood from old Louis (?Turcotte?). (John) Veale came in the evening.
Mars 17	dimanche fait beau rien de plus beau nous avons pas de visite du tout
	Sunday, a nice day could not be better. No visitors at all.
Mars 18	Lundi fait beau mais un temps dol* Otto est aller pour Veale lui amener une charge de bl� *de l�anglais dull ou plate en fran�ais
	Monday it�s nice but a dull day. Otto went for a load of wheat for (John) Veale.
Mars 19	fait beau un gros vent du ouest les garcons sont aller pour de la glasse chez Huntington
	Nice day with a strong Westerly wind. The boys went to (Don) Huntingtons for ice.
Mars 20	fait toujours beau sa fond mais l�eau coule pas dans la dam les garcons sont all� chercher leur dernier voyage de glasse
	It�s still nice but the water is not flowing in the dam. The boys went to pick up their last load of ice.
Mars 21	fait bien beau les garcons vont cherch� un petit voyage de bois chez Thompson vienne faire un tour aussi chez Albersworth
	It�s very nice, the boys went to pick up a small load of wood. The (John and Anna) Thompson�s and (Eugene "Gene" and Jean) Albersworth�s come to visit.
Mars 22	fait un gros vent bien froid du nord toute la journ�e une grosse jel� le matin les garcons vont a Whitelaw et Joseph se rend a Fairview pour du scrou* *de l�anglais screw vis en fran�ais
	A strong and cold North wind all day. A big frost in the morning. The boys go to Whitelaw and Joseph goes to Fairview for screws.
Mars 23	fait encore bien froid le matin Veale et Albersworth vienne pour batte l�avoine de deux ans le soir font boucherie finisse tard le soir
	Still very cold in the morning. (John) Veale and (Gene) Albersworth come to thrash the two year oats. Slaughter in the evening and finish late.
Mars 24	dimanche fait beau mais pas trop chaud Albersworth vient d�bit� la big sow* *truie
	Sunday it�s nice but not very warm. (Gene) Albersworth comes to cut up the big sow.
Mars 25	Lundi fait beau vente du ouest Joseph et Otto sont all� voir pour Albersworth Papa va faire un tour dehors moi je fait fonde 40 lbs de lard
	Monday a nice day with a West wind. Joseph and Otto went for (Gene) Albersworth. Papa goes for a walk outside. I melt 40 lbs of pork fat.
Mars 26	fait pas trop froid ni chaud les garcons vont a Bluesky chercher la malle
	Neither warm nor cold. The boys go to Bluesky to pick up the mail.
Mars 27	fait froid une petite temp�te du Est avec un peu de neige
	Its cold, a small storm from the East with a bit of snow.
Mars 28	fait pas aussi froid les garcons charisse de la paille et Joseph va cherch� du boeur chez Salmond
	Not as cold. The boys haul straw and Joseph picks up butter from the (Paul & Bea) Salmonds.
Mars 29	une grosse jeler neige un peu pendant l�avant midi le vent est Nord East le matin sa regarde mal pour le Vendredi Saint
	A big frost, snows a little in the morning, the wind is from the North East. In the morning it looks bad for Good Friday.
Mars 30	fait pas trop chaud les garcons sont all� a Whithelaw revienne tard apporte la malle Veale est venu veill�
	Not very warm. The boys went to Whitelaw, come back late with the mail. Veale came to spend the evening.
Mars 31	Jour de P�ques fait beau mais pas une des journ�es les plus chaude chez Salmond sont venu dinn�
	Easter Sunday, its nice but not one of the warmer days. The (Paul & Bea) Salmonds came for lunch.

The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D.