Birthdays
Alex and Sarah McDonald had four children:
Christina (Tena) Catherine was born on July 18th, 1896;
Romeo (Romey) McDonald was born on May 8th, 1898;
Jeannette Anne was born August 31st, 1902; and
Angus James was born June 7th, 1905.
The School Years
Tena started school in 1903 in Edmonton where she stayed with an aunt. Romey and Jeannette started school in St. Albert whose teacher was Mike Hogan. In 1907, the entire family moved to St. Albert for two years so the children could attend school there rather than sending them to boarding school. The farm was rented to Mr. Laroque. The first house which the family rented was on the northwest corner of Mount Royal Drive and Mission Avenue. Later they moved near the grain elevators. While in St. Albert, Alex did freighting to Athabasca Landing and Pembina River.
By 1911, the O'Donnell School was being build near the farm so the family was situated on the northwest corner of River Lot 14. As Tena was now 15 and Romey was 13 years old, they could drive themselves to school in St. Albert with a horse and buggy. Whenever Romey, Tena, Jeannette and Angus were not in school or doing chores, they enjoyed swimming in the Sturgeon river during the summers or skating during the winters.
The McDonald family was deeply involved in the school offering room and board to many of the teachers. Alex McDonald was one of the first school trustees and 20 years later his son Romey McDonald served in the same capacity.
After Finishing School
The McDonald children remained at home for some time following their schooling. Jeannette was the first to leave in 1921 when she attended Normal School . Angus attended Normal School in Camrose in 1925-26. Angus had his first teaching position at the Glengarry School from 1931 to 1936. Tena remained with her parents on the farm kindly helping with the many activities of farm life. Romey also remained with his parents on the farm. After his marriage in 1934, Romey continued to make the farm his home and worked alongside his father.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Land
In 1895, Alex McDonald purchased River Lot 8 on the Sturgeon River. While building their log house and clearing the land near the Sturgeon River which flowed by the property, Alex McDonald lived in a small cabin located nearby. Mr. Bellerive assisted Alex McDonald with building the house.
A granary was built in 1912 on the farm and still remains to this day. In 1913, the family's house, was moved log by log to its present location near Carrot creek which runs through the middle of River Lot 8. Alex McDonald felt that moving the house to a central location would facilitate the easier operation of the farm.
Another major building project was undertaken in 1918 with the erection of a barn. It was a considerable size for those days with a large loft and a total height of 60 feet. It was used until 1980 and was demolished in 1982.
Alex McDonald purchased a half section of land near Big lake from Lucien Boudreau. Alex rented the property for awhile, then harvested hay from it until it was sold in the mid-1940s.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, black gold was discovered under the McDonald farm. There are large deposits of oil and gas under the farm.
A granary was built in 1912 on the farm and still remains to this day. In 1913, the family's house, was moved log by log to its present location near Carrot creek which runs through the middle of River Lot 8. Alex McDonald felt that moving the house to a central location would facilitate the easier operation of the farm.
Another major building project was undertaken in 1918 with the erection of a barn. It was a considerable size for those days with a large loft and a total height of 60 feet. It was used until 1980 and was demolished in 1982.
Alex McDonald purchased a half section of land near Big lake from Lucien Boudreau. Alex rented the property for awhile, then harvested hay from it until it was sold in the mid-1940s.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, black gold was discovered under the McDonald farm. There are large deposits of oil and gas under the farm.
Community
The McDonald family enjoyed joining in with friends and neighbors to attend Box Socials, Christmas Concerts, local dances, baseball games, church picnics and visits. During the early years, the McDonald family also regularly attended a Roman Catholic church in a small chapel which was located on the lake road in St. Albert.
Getting to and from St. Albert from the farm was sometimes difficult. In fact, in 1911, Sarah McDonald was injured in a run away accident with her horse and buggy. While returning with her son Angus from a Christmas Concert in St. Albert, the horse was "spooked" and the buggy upset causing Sarah McDonald to dislocate her should and injure her pelvis. In 1919, Alex and Sarah purchased their first car, a 1914 Cadillac. The family enjoyed touring around in this care until it was traded for a 1920 Model T Ford in 1921. In 1926, they bought a brand new Model-T Ford.
Getting to and from St. Albert from the farm was sometimes difficult. In fact, in 1911, Sarah McDonald was injured in a run away accident with her horse and buggy. While returning with her son Angus from a Christmas Concert in St. Albert, the horse was "spooked" and the buggy upset causing Sarah McDonald to dislocate her should and injure her pelvis. In 1919, Alex and Sarah purchased their first car, a 1914 Cadillac. The family enjoyed touring around in this care until it was traded for a 1920 Model T Ford in 1921. In 1926, they bought a brand new Model-T Ford.
Black Gold
Black Gold
One of the companies formed from the break up of giant Standard Oil Company was Stanolind Oil and Gas, later known as AMOCO. The first successful oil well in Canada, by this company, was drilled on River Lot 8 in late 1952. In those days, drilling an exploratory well took several weeks. The zone sought out was the Devonian Reefs at approximately 4,400 feet. The T. Easton Drilling Company from Oklahoma was the drilling contractor. Erecting the steel frame took days as did the cementing procedure for the first 300 feel of surface casing.
It was necessary to have a coal fired (by hand) steam boiler for heat and hot water heating. The main drilling engines were GMC diesels.
The site location was quite close to our house and barns. All of the truck traffic passed within feet of the house. The bright lights, noise, truck traffic, smells and sometimes general mayhem were all taken in stride by our parents and all of us kids were no worse off. This was a stark contrast to what would occur today.
Some notable events during the weeks of drilling and the extensive testing as each hydro-carbon zone was encountered were:
1. The loud hammering noise as the rough necks banged the drill pipes the pipes were raised, to ensure that no blow outs occurred.
2. The night the canvas covered equipment on the drill rig caught on fire, we were told to prepare to evacuate the farm.
3. The write-ups in the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper outlining the successful zones encountered by the Oil Co.
4. The time during a holiday break, Christmas, when some head office staff were at the drilling rig and a pipe column of one of the pumping systems blew several yards into the air.
5. The extensive flaring of oil and natural gas to test each zone – the tests were for several hours and could be quite smelly and noisy.
Shortly after Christmas, 1952, a tank storage and gas/oil facility was set up and steady production commenced.
Later, in 1953, storage facilities were re-located to River Lot 9, Duncan MacDonald’s farm where today there is a small gas and oil processing/compression facility. Production from this original well (St. Albert #1) continued into the 1990s.
Today, nearby this actual site are two producing gas wells.
One of the companies formed from the break up of giant Standard Oil Company was Stanolind Oil and Gas, later known as AMOCO. The first successful oil well in Canada, by this company, was drilled on River Lot 8 in late 1952. In those days, drilling an exploratory well took several weeks. The zone sought out was the Devonian Reefs at approximately 4,400 feet. The T. Easton Drilling Company from Oklahoma was the drilling contractor. Erecting the steel frame took days as did the cementing procedure for the first 300 feel of surface casing.
It was necessary to have a coal fired (by hand) steam boiler for heat and hot water heating. The main drilling engines were GMC diesels.
The site location was quite close to our house and barns. All of the truck traffic passed within feet of the house. The bright lights, noise, truck traffic, smells and sometimes general mayhem were all taken in stride by our parents and all of us kids were no worse off. This was a stark contrast to what would occur today.
Some notable events during the weeks of drilling and the extensive testing as each hydro-carbon zone was encountered were:
1. The loud hammering noise as the rough necks banged the drill pipes the pipes were raised, to ensure that no blow outs occurred.
2. The night the canvas covered equipment on the drill rig caught on fire, we were told to prepare to evacuate the farm.
3. The write-ups in the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper outlining the successful zones encountered by the Oil Co.
4. The time during a holiday break, Christmas, when some head office staff were at the drilling rig and a pipe column of one of the pumping systems blew several yards into the air.
5. The extensive flaring of oil and natural gas to test each zone – the tests were for several hours and could be quite smelly and noisy.
Shortly after Christmas, 1952, a tank storage and gas/oil facility was set up and steady production commenced.
Later, in 1953, storage facilities were re-located to River Lot 9, Duncan MacDonald’s farm where today there is a small gas and oil processing/compression facility. Production from this original well (St. Albert #1) continued into the 1990s.
Today, nearby this actual site are two producing gas wells.
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