Stories

Heritage: Father Tries New Things

January 17, 2016

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats February 17, 1995 In 1890 Bidford School District was formed. There was a Board of three Trustees and a Secretary. After a few years Father was a Secretary. Later he was a Councillor in our Rural Municipality of Winchester. Then he became Reeve and succeeded in getting…

Heritage: Santa Comes Disguised as a Hunter

January 16, 2016

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats February 17, 1995 Then the Fall I was eleven years old a wonderful man, a real Santa Clause, came to hunt. He was a well-to-do lawyer from New York City. He had a tent put up beside our house. From Bottineau, North Dakota he brought a chap…

Heritage: My Sister’s Romance

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats February 17, 1995 When my sister, Millie, was fifteen, she became engaged. The engagement was finally broken off, mostly because Millie was having a romance. This time it was Ben Topping, who worked for us. When Father found it out, he put his foot down. He…

Heritage: The Hunting Accident

January 8, 2016

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 [Father] was a very strong man and overcame several bad attacks of sickness. One time he was hunting near the Lake with a party of men. One man had a hammerless gun and when he picked it up out of the long grass…

Heritage: Our Manitoba Farmhouse

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994. The house described was on the homestead Section 4-4-22 a mile and a half north of Whitewater Lake in Manitoba. [Father] built a small house [with] not the best of lumber, [and] between the two walls he put groat, [which] was a mixture of…

Heritage: Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 As the Irishman said “I have a good memory, but short.” With my short memory I’m recording what I can remember of my ancestors. My great regret is that I didn’t get written records from my parents. My grandfather, John Kerr, was born…

Heritage: My Parents’ Early Years

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 Father was born 8:00 a.m. August 4, in 1850. He started school but only went four days. The teacher was going to strap his sister and Father said: “Strap me instead” whereon a fight took place with the teacher and that was the…

Heritage: My Birth

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 Finally on February 25, 1889, when my eldest sister was eight years old, I made my appearance. It was a cold stormy day. Mother needed a doctor so a bachelor who owned a team of horses drove to Deloraine, 13 miles to get…

Heritage: Life on Our Manitoba Homestead

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 Housework was [Mother’s vocation.] She had a well organized schedule, from which she seldom departed. She rose at dawn. Each day of the week had its appointed tasks. Friday was bake day when she baked enough to last all the next week. Some…

Heritage; Childhood as a Pioneer

by Annie Coleman (Kerr) Sexton, published in Stanton Stats March 10, 1994 In childhood, we view our parents as stern hard monsters never allowing us to do what we wanted. Now looking back I appreciate their good qualities and their discipline. They were the product of their parents’ discipline. A parent’s training follows a child…