what do you think about a wish list here in this forum?

[grasswire]

It occurred to me that some of us who buy or collect in particular niches might be helped if we kept a running wish list here where others could post tips or leads they might run across.

Example: I am now looking for memorabilia related to the homesteading experience in Saskatchewan in the early twentieth century. Would appreciate any leads.

What do you think about the idea?

[Vinca]

1. That's a good idea, but

how many of you guys will actually tell me where the undiscovered Picasso is and not buy it yourselves?:rofl: Homesteading in Saskatchewan?? Talk about obscure!

[eleny]

2. How did you get interested in Saskatchewan?

I like your idea. But I'm all ears about why people collect what they do.

[grasswire]

3. my grandparents homesteaded in Saskatchewan

Canada passed a law effective April 2009 making children who were born of a Canadian parent living outside the U.S. to be citizens. Those affected only need now to file a claim of citizenship. I'm in the process of doing that -- my father lived all his adult life in the U.S. on a green card.

And the fact that I am going to be a dual citizen of Canada and U.S. has jumped my interest in that old homesteading experience. Yes, my father as a child lived the "Little House" life. A tiny house part sod, part frame. Prairie fires and horrible winters and all that. I'm in the process of getting copies of the homestead documents from the historical archives. Fascinating stuff.

I have never been to the homestead itself. My dad, sister and I were very near to it many years ago on a trip to Canada but couldn't find the property and ran out of daylight. Once my uncle did find the bandstand that my grandfather built in the tiny town nearby - now a ghost town.

Roots.

[eleny]

4. How fascinating

It's enviable that your research can be done so close. Not that it's a snap to accomplish. But it's enviable since my father and all my grandparents were born in Lithuania. Records are in Lithuanian, Polish or Russian depending on the time frame.

But back to your story. Dual citizenship might be so helpful if things get hairy here.

Sounds like your family lived in the countryside. Maybe the old property records aren't as precise as they are now in pinpointing location.

A few books come to mind about rural life. Have you ever read the short book, Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish? She grew up on farms in Iowa and the reading might be right up your alley. Even though it's not about Canada, the flavor of it might appeal.

One more book thought. Decades ago I came across a book at the library by Kenneth McNeill Wells. He and his wife bought an old log cabin in what was then Ontario countryside. He chronicled their life becoming a part of the area and fixing up the place. A few years ago I got help at Abe Books online to learn the titles and I found his compilation book The Owl Pen Reader filled with many stories he wrote over the years about their life. His stories are unforgettable and distinctly Canadian although not about Saskatchewan precisely.

Enough of my rambles! Thanks for telling us about your quest.

[grasswire]

5. hey, thanks for the leads!

I'm right now reading "Wolf Willow" by Wallace Stegner. He was a child on the Saskatchewan prairies, in the same years and very close vicinity to where my father was a child. Good Lord. I had to put an extra blanket on the bed last night just because I could. Stegner's mother would sew her children into their long underwear every November. Every two weeks she would loosen the stitches and they would slither out to have a bath. Then back into the underwear, and sewn up. The weather was just brutal. Of course we all know that, but reading this narrative, I KNOW it. I lived in Montana for a while and it would be -50 but I always had a warm home and electricity and neighbors. The pioneers of the provinces and of the Dakotas lived through frigid hell. And that's why claims were abandoned. The experiment of homesteading on the northern prairies was largely a failure for Canada.

[eleny]

6. Yipes!

Based on the "yipes" factor I had to look for the book at my library and there's one branch that has the 1980 copy. So I'm on the list. I guess there would be a natural interest in pioneering here in Colorado.

So, thanks back at you. This book sounds like a must-read.

Funny, but I have the urge to put on a sweater!

[eleny]

7. P.S. Check out this recnt picture at Shorpy

I was just catching up at the site and this one grabbed me. Turns out it was taken in Northern North Dakota near the border of Saskatchewan in 1937.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/7809

I made it my desktop because it's a work of art.

[grasswire]

8. wow

what a photo.

yes, I have some RP postcards of a little town in Montana in the early 1900s when the RR came through. There's nothing but eight or so buildings (including a Palmer House) and then nothing as far as the eye can see. Madness comes easy in that kind of landscape, from what I have read.

[blm]

9. I like it....

I collect books illustrated by Harry Clarke, btw. The other day I was looking at the Swinburne collection of poems he illustrated. It's been packed away for some time and I just put them all out recently.

Anyway...

The book's original owner signed one of the front pages....... Edmund Quincy, Boston, 1965. I realized that it must be one of THE Quincys from Mass, and, it turns out that Edmund was also a fairly wellknown painter in his own right. I checked the signature on some of the paintings I found when I searched the internet, and the signature matches.

Wow....I feel doubly lucky.

I lucked out another time on a Clarke book - I asked an oldtimer in Greenvlle, SC if he happened to have any Clarke books, and his eyes lit up and he said, 'I can't believe someone finally asked me that question.' He took me back into his cluttered office and unlocked a filing cabinet. He pulled out Goethe's FAUST, illustrated by....Harry Clarke. The book was a limited edition of which 2000 were signed by Clarke - 1000 to the US, and 1000 to England. I now own #934 of the English edition. ;)))

[democraticinsurgent]

10. Indiana Vinyl Records

I'm trying to identify and collect all vinyl LP (33 1/3) records released in Indiana (where I live), generally between 1950 and 1990. I have probably 500 different titles and I am aware of another 50 or so that I don't yet have.

This search encompasses all genres, with the general exception of religious and school records, such as high school Christmas carol recording, which are numerous and generally not very interesting to me.

In my decades of record collecting, I always chased certain types of music, certain artists, etc. This is the first time I've tried the more historical/documentary approach. It's fascinating to see what musicians would create and release.

Most records that were privately released were pressed in quantities of less than 1000, in some cases, only a hundred or two. So despite the fact that I've been combing eBay and other record sites for years--and owned a record store in Indianapolis for 15 years--there are still many to discover.

Hoping this will be a book before the end of the year.

Great idea for a thread, grasswire!