Rothnie, Edwin and Betty-Ann (nee Smith)
Reverend Victor Bowins married Edwin and
I in the Crandall United Church on July 3, 1971.
Edwin was born in 1949, eldest son
of William and Georgina Rothnie. He has two
brothers, Wayne and Donald and one sister
Heather. His Dad died in March 1958 and his
Mom died in January 1969. He attended
Hamiota Elementary School and then Hamiota
Collegiate until 1966. He belonged to the
Sunday school and was involved with the Cubs
and Scouts. He began truck driving in 1966 for
Hamiota Kenton Transfer. He worked there for
3 years, then went to Brandon and worked for
the Swan River-The Pas Transfer and Western
Concrete until our marriage.
I was born in 1950, eldest daughter of
Newton and Elizabeth Smith. I have three
brothers, Wayne, Ed and Rob and three sisters,
Donna, Barb and Heather. I attended the
Crandall Consolidated School until 1966 and
then went to the Hamiota Collegiate to take
grades 10, 11, and 12. I belonged to the Junior
and Senior Church Choirs, the Youth Groups
and also taught Sunday school. After
graduation I took a business course at the Wheat
City Business College in Brandon and started
working in March 1970 for Imperial Life
Assurance Company in Brandon as a
stenographer.
After we were married we lived and worked
in Brandon. Edwin worked for Pete Quintain
and Brandon Body Works and I worked at
Imperial Life until October 1972. In May 1972
we bought our first house and lived there until
September 1973. While living in Brandon our
first daughter Teresa Diane was born in
1972 also her Grandpa Smiths birthday. We
saddened to lose our Dad and Grandpa August
8, 1998. He passed away very suddenly and we
miss him a great deal.
In September we moved to Hamiota. We
lived next door to the original Rothnie home.
Edwin worked for Arnold Houck. Our twins
were born in the Hamiota Hospital on June 10,
1974, Brenda Elizabeth and Bradley George.
Our next move was in October 1974. We
moved to the Crandall district to the Claude
Dickey farm, which we rented until April 1982.
Besides farming, Edwin worked for Hamiota
Kenton Transfer, and in January 1980, started to
work for the Birdtail River School Division in
the garage at Decker. Our last two children were
also born in the Hamiota Hospital, Patricia Ann
(Tricia), 1978 and Derek Edwin John
1980. Edwin and I are members
of the Crandall United Church and all of our
children were christened there.
In April 1982, we moved back to Hamiota,
north of the Hamiota District Hospital. Edwin
played hockey and refereed for many years. He
took an Automotive Mechanic Course in
Brandon for three winters.
In 1986 Edwin got a pacemaker, so he has
had many hospital stays over the years. He
works at Knight Seeds owned by Ron Knight,
when needed. He originally started to work for
Gordie Knight in the spring and fall helping
with seeding and harvesting. In October 1993,
he was elected to the Village council (now the
town of Hamiota) and was re-elected in 1995, so
he has taken an active part in municipal politics.
As a councilor he is a member of many related
committees. In November 1999 he had a bypass
done in his neck and is unable to return to the
School Division as a mechanic after 20 years of
service.
In November 1982 I started to work from
our home running a daycare. I have seen many
children through all my years in this endeavour,
and find it truly rewarding. When not busy with
the children, I am in my garden or puttering
around the yard. Edwin and I have helped our
children with their lawn mowing business for
many years. I also taught Sunday school in
Hamiota and assisted with 4-H. My hobbies are
baking and yard work.
Teresa graduated from Hamiota Collegiate
in June 1991. She served as president of the
Student Council. From there, she decided to
further her education at the Assiniboine
Community College in Brandon, in the Business
Administration Program. She graduated in June
1993, with a major in marketing. In December
1993 she was employed at the Hamiota Credit
Union. In November 1995 she accepted a
position at the Westoba Credit Union in
Brandon at the 34th street location. In February
1999 she moved to Rivers and became office
supervisor at the Westoba Credit Union. She
drove back and forth from Brandon until she
purchased her home on 4th Avenue in Rivers in
May 1999. During her school years she worked
at Danceland (Wasagaming, Manitoba), Irwin's
Drive-Inn, Robinson's Store and at the Hamiota
economic Development Corporation. She was
also active in various organizations. She had a
keen interest in coaching girl's softball and still
plays on a team in Brandon.
Brenda graduated from the Hamiota
Collegiate in June 1992. She was the treasurer
on the Student Council. She too went to
Brandon to attend University. Brenda graduated
in the spring of 1996 with an Arts degree with a
major in Business Administration and a minor
in Math. She has held many part-time jobs. She
worked at Bell's Convenience Centre, Hamiota
Super Thrifty Drug Mart, cleaned at the Redfern
offices and in Brandon she worked part-time
and continued with school. Brenda started with
the Business Development Bank of Canada in
Brandon in 1995. In July 1998 she was
transferred to Regina, Saskatchewan. In
September 1998 she bought a house in Regina.
Brenda still enjoys a baseball game and played
in Regina the last two summers. Brenda has
recently accepted employment in Brandon and
returned to Manitoba in April 2000.
Brad attended Hamiota Collegiate until June
1992. In September 1992 he moved to Brandon
to attend the Crocus Plains Regional school,
there he was a student in the food services
program and graduated in June 1994. Brad
worked at Kokonos Restaurant and the Victoria
Inn part time. Brad returned to Hamiota in
December 1994 and helped with my daycare,
lawn mowing and delivering the Brandon Sun
and Winnipeg Free Press. In September 1996 he
enrolled in a post secondary program in Radio
announcing in Winnipeg but decided to work.
Brad is still in Winnipeg enjoying his work at a
billiard hall and lives on Furby Street.
Tricia graduated from the Hamiota
Collegiate in June 1996. She served as social
representative on the Student Council. She
worked part time at the Hamiota Super Thrifty
Drug Mart and enjoyed it immensely. She took
ceramics, took part in school curling as well as
the ladies curling. She also worked at Vincent's
Place and did a ton of baby-sitting. Tricia also
enjoyed recreational hockey for two winters. In
1996 Tricia took a course in Home Care at the
Assiniboine Community College and went to
work in that field. In November 1999 she
accepted a job at the Home Health Care Centre
on Victoria Avenue in Brandon and loves it.
She also picks up the odd shift as a Nurses Aid
at the Assiniboine Centre or the Brandon
Regional Health Centre. She is still active in
curling, baseball and a new activity, broomball.
She bought her home in August 1999 on 26th
Street in Brandon.
Derek graduated from Hamiota Collegiate in
June 1999. He took part in volleyball and
basketball at school. Derek started to play
hockey when he was six years old and enjoyed
it very much. He received many medallions and
trophies while he played. He is still interested
in hockey and has collected many cards and
albums, which are a real keepsake. Derek has
been mowing grass since he could barely push a
mower and now knows how to keep the mowers
in good condition. In August 1999 Derek
moved to Brandon to take Business
Administration at the Assiniboine Community
College.
Our lawn mowing business began in the
spring of 1982, when Teresa and Brenda first
started up. Up through the years, and who
knows how many lawnmowers, this has
developed into a thriving business. As a family
we have had some busy summers trying to keep
up with the grass. All of our family belonged to
the 4-H club taking, wildlife, cooking, crafts,
woodworking and cake decorating. We were
busy with bake bingo's, achievements, rallies
and highway clean up. All of the children
attended church on a regular basis, sang in the
Junior choir and received perfect attendance
pins. Teresa and Brad are members of the
Hamiota United Church. They have all been
involved in softball, baseball, soccer, hockey,
curling, volleyball and basketball. The four
oldest children took piano lessons from Theresa
Kennell. Tricia and Brad also took guitar
lessons. We spent a lot of time skating in the
winter and Edwin and I still enjoy skating a few
times a week. We've had many camping trips;
our biggest trips have been to Banff and Jasper,
Alberta in 1985, and to Marysville, Washington
in 1992. We also enjoyed watching the
Winnipeg Jets whenever we could in the city.
In June 1986 we moved an already built
house into Hamiota. We purchased the house
from Vera Skayman and moved it from her farm
into town. After a very busy summer of wiring,
painting etc. we moved in August 1. Now all of
our family is on their own and we are back to
where we started. We celebrated our 25th
Anniversary in July 1996. I hope to continue
with my daycare for a few more years and
Edwin will be busy out at Knights with seed
cleaning, seeding and harvesting. We enjoy our
time with family and friends.
Ruchotzke, Frances (nee Kidd)
My parents were William Joseph Kidd
married to Florence Dutton. They had four
children, Zina, Bill, Frances and Margaret.
In 1958, I was married to Elmer Ruchotzke.
We lived and farmed in Ashern, Manitoba. We
had three sons Brock (1959), Brad (1960) and
Kerry (1961). In 1966 we moved to Terrace,
British Columbia.
On May 12, 1987 our youngest son Kerry
was killed in a logging accident. He was 24
years old. (Most young men worked in the bush
because of the great wages, and went on to
something better).
Brock was married to Brenda Scoffield on
December 16, 1979. They had four girls
Crystal, Heidi, Trina, Kyla and adopted three
special needs children, Adam, Louisa and
Dustin (from one family).
Brad married Bonnie Brink on June 29,
1990. They have three children, Jason, Kevin
and Shayla.
On December 14, 1994 my husband passed
away from a blood clot hitting his heart. In the
spring of 2000 I moved into a Seniors Complex
here in Terrace B.C. It is very beautiful.
Rudd, Les
Les and Alice Rudd retired from farming in
1976 when Larry returned to take over the farm.
They moved to a mobile home in the same
farmyard to enjoy their retirement years. They
did a lot of travelling while they were still able
and thoroughly enjoyed their grandchildren.
Alice Marinda Rudd passed away on August
7, 1992 and is laid to rest in the Crandall
cemetery.
Rudd, Larry John
Born March 31, 1952 a son of Leslie and
Alice Rudd. I attended Crandall Elementary
school from 1958 to 1967, then the Hamiota
Collegiate from 1967 to 1970. Upon graduation
I left home for what would be the only extended
period of time that I have spent away from the
farm up to the current date.
Having an interest in meteorology, I
attended the Meteorological Technician training
school operated by the Federal Government at
the Ottawa, Ontario International Airport then
went on to Toronto, Ontario at the upper air
training school and received my level 3
Meteorological Technician certificate in August
of 1971.
Most new graduates of this course were
assigned to a posting in remote and isolated
weather stations in the high Arctic and I was no
exception. Within a month I found myself 500
miles from the North Pole on a joint USA and
Canada weather station called Isachsen, North
West Territories. After a year in isolation I
transferred to Resolute Bay, N.W.T., where
there was at least an Eskimo village, then on to
Big Trout Lake, Ontario beside an Indian
village.
Having had enough of remote postings, I left
the Federal Government and the Atmospheric
Environment Service and headed for Red Deer
Alberta I remained there for the next four years,
trying to decide what to do with the rest of my
life. During this time I had three different jobs
and married. After putting in short stints as a
production line worker at Fleetwood Mobile
Home factory and then a manager of sporting
goods at the local Woolco store, I settled for
selling Mazda and American Motors autos along
with recreational vehicles and campers. On July
6, 1974 I would marry Brenda Lee Deutsch
formerly of Decker Manitoba.
April of 1976 saw the two of us return to
Manitoba and the home farm that I had so
willingly left behind six years earlier. I
remember my Mothers joy and excitement when
she was able to move out of the old farm house,
built in 1904 with all its nooks and crannies to
clean, into that shiny new mobile home situated
in the yard beside us. It did not take long to fill
all the bedrooms in the old house. Courtney Rae
was born in 1977 at Red Deer,
Alberta during a trip to visit Brenda's parents,
Rudy and Kay Deutsch. Dustin Nathaniel born
in 1980, Jenna Kathleen born in
1982 and Dane Clayton born in
1987 were all delivered in Brandon General
Hospital.
Over the years the farm grew in size from
one section of land to four half sections
including a quarter that my brother Dennis
farmed to the north. My father and Dennis were
invaluable in providing much needed help in the
busy spring and fall seasons. I look back fondly
now at those times we spent together and those
dreadfully long days don't seem nearly as long
any more.
Growing along with the farm and the
complexity of modern Agriculture grew the
workload stress and pressure to succeed. The
family took second place. Brenda and I
separated in March of 1991. She moved to
Alberta along with the two youngest children.
My two older boys remained on the farm with
me.
My mother passed away suddenly in early
August 1992, leaving a large hole in our family
and heart. Alice Marinda Rudd (Hazelwood)
now rests in the Crandall cemetery just north of
town.
In September of the same year, my life took
a much-needed turn for the better. As luck
would have it, Dennis would introduce me to a
friend of his, Marilyn Louise Burr and her three
children, Michael Alexander, 4, Courtney
Elisabeth, 2, and Alyssa Nicole, 6 months.
They were living in Rapid City, Manitoba at the
time, but eventually came to live with me on the
farm at Crandall in March of 1993. These past
seven years have truly been very happy years,
and Marilyn along with her children, have
become a part of me and who I am. Marilyn and
I were married on July 8, 2000 at the United
Church in Isabella, Manitoba with all our
children as our wedding party.
Courtney is in Red Deer at the present and
employed at Gullivers Restaurant and taking a
course to enable him to work on a seismic crew.
Dustin is working at a Superstore and taking
upgrading at the Red Deer College. Jenna
attended Lacombe Collegiate and graduated in
June 2000. Dane is a model student in Grade 6
at Mirror Alberta Elementary.
My father still resides in the same yard with
us, in the same mobile home and in his 85th
year, is still very active and very much an asset
to the farm.
In the interest of taking life a little easier I
have rented out most of our grain land and also
leased out some cattle. We are still kept fairly
busy with the 100 cows we have retained at
home, but manage to take enough time to realize
that life can be fun!
Rudniski, Hazel (nee Ariss)
I was born in 1950 the fourth
child of George and Anne Ariss. At that time
my parents lived in Isabella, Manitoba. I was
born in the old Hamiota Hospital. My mother
remembers that it was very rainy that August
and of course it was also saskatoon picking time
and that meant lots of canning. We lived on the
north half of section 6-15-25, which is now
owned by Mr. Murray Bell.
On March 31, 1952 we moved to Crandall
on the east half of section 22-14-25. Tom and
Marj VanBuskirk and family lived just a half
mile south and were great neighbours. My two
brothers Jerry and Donnie spent a lot of time
with Garry, Murray and Wayne as they loved
swimming in the creek, fishing and hunting in
the valley. In those days family and friends were
close together and life was much simpler. I
barely remember Dad driving a sleigh drawn
school van through the valley to meet the school
bus. Jimmy Walker was one of our first school
bus drivers and also Mr. Robus. Later on Dad
and Mom drove the van for several years.
We lived in our original farmhouse until
October 13, 1956, at which time we moved into
our new home which my parents built
themselves. We did not have any modern day
conveniences. Just as we had to help around the
farm, we now had to help with the cutting of
wood that Dad had brought home from the
bluff. That was always a big job and then it
would have to be piled for the winter. That was
our main source of fuel in the winter and kept
the cook stove going every day for cooking. I
remember coming home to the smell and the
taste of fresh bread our mother always baked.
Of course the wood box always had to be
stocked up and that was my sister's and my job.
Sometimes it would get pretty cold but we
always managed to keep the fire burning in the
winter. We had a wood-burning furnace in the
upstairs hallway and Dad would drop a bucket
of coal into it before going to bed. Someone was
always there to add a log to keep it warm. I
remember coming home from a date after
midnight and checking the fire before going to
bed. I think the scariest thing of all was when
we would get a chimney fire and we'd wait to
get it cooled down. The times when the
stovepipes had to be cleaned were rather touchy,
as it was a messy job.
We did not have the hydro until June 1965
We always managed to get our homework done
by lamplight. We had four or five lamps that we
kept by the kitchen table, which was usually the
centre of most activities. There were always
lamp chimneys to be cleaned after school and
also the lamps needed to be filled with coal oil.
Our family were all sports minded. The boys
played hockey and baseball. My sister Edith and
I liked to skate. We learned to skate on the
slough behind the barn on the farm. As long as
we could scrape enough snow off to find some
ice. We skated a lot in the Crandall rink on
Saturday nights and also at noon hour.
In the spring we always loved to grab our
gloves and bats and run to the baseball diamond,
for a game of scrub. The 1st and 2nd person to
the plate would take turns batting until they
were out and then all the players would move
one spot around the diamond so that there would
be a new batter and everyone would get to play
a different position on the field.
As we grew old enough my sister and I
played in a lot of baseball tournaments. We
could make a few extra dollars if our team
ended up on the winning end. Garnet Johnson
was the girl's coach and we got to go to
different places like Miniota, St. Lazare, Birtle
and Isabella. In those days you could buy an ice
cream cone for 5 cents and an orange crush was
around 10 cents and you could get a refund if
you took the bottle back.
Field days were always a highlight of the
year. Usually held at the end of June. I always
loved the running and jumping and was always
winning red ribbons for the ball throw. Miniota
was always hot, dry and dusty and we would
come home red as beets and tired as all get out
but we had one heck of a good time.
My first teacher was Mrs. Hughes and that
was the last year of the one room schoolhouse
and then it was moved and remodeled into a
home. A new school was built in 1958 on the
site and Mrs. Joan Foxton was my second grade
teacher, then Miss Skinner, Mrs. Fowlie, Miss
Beddome and Miss Shelvey. I was always
interested in sports and volleyball was one of
my favourites. In 1965 the grade 9 students were
transported to Hamiota and I attended there for
three years and upon completion of my grade
11, I attended M.I.T. in Winnipeg, Manitoba
and took a Clerk Typist course.
Upon completion of my course I was
employed by the Children's Aid Society and
enjoyed my position there. I also got a liking for
curling and played a couple of seasons in the
city with staff. I had been dating Mike Rudniski
of Newdale, Manitoba since the spring of 1967.
We got engaged on May 23, 1969 and made
many trips back to Crandall and then on June 6,
1970 we were married in the Crandall United
Church. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had
a wonderful wedding day. We spent our
honeymoon in Kelowna, British Columbia, and
began our new life together in Winnipeg.
In 1971 Jason Michael
Rudniski was born to us. He was the joy of our
lives. In 1974 Jennifer Ann
Rudniski arrived. On May 15, 1974 we moved
to our first home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The
area is called Valley Gardens and the kids
attended John DeGraff school. Valley Gardens
junior high and Kildonan East Collegiate. Both
of them were involved in sports. Jason loved
soccer and Jennifer played baseball and ringette.
In the fall of 1994 Jennifer moved to
Hardisty, Alberta where she met Tim Kells.
Together they have moved to Tim's parents'
farm. They have a nice herd of cattle, four
horses, three dogs and a whole lot of hard work
on their hands. Tim also works for Gibsons Oil
and Jennifer watches the farm in the winter and
has a part-time summer job. They both love the
outdoors and the peace and quiet of the country.
A daughter Rene Madison Kells was born
in 2000 a first grandchild for us
and a third great-grandchild for Anne Ariss.
Our son Jason is employed full time at
Kromat Printing Co. He is presently living with
us. He enjoys fishing in the Red River at
Lockport, Manitoba and is a hockey fan. Mike
is employed at Superior Cable. He has been
with the company for nearly 30 years. It was
called Canada Wire and Cable and was also
owned by Alcatel for awhile.
I am presently employed at Quarks Shoes in
Baton Place. I started there in the fall of 1994
and enjoy the challenges of the job and meeting
new people from all over the country. It seems
selling shoes will be my destiny even from the
time I was employed with Saan I was working
in the shoe department and the I spent a few
years at Naturalizer Shoes in Portage Place.
Over the years I have also been involved
with Block Parents and Neighbourhood Watch
and did some volunteering in the Valley
Gardens Community Club. Now that the kids
are on their own Mike and I continue to attend
dances and enjoy live bands and country music.
I took line dancing for about 5 years and really
enjoyed getting out and meeting people.
This year being the beginning of the new
millennium, we will be attending Crandall's
celebrations as well as Newdale, Manitoba, so
will be nice to get together and reminisce of
days gone by.