1911 Courtship: Apr 24 Dear Ethel

Since it's spring seeding in both Ontario and Saskatchewan during the time of this letter and Noah talks about his equipment, this week's images will be on that theme.

Different brands of pre-1920 Seed/Grain Drills, courtesy of Prairie Postcards, Peel Library, University of Alberta

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated:  Apr 24/11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, Bellhaven, Ont., Dearest Ethel 
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer 
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks grey in places and pencil-like in others.
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, with a front and back page, but inside, Noah has turned the paper lengthwise and written straight down both pages. 

People/places mentioned in this letter:
*Will - William Rigler, married to Noah's sister, Ethel
*Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia and Joe Perrault
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister in Belhaven
Alf - Noah's hired farm worker
Sam - Noah's horse

Other mentions:
*diptheria
** Deering seed drill
** Kentucky seed drill


* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more posts on this 
  person.
** see Genealogy Notes below 

Grand Coulee, Sask.
April 24/11.

Miss E. Nelson,
     Belhaven, Ont.
Dearest Ethel;-
     Received your letter last
Friday and was glad to hear 
you had escaped . the 
diptheria. Hope you are well
as this leaves me. also as
buisy. Ha. Ha.
       Say Kid I have had a
big time getting a drill
to suite me. ordered one from
the Deering people. lost
about four days over it
so yesteraday I tookit
back & went in to Regina

and got another make. New Kentucky 
brot it home & set it up today
and it is a dandy. I drove in the buggy
to Regina. and my man took the
waggon. I left the buggy in to
get painted. & Alf. that is my mans
name led Sam out behind the
waggon & I came home on the 
local & brought up a team from
the Coulee, got home about 2 am.
so just laid down in the stable
& slept untill 4.30. that is the
third night I hve been out.
so I feel like bed. but as I am
going down to the office tomorrow
night thought I would not miss
this chance.
      Say Ethel dont you get a letter
every week? I have not missed
writing once. but I have missed
your letters. & Oh gee aint I cranky.
I guess. ma????
     Well Isuppose you have nearly
finished seeding down there by
this time. We have Wills wheat
in & will have about 2 days yet
at mine we sow from 40 to 45
acres a day with 2 drills.

Well May will soon be here
wish I were down for the 24th.
Oh you fishing.
    Well Ethel Veda is not going
down to college untill after
mid summer hollidays. but
is going to the public school
now.
     Tell Sadie to be careful
how she starts her letters
to the young men. Ha. Ha.
     Well Ethel I guess I will
have to close for this time
& am looking for a letter so
good bye. from your Lover. 
x x x x x x x x x N. C. Draper

Genealogy Notes

Noah talks about needing a new drill for seeding his crop. For whatever reason, he's not happy with his Deering model, so he brings it back and buys  one with the Kentucky brand. 

Deering sounds like it belongs to the John Deere company, but it's not. William Deering (1826-1913) was an American businessman who established the Deering Harvester Works in 1880. In 1902, the Deering Harvester Company and three smaller agricultural equipment companies merged with the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company to form the International Harvester Company (IHC). 

In 1911, LA Langford uses a 4-horse team and an IHC grain drill to seed land in the Hanna, Alberta area. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives of Alberta.

Here's an illustration from the 1910 Kentucky Grain Drill catalogue.  The big difference that I see is that with the Deering a drill, the farmer stands on either the foot boards provided at the back, or on the top of the seed hopper as in the photo at the top of this post, whereas the farmer sits at the back of the Kentucky Grain Drill.  I wonder if that's why Noah calls the Kentucky make a "dandy"?

Sometimes called a seed drill, and other times called a grain drill, the purpose is to plant all the seed at a uniform depth. Before the seed grain drill was invented  in 1701 by English pioneer agriculturalist Jethro Tull (1674-1741), the seed was broadcast by throwing it - a very inefficient method of sowing.

Although many farmers still use the updated versions of the older type, modern ones use hydraulics to shoot seed and fertilizer through tubes and into the ground.  

I took the following video of an air drill in action from my front yard. It's not the best footage, and the sound is horrid due to the wind, but it will show you how drills have changed over 100 years.