Havelock 160 Archive
[Editor’s note: In the 1930s the drought in Western Canada was dire, and in 1937 two-thirds of the crops were lost. In a Gleaner from May 1938, we learn that local farmers were part of the relief effort for their western counterparts.]
COVEY HILL: Mr. C.W. Potter has received the following letter from a Western farmer who was allotted a bag of potatoes donated by the former as part of a shipment of relief supplies:
“Dear Sir:
We have just opened our last bag of potatoes and in the centre of it I found the enclosed note, the above address being on the envelope.
“I am losing no time in writing to thank you; they were very acceptable. I have a farm of 400 acres and last year was the worst yet; the crop was an entire failure, and no garden. We have had it dry for several years with windstorms which have blown the land terribly.
“Most of the farmers are still staying with it and I am pleased to inform you that the prospects for this year are very good.
“We have more moisture than we have had for years. In this district there has been so much rain that practically no seeding has been done. If it continues fine, [we] hope to start on the 9th.
“The gifts that have been sent to Saskatchewan have surely been appreciated. Again, thanking you. Yours truly, C.F. Mallinson [Smiley, Saskatchewan].”
