When Andrew Carlson made his way overseas to Canada in 1885 to foster a better life and livelihood for his family, he could only hope for the legacy that has since been created on his family farm, which is now celebrating 125 years.
Carlson’s journey before finally settling down on a property near small-town Teulon included many stops; he crossed the mountains from Sweden into Norway, worked to save enough to cross the ocean on a ship to Canada, landed in Montreal, and then worked enough to get to Winnipeg.
Once again, he worked hard to save enough money to bring his family over to join him. Once they were all together in the city, Andrew took the train from Winnipeg to Teulon in search of land that was open for homesteading.
“It was all bush and small slews, but to him, it looked pretty good, with lots of trees to make logs for buildings,” said Leonard Carlson, Andrew’s grandson.
At that point, the rules for applying for homestead land were that he had to pay $10 and make improvements to the land within five years. Within those five years, Andrew’s wife had become sick and passed away, leaving him alone to take care of his son and two daughters. Soon enough, five years had passed, and Andrew was notified that his deadline was approaching; he quickly got to work clearing the land and making space for a building site and a garden.
After that, Andrew brought his children to live on the farm with him. They attended the Teulon school, travelling there each day down bush trails, and raised cattle with bells on rather than using fences.
While looking for his cows one day, Andrew ran into a widowed woman. He began helping her with chores and visited often; they married in 1909. Three more children came from this marriage, growing the family and the farm.
“Their marriage certificate now hangs on the living room wall in the farmhouse where we have lived to this day,” shared Leonard. “It’s a beautiful work of art.”
Andrew worked with his son-in-law, Roy Kallman, to plough up five acres of land using Kallman’s Titan tractor and breaking plough. From this, they got a decent-sized field to plant some grain. The plough turned up so many rocks that Emil, Andrew’s son, had to walk behind it and throw them off to the side. These big rocks from the field became the foundation for the present-day house, which was built in 1933.
The little log house was completed in 1935, and the family moved in. It had a large kitchen and pantry, a living room and master bedroom on the main floor, and three more bedrooms upstairs with closet space. All of this was considered luxury, especially since it was built during the beginning of the Great Depression.
The first grain was harvested with a stick with a weight on the end, also known as a “flail,” which is still hung on the south wall of the machine shed. The farm’s first tractor, a Model M John Deere, was purchased in 1949. Before that, three horses were used to pull the equipment. The tractor was last used during Teulon’s 75th-anniversary parade, for which Leonard fixed it, using genuine John Deere paint and putting on new decals and a new muffler.
These days, the family currently farms 400 acres, including the original home quarter.
The neighbours cut and bale the hay. Andrew’s son, Josh, does the majority of the yard work while Andrew takes care of the rest of the farm chores and Leonard manages the farm from his wheelchair as foreman. The Carlson family farm uses modern equipment and three generations live together in the original farmhouse.
“We are very proud to have attained Heritage Status,” said Leonard.
