Clarence A. Boon

Ever since the beginning of time, it has been man's instinct to want to own land. Land on which to build a home for himself and his family. Land that he could make produce with the toil of his hands. Land that he could call his very own. This is the way it was with Catherine and Malcolm McDonald. There didn't seem any way for them to own land in their homeland of Scotland, so when they heard about free homestead land in Canada, they just had to emigrate and get a-hold of some of it.--Excerpt of Pg. 5 Foreword

This is the story of a young boy in Ontario, who was fascinated by the tales that his brother told about the West, after having served in the North West Rebellion of 1885. Dick was discontented with his father's small eastern farm, and took the chance to go West to harvest in 1895. He found out how men take advantage of a kid, as he was called. He was one of those early pioneers who broke the sod with oxen and horses, as many others were doing in those early 1900's. He soon learned that the elements of nature had to be reckoned with year by year, such as prairie fires, blizzards, winds, drought, hail and floods. They broke his pocket book, but never his spirit. He and his wife raised a family through those hard times, living to see them all married. Then they enjoyed two generations of grandchildren as they lived in their country home overlooking the beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley.

SPOILER ALERT for the following, ''Author FOREWORD'': This is the story of a young farm boy who lived in south Central Saskatchewan, had his life completely changed as so many of them did by the First World War. After losing his childhood sweetheart, his interest in woman was never the same, although he had lots of opportunities to marry, fate always seemed to take a hand to prevent it. He was a farmer at heart and the dirty thirties forced him to move north, as it did thousands of other farmers in order to stay on land. Once again he left his farm and joined up to the Second World War to lend a helping hand to save his country. Again he could have had a wife, but chose to wait until the War was over. The loneliness drove him to the girl he loved. He spent the rest of his years enjoying married life to the fullest in Northern Saskatchewan.

This is a heart-warming story of a lovable horse. Her life was changed by her different masters. She was forced to serve them in their different ways. Let your imagination follow this horse on her road of life.--Bk Cvr This story is similar to Black Beauty only set between 1918 & 1945 in Alberta & Saskatchewan. It's a story about the life of a general purpose pony and the various owners and adventures she has. This is a story that every pioneer-era grandparent could probably tell about the horses that they had in their life. It's my granddad's favourite book and I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it too.--goodreads member Mollie gave it 4 of 5 Stars

This is a book of short stories about horses, telling about some of the horses I knew, some I drove, others I heard about. As all Farmers on the Prairies used horses in those early years, as a means of power for their farms, lots of them could write a story, or a book about the different horses they drove.--excerpt of Foreword.

Bachelor Jim's Family ...is the continuation of the book BACHELOR JIM. It tells about Jim's family, and where and how they lived. Raising a family of three girls and a boy, was no easy task at any time. It was the stock that always pulled them through, when the crop failed. They always milked cows, so Ann had the cream cheques to buy groceries with. If they hadn't been friends with Log House Tony, things would have been a lot worse. It was just too bad he was a bachelor, and Ann couldn't go to visit, but she was always glad to give Tony a meal when he stopped by. He seemed to take a lot of interest in James, which helped a lot.

A young girl grows up on the prairies, suffering the loss of her mother, then her father, the hardship of the depression and the cruelty of her step-mother. This is her life story. Her strength and the help of kind friends guide her to happiness.--Bk Cvr

The Author wrote this book in hopes that the younger generation might read it, to show them what it was like for the working men in the thirties. Wayne Thomas happened to settle in a fairly good spot, compared to some places at that time. After the Stock Market crashed in New York in September 1929, the whole North American continent slipped into the worst depression the world has ever known. Those living on the Western Prairies, were some of the worst hit. Not only did the price of everything they had to sell drop down lower than anyone had ever seen it before, but the rains stopped coming, making the prairie nothing but a dust bowl...--excerpt of 5 paragraph author foreword.

This is the story of a young man from central United States, coming to Canada and having faith in the Golden West. Carved a home out of the Prairie sod for himself and his family. Of how they worked together through happiness and sorrow, to put themselves through the dirty thirties. And how strong a love it took to make a happy life. Many of these happenings and experiences could have happened to any family in any district on the Prairies of Western Canada.--pg. 4 Foreword

All of the papers in Eastern Canada were carrying ads about the cheap homesteads in Western Canada. ''You can file on 160 acres of land, if you are twenty-one years of age, for ten dollars. You are required to live on it for six months to a year, build a house of some kind, and break at least forty acres of land, that can be put into crop. If you meet all of these requirements, in three years, you can get the Title for your quarter section of land, then you can pre-empt on another quarter.'' Ernie Brown had read that ad in the papers many times. So he saved his money, and as soon as he was twenty-one, he would go west and look the country over. Surely he could find a homestead, and build himself a shack, and break forty acres of land in three years. He was more interested in raising cattle, than he was in grain. So when he was twenty-one and did go west, he found just the place he wanted, beside a small river.

This is the story of a young boy born in South Central Ontario. His folks, Len and Betty Murray, were very hard up, and Jan had never receive a very expensive Christmas or Birthday present, so when his father gave him a scrawny colt for his Birthday, Jan fed and cared for him, and he grew to be his pride and joy. A Mortgage Sale, a few years later, saw his colt sold along with everything else. As soon as Jan was old enough to quit school, he went looking for his horse. This took him to the Upper Ottawa Valley, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and even into the United States. Jan's whole life was changed, as well as the life of his family, when a stranger picked him up along the road. Was it the right thing for Jan to do, to use the stranger's dead son's name, just because his initials were the same, J.M.? In return, Jan brought happiness and companionship to this lonely widowed man.--pg. 2 Foreword

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…. As an environmental engineer, Mara knows all about the delicate nature of ecosystems. They require balance. And leaving the thermostat alone. And not stealing someone else’s food. And other rules Liam, her detestable big-oil lawyer of a roommate, knows nothing about. Okay, sure, technically she’s the interloper. Liam was already entrenched in his aunt’s house like some glowering grumpy giant when Mara moved in, with his big muscles and kissable mouth just sitting there on the couch tempting respectable scientists to the dark side…but Helena was her mentor and Mara’s not about to move out and give up her inheritance without a fight. The problem is, living with someone means getting to know them. And the more Mara finds out about Liam, the harder it is to loathe him…and the easier it is to love him.