Vivian Hildebrand: Life has been a great adventure

Details

Published on Wednesday, March 1, 2017

By Wayne Hildebrand

The Neepawa Press

Vivian Hildebrand was born on a farm south of Kenton, Manitoba in 1930. Vivian jokingly says she was born in a henhouse, because that is what their old home became when her family moved to a new farm in 1931. The new farm house, affectionately referred to as “the shack”, was home to her parents, Lewis and Amy Richards and her three siblings, Lois, Kae and Barry. Vivian came into the world at the onset of the Great Depression, commonly referred to as the “dirty thirties”. It was a period of hard times for the Richards family and many of their farm neighbors. 

Vivian’s father, Lewis Richards, emigrated from England to Canada in 1921. Travelling on his own, he got off the ship at Pier 21 in Halifax.  The customs agent records indicate; Lewis Richards, from Cornwall England, 19 years old, no possessions, $40 dollars, has farm experience.  Like many young men, that is what he had to start his new life in Canada.   

Vivian’s mother, Amy Paterson, was from a family who immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1888 to homestead the “promised land”.  Upon arriving in Canada, Amy’s uncle, Donald Paterson, took the CPR train to Oak Lake, bought a horse and went searching for land.  Riding north on the winding trails (there were no roads), he staked claim to a quarter section north of the Assiniboine River, near Kenton.

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit people hard.  The motto of the thirties was “use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”.  Vivian recalls, “As children we did not realize the country was experiencing a depression”. Upon reflection, Vivian knew her parents were in despair.  What did the future hold? Where would the money come from? Was there sufficient food and warm clothes for the children to survive another long bleak winter? Today, Vivian wonders how people will manage when the next extended drought and depression arrives.

Winters were difficult; the “shack” had no insulation. Every night, the milk and cream would freeze on the kitchen table.  Every morning, the family dressed quickly, turning circles around the cook stove, the only heater in the house.  There was no electricity, no plumbing, no running water, no TV and no telephone.  Lighting was supplied by one coal oil lamp.  

Vivian’s father was a farmer. He seeded the land with a four-horse team and cut the grain with a binder. Stooks were stacked and then loaded by hand onto racks for delivery to the threshing machines. Everyone helped with the farm work. Every child had chores, before school and after.  Child obesity was not an issue. Unlike today, only a few area farmers had threshing outfits. The highlight of the year was watching the threshing outfit coming down the road to the farm.  At threshing time, Vivian’s mother spent every day cooking for the threshing gang, a big roast of beef or pork with all the trimmings and at least four pies.  

Doctoring in the 1930s was quite different from today. It was done at the farm, not at a hospital or clinic. Vivian and her three siblings were all born at the farm. Weather allowing, the doctor would arrive to deliver a baby by horse and buggy or a sleigh. A neighbour woman typically helped with the birth.  Surgery was usually done on the kitchen table. Vivian recalls her sister Lois having her appendix removed on the kitchen table. Each of the four children took turns having their tonsils removed on the kitchen table.  The doctor placed a facemask over their nose; they inhaled ether, and “voila”, no more tonsils.  Almost every family experienced tragedies that would never happen today with our modern health care. 

Vivian attended one-room, country elementary schools, called Education Point and Verity School. The schools taught grades 1 to 9, had one teacher and about 20 to 25 students. Today’s schools provide bully prevention programming, which Vivian supports. She recalls the “chopping block”, which was a thick log with a cut out on which to place a timid child’s neck.  It was a favorite intimidating act by the executioner, who stood over the victim with the axe from the wood shed, instructing them to recite their prayers. Games of football, softball and hockey were popular, as were the games of “prisoner’s base” or “auntie I over” at the school barn.

In 1948, Vivian was accepted into the registered nursing program at the Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases. Her nursing career spanned 37 years.  She witnessed remarkable transformations in the treatment of mental health, with advancements of research and development into drug treatments. 

On Aug. 1, 1953, Vivian married Neil Hildebrand at the Brandon Court House. Neil was the Brandon Mental Health Centre Psychologist.  Three sons followed; Carl (1955), Wayne (1957) and Glenn (1962). Neil passed away in 1997.

In 2003, Vivian moved to Neepawa from Brandon. In 2004, at 74 years of age, she opened the Highland Glen Bed and Breakfast and operated the business for the next 10 years. 

Today Vivian lives in Kinsmen Kourts in Neepawa.  She enjoys the camaraderie of fellow residents and her friends. Reflecting on her 87 years, Vivian feels life has been a great adventure. Although hard times kept knocking on the door, the family persevered with hard work, optimism and faith. 

In January 2017, Vivian wrote and published her life story in a book.  Why?  Partly to record some of her family history before it was lost, but more important, to share some of her life stories of the “old days” with her grandchildren and future great grandchildren. If you have thought about writing some of your life’s story, Vivian’s advice is, start today!

Wayne Hildebrand is a Neepawa area resident documenting the stories of local seniors.