The Gamby Family

Joseph and Madeleine Gamby originally emigrated from Belgium in 1913 and 1914, respectively, and were married in La Salle, Manitoba in 1921.They moved to the Rosser area in February, 1924 with their first son, Albert who was two. Their second son, Julian, was born in June of that year.

The original homestead was adjacent to the farm of Jules Remmery, who was Joseph and Madeleine’s brother in law. They decided to move to Rosser because their brother in law offered half his dairy barn and it was close to the City of Winnipeh to ship the milk. They originally purchased 5 acres of prairie and 32 milk cows with proceeds from the sale of their grain farm machinery and horses.

In June, 1924 they built their first house. They lived in this house only four weeks when a fire was caused by a pot of jam which biuled over the stove. At the time, Madeleine and Joe were milking in the barn with two-month old Julian in his carriage. Albert, who was asleep in the house, had fortunately just learned to crawl out of his crib. Joe found him on the floor beside his crib and both escaped. Not one single item was saved.

The family moved into the second home in October of that year. The home consisted of three bedrooms, a large kitchen, and a full basement. Joe built the cupboards for the new house.

Albert and Julian walked to Ulster School which was only one tenth of a mile away. The teachers often used to board at Madeleine and Joe’s. Miss Beatrice Kenny boarded for four years and paid $12.00 per month. Joe and Madeleine were active in the school district. Joe was one of the three trustees along with Paul Grenkow and Charles VanSteelant. Madeleine was school secretary for six years.

In 1926, they built a temporary barn with a straw roof. The first permanent barn was built in 1928 and was 102 feet long. Another 80 feet were added in 1944. The barn is still being used today.

Lots of labour was required in the early days. Joe’s brother, John, and one hired hand plus an extra for haying helped to get the farm going. Initially, all the hay was made at the bog, 15 miles north of the farm, past Stony Mountain. The hay was put up in the bog and stacked. Over the winter they would go with the team of horses to pick up feed for the cattle. John would leave at 5:30 am and sometime return with no hay due to the fact he could not find the haystacks in a storm.

Milk from the dairy was shipped daily to Cresent Creamery in Winnipeg. Two teams of horses were used alternating on different days. The original cans were dropped off at the CPR Orpa siding just east of the farm. The train came every second day and would stop to pick up passengers at 10:00 am and would return 5:30 pm. If the missed the train back to Orpa, it was a long cold walk home in the dark.

The Gamby’s first truck was a Chevrolet half ton purchased in March, 1928. It was used to haul the milk to Winnipeg every day, and bring back a few bags of feed which cost only $9.00 per ton for the cows. Their first car was a Nash bought in 1930.

While the mode of transportation improved, the roads left a lot to be desired. Washouts were common on Highway No.7 and on Rosser Road. Joe was hired by the local councillor. Jack Stewart, to repair and grade the roads in various years throughout the 1930′s. Joe won a $10 gold piece for having the best graded mile on Highway No.7. The night the he won the gold piece, they held a banquet at the Fort Garry Hotel. He decided to go along with the crowd and smoke a cigar even though he didn’t smoke. He came home as white as a ghost. The gold coin was later spent on a “rainy day”.

As the farm prospered, the Gambys continued to purchase more land and more cows. Their first tractor was purchased in 1934, in Internation Harvester, boughth from Mr. Percy Beachell in Rosser.

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