Ruth (Holmer) McCauley

“The work of today is the history of tomorrow
and we are its makers.”
– Juliette Gordon Low

I was born at home on a blustery spring day, April 8, 1935, on our farm (Sec.17, T56, Rge 7, W3rd) on the outskirts of Big River, Saskatchewan. I was the second youngest of five children.

My German parents, Rupert and Ana Holmer, were two of those million immigrants who courageously sought a future in a new land. They came through Pier 21 in Halifax in the 1920’s (1926 & 1929). My brother has the trunk that our mother brought with her; it still has the original stickers on it.

A road was all that separated our quarter-section farm from the townsite of Big River. This area is boreal forest and the industries that sustained it at that time were two commercial fisheries and a sawmill.

Hanging nets for the fish companies was unique to Saskatchewan. The web, or mesh, would arrive from Winnipeg and my dad was hired to hang and tie the web on cords so that the fishermen could use them. He also had to see that the shuttles were wound ready for us. After school each day, two of us would walk down the railroad track to the site and work with my dad until supper time; then we would walk home. We also worked in the net hanging room during the day whenever there was no school.

At home, we also had work to do. We piled wood, hauled water, helped with the garden, and picked many, many buckets of wild berries: saskatoons, raspberries, strawberries, chokecherries, blueberries, and pincherries.

Another chore was helping our mother with the canning of berries and vegetables— enough to last through the winter.

Our well water was full of iron; because of that we used rain water for washing the clothes. It was stored in barrels. If that was not enough, we carried water from the slough. In the winter, we brought tubs of snow into the house. The snow was dumped into a barrel behind the heater.

We were all born in the depression years with few amenities. Our two-storey house was heated with wood and our water supply came from a well. For lighting in the house, we used Aladdin lamps. There was an outhouse because we did not have indoor plumbing. We had a huge garden, and raised chickens and cattle for our own use. We were poor but we always had enough to eat.

As children, we made our own fun and like many, many other kids of that era, we spent hours outdoors. During that time between dinner and twilight when the call came for bed, we played games, often with the neighbour children. The games we played included Kick the Can, Pump Pump Pull Away, Red Rover, Stealing Sticks, and May I. We also rode our bikes and I loved to skip. As a family we went to school concerts, field days and picnics.

One of the things I missed about growing up was the support of an extended family. We were on our own and when WW2 began, our lives became difficult. My older siblings were bullied at school. My father, being German, was under surveillance by the government. The RCMP took possession of his two firearms. They took his fingerprints and he had to report to them once a month until the war ended. During the war years our parents worried about their families. and after the war they sent Care packages of non-perishable food overseas.

I attended a consolidated school in Big River, which had four classrooms. I remember that it had a travelling library. I attended that school until Grade 10. For Grades 11 & 12, I attended the boarding school called Academy Presentation of Mary, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. We were only allowed to go home for Christmas and Easter.

After finishing High School I attended Teacher’s College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My decision to become a teacher was possibly influenced by my mother’s words of wisdom. In her German language she would say, “You can lose all your worldly possessions but you can never lose your education.”

I loved teaching and particularly loved working with the little ones who were five and six years old. I was so fortunate to have found my calling. I loved it as much the last year I taught as I did the first year.

My first teaching position at the age of 19, was at St. Joseph’s Separate School in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Some of my most memorable years in this profession were when I taught and lived on the Beardy’s Reserve at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. I taught there in a new two-room Indian Day School.

One year we had 80 students between two of us. The following year a third teacher was hired to help with the increased enrolment.

There were few vehicles on the reserve so on occasion we were called upon for emergency service at the hospital. One such trip was an expectant mother. She delivered a baby girl and named her after the principal and me. The chosen name was Dolores Ruth.

I then taught for one year in Hobbema, Alberta, at an Indian Residential School. It was at a consolidated school that was attended by children from four reserves in the area.

I was always fascinated by life in the North and when I saw an advertisement in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix for a Grade One position at Christ the King Elementary School in Whitehorse, Yukon, I applied for the job. I received a call from the superintendent, Warren Rongve, and he hired me over the phone.

I arrived in Whitehorse in September, 1968, and was assigned to live with a group of single female teachers in the T.C. Richards building on Steele Street. That residence was noted for its big parties by teachers!

Soon after living on Steele Street, I met my future husband, Thomas Barry McCauley, through a friend. Barry and I were married on July 25, 1970, in Saskatoon. Barry worked in building maintenance for the Yukon Government.

For the first year, we lived on Wheeler Street in a new apartment and then, in 1971, we bought our present house in Riverdale. It was one of the houses that had been built by
Whitehorse Copper for its employees.

Barry and I would go fishing in our spare time with our friends. We also travelled around the Yukon in our new camper, and frequently travelled out to Alberta and Saskatchewan to visit family.

My last teaching position was at Grey Mountain Primary School where I retired in 1990. Those were wonderful teaching years!

Life has continued to be interesting and full of activity. We have kept our circle of friends that we have had since arriving in the North and we continue to socialize with them. I was a volunteer for five years with the Canadian Cancer Society and also joined our new Yukon Retired Teachers Alumni (YRTA). This group awards education scholarships, has breakfast once a month and also social gatherings at Christmas, in June and in September.

Barry and I have spent time travelling, staying over at our cabin at Tagish, and visiting families in the West (Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia) and spending part of the winter in Hawaii.

One other great joy has been meeting a long-lost niece, Dawn, and her family, who have brought much joy into our lives.

This is my 50th year in the Yukon and I call it home!

To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8