Footprints of the Gaetz Family - Alberta

By Annie L. Gaetz

The following pages record the history of Rev. Leonard and Caroline Gaetz, with a brief reference to the family and the nephews who established homes in Alberta. For the benefit of future generations, an effort has been made to record the interesting stories relating to the family. Many of these are well known to the present generation; but in time they will become the Folk Lore of the Gaetz family, who settled in Alberta at a very early date.

The history of the family is one of which we might well be proud, for it is built on courage nod optimism and fair dealings. Few of the Gaetz people who settled in the Red Deer district in pioneer days, accumulated much wealth, for they shared most generously with all who were less fortunate than they. However, they have left behind that which is more valuable than gold, the love and respect of their fellow men. These are things that gold cannot buy.

Mrs. Leonard Gaetz once explained to the writer of this sketch that the Germans are divided into two distinct classes the Low Germans and the High Germans, and that Martin Gaetz, our ancestor belonged to the latter class.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: As a technical term, the "high" in High German is a geographical reference to the group of dialects, from which developed standard High German, Yiddish and Luxembourgish from the upland and mountainous areas of central and southern Germany, according to Wikipedia.com]

Rev. Leonard Gaetz, son of Catherine and Leonard Gaetz, was born at Musquodoboit Harbor on June 7, 1841. Quite early in his ministerial career, he applied, and was accepted as minister of Middle Musquodoboit Methodist Church. When he arrived there, he found that the congregation had just built a new Parsonage, and were looking for a married couple to occupy it. Rather than disappoint them, he found himself another church at Yarmouth, N.S., and while there, he found himself a wife. In 1865 he married Caroline Bloors Hamilton, a native of Selma, Hants Co. N.S. where she was born on April 2, 1845. She was the daughter of Lucy and James Hamilton. Caroline was partly of Irish descent, which no doubt accounted for her great sense of humor. She was gifted in music, having studied at Acadia College, Woolfville, and even into old age, her beautiful singing voice was a pleasure to her family and friends. Much of Dr. Gaetz's success in later years was due to the rare courage and devotion of his life partner.

After his marriage, Dr. Gaetz again applied for, and was accepted as the minister or Middle Musquodoboit Church, and while stationed there, his two eldest sons were born, Raymond on April 8, 1866 and Halley on April 8, 1867. The next family move was to Pictou, N.S., where Clarence (Clare) was born on November 27, 1868. The next move was to Fredericton, N.B., where Caroline (Carrie) was born, in September or 1871.

Dr. Gaetz was a fluent and forceful speaker. If he didn't find a word to his liking he coined one. As quite a young man he was known as the Silver Tongued Orator, and he was much in demand as a public speaker. He was intensely patriotic, and he had the honor of speaking at the Confederation ceremonies at Halifax in 1868. It was a great joy for him to attend Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebration in England in 1887.

From Fredericton, Dr. Gaetz was assigned to St. James St. Methodist Church in Montréal, the largest Methodist Church in Canada at that time. The twins, Jim and Fred, were born there in 1875. They were tongue tied, a defect that is now corrected at birth. When they were about three years old, the doctor came to the house to remedy this defect. Sister Carrie who was most tenderhearted, had evidently heard the plans, and when the doctor arrived she had the twins safely hidden in a large trunk in the attic. The home was searched inside and out. The doctor tarried but a short time, and not until he was well on his way, did Carrie slip to the attic and release the twins. Gertrude was also born at Montreal on March 16, 1877.

For the family of a minister there can be no monotony, for they were continually on the move. The next (move) was to Hamilton, where Marion was born on February 14, 1875, and Glass on July 20, 1880. While at Hamilton, Dr. Gaetz bought a small farm a few miles from the City, where the family spent the holidays. This little farm is still known (1960) as the Leonard Gaetz farm.

After three years at Hamilton, the family moved to London, Ontario, where Gretchen was born on April 8, 1883. That spring of 1883, Dr. Gaetz suffered a nervous breakdown, and was forbidden by his doctor to set foot on a public platform for at least a year. He was faced with the problem of finding a new way of life to provide for his large family. His thought turned to the newly opened West, and the opportunities it might offer, not so much for himself as for his growing boys.
Always a man of action, he at once moved his wife and family to the little farm outside of Hamilton, and boarded the train for the West. Early in July he arrived at the end of the steel, which was somewhere between Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat. By arrangement, he was met there by Chief Factor Hardisty of the Hudsons' Bay Co., and by him driven to Calgary, thence north to Edmonton and Sturgeon Creek.

Of all the vast country he traversed, none pleased him like the Red Deer district, which he named "The Park Country," a name by which it was known for many years. To this country he decided to bring his wife and family, and he immediately started back East to inform them that he had found the land of their dreams. This was August, and train service had reached as far west as Calgary, so that he was able to board the train there for the East.

The family immediately began preparations for the long trek West. They assembled clothing and staple provisions to last a year, implements and livestock, grain seeds, and the really essential household furnishings, including a small organ. This was quite an undertaking. In addition to their ten children, there was Emily (Dotty) Parry, a young English girl who had been left an orphan and had come to make her home with the Gaetz family; there was Hattie who helped in the home, and James (Hadey) Calaway who came with them as a farm helper. After the Rebellion, Hattie and James were married and made their home in Calgary.

Preparations were finally completed, and on April 1, 1884, they boarded the train for the West. Regardless of the fact that the parting probably caused the parents many a heartache and many misgivings, to the children it was a great adventure, with a new thrill around every corner. The trip was long and tiring, taking them around the Great Lakes on the American side, and thence up to Winnipeg. Here they had a six-hour stopover, and they were greatly thrilled when to be met at the station by the Cann family, former members of Dr. Gaetz's congregation, who had come out to Winnipeg a year previously. The Cann family brought with them a well-filled picnic basket, and the two families had a happy time together.

When the Gaetz family boarded the train to continue their journey West, Mr. Cann gave each of the children a bright new twenty-five cent piece. As the train sped westward, there was great speculation among the children as to how they would spend this newly acquired fortune. There was no doubt in the mind of young Fred. He had reached the mature age of eight years, and he was going to buy himself a saddle horse.

The family reached Calgary on April 8, 1884 and was greeted by real Alberta sunshine. This was a Red Letter day in the family, for it marked the birthday of Ray, Halley and Gretchen. However, there was no time for celebrations, for there was much to be done. There was no accommodation in Calgary for in-coming settlers, and they pitched their tent on the prairies, under the bright Alberta skies. During the excitement of unloading the stock, young Fred slipped away to make his big deal. He saw a number of Indians riding around on their ponies, and when he saw one to his liking, he hailed the rider. He tried talking with his hands as he saw others do; but when he opened his hand and displayed his fortune, he really got results. The money changed hands quickly. The lad was hoisted up on the pony and went off to explore the country. When an hour had passed and he had not returned, the Indian became uneasy. When two hours had passed, the Indian hunted up Dr. Gaetz and explained that his son had paid him twenty-five cents for a ride on his pony, and he had gone and not returned. One of the older boys was sent to round up the horse and rider. Tearfully Fred explained that it was his horse, he had bought it and paid for it and the Indian couldn't have it. His father hoisted him down without further argument. This ended Fred's horse deal, the first of many to follow.

After looking around for a few days, a small tar-papered shack was found to accommodate Mrs. Gaetz and the girls until a homestead could be located and a house built. On the morning of the third day after reaching Calgary, Ray, Halley and Clare started on the long trek north, making the trip with Adam House, a trusty half-breed freighter, who was taking freight from Calgary to Edmonton. The three wagons were piled high with seed grain, provisions, furniture and implements, and in addition the extra horses and milk cows were trailed along. To Halley fell the lot of driving the ornery team of oxen, Buck and Bright, who gave poor Halley a very bad time indeed. There were no roads, only prairie trails, and no bridges. Every time they came to a creek, the oxen would insist on going down stream instead of crossing over.

On the seventh day after leaving Calgary, the boys got their first glimpse of the Red Deer River, and just as they sighted the George Beatty place, they saw a cloud of dust in the south. They were delighted to see their father and John McDougall. They had left Calgary three days later than the boys; but with a light buckboard and no oxen or extra stock to hamper them, they had made much better time. The travelers spent the night at the hospitable home of the bachelor George Beatty, had a good supper of ducks and prairie chicken, and slept under a roof for the first time since leaving Ontario.

Early the next morning, Dr. Gaetz with his three sons set out to locate a homestead. They were much taken with the Red Deer valley; its rich black soil, its tree fringed hills, its creek and beautiful winding river. Dr. Gaetz decided to homestead and pre-empt the west half of Section sixteen, his son Halley later taking up the east half. For their home buildings, they selected an elevated spot near to the south entrance of the traffic bridge of today. There was a small spring just over the north bank, which would supply water for the house for a time. On this location was a very small shack, built by Jack Little who in the winter of 1882, brought in some horses and made his home in this shack while he traded them off to the Indians for furs. They went back to the Beatty place; brought up their freight and stored as much as they could into the little shack. They then turned their attention to the matter of building a house.

The three lads in ages fifteen and a half, seventeen and eighteen, were guided by their father to the mouth of Waskasoo creek and instructed to cut logs for a house. Incidentally, the name Waskasoo was given the creek by the Gaetz family. Towards evening, Dr. Gaetz who had been getting the location ready for the house came to see how the boys were progressing. When he saw the popular poles the boys had cut, he told them be thought the beavers must have cut them. At any rate they answered for fence rails later.

The next morning Dr. Gaetz went with the boys to get out more logs, and when these were brought to the home place, he rode to the Crossing to get me help of the four bachelors in putting up the house.

Bright and early the next morning the bachelors arrived and when they saw the logs Dr. Gaetz had got out they laughed at them. They went down the river a couple of miles and got out a fine set of logs, and the house was put up in an unbelievably short time. They were most indignant when Dr. Gaetz offered to pay them. They said such neighborly kindness was not paid for in this country. About three miles down the river some half-breeds, Wishart & MacKenzie, had a small portable sawmill, and they were able to get rough lumber for floors, doors and window casings.

The house completed, Dr. Gaetz and Clare left immediately for Calgary, to bring up Mrs. Gaetz and the remainder of the family. On the return trip he and his wife with the two smaller children, drove north to Red Deer by buckboard while Clare, with the team of oxen and covered wagon, brought the remainder of the family and what freight had been left in Calgary. Driving more quickly in the light rig, Mrs. Gaetz was able to rest up at the noon hour and supper hour, and to have a good hot meal ready when the oxen with their load arrived. The oxen walked so slowly, that the children walked most of the way, running ahead to explore the country as they moved along.

It was a glad day for the family when they were re-united on the new home site. Little inconveniences were forgotten, they were together and that was all that mattered. The writer once said to Mrs. Gaetz: "Life must have been very drab in those early days, the ugly walls and nothing beautiful, nowhere to go and no friends to visit."

She looked at me with some surprise as she replied: "Why, those were the happiest days of our lives. We had our children all around us and we made our own fun. We had all the beauties of nature. What more could we want? Forgotten was the anxiety over the threat of Indians, and the days of strain over a loved one sick with no chance of a doctor on whom to call.

They were very busy that first year on the homestead, fences and corrals to build and shelter for the stock, land to break and cultivate and a garden and small crop to put in – there was work for all. Fences were made altogether of rails, corners tied together with willow withes, and this entailed a lot of work.

The Indians were most friendly to the Gaetz family; but they were very curious about the fact that they were always busy. They had no crop or garden to attend to and they were never in a hurry. The youngest member of the Gaetz family, Leander, known to his friends as Jack, was born on the homestead at Red Deer September 25, 1884, the first white boy born between Calgary and Edmonton. As he grew older, he developed a very fine sense of humor, and the writer records the following story, which he recalled from his childhood days:

“The busy bee activity of the Gaetz family created intense interest among the native Indians whose habits of industry suffered somewhat in comparison. They came out of curiosity to behold, remained to watch and wonder, and finally to accept an invitation to come in and partake of tea and hot biscuits.

“Every meal in my father’s house was prefaced by a few appropriate words of sincere gratitude to the Giver of every good and perfect gift, or all the protection and blessings enjoyed. While the guests understood not a word of what was being said, they did understand that a prayer was being offered, and they entered into the spirit of the proceedings in solemn silence.

“This custom led the Indian to name my father, 'The Man who Prays!' The eldest son Ray was named 'The Son of the man who prays.' Thus did they perpetuate their romantic custom of naming people in a manner to signify their outstanding characteristics or principal activities. In this case, it was also intended to express their reverence for a principle so clearly enunciated by people they were learning to admire and trust.

“In the hall of my childhood memories there stands a picture, never to be forgotten. Every line, every coloring, every expression remains as clear, after approximately sixty-five years, as though it had been immortalized in oils by the deft touch of an artist's brush.

“The hour was evening, about sundown, when up the dusty trail that led to our home, stalked two stalwart Indian men with slow and measured tread. Each was wrapped in a blanket, the customary wearing apparel of Indians of that time, their feet encased in homemade buckskin moccasins. They wore no hats, and their long black hair hung down their shoulders in glistening braids tied at the ends with pieces of bright ribbons. Though their eyes were sad, their whole mien expressed respectful dignity.

“One Indian carried in his hand a slender willow stick nearly six feet long, which he handed to my father and by seemingly unintelligible mutterings, accompanied with elaborate sign language, made it known that one of their tribe had passed to the 'Happy Hunting Ground,’ the heaven of all good Indians, and the stick indicated the length of the coffin required. Three brave men looked each other in the eye, with the understanding born of years of witnessing human suffering, then silently shook hands and separated.

“The Indians stalked away down the dusty trail where their horses were tied, just beyond the brow of the hill. In true Indian tradition they exercised remarkable restraint of feelings in their dignified silence. Father repaired to his workshop, to construct an oblong box, made from the roughest of lumber sawed in his own primitive mill.

“Next day a learn was hitched to the wagon, a box was loaded, and, with his bible tucked under his arm, ‘The Man Who Prays’ drove away to perform the last rites for a fellowman of different creed and color, recognizing that through the leavening influence of grief, men are reminded of the universal brotherhood of man.”

Coming back to the Gaetz family on the homestead, the summer of 1884 passed very pleasantly with lots of work. There was an abundance of rain and crops put in on the breaking did well. They had a large garden, though prairie chicken proved quite a menace. Wherever they had a yen for a chicken dinner, they need only take the twenty-two to the garden and their dinner was assured. Oats did well on the breaking, as well as a small quantity of wheat, which they put in. They brought with them to the West a small crude mill. The wheat put through this made very coarse dark flour, though the bread was both healthful and appetizing. Since they were so far from market, the family tried to take advantage of everything they had on hand to make food less monotonous. Wheat was put in the oven and browned, then covered with water. In a short time it was drained and molasses added, making a tasty drink.

In August of 1884, Dr. Gaetz took over the Trading Post which had been established lit the Crossing in December of 1833, by G. C. King, a retired Policeman. Late one night after the family had all retired, there was a rap at the door, and Dr. Gaetz opened an upstairs window and asked what was wanted.

Mr. King, from the darkness below called out, “I want you to buy my Trading Post!”

“How would I buy your Trading Post," came the laughing reply, "when I haven't any money!”

“You don't need any money,” came the startling reply. “You have boys who could look after the Trading Post, and you can pay me as the money comes in.”

Thus the deal was made, one speaking from the darkness below, and the other party to the deal, dressed in night attire, speaking from an upstairs window. The next morning Dr. Gaetz and his three older sons, Ray, Clare and Hallie, went to the Crossing and took stock. By noon, this was completed and Ray was put in charge.

It was quite an experience for a young lad of eighteen and with no knowledge of the Indian language or of barter and exchange, overnight to become a Free Trader. Ray had an amusing story to tell of his first dealings with an Indian.

An Indian came in with some furs to sell and with the true instinct of a merchant. Ray knew that it would not do to turn away his first customer. He could not understand the Indian, nor could the Indian understand him, and he had no idea what kind of furs he was buying. He thought he was safe when he offered trade to the value of twenty-five cents for each of the five furs. The Indian accepted the deal most readily and hastily left the post. This caused Ray some uneasiness, so he lifted a board in the floor and shoved them under, so that his father would not see them.

Mary Lennie, the wife of an Englishman living across from the Post, was the daughter of a French Free Trader and a Cree woman from the Red River settlement, and Ray went over to tell her of his deal. Mary told him he had bought muskrat hides, which at that time of the year were worth five cents each. Ray made arrangements with Mary to come over when customers arrived so as to help him with the deal and the Indian language. Mary proved to be shrewd and honest and of great assistance to Ray, and by fall he had picked up quite a smattering of the Indian language.

The Trading Post did a brisk trade with the freighters, who usually stopped overnight and replenished their larder from Ray's stock. The stock-in-trade was neither large nor varied; tobacco, tea, sugar and flour being considered the four essentials of life, other things were deemed as luxuries. Bright calico and lots of bright ribbon were kept for the Indian trade as well as ammunition. Dried beans and rattlesnake bacon, so called on account of the green streaks running through it, was kept for trade with the Freighters. Often a freight train, as it was called, a mile long would draw up at the Crossing, camp for the night and almost buy the Post out of provisions and tobacco.

It might be well to record here Ray's account of his method of bartering with the Indians. As he had a special gift for such tales, the writer will repeat the story as told by him:

“The winter nights were cold and still, no friendly dogs to bark or children to exchange banter, nothing to break the utter stillness except an occasional coyote howl, the snapping of a twig or the cracking of the river ice, which resounded in the quiet stillness like a pistol shot. Perhaps I would look across the river ice at nighttime and see a number of riders; Indian men and boys; Stoneys, Crees or Sarcees; coming to trade their catch of furs. The Stoners always arrived at night: because it was their custom to leave their women and children a day's march from the Trading Post. When I saw them coming, I would make haste to pile the big heater full of wood (we didn't burn coal) and put the kettle on to boil. The Indians would ride quietly to the Post hang their sacks of furs on the wooden pegs on the wall outside, unsaddle their horses and take them down to a sheltered spot by the river, and then, as quietly as ghosts, file into the Post, the leader first.

“When they entered, the leader would shake hands in a dignified manner, and each Indian man and boy, would do likewise, lining themselves up against the wall in turn till all had shaken hands. I would invite them to sit down on the floor around the heater while I got supper. Great slabs of rattlesnake bacon were cut thickly. When the bacon was sizzling hot and the tea made, I spread gunnysacks on the floor for a table doth and invited my guests to a supper of hardtack, bacon and tea. The leader sat first and the others followed. The big kettle of tea with a long handled dipper in it was placed in the middle of the gunnysacks, along with platters of bacon and plates of hardtack. The dipper of tea was passed around, and the bacon was held in the fingers. Everything disappeared, for anything not eaten was rolled in the corner of their blanket. Etiquette demanded that they leave nothing, for this would indicate that the host was not a good cook.

“Custom demanded that I give each, even boys of ten, a plug of tobacco and after the dishes were cleared away. I joined them in their smoke. Nothing would be said about the price of fur for some time, for it was not considered good business for the Indians to appear overly anxious about the price of furs.

“The leader would do alI the talking. He would ask about different people, their horses and dogs. Did you see so-and-so and did his horse die? After a time, the leader would send a boy out to bring in a sack of furs. The bag would lie on the floor near the leader, who would ignore it for some time. I would saunter up and down the floor, past the bag, but would take no notice of it. Finally, the leader would open the bag and say, 'I brung some furs to trade.' I would appear indifferent. Then he would again tell me he had furs to trade, and he would empty the bag on the floor and ask what I would give for them. I would state a price, perhaps thirty pounds. Since the H.B. Co. continued to trade with the Indians in English money, all other traders had to do the same. When the price was stated, the leader would think for a minute, and then say, 'alright'. Later the other sacks were brought in and there was no discussion about the price, for the price set for one sack answered for all.

“After the furs were disposed of sometimes the Indians would start trading; but more often they were weary and would lie down on the floor and roll in their blankets around the stove for the night, while I occupied a small room at the bad of the Post.

“Very early the next morning, in answer to a tap on my door, I would dress hastily and get the Indians: their breakfast, which consisted of the same fare as the night before, After breakfast they would decide what they would buy with the purchase price of the furs, and in this the boys would take a part. The Indians were very fond or bright ribbons, which they used for their long braids, and one hundred dollars was often invested in ribbons for a start. I soon learned that it was wise for me, early in the bargaining, to suggest staple things, such as tea, tobacco, flour and ammunition; otherwise they would spend the whole amount on things that met their fancy. Then I would say, ‘How about flour?’ They would answer ‘I wana-kist,’ (forgot) and then I would have to wait for my pay for these things until the next catch of furs.

“After the trading was finished, the Indians went out to saddle their ponies. They then came back to the Post and the leader would shake hands with me and bid me a dignified goodbye, and every Indian and boy would do the same. They would then mount their ponies and ride away as silently as they had come. Four or five trips were made by each band every winter.”

By his natural courtesy, his honest and straight-forward dealings, Ray soon won the friendship and respect of the Indians who frequented the district No record of the Folk Lore of the Gaetz family would be complete, without Ray's account of “Kissing Day,” which is here recorded in his own words.

“New Year's Day 1885 dawned bright and clear and round me at the Trading Post as usual. The Stage Coach came through with the mail that day, so that it was quiet necessary for me to be there. The Indians were camped along the river flat nearby; but since it was very cold the braves would be at home, and I expected that the women would be also, and I anticipated a quiet day. When the men of the encampment were away, the women often gathered at the Post and amused themselves by making fun of my scant knowledge of their language. On this New Year's morning, I had just opened the door and got the fire lighted, when, to my great surprise, every woman of the encampment, about twenty-five in all, filed in at the door, each wearing a broad grin. They said nothing, but continued to watch me and grin. At last I realized that this was something beyond my ken, so I rushed over to Mary, who was always able to help me out of all my difficulties.

“‘Why Man,’ she said, ‘don't you know that this is Kissing Day, and that a white Trader is expected to kiss every squaw who presents herself at the Post on New Year’s morning?’

“I was dumbfounded, and in desperation I rushed out to Tom Lennie who was sawing wood at the back door. ‘Say Tom,’ I shouted in nervous haste as I explained the situation to him, ‘do you want to earn a dollar?’

“‘Earn a what?’ he questioned.

“‘Do you want to earn a dollar and earn it quick,’ I shouted in nervous haste, adding further explanations.

“‘Naw’ he replied. ‘Do your own dirty work!’


“Crestfallen I returned to the Post, only to be met by that bevy of smiling faces. They said nothing, but continued to grin, their eyes turned to me with a look of anticipation. I had on hand a barrel of hardtack, which came in big round cakes called cartwheels, and treacle (molasses) also in barrels, and I spread each a liberal portion of hardtack, hoping that this would supply the sweetness they were looking for. I also had a barrel of, hard striped mixed candy, and to make myself doubly safe, I filled little bags with candy and laid them in a heap on the counter by the door. When the hardtack had about disappeared, I held the door open, which they recognized as an invitation to leave, and as they filed out, I gave each a bag of candy. I breathed a sigh of relief as I closed the door on the last of my morning visitors. New Year's Day never again found me at the Trading Post. I always had business elsewhere.”

The winter of 1884-1885 was very mild with scarcely any snow. Spring came very early; work on the land started in March. There had been talks of a Rebellion; but the Indians had been so very friendly to the Whites in the Red Deer district that they felt no apprehension. At the same time, they thought it well to be prepared, and when word of the Rebellion reached the settlement, some seed was already in the ground.

At the beginning of April, the Indians with their women and children started moving in to the Crossing flat. It was the custom of the Indians when war threatened, to move their women and children to a place of safety. On the afternoon of April 7th, the Gaetz family had an advance warning of disaster. Mrs. Gaetz heard a great commotion, and looking from the doorway of her farm home, down the river road from the Crossing, she saw thirteen Indian horsemen approaching. They were decked out in war paint, chanting their war cry and firing off their muskets. She at once sent the smaller children to the woods to hide, while one of the older girls was sent to the fields to call the men. They were working on the land about east of where the Anglican Church stands today, and they dropped everything and ran all the way to the house.

As a rule when an Indian came to the home of a settler, he knocked at the door and was most respectful. This time they threw the door open, walked in and demanded dinner in a very insolent manner. Instead of putting their firearms behind the door, as was their custom, they took them to the table with them. When the men arrived from the fields, the Indians dropped their insolent manner, gulped down their dinner and left without a word. The family breathed a sigh of relief when they saw them disappear down the trail to the Crossing.

On the seventh day of April towards sundown, Ray Gaetz was boiling his tea over a campfire behind the Post, when he saw a horseman approaching from the north side of the river. He didn't slacken up as a rider usually does when coming down a hill, and when he reached the water he urged his horse to even greater speed. As he hurriedly dismounted, he asked Ray to lend him his horse to continue his journey to Calgary.

‘No indeed’ said Ray, ‘I won’t lend a horse to anyone who abuses them as you do.’
The man then opened his coat, displayed his badge and told Ray that he was a Courier sent by the Government to warn all settlers that the Rebellion had broken out and they were to flee to the nearest Fort for protection. He also said that he was to take any horse he needed to make the trip in record time. Ray lost no time ill turning over his horse.

He ran across the road to tell Mary and Tom Lennie, Mary had been through the first Rebellion and she was so afraid, she fainted. Since he was on foot, Ray took a shortcut home through the bushes, partly to avoid meeting Indians. He was just stooping down to crawl under some low hanging branches when he heard a blood-curdling hoot. He thought the Indians were upon him and he fired his revolver straight up. His aim was not so far fetched, for it proved to be a harmless owl.
When Ray reached his home with the news, there was great consternation in the home. The men wanted to start for Calgary immediately; but Mrs. Gaetz insisted that they take the night for preparations and leave in the morning. In any case, they knew that the Indians would be watching their movements. There was no sleep for the adults in the home that night. Livestock was turned out to rustle. Great loaves of bread and biscuits were baked; vegetables were packed, as well as bedding and clothing, and oats for the horses.

It was about noon the next day, when, according to arrangements, they met the other settlers at the Crossing Trading Post. The Crossing flat by this time was covered with tents and teepees, and it looked almost like a military encampment. They got some hams and other provisions at the Trading Post, and as they prepared to leave, the Indians took hold of the settlers horses and muttered among themselves. For a time, it looked as if they would try to prevent their going. The men put on a brave front, whipped lip their horses and pulled away without incident. They moved slowly until they were out of sight of the Indians, then put on full speed. They did not stop to make a supper fire. When darkness closed in they drew their wagons into a circle to form a corral for the horses. The women and children slept in the wagons and the men look turns doing sentry duty. The trip, which usually took five days, was made in three. Upon reaching Calgary they pitched their tents outside the gate of the Fort, so as to be taken in if trouble threatened.

After three days there, Dr. Gaetz and his three sons Ray, Halley and Clare returned to the homestead, anxious about the stock, which they had turned out to rustle. They expected to find their buildings burned and their stock driven off; but they were agreeably surprised to find everything as they had left it, even to the pot of beans, which they had left boiling on the stove, intending to put it in the wagon at the last minute. They immediately started work on the land, taking with them to the fields the arms and ammunition with which the Government had supplied them before leaving Calgary. The women of the settlement remained in Calgary until the first of July, the children taking advantage of the opportunity to attend school in Calgary.

No financial returns from the homestead could be looked for, for at least two years; but Dr. Gaetz left no stone unturned in looking for a means to provide for his large family. They brought from the East plenty of milk cows, so that they always had an abundance of milk and butter and they planted a very large garden. They were seven years on the homestead before there was a railway to connect them with Calgary and an outside market. Oats did well on breaking, and they grew large quantities which were sold to settlers coming in, freighters going through, the Police at Fort Normandeau and for the Stage Coach horses. For a time Dr. Gaetz registered the homestead entries in the district, which saved the homesteader the long trek back to Calgary for that purpose. He also acted as Agent in this district for the Saskatchewan Land and Homestead Co., taking his commission in land. In this way he acquired a lot of land. He became “land poor” to some extent in keeping up with the payments and taxes; although taxes were low, money was very scarce. On Section 21, where the nuisance grounds are located today, there was a heavy stand of spruce, and here Dr. Gaetz located a portable sawmill. He sawed rough lumber that he sold to the settlers to finish their log houses, and he sawed up a good part of the lumber with which he built his large frame house on his homestead in 1890.

In the meantime, things in the home went smoothly, for Mrs. Gaetz was a wonderful manager. One thing they brought with them from the East was a barrel of hardtack, small round cakes like biscuits. This barrel was kept in the workshop, and whenever the children were hungry between meals, they were allowed to help themselves to a cake. What a lot of work this must have saved Mrs. Gaetz. Every day, after dinner, she changed her dress. It might be only a print dress; but it was freshly washed and ironed. Dottie hurried with the noon dishes, and as soon as she was free she made a corsage, which she pinned on the freshly ironed dress. All the bits of ribbon and tinsel coming to the house were given her for this purpose. Every day, weather permitting, Mrs. Gaetz, wearing her fresh dress and corsage, took the two smaller children and following a path through the woods walked to the mouth of Waskasoo Creek. While the children amused themselves, she sat quietly, no doubt communing with her Maker, planning the day ahead, and gathering strength for the future.

For the next few years, the arrival of relatives from the East was the big event in the Gaetz family. John J. Gaetz and his mother Catherine (Kitty) arrived in the fall of 1885. They spent the winter with the Leonard Gaetz family, and in the spring moved to their homestead at Balmoral. That winter young John routed out and shot a bear enjoying winter quarters in the hillside of what is now the Dr. Parsons property. Mrs. Gaetz had the honor of naming Balmoral, suggesting that name in honor of the Scott family recently arrived in the district from Balmoral, Scotland. John took a keen interest in community affairs, especially the school and the Agricultural Fair. He married Grace Elder. He served one term as member of the Provincial Legislature representing the Liberal party.

In the spring of 1886 Isaac Gaetz and his wife Belle came to the district, homesteading S.E. of Red Deer. They built a log house in the south of Red Deer on Section 17. They had no children, but were known to all as Aunt Belle and Uncle Isaac, and they were greatly loved and respected. They took a keen interest in the Methodist church of which Isaac was a lay-minister. He served as Superintendent of the Sunday school. They died in 1893, Bell in October and Isaac in November. They were the first to be buried in the Red Deer cemetery, John J. Gaetz donating a portion of his land to the Methodist church to be used as a cemetery. Everett Martin, son of Libbie McDuffy came out with Isaac and homesteaded in the Balmoral district, his mother and stepfather, Libbie and Robert McDuffy, coming out later to homestead in the same district.

Hec, son of Henry Gaetz, and Beau, son of Henry's brother Rev. Joseph Gaetz came out in 1886; Hec homesteading in the S.E. of Red Deer. Dr. Gaetz was once heard to say that he never knew a man who could stand up under such a long hard day of work as Hec could. Hec, like nearly all of the other young nephews coming West, had little more than the $10.00 required to file on a homestead, and he did breaking for his Uncle Leonard so as to earn money to buy a breaking plow. He would arrive in the morning and do a long hard day's work, then load up the plow, take it to his homestead and after a hasty supper work on his land until too dark to work longer. He would get up .at the break of day, work on his land again until it was time to leave for his day's work on his Uncle's farm. Thus he did almost two day's work in one. He married Isobel Dennison of the Balmoral district, and at the time of this writing she was still living.

Beau homesteaded in the Waskasoo S.D., and after proving up on his homestead he went twenty-five miles down the river with his brother Tom and established a ranch. Beau was of an adventuress nature, and in the gold rush of 1898 he and a companion, Brooks, left Edmonton in an effort to reach the Klondyke by an overland route. Finding their way blocked by impossible barriers, they were obliged to turn back. As they had provisions, and a prospecting outfit, they decided to see what the unexplored country of the north had to offer, and for a long time they made their way through this wilderness, where no white man had ventured. At last they took sick with scurvy and snow blindness and were found by the Indians sick and blind and almost out of provisions, wandering helplessly around. They took them to their camp, nursed them back to health and gave them enough provisions to see them back to civilization. They arrived home three years after they had left, long after they had been given up as dead. Beau never married. With a wife to keep him on they straight and narrow path, life might have been quite different for him. One who knew him well, both his failings and his good qualities, spoke of him as “a Prince among men.” He died from an accident in 1922.

In October 1886, another nephew arrived from the East designed to play an important part in the development of Red Deer and district. George Wilbert Smith, known to his friends as G.W., opened the Old Crossing School that month, the first school between Calgary and Edmonton, and while teaching school, he held down a homestead at Waskasoo. Later he married Carrie, eldest daughter of Leonard and Caroline Gaetz, and during their lifetime together, their home was the centre of hospitality. After proving up on his homestead, G.W. moved to Red Deer where he engaged in various lines of business, later forming a partnership with his brother-in-law, Ray Gaetz. He served as Superintendent of the Sunday school for many years, and his wife served many years as Superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday school. He served as Mayor of Red Deer, and at the time of his death was serving his third term as member of the Provincial Legislature, representing the Farmers' party.

In March 1887, two other nephews, Jim Smith and Tom Gaetz came to the district. Jim homesteaded near his brother, G. W. Smith, married Annie Speakman of a well-known Horn Hill family, and later moved to B.C.

Tom (T. A.) Gaetz, joined his brother Beau on his homestead at Waskasoo, later homesteading in the Penhold district. In 1896 he married Emily (Dotty) Perry, and joined his brother Beau in setting up a ranch down the river. Alter three years he and his wife came to take up their home in Red Deer where for almost all of his remaining years he engaged in the mercantile business.

Tom, as a young lad was what me might call a 'cut-up'. He dearly loved to playa trick on someone, Parson preferred. From the time he arrived on the homestead, Dr. Gaetz held Sunday services for the benefit of his own family and anyone else who might care to attend. His relatives back East expected him to keep a watchful eye on their young hopefuls who had come to the district, and no doubt they were expected to attend these Sunday services. The Smiths as well as the Gaetz people were pretty much all good singers, and with Mrs. Gaetz at the organ and leading the singing, we can imagine that these services were something quite special. The Indians were very fond of music, and in the summer time, they gathered outside the house and the doors were left open so that they could enjoy that part of the service.

At one of these services, Tom Gaetz had arrived with the other young people, but he had evidently decided to play hooky. When the meeting was in progress and Dr. Gaetz in the midst of his sermon, Tom rushed in and shouted, “There’s a skunk in the hen pen.” Needless to say, the male part of the congregation soon faded away. Whether there was a skunk in the hen house, or if perhaps Tom wearied of playing hooky alone, we do not know; but we can be sure that Tom would get a private sermon from his uncle Leonard later.

In 1888 Rev. Jas. Buchanan, then a Student Minister at Poplar Grove (Innisfail), wished to contact the good Presbyterians at the Crossing, in order to arrange for a service in the Crossing school house on Sunday. He made his way to the home of Dr. Gaetz on horseback, and he sent Tom with the wagon to take the young preacher to the Crossing. A wagon was no doubt the most up-to-date conveyance on the farm at that time. The trail to the Crossing at that time ran fairly close to the riverbank, and at one place descended an almost perpendicular hill. At the top of the hill, Tom let the lines go slack and let out a war whoop. The Indian ponies gave one leap and they were away, the wagon box swaying from side to side and at times, almost turning over. The terrified young man, thinking his day had come, got down in the bottom of the wagon and held on. At the foot of the hill, Tom drew in the lines, spoke quietly to the team and they settled down to a slow trot.

In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith and Mrs. Emma MacLeod came to the district, Joe homesteading alongside his brothers at Waskasoo. Mrs. MacLeod who was also a Smith was a widow with three small children. Her brothers built her a house in Red Deer on the corner of 48th Street and 49th Avenue. This was the second frame house in Red Deer.

In 1886, Dr. Gaetz at his own expense journeyed to Ottawa to lay before the Government the needs of the people of the central district for a railway. He took with him samples of grains grown on his own homestead, and interested Sir John Curling, minister of agriculture, with his description of the great resources of the West. He showed samples of oats grown on his own farm, weighing 53 pounds to the bushel, which completely swamped samples brought over from the experimental farms of Scotland as a standard for Canadian oats. At this time he also gave valuable evidence before the committee on agriculture. Members of the Gaetz family still recall the backbreaking evenings spent in handpicking the oats to make up those wonderful samples.

In 1888 Dr. Gaetz was tendered a senatorship by the Right Hon. Sir John A. MacDonald, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Senator Hardisty. This would have entailed long absences from home, leaving Mrs. Gaetz with the responsibility of the family and farm. For this reason he declined the honor, suggesting instead the appointment of his friend James Lougheed of Calgary.

In February 1890 Dr. Gaetz again journeyed to Ottawa. The railway was being projected north from Calgary, and he called east to give evidence as to the natural resources and fertility of the soil of the country through which the railway was to pass. The purpose of this was to induce the Government to give the Contractors money as well as land grants. His address at that time was embodied in a seventeen-page pamphlet, which was used by the immigration department for publicity purposes. Many of the settlers coming West in the next few years, elected to settle in the Red Deer district after reading this pamphlet.

As the grade proceeded north, there was great speculation as to where the railway would cross the river, for there a town would be established. Three preliminary surveys were made, one at the Old Red Deer Crossing, one at Balmoral on the Northey place, and one at the present crossing. When it was learned that the contractors favored the Balmoral crossing because it offered the easiest grade, a meeting with the contractors was called at the home of Dr. Gaetz. He owned approximately 1,200 acres of land and he gave the contractors one half his holdings in order to induce them to choose the present river crossing.

In 1889, Halley Gaetz, second son of the family, went to Calgary to study Pharmacy, making the first break in a family of eleven children. He clerked in MacLean's Drug Store, spending his evenings in study.

When the railway reached Red Deer in the spring of 1891, Ray Gaetz, along with the other businessmen at the Crossing, moved to the new town site and set up business. He married Mary Gertrude Linton. In 1906, the Smith & Gaetz Block was built to stand about where the original little store stood. Ray Gaetz was the first Mayor of Red Deer, and he was chairman of the School Board for many years, and helped in almost every undertaking for the good of Red Deer and district. He was in the mercantile business almost all his life, until he moved to the Coast for health reasons. He was the friend of Red Men and White, and many settlers corning in, profited by his wise counsel and financial help.

This little story gives some idea of how he was regarded by the Indians. In the ’90s, when mud on the trails was hub deep, an old Indian with a make-shift buckboard was proceeding to his camp in the West Country. He had with him his wife and three small children. Before he reached the North Red Deer hill, he got thoroughly stuck in a mud-hole, and the makeshift harness broke. The Indian got out in the mud and water, removed the harness and was preparing to take it to town for fixing.

A settler coming up, was concerned as to whether he would be able to pay for having it fixed, and he asked: “How are you fixed for money?”

The Indian replied, “Oh me alright. Me see Ray Gaetz.”

When Ray was buried from the Methodist Church, it was a bitter cold winter day. An old Indian Chief was seen standing on the corner opposite the church, in dignified silence as the coffin was carried inside. All through the service he stood in respectful silence, and as the wind became more piercing, be drew his blanket more closely around him. As the coffin was carried out, the old Indian stood for a few minutes in sorrowful silence, then quietly stole away.

In 1891 Halley Gaetz returned from Calgary and set up a Drug Store on Ross Street. He was not yet qualified to write prescriptions, and at any rate Red Deer had no doctor. In the beginning he stocked mostly patent medicines, and it has been said that for the first six months be could have loaded all his stock into a wheelbarrow. When a Doctor located at Red Deer, the Drug Store stocked more in the line of drugs, and the doctor wrote out his own prescription. Halley was a wonderful student, and spent practically all his spare time in study. He wrote his examinations for his diploma in Pharmacy under the supervision of three doctors.

Owing to a bad attack of inflammatory rheumatism in early youth, he never had the opportunity of attending high school and never was a student at a University, yet he became one of the most well-read and best educated men in the West, and in 1914 he set up the department of Pharmacy at the University of Alberta where be served as Professor of Pharmacy, later as Dean or Pharmacy. A bronze tablet, hanging in the Hall of the University of Alberta bears this inscription: “Erected to the memory of Prof. Halley Hamilton Gaetz, Died December 14, 1922. Dean of the School of Pharmacy: 1916-1922. This tablet was erected by former students of the school June 8, 1942.” Halley Gaetz in the middle ’90s, married Emma Charlotte Tansey. It might be said of Halley that he made his own opportunities.

Clare, the third son in the family, had a natural bent for carpentry, and whenever there was a shelf or a cupboard to be put up in the home, it fell to his lot without question. Freight or trade goods for the Crossing Trading Post had to be freighted up from Calgary by wagon, and although Dr. Gaetz did most of this work, as Clare grew older, it often fell to his lot to make the long trip. When he was eighteen, be homesteaded south of Red Deer on what is now the Hugh Bower place. In 1892 he married an English girl, Rose Griffith and for a year or so, they made their home in England. On their return to the district, Clare bought out the store and Post Office at Pine Lake. This necessitated a weekly trip to Red Deer for the mailbag, over trails that were almost impassable. In 1902, the family moved to Leduc to go into the Hardware business. Later with the help of his son and grandsons, other lines of business were added. At Leduc Clare gave a good account of himself, serving as the first Mayor, a position he held for some years. He and his son and his grandsons have taken a keen interest in public affairs in their hometown and city.

In the summer of 1890, Dr. Gaetz got the big house on the farm built. This must have been a great comfort and satisfaction to him and his wife, for all the ministers, missionaries or notables passing through expected to partake of the hospitality of the Gaetz home, and with their family or eleven children the little log house was altogether inadequate. With the coming of the railway in the spring of 1891, he found his farming operations greatly curtailed. While the grade was being built, he did quite a brisk business selling oats and other farm produce to the contractors and men working on the grade. In 1893, Senator Perley, Commissioner for the Territories, appointed Dr. Gaetz as his assistant to install the Alberta exhibit at the great Columbia Exposition at Chicago. Here he designed and decorated the Alberta Grain Trophy, which won from the Board of American Commissioners a diploma endorsed by the Director General, George R. Davis.

In 1895 he had a call to the Methodist church at Brandon. His three eldest sons were established in business, the eldest daughter married and in her own home, and before leaving Red Deer he set up his twin sons Jim and Fred on a horse ranch thirty miles east of Red Deer on the Coal trail. Their place was known as “The Twin Ranch.” Up until this time, the twins had assisted their father with his farm operations, with the understanding that he would set them up on a ranch when they came of age.

Dr. and Mrs. Gaetz, in leaving Red Deer, were pleased that the old home, which had housed so many happy and sacred memories was not to pass out of the family; but was taken over by Carrie and Wilbert Smith. However, there were other problems that had to be solved. Gretchen had thirteen pet cats, the joy and pride of her heart. She kept them in a large box on the back veranda, and since they milked a number of cows, the cats were fat and sleek. Gretchen always enjoyed sharing with others, and she made twelve of her playmates happy, by presenting each with a pet cat. The thirteenth she was allowed to take with her, and she carried it in a basket during the train journey.

Dr. Gaetz's new field of work, both at Brandon and later at Winnipeg, afforded better educational opportunities for the younger members of the family. Both Marion and Glass trained as schoolteachers. Marion married Richard B. Woodsworth and Glass married Wm. J. Stephenson. Gertie remained at home to help her mother. She married Hugh Clarke. Gretchen took a business course and later married Harry Wallace. L. M., known as Jack, the baby of the family took a business course and engaged in various lines of business before leaving to make his permanent home in California. He married Mae Edmonds. James Gaetz married Catherine McKinnon, and Fred married Annie L. Siddall.

The late Andrew Whyte was a neighbor of Dr. Gaetz while the latter was stationed at Brandon, and when the new Gaetz United church was opened, Mr. Whyte donated a beautiful huge Bible for use in the church Hall, in memory of his old friend and neighbor. Mr. Whyte had this little story to contribute, regarding Dr. Gaetz's ministry at Brandon. At the close of an evening service a member of the congregation lingered until the entire congregation had gone, then asked Dr. Gaetz if he could spare him a few minutes.

Dr. Gaetz said he was not in a hurry, and he sat down with the man by a table at the back of the church, expecting to hear the man's troubles, but instead, he said:

“I’ve been attending your services for a long time. In fact I've listened to your sermons thirty-four times. In all that time, I've never put a copper on the collection plate, now I want to pay up." He took his purse from his pocket and counted out thirty-four one-dollar bills, and passed them over. Perhaps the man's conscience had begun to bother him, or it may be that his finances were in a better condition. At any rate, the church was richer by thirty-four dollars.

While at Brandon, Dr. Gaetz had a most unhappy experience. In fact, feelings were so bitter against him that at one time he thought he would have to leave. This is the story:

A woman was hanging fresh curtains at a window of her home. Standing on a chair, she was shot from the back, and a tearful housemaid explained to the Police that a tramp, wearing blue overalls and a black sateen shirt had come to the open door and shot her mistress.

The police hurried to the jungles where tramps and transients often made dinner, and sure enough, they spotted a man, dressed as described, making his dinner over a campfire. When he saw the Police approaching he ran, which seemed to further prove his guilt. He was soon captured; but he could neither speak English nor understand the language. He was put in the lock-up, and when word got around that this woman who was so highly respected had been murdered, everyone was roused. A mob gathered, intending to break into the jail and lynch the man.

Word was sent to Dr. Gaetz and he hastened over to the jail and addressed the angry mob. He asked that he be allowed to talk to the man first, and eventually the mob consented to wait. He could understand a little German, and he learned that the man had come to look up a homestead. He had just got off the train and was getting his dinner when the Police came upon him. He thought he might have been in the wrong in making a fire.

Dr. Gaetz then addressed the mob and asked them to wait and give the man a fair trial, which they consented to do. He talked to the Police and told them of his belief in the man's innocence, and suggested to them that the girl's story did not seem to ring true, and that they should question her further and look for more evidence around the house.

The maid was a fine looking girl who sang in the church choir and taught in the Sunday school. The people were most indignant when they learned that Dr. Gaetz had cast suspicion on her. However, the Police followed his advice, the girl was convicted and paid the supreme penalty.

Following four years at Brandon, Dr. Gaetz accepted a call to a Methodist church at Winnipeg. While serving these two charges, he was honored by being appointed President of the Manitoba and NorthWest conference. In recognition of his outstanding service to the church, he was further honored by the degree of Doctor of Divinity, conferred on him by Wesley College, Winnipeg.

Mrs. Gaetz at all times, look her full share of responsibilities as a minister's wife, and these exacting duties, together with her strenuous years of pioneering in a new land, began to tell on her. In 1901, for her sake, Dr. Gaetz was obliged to retire from the ministry, and they returned to their beloved Red Deer, to spend the evening of their lives among their family find friends.

Dr. Gaetz, who had spent such a busy life, could not be content to remain idle when there was work to be done. Red Deer felt very keenly the need of a hospital, and in 1903, a committee, headed by Dr. Gaetz was set up. In an effort to raise funds, he went East and lectured on the West, turning all the proceeds, $500.00 into the Hospital fund, and in 1904 the hospital became a reality.

The little old Methodist church, the joy and pride of the congregation when it was built in 1891 had become altogether too small and agitation was set on foot for a new church. Dr. Gaetz was appointed to head the undertaking, and although he did not live to see it completed, he had the satisfaction of turning the first sod. After his death, G. W. Smith took over his duties, and the church, when opened for service in 1910, was named the Leonard Gaetz Memorial Methodist Church. This church was destroyed by fire in 1956, and the church replacing it was named the Gaetz United Church. Fred Gaetz, the eldest living member of the family of Rev. Leonard and Caroline Gaetz, had the honor of laying the corner stone of this church. A W.A. Church Group has been named the Caroline Gaetz Group, in honor of Mrs. Gaetz.

On December 24, 1906, Caroline Gaetz slipped away to the home of her fathers, and was buried at Red Deer. For over forty years, Caroline and Leonard Gaetz had travelled life's pathway together, sharing their joys and their trials. Though seemingly a robust man at the time of his wife's death, it seemed that he could not go on without her, and on June 6, 1907, he slipped away to join her. Nothing more need be said of Leonard and Caroline Gaetz, for their works live after them. Red Deer today is richer spiritually, because in 1884, they chose to establish a home here.