There has long been an interesting connection between the Prairies and the Island. I’m not exactly sure when it started but definitely the “Dirty Thirties” was the impetus for many people to leave the prairies and head West. The Great Depression was hard on the whole country, but particularly so on the prairies where agriculture was our mainstay. It devastated our ability to produce crops and, as a consequence, many people had little or no source of income. They were destitute and had no choice but to pick up stakes and leave.

My grandmother and mother were two such pilgrims who, in the mid-thirties, left Turtleford, Saskatchewan where they had homesteaded, and moved to Victoria. I’m sure after the sadness and hardships they had endured, Victoria must have seemed like the Promised Land! Gone was the pain of losing a father, uncle and sister as well as their homestead. As they journeyed west, they must have felt all that pain recede slowly into the distance. My mother loved Victoria and I’m sure wanted to stay there. She and my Dad had already met at a dance in Carlsbad, Saskatchewan, and even though Mom had moved to Victoria, for her the move wasn’t permanent. Dad was a teacher and did not have a teaching licence in B.C. so they married in Victoria and moved back to Saskatchewan. I’m sure it was very difficult for Grandma to see her only child leave, but she and Mom always kept in close contact.

Grandma stayed in Victoria, later moving to Vancouver where she met a retired Norwegian fisherman and finally had some comfort in her life. She no longer had any money worries and could just enjoy her beautiful Victorian house in North Surrey. I remember that house so well: every summer we would visit Grandma and we each had our own room. I can see every inch of that house in my mind’s eye and cherish those visits. We were Grandma’s only grandchildren and she lavished on us love, affection and wonderful food, from Norwegian meatballs for dinner, lefse and multe berries for dessert and lots of treats in between — her love was unconditional and unequivocal!

After my first year of university, I spent about six months working in Victoria and had time to see the area where my family lived, and soak up what it must have been like for them to move to such a different setting. I’m sure the Island reminded my Grandma of her native Norway, especially the proximity to the sea. She came from a harbour town in northern Norway, so Victoria must have felt very much like home. So, even though I’m a prairie woman, born and bred in Saskatchewan, because of my mother and grandmother, I feel a deep emotional bond to the Island!

By Norlayne Scott-Gaare

Norlayne Scott-Gaare has spent most of her career as librarian and part-time writer.  Her home is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she has lived since she was seven years old.  She was born in Wadena, Saskatchewan, a small town east of Saskatoon, growing up in an idyllic “Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer” world.  However, as she grew older, except for a few sojourns here and there, Saskatoon has always been her home.

Norlayne received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Saskatchewan and her Master of Library and Information Sciences degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.  After graduating, she worked in a variety of librarian positions in Saskatchewan and Winnipeg before “runnin’ back to Saskatoon”. One of the delights of Norlayne’s life is her little “Tortie” (Tortoiseshell) cat named Puddin’, whom she adopted from the SPCA 12 years ago.  What an interesting little creature she is — anyone who has a “Tortie” knows about “Tortie-attitude” or “Tortitude”!  Gardening, landscaping, reading, watching classic movies and sojourns at the lake round out her interests.

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