PEONAN POINT CIRCA 1935

(SETTLED 1914) 

” A lifetime of accomplishments can only be truly measured by the love shown toward our fellow man.“  

Peonan Point is a peninsula that extends more than twenty miles south of the north shore of Lake Manitoba. It became the site of a Hudson’s Bay Post in the 1880’s. Due to its native grass meadows, ample water and shelter for winter feeding, the early settlers recognized the livestock potential for ”The Point.“  

In spite of its inaccessibility, ”The Point“ developed a solid reputation for Manitoba beef herds in Western and Eastern Canada and the U.S.A. This can only be attributed to the perseverance and hard work ethic of the pioneers who settled this wild and wonderful place. Some of the hardships faced by the settlers would include isolation, flooding, fires, animal diseases not to mention the harsh Manitoba winters. An account by Petra Anderson in the ” Hardships and Happiness“ history book, relates the loss of one third of the herd to the disease of Septicaemia in 1922. 

Some of the family names who first settled were: Burns; Thompson: St. John; Olson; Pike; Wilson; Rawluk; Snidal; Gislason; Anderson; Grealy; Ketchur; Solise; Nord and Hjartarsons. Eric and Eyvi were the last of the Hjartarsons to ranch on ”The Point“ until the ranch was sold to the Cooks in 1979. 

Eric Hjartarson, (age 82) one of eleven children, fondly recalls the many years of work and play. His accounts of the early years include haying up to 150 stacks per season with horses; milking a herd of 50 cows, and feeding animals in the winter by hand. Cattle driving the herd to St. Martin in the fall for shipping to Winnipeg, and dealing with early and late ice on the lake helps one to understand the tremendous resolve it took to ranch on ”The Point.“ The fear of childbirth in isolation was relieved by Eric’s mother,  Sigrun. She was the local midwife for many years. Eric holds the love for his family and friends very close to his heart. One person he speaks of with very high regard is Sylvan Baker. Sylvan was Eric’s hired hand who was as much a son to him as anyone could be. In spite of all of the hardships, Eric relates many of the fun times as well. He recalls New Year’s Eve, Fishermen’s dances and Box Socials with much delight. 

I chose the cattle drive as the focus of this painting as it was an integral part of ranching on ”The Point“ in the early years. Until the arrival of the barge, all herds were transferred to the railhead in this way. For the most part, the cattle drive was very manageable with the possible exception of break time as depicted in this scene. The cattle could become distracted and would create a melee that required hurried attention.

Click here for a close up picture.