Sexual Assault and Disability: Saskatchewan, 1942

AuthorConstance Backhouse
Pages131-164

EChapterF
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND
DISABILITY: Saskatchewan
B I T bor n in  on the family homestead near
Torquay thirtyseven miles west of Estevan Saskatchewan t he fourth in
a family of seven children.Inherfathersillhealthforcedthefam
ily to give up the farm and move to Midale, midway between Estevan and
WeyburnTheyboughttheformerdentistshouseatMainStreetwhere
the familywould residei ntothe nextgeneration Beatricesfather worked
onneighbouri ngfarms whenhis healthp ermieduntil hisdeath in
Beatricesmotherfamous forher cookingear nedsome incomebyba king
moundsofloaves forthe manybachelors whohomesteadedin the area
She also did domestic work in other Midale homes, and laboured in the
cookcarstomeet thevoraciousapp etitesofth ethresh ingcrewst hattrav
elled from farm to farm for the an nual harvests. Somehow, with the help of
the children, t he family eked out a living.
Midale, where Beatrice spent the early years of her childhood, was in the
southeast corner of Saskatchewan. It was a typical Prairie town, w ith three
grain elevators and fewer than two hundred inhabitants, where the farmers
tendedcaleandsowedunpredictablecropsofwheatoatsbarleyandrye
TherstwhitehomesteadersinMidalehadarrivedintaki ngupfarms
alongthe Soo Lineof theCan adianPacic Railwaythat connectedMoose
JawwithMinneapolisMinnesotaTheareawashardhitduringtheDepres
sionofthesandw ithseveredroughtinThatyeart hebesiegedru
ralmunicipalitydealtwit happlicationsforreliefinasevendayperiod
ThewinterofwasthecoldestonrecordOneyearlaterinJuly
ナヌニCarnalCrimes
From Plowshares to Pum pjacks: R. M. of Cymri: Macou, Mi dale, Halb rite(Midal e: R.M. of Cymr i Histor y Book Soci ety, 1984) at 5 47.
BerthaandHen ryTisdaleBeatricesparentswithheroldersibl ingsletoright
Leona, Mabel, and Howard
Atlas of Canada, atla s.gc.ca 20 05 — produced und er licence f rom Her Maje sty the Qu een in Righ t of Canada, wi th permis sion of Natu ral Resou rces Canad a
Map of the Prairies
SexualAssaultandDisabilityナヌヌ
From Plowshares to Pum pjacks: R. M. of Cymri: Macou, Mi dale, Halb rite(Midal e: R.M. of Cymr i Histor y Book Soci ety, 1984) at 9 4.
Farmers at thresh ing time
From Plowshares to Pum pjacks: R. M. of Cymri: Macou, Mi dale, Halb rite(Midal e: R.M. of Cymr i Histor y Book Soci ety, 1984) at 6 08.
Fair time at Midale

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