Pioneers at work and at play

By Joan Janzen

The history book Many Trails Crossed Here records memories of pioneers who came to Alberta.

Albert Arneson was one of those pioneers, who came to the prairies as a young man. By the age of fifteen years, he was on his own working in logging camps in Wisconsin, before heading to southern Alberta around 1912.

He worked many different jobs – digging irrigation ditches, working on threshing crews, and helping construct the Empress Bridge in 1913. All of these challenges helped prepare him for the pioneer days that formed a big part of his life. He worked on a homestead four miles west and two miles south of Oyen. Although the men worked hard, they always liked to enjoy a game of cards during a work break in the field.

Albert Arneson always liked a game of cards. Here he plays with friends during a work break. Photo: Many Trails Crossed Here

One of Albert Arneson’s early jobs was working on the construction of the old Empress Bridge in 1913. Photo: Many Trails Crossed Here