Alexander married Maud Drury on April 6, 1897. Once married he left the Otter Lake area where uncle Daniel and his brother-in-law Sam Cochrane and his sister homesteaded, and headed down the Christie Road on his own plot of land (Lot 13 Con. 10) right along side Maud’s parent 's farm. He had 100 acres there and built a standard size house with 4 rooms and one barn. As many men at the time, Alexander worked on the road in the summer of 1904 being compensated $10 for the effort.
They named their first child after Alexander’s father, Robert Frederick (b June 10, 1898). Maud’s next three births, all boys, created a sadness and a deepening sense of insecurity for some of the people of the area. The first two had died very young and the third born …show more content…
As with many of the settler’s living on lakes with cottagers, Alex used a special ice saw to make blocks of lake ice before break up and stored it to provide for refrigeration. Alex 's total revenue for 1920 was $500 very much the typical level of the local farmers. Nephew Fred helped with the maintenance of the 'tourist hotel '.
The first Crane Lake House with its three stories burnt down in 1927 and, hence needed replacing. The newly built version boasted 14 bedrooms on the top floor and was built mostly by eldest son Fred. Space was left under the building in order to allow the flow of air, especially during the winter, to keep the timber off the land and dry.
Alexander fell ill with an infection on August 19, 1930. He battled it for 2 months but eventually succumbed to the pyaemia, a staphylococcus infection, dying on October 19, 1930, two years after the discovery of Penicillin. This left Maud with Ken and Eva to help run Crane Lake House. It was a grim time as the depression in North America was just getting started. It became very hard to maintain the lodge for Maud and feed the family. It was also true for Fred’s family across the bay. Most of the Vankoughnett livestock had to be butchered to eat or raise money. They would have to survive on
They named their first child after Alexander’s father, Robert Frederick (b June 10, 1898). Maud’s next three births, all boys, created a sadness and a deepening sense of insecurity for some of the people of the area. The first two had died very young and the third born …show more content…
As with many of the settler’s living on lakes with cottagers, Alex used a special ice saw to make blocks of lake ice before break up and stored it to provide for refrigeration. Alex 's total revenue for 1920 was $500 very much the typical level of the local farmers. Nephew Fred helped with the maintenance of the 'tourist hotel '.
The first Crane Lake House with its three stories burnt down in 1927 and, hence needed replacing. The newly built version boasted 14 bedrooms on the top floor and was built mostly by eldest son Fred. Space was left under the building in order to allow the flow of air, especially during the winter, to keep the timber off the land and dry.
Alexander fell ill with an infection on August 19, 1930. He battled it for 2 months but eventually succumbed to the pyaemia, a staphylococcus infection, dying on October 19, 1930, two years after the discovery of Penicillin. This left Maud with Ken and Eva to help run Crane Lake House. It was a grim time as the depression in North America was just getting started. It became very hard to maintain the lodge for Maud and feed the family. It was also true for Fred’s family across the bay. Most of the Vankoughnett livestock had to be butchered to eat or raise money. They would have to survive on