1

John Sawchenko (Character representation)



Credits:
Atlas Coal Mine Historical Society

2

Family out picking berries
20th Century
Unknown


Credits:
Atlas Coal Mine Historical Society

3

There were so many beautiful flowers growing wild in the desert of the valley...many of these ripened into berries. The valley was blessed with juicy saskatoon's and chokecherries. Almost all households made chokecherry, saskatoon, or dandelion wine in the summer months. Our Italian neighbour Toni was especially good at this. Every year he would make close to 50 gallons of wine with all intentions of bottling it. But without fail every year before the wine was even finished fermenting any visitor of Toni's would end up sampling it. By the time the wine was ready to be bottled it was all gone.

Most families would pick berries in the late summer. Usually the chokecherries would be reserved for wine making and the others would be used to make jams or jellies. Chokecherries made a potent brew indeed. Many a child could not resist tasting the fermenting mixture...and were left with an upset stomach. The wine was usually corked, stored in the cellar and saved for Christmas. As the fall months went by you could often hear the corks popping and you knew that the wine was aging. During the years of prohibition, liquor of any sort was in short supply and quantity not quality seemed to matter most.

4

Sonia Anhel standing in garden
Drumheller, Alberta


Credits:
Atlas Coal Mine Historical Society