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Homesteaders arriving by immigration train were eager to locate their land and immediatelythey started to build a home usually a sod shanty. Then came the back-breaking work of clearing
the land and preparing it for seed which would provide their first crop. The work was often difficult
and discouraging but, through perseverance, hard work and faith, families survived.
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Immigration ShedCirca 1896
Didsbury, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Didsbury Museum Archives
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Ira Elwood Scott (1902-1983) was born in Clifford, Ontario the only child of William andCatherine Eifert Scott. At the age of 14 he came to stay with his Uncle
Henry and Aunt Tina Brown who lived across the road from the Westcott
School. He stayed for the summer and came back the following year and
worked on the Noble Ranch. He needed work and was asked to drive a team
of mules and take a load of 60 bushels of wheat to the mill. The regular
cowboys knew that Ira did not have the skills to do the job, but with
determination he hauled the wheat off to the mill and this feat combined
with his other hard work, gained the respect of the other men. Later in
the fall he worked for Thomas Murphy, father of his future wife Vera
Geraldine.
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Catherine Eifert Scott & Infant Ira ScottCirca early 1900s
Clifford, Ontario, Canada
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Thomas & Phoebe MurphyCirca 1939
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Young Ira ScottCirca 1910
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Vera Geraldine Murphy (1904-1996) was one of 7 children born to Thomas &Phoebe Hunsperger Murphy at the homestead in the Westcott area.
Geraldine attended Westcott School and it was here that her future husband
Ira Elwood Scott first saw her at the age of 13 and said, "This is the girl I am going
to marry."
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Murphy GirlsCirca 1914
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Geraldine and Ira were married on his birthday, March 2nd, 1924 at theBaptist Church in Olds. Their only witnesses were the pastor's wife and
the janitor's wife. When they returned to Didsbury Geraldine's father
held a community get- together to celebrate their marriage. Geraldine
had saved enough money to buy two train tickets to Calgary where they
stayed for the three days of their honeymoon. Her wedding present from
her father was a cow worth $12.
After their short honeymoon they stayed at her father's homestead and
then rented the Eddie Berscht place for one year. Then, for the next
eleven years, they rented her Uncle Irvin's place, across the road from
the Westcott Store. During that time three of their sons were born,
Elwood (1926- ), Thomas (1930- ), and George (1934- ).
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Vera Geraldine MurphyCirca 1924
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Ira Elwood ScottCirca 1924
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In about 1935 Ira & Geraldine bought land from Hudson's Bay for $1,300.They built a tar-paper shack on the property and lived there until the
house was completed in 1937. The logs for their home were taken from
their own land and hauled to Elkton to be sawed. During this time their
fourth son, Clifford was born on May 9, 1939.
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Home of Ira & Geraldine Scott
Credits:Didsbury Museum Archives
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Ira worked on road crews, threshing crews, and mixed farming to make aliving for his family. Geraldine milked twelve cows and sold cream to
help with the family income. Of the original land, one quarter was sold
to Shell in 1971 for their reservoir, and the remaining 2 quarters were
then farmed by their grandson, Bob Elwood Scott (1951 - ).
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