Margaret Gillies Brown

My interest in this book stemmed from the fact that I too was an immigrant in Alberta about 10 years later. However, my experience was completely different. I fell in love with the province and the people I met, who were the friendliest, most hospitable, generous, that could be imagined.

In 1959 Brown, her husband, three children, and a fourth on the way, left their homeland of Scotland for Alberta, Canada. They chose the sponsored service available at the time that arranged a farm job with furnished lodging. This book details the journey and the couple of years they spent in Alberta in great detail. What Brown does well is describing her impressions of the clear skies, sunshine, Northern Lights, hearing coyotes howling, the birds, chipmunks and wildflowers. The farm job was hard work, long hours and low wages - although I find it hard to believe that they would expect a farm labourer to earn much in any country. They moved to another farm, then to selling real estate in the Edmonton area. Her portrayal of Alberta was of a poverty-stricken, third world, hardscrabble, hand-to-mouth existence with unhelpful, uncommunicative people. She claims speaking of an Albertan's origins was taboo "because many people had an Indian somewhere in their background". Nonsense, for so many reasons!

The Browns stayed in Alberta for 3 years before going back to Scotland. As this book was published almost fifty years later, memory lapses may have played a part. Her geography was creative to say the least, and there was a great deal of misinformation. For example, she claims the they took the only route from Edmonton to Vancouver through Utah, north to British Columbia, and back to the U.S. to Seattle. A journey that would have added thousands of unnecessary miles. Obviously it was intended for Scottish readers, certainly not anyone familiar with Alberta, or even Canada. One last criticism: Rowan trees, also known as Mountain Ash, are common in Alberta. I've even seen one in an uninhabited wilderness area.

I had such high hopes when I started reading, and ended up being glad it was over for both of us. A generous two stars.… (meer)