Date Range

1926-1942

Description Level

Item

History Biographical

Harry Litle was born near Aylwin, Quebec in the family of John Little (Irish descent) and Fannie Childs, one of twelve children. He trained as harness maker and apprenticed with Mr. Arthur McCann. In 1884 he started his own harness business travelling farms and making repairs on request. In 1890, he worked his way west stopping in Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. In 1893 he came back to Calgary where he was employed by Carson and Shore Saddlery Co, since 1899 known as the Great West Saddlery Co. He arrived in Fort Macleod in 1893 to open a company branch and to become the only full time harness maker in town. On Satuday, the store was a popular social place for local farmers and ranchers. The store closed in 1931, in the early years of the depression. Annie Litle (nee Perry) was born near Aylwin, Quebec in 1875. Her parents were of Welsh descent. She married Harry Litle in Ottawa and came to Fort Macleod in 1900. In 1904, the family applied for a homestead in the Granum area, where they resided until 1904 when they moved to Fort Maclead (230 - 18 St). Harry and Annie Litle had three children - Arthur (Art), John (Jack) and Jessie. The Litle's attended the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Litle was a member of the Independent Order of Oddfellows and the Masonic Lodge and served on the school board and town coucil. Mrs. Litle belonged to the I.O.D.E. Harry passed away in 1943, Annie - in 1970 Source: Fort Maclead - Our Colourful Past (1986) p. 327-328

Scope and Content

Two large hand written diaries (Oct. 3, 1926 to Jan. 31, 1934 and Feb. 1, 1934 to March 17, 1942). Early daily entries are written by Annie Litle and are sometimes completed in her absence by others as indicated by a variety of handwriting. The diaries describe routine events of daily life noting weather conditions, daily comings and goings of family members, travel to “the farm” (sometimes “the ranch”) where they did not live. Harry Litle was the manager of the Great West Saddlery Company in Fort Macleod which is referred to as “the store.” She studiously records deaths of neighbors many of whose funerals are detailed in “Macleod Times” [see peel.library.ualberta.ca ]. She also noted marriages of friends. The entries show the home life for a married woman with children: cooking which included canning and baking, laundry, handicrafts, gardening, dinners for friends, teas, etc. The author was a regular church attendee and her daughter Jessie was an active member of Canadian Girls in Training. In addition, local town and social events with friends are noted as is the arrival of friends from out of town. Cash book is incomplete with missing and blank pages. It is not clear to whom this cash book belonged. It shows uncompleted listings of contract building jobs listed by name but not location. Years included are 1901, 1902 and 1904. Most listings are for debit entries with each individual having his own page. Items listed on individual pages include building materials, household/home equipment, parts for horse-drawn vehicles. The names of a number of Blood and Peigan Indians are listed but no dates.

Accession No.

20141032

Collection

Archive

Less detail