From the Prairies with Hope

Patricia Roome is Co-ordinator of History at Mount Royal College in
Calgary.

From the Prairies with Hope is a collection of the letters Aberson wrote
between 1929 and 1936 as part of her weekly column in a Dutch newspaper.
In 1924 Jane and her husband left a privileged upper-class life in
Holland for adventure and the challenge of farming in Canada.
Initiative, resourcefulness, and courage helped the Abersons overcome
the otherwise overwhelming problems of farming on the Prairies during
the 1930s Depression. From 1929 until 1944, Aberson’s journalism and
lecture tours in Holland subsidized their Manitoba farm, and provided
prospective Dutch immigrants with reliable information on Canada.

Although these letters echo the experience of many immigrants, to see
Prairie society and the pioneering experience through the eyes of a
Dutch woman is refreshing and valuable, since most pioneering narratives
speak from an Anglo-American perspective. While enthusiastic about
becoming Canadian, Aberson also wrote about the pain of cultural
displacement and her attempts to preserve Dutch customs and traditions.
Her letters explore fully Canadians’ intolerance for ethnic
difference. Their indifference to class background contrasted sharply
with the Dutch example, where social class divided citizens much more
than ethnicity did. As Mark Boekelman’s introduction explains, the
Abersons came to Canada as European-style conservatives, but received a
political education as farmers that produced Prairie social democrats.
Putting their skills to use for the co-operative movement, the Abersons
organized the Spruce Credit Union in Dauphin Manitoba (a venture Jane
managed until 1973).

Equally important, but neglected in Boekelman’s introduction, are
Jane’s frequent observations about being a farm woman. Her support for
the United Farm Women of Manitoba and other women’s organizations
follows from her conclusion that Prairie farm women led more difficult
lives than their Dutch counterparts. Jane preferred the independence of
Canada, which allowed her to develop many interests. In 1934 she took an
active part in “little theatre,” organizing and producing one-act
plays for the community, following the example of other Prairie women.
Because her letters vividly recreate a farm woman’s everyday life,
their original popularity and appeal will be reproduced with a new
audience, who will also appreciate their value.