December came in softly with snow covering the tree tops and blanketing the fields. With the busyness of the fall harvesting behind them and the wood piled high in readiness for the winter cold, it was time to settle in to the routine of daily chores and occasional neighborly visits.  The children were growing, Eva was almost four years old,  her sister Florence was two and a baby brother, named Alfred who joined them on November 4, was now one year old.

Some of Tom’ s family had sold  their homesteads and gone back to the US. His brother, Sam and his wife Grace, as well as his sisters, Dorothy and Esther with their families had returned to  their former cities in the US.  His brother Charlie, wife Olive and ten children had decided to remain in Canada for the time being. As their property was not too far away from Tom & Alice, their families were able to visit regularly.

One night after they had all gone to bed, about two o’clock in the morning they were suddenly wakened by loud banging on the door and voices shouting. Mr. Teifel,  a neighbor, had come asking Tom for help with his horse. It had been lost and when he found the horse, it was sick. Tom was not a Vet but in the past he had some success with treating horses and people brought their animals to him instead of calling the regular Vet who was in town.

So, Tom got dressed and went out to the barn where they had the horse, laying on it’s side with legs tied, in preparation for being given the medicine. After taking the medicine, the horse began thrashing it’s legs around causing a strain on the ropes.  Suddenly the ropes gave way and the horse’s legs lashed out wildly catching Tom by surprise.  Unable to move out of the way quickly enough,  one kick from the horse smashed his leg. At once he was in excruciating pain.

The men who were there put Tom on a stone boat and brought him to the house. Her father’s hollering, “Oh, oh, my leg.” would be forever etched in little Eva’s mind as the sound of his cries wakened her. Years later she would recount vividly everything she heard that fateful night. Alice wanted to get the Doctor immediately but Tom’s alcoholic brother, Charlie stopped them.  So Tom suffered for three days until finally their hired man, Art Cramer, went and got the Doctor.

By the time Doctor King came and assessed the damage, Tom had gangrene. He left some brandy for Tom to drink for  the pain but that was short lived because when Charlie arrived, he drank it. Tom was taken to the hospital in Saskatoon where they amputated his leg below the knee. He was there for a number of months and was ready to leave when he had an accident. As he was walking with his crutches the day before he was to go home, he fell on a slippery floor.

Damage to the leg required amputating his leg above the kneecap. This time he was in the hospital for months again. When he came home he was unable to work and Mr. Cramer agreed to stay on as their hired man. In the fall, after the threshing time was over, Tom and Alice made a difficult decision. They felt the best thing they could do was to sell the homestead and go to Saginaw, Michigan, Tom’s previous home where his mother was living.

In October, 1919 with the homestead sold, they said a tearful goodbye to Alice’s family and boarded the train for their long journey. The plan was for Tom to go to Minneapolis to be fitted with an artificial limb.  Alice  and the three children would go to Saginaw where Tom would join them later. Charlie and Olive had sold their homestead too and they  went back to Saginaw with their family at the same time.

When Tom came to Saginaw, he and his brother Will bought a Jitney bus and went into business which kept them busy every day.  Adjusting to their new life was difficult for Alice. She was pregnant and having some challenges which ended in a miscarriage. She had never been away from her family before and she missed them a great deal.  She was very unhappy and cried a great many tears. Tom’s cousin’s daughter, Rosie came to have her baby and they became friends.

Finally, in April 1920,  after being there for six months, Tom and Alice decided to take their little family and return to Canada. When they left Saginaw, people were getting ready to plant their gardens. Arriving in Plunkett they were surprised to see the snow high over the fence posts. Shortly after their arrival, they received a letter telling them that Rosie had died from complications giving birth. Alice cried for her friend.

They had no home to come back to so Tom went to work as a hired man for Charlie Hammerstein and they lived in a small house on his farm that summer. Soon after that they rented a farm called the McLellan place. It was in the Sweet Briar district, an area not too far from where their homestead had been. Eva was 5 years old when they moved there and they lived there until she was 10.  She had many fond memories of those years.

As a five year old there was one special memory that she never forgot.  As her mother was getting her ready for bed one evening, she began singing, “Jesus loves me, this know.” Such a love for the Lord seemed to rise up in Eva that she began to cry. That was her first recollection of hearing about the Lord and it touched her heart. Many years later when she heard about the Lord and His love for her she remembered that feeling when she was just 5 years old.