Land of Promise

Hardcover with dust jacket, 238 pages, 6x9.25 in - 15.5x23.5 cm, B&W photographs.

Pp.211-215 lightly stained in margin, all pages readable. Jacket wrapped in Brodart, wrapping taped to boards by previous owner.

John H. Blackburn travelled with his parents from the United States to settle in Alberta, setting up his own farm at Lavoy in 1917. In this memoir, Blackburn describes homesteading on the Canadian prairies. In addition to breaking land and farming, Blackburn also recollects getting married, raising a family, interacting with neighbours as a community member, selling life insurance in the 1930s, and serving in both World Wars. The volume offers a well-rounded picture of family and civic life in Alberta in the early 1900s as well as a detail-filled account of decades farming in the west. Throughout, Blackburn reflects on his opportunities and choices, emphasizing the help and guidance offered by his wife, family, and friends. Includes an Introduction by Frank Archer, historian and first President of the University of Regina.