Leona Brewer

I was met at the door by a tiny, lovely, older woman. She smiled as she led us into the kitchen. I had heard about and passed by this large old house in the middle of the big open green fields near Tulameen, BC and now I was in it.

I was enthralled by the sense of history as Leona led me into the living room and started showing me her family pictures.

Each photo had a story so I wrote as fast as I could. But all I wanted to do was stare at the pictures and listen to Leona.

The oldest pictures are of Leona's grandmother, who was a Sto:lo Princess. (The Sto:lo Indians are from the Fraser Valley).

Then there is a large framed photo of Leona's mother, Euphemia who was the Centennial Queen in 1956.

And a military picture of Leona's husband, Leonard Brewer who was a Corporal in the Canadian Army in World War II.

There is a great old photo of a couple who are Leonard's parents, Horace and Matilda Brewer who came from Lumby.

The photo of a lovely girl with long hair is Leona herself as a young woman.

My favorite photo was of Leona's father, Thomas Rabbit with his hat at a jaunty angle and a broad smile on his face.

But it was very obvious that the photo that Leona was most proud of is the one of her whole family celebrating Leona and Len's fiftieth wedding anniversary. As I gazed at the mounted deer head and deer horns also on the living room walls, Leona started telling stories of her past.

You see Leona was born in the back bedroom of the house, which was built 95 years ago by her father. She has lived most of her life in this farm house on the Rabbit Ranch which is 108 years old. It has been designated a heritage ranch. the plaque is posted on the barn at the ranch.

The first story Leona told was about Len, her husband and how they met. Leona was taking a trip to Lumby to visit her brother, Dan. In those days it was a long bus trip. In Lumby she got lost, so she knocked on a door to ask the way to her brother's place. The door was answered by Len who she said had the largest blue eyes she had ever seen. The next time she saw Len was when he came to her brother's saw mill to sharpen a saw. The couple met again through her brother getting them together for a movie and a beer. Len, who was recently back from the Canadian Army, told some stories of his experiences in Europe. She said Len made her laugh.

Len worked a trap line when they were first married. He also did some logging but Leona said he was a "jack of all trades" when they lived in a small house on First Street and Smith in Tulameen.

I asked who played the piano that was standing in the living room. Leona told me that a number of the Rabbit family were very musical. No wonder, Leona's father, who played the violin from the age og 14, hired a live-in music teacher for his children in the years 1913 and 1914. Many of the children became very talented musicians.

The next story was about her brothers Tom, Patrick and Dan Brewer. They were returning from a prospecting trip and as they were going down a slope, Patty slipped. To save himself from falling he grabbed a brush and pulled a stone loose. The stone was quartz with visible gold. A mining engineer, Mort Richmond helped the brothers establish the successful gold Grasshopper Mine. Leona said one time she accompanied her brother who was delivering a truck load of ore to a supplier. They got a cheque for $800 for that one load.

Leona's first job after completing her education in Tulameen and in Saint Ann's Academy in Kamloops, was through her brother, Dan who owned a sawmill in Tulameen in the early forties. He needed a cook. So Leona took the job. It was hard work and long hours. The 15 men were served breakfast, dinner, supper and a 10 o'clock snack. This meant going to bed at eleven and getting up at five. She quit after 4 months. The next job was as a housekeeper in the Penticton Rectory. However, I think her favorite job was when she stayed with her sister, Katherine Miner to help take care of her children. She said it was fun. Leona said when she played her accordion they gathered around her just like the Pied Piper!

In the year of 1949 at 25 years of age Leona took over the ranch for her mother. Not only were there horses, pigs, sheep and dogs but there were 26 head of cattle to be fed and cared for. It was one of the few years that the hay did not dry. This meant that the hay could not be forked out to the animals, but had to be taken out by handfuls. So Leona got ingenious by salting they hay in layers so that it was like sherbet. It worked; Leona said the cattle were just beautiful. When the local cattle buyer came by later that year he said, "Who took care of your herd this winter?" Leona said very proudly, "I did!"

Leona is still ingenious and plucky. She continues to live on the ranch caring for her husband Len and enjoying visits from members of her family. She is 87.

Elizabeth Flett