Lauback/Lunty

History

Clarence Lunty bought this quarter section from David P. Lauback. He had previously purchased the quarter to the North of it in the spring of 1906 and married his wife, Eva Pearl Sheppard, on December 18th, 1911. Sometime before their first child was born on February 20, 1913, they had taken up residence on this quarter section profiled below. Their first daughter, Berna Alberta, got sick early in her life and died September 27th, 1913 in Bawlf Hospital, the same place she had come into the world. Berna was the only child of ten children to be born in a hospital. These ten children were: Berna, Velma, Iris, Vernon, Wayne (who would marry Edith Pottage), Glenn, Patricia, Lindy, Garth, and Wallace. The rest of the family were born on this quarter section profiled below with a doctor and/or a midwife. Often, the doctor was Dr. L.M. Rogers of Forestburg; which had just sprung into existence following the 1915 completion of the railway from Camrose to Alliance. Dr. Rogers and his wife, Estelle C. Gunston, had three children in Forestburg; one of these children was Jeanne Estelle Lougheed or Mrs. Peter Lougheed.

In 1916, the Lunty family would move to a newly built house positioned on the southern end of the same quarter. Clarence Lunty and the boys of the family built the cordwood shed, pictured below, to the East of the family’s house. It is believed that mud from the Battle River or a nearby slough was used as mortar to hold the cordwood logs together; they also made a mud plaster, mixed with straw and manure, to cover the walls inside the shed. The shed was used for storage and the Lunty children would often play in its’ loft. It was always cold inside the shed in the summertime and so the shed was also used as a reprieve from the summer heat. The shed was often also used for calves until they got to be too big and were moved to the barn and its surrounding pasture in the same yard. In later years, but before cars got to be too large, the shed was also used as a car garage.

Pearl Lunty would die April 30, 1954 at the age of sixty-one and in 1962 Clarence Lunty would move off the farm after forty-some years of living there. The quarter was transferred that same year to Glenn Lunty, who married Dorthy Vincett of Galahad in 1948. Clarence Lunty would die January 23rd, 1973 at the age of ninety-one.

Glenn was born in December 1922 under the attendance of Dr. L.M. Rogers. Glenn would often farm in the summer and work in the nearby Forestburg coal mines in the winter. Glenn and Dorthy Lunty lived a ways away on the Billy Phipps Estate until 1951 when they had the house moved to this property by Kevin Lattery. Glenn and Dorthy moved into the larger house on the farm in 1964; this house still stands today. Glenn and Dorthy would raise eight children: Vivian, Gordon, Charlotte, Lois, Harvey, Jeanette, John, and Christine.

Glenn Lunty moved off this property in 2000 and the buildings have sat vacant since. The property is currently owned by Robert and Lois (nee Lunty) Ponto.

Herle, Jeanette. Personal communication. 13 Aug. 2018.

I encourage you to read more on this family in Velma Carmichael’s (nee Lunty) colourful account found below in Golden Echoes: A History of Galahad and District and Yesterday and Years Ago: A History of Forestburg and District.

This frame shows the southern side of the garage.

This frame shows the southern side and the western face of the garage.

This frame shows more of the western face of the garage.

This frame is a closeup of the western wall of the garage. Note the cord wood construction. Additionally, this face of the garage has square timbers that run perpendicular to each layer of stacked cord wood.

This frame shows the western face and northern side of the garage.

This frame shows the northern side of the garage. Note that this side is all cordwood construction with no timber braces running perpendicular to the cordwood layers. The only other place where timbers are used in the opposite direction of the cordwood is in the corners of the structure.

This frame shows the eastern face and southern side of the garage. Note the corner bracing used in the south-eastern corner and the corner boards that cover them.

This frame shows the collapsing eastern wall.

This frame is a closeup of the eastern wall. Note the mud and clay that was used as mortar in the construction of the building.

This frame shows the inside of the garage and where the chimney used to exit the building. Note the burn marks on the beams above the stack. The stove burnt coal and led to periodic burns in the rafters because the chimney was so hot.

This frame shows the inside of the garage. The door in the background of this frame is the western door.

Location

52.493251, -112.108151 SW 04-41-15 W4

Characteristics

Garage Condition: Poor

Construction Date: Mid 1930s

Features: Cordwood construtcion

Roof Shape: Gable

Paint: None

Decorations: None

Roof Covering: Wooden shingles

Siding: Cordwood with corner boards and bracing

Foundation: Cement, mud

Additional History on the Property

Clarence Lunty Family

Carmichael, Velma. “Clarence Lunty Family.” Golden Echoes: A History of Galahad and District. 1st ed. Galahad: Galahad Historical Society, 1980. Print.

Clarence Lunty Story

Carmichael, Velma. “Clarence Lunty Story..” Yesterday and Years Ago: A History of Forestburg and District. 1st ed. Forestburg: Forestburg and District Historical Book Committee, 1983. Print.