Home | Multimedia Resources | Video Vignettes | Laurie Toth | Early Settlers
- Abandoning Amber Valley
- Amber Valley Community Hall
- Baseball
- Centenary
- Church and Plants
- Church Holds the Community Together
- Early Settlers
- Family Band
- Family in Ontario
- Floral Business
- Her Father, the Farmer
- How her Parents Met
- Mother's Family
- Mother's Work
- Oldest of Siblings
- Parents' Hospitality
- Prejudice
- School and Work History
- School in Athabasca
- Simple Life in Amber Valley
- Upbringing
Early Settlers
Laurie's great-grandparents emigrated from the United States-in particular, from Texas-between 1908 and 1911. They came with eight children, and there were 13 children in total; five were born in Amber Valley. Life in the United States was very difficult: the Jim Crow Laws were in effect and Blacks were not treated equally. Blacks left for Canada, drawn by the promise of land. Laurie also discusses her grandfather, Samuel Carothers. He and his wife Beulah were raised in Texas and moved to Alberta, where they purchased two quarter sections of land and promised to "prove up" a homestead.