Letters from Spirit River
Memoirs of a Land Grant Bride
by Isobelle Ross Caswell

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From the late eighteen hundred to the early nineteen hundreds the government of Canada granted plots of land to entice individuals to help settle remote areas of -—especially north western Canada. That was how born and bred city dweller Isobelle Sutherland Ross found herself moving from urban Ontario to remote Spirit River, Alberta in 1914. While her soon-to-be husband, Surveyor Norman Caswell revelled in his work with the extension of the longest railroad in the world, Isobelle had to cope with the trials with which the remote and harsh Canadian Northwest challenged a city girl born and bred. Fifty years later Isobelle chronicled her adventures in a series of letters presented by her grandaughter for CBC radio. "Letters From Spirit River" is the collection of these letters recounting Isobelle's life from 1915 to 1925. With her husband away surveying for an extension of the railroad, Isobelle learned new skills, gained confidence and grew stronger. Her positive and open mindset helped her make the most of all her experiences— whether it was graduating from business college, thriving in a near empty wilderness or going on to an appointment as one of Canada's earliest representatives to the United Nations. When Judy LaMarsh aired these letters in 1976, CBC reported they were their "most positive response item ever". Honest, insightful and humorous, "Letters From Spirit River" reveal a slice of rare Canadian history... an account of a historical moment from a woman's perspective.

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"Most positive response item ever..."— CBC, 1976

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Isobelle Ross Caswell is the author of "Letters From Spirit River: Memoirs Of A Land Grant Bride."

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Contributors

Author

Isobelle Ross Caswell

Editor

Jill Cooper-Robinson