Fonds 0634 - Greber Family fonds

Art Greber with Load of Logs Violet Greber’s Birthday Tearing Down Hythe School Lambert School Students Grades 4, 5, 6 Lambert School Students Grades 7, 8, 9 Glass Lake Students Dress-up Day at Lambert School Students Graduating from Lambert School Hythe Pioneer Round Up Book Committee Students of Lambert School

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Greber Family fonds

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  • Textual record
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CA GPR 0634

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5 cm of textual records
235 photographs
5 slides
4 negatives

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(Unknown)

Biographical history

Otto 'Art' Greber was born October 4, 1908 in Jansen, Saskatchewan to parents Edward and Ottilia Wiesner. Otto's father Edward was first married to Leokadia Ziebart who passed away in Friedensfeld, Manitoba in 1905 and Edward married Ottilia that same year on October 22.

Edward was born in Cholo, Grodno, Russia about 1864 and at the age of 38 travelled with his wife Leokadia and children Hulda, Karl, Emma as well as Edward’s sister in-law Ida Schultz to the United States. The group was traveling to brother-in-law Karl Schultz’s who was living in Howard, Nebraska. The Greber family sailed aboard the Frankfurt, departing Bremen, Germany on March 29th and arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, USA on April 13, 1901. Shortly after arriving in the USA, Edward and his family travelled to Friedensfeld, Manitoba where Edward worked as a teacher and a minister in the community. Leokadia and Edward had seven children but only two survived, Charles was born in 1899 in Russia and Edward was born in 1903 in Manitoba. Leokadia died in 1905, shortly after having son Heinrich who also didn’t survive. Edward was not a widower long, a few months after Leokadia’s death he married Ottilia Wiesner in Friedensfeld, Manitoba. Ottilia was born January 17, 1887 in Augustow, parish Rozischtsche, Poland, the daughter of Gottlieb Wiesner and Paulina Schinkel. The Wiesner family arrived in Canada in 1891 and homesteaded on SW 14 T6 R6 M-EPM near Friedensfeld. Edward and Ottilia’s first child Walter was born in 1906 and shortly after the family relocated to Jansen, Saskatchewan. Upon arrival Edward applied for a homestead on SW 22-T32- R20 W2 and while living there three more children joined them Otto (b.1908), Charlotte (b.1910) and Alfred (b.1912). In 1912, Edward was diagnosed with stomach cancer and he passed away on April 24, 1912 at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon and was buried on the family farm. Ottilia, his wife, was 25 years old with six children, the youngest, Alfred, was only 3 months old when his father died. The decision was made that the two oldest Greber children, Charles and Edward should be sent to live with Leokadia’s relatives, the Bresch family. Both Charles and Edward ended up in the United States, Charles enlisted in WWI and died in action on July 2, 1918 and is buried in Belleau, Departement de l'Aisne, Picardie, France in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery.
Edward lived in Benton Harbor, Michigan and married Elsie later in life. Edward passed away January 25, 1987 and is buried in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana, USA.

Ottilia, needing a helpmate for her young family married Samuel Kowalsky, August 13, 1912 in Esk, Saskatchewan. In 1913, a daughter Mary was born and in 1914 the family moved to Sibbald, Alberta area settling on SW 12 T30 R2 W4. The surrounding farms were owned by the Biederdorf, Shielke, Kowalsky and Wiesner families, who were all related. The older Greber children attended Grenville School No. 3259. By 1924, four more children had joined the family Emil (b.1915), Edna (b.1916), Alice (b.1918) and William (b.1922) and with the depression hitting Alberta hard the family moved back to Saskatchewan. They first settled in Jansen but later made Esk, Saskatchewan home. Here the remaining Kowalsky children were born Edward (b.1926), Isabelle (b.1927) and Loretta (b.1929). As soon as the children were old enough they went to work on neighboring farms.

Walter Greber married Charlotte Martin Oct. 27, 1935 in Esk, Saskatchewan and worked as a gardener at the Summerland Research Station in Summerland, B.C. where he passed away on Dec. 9, 1999.
Charlotte Greber married Ray Rathgeber and they farmed near Melville, Saskatchewan. Charlotte passed away there July 13, 2002.

Alfred Greber married Elsie Wildeman October 25, 1939 in Esk, Saskatchewan. The family lived in many places from Saskatchewan to British Columbia eventually settling in Red Deer in the 1970’s. Alfred passed away there on October 20, 1994 and Elsie in 2015.

Otto or Art as he was known ended up in Alberta by working for threshing crews across the Prairies. He made his way to the Peace Country in 1930 with a friend Ed McLeod. They journeyed to Dawson Creek, B.C. and worked digging wells and at lumber camps. Art first homesteaded in Arras, B.C. but he later abandoned it and ended up on a threshing crew that made its way to the Lymburn area where Art ended up working for Ernie Shail. On June 25, 1938 Art and Violet Hawkesworth were married in Hythe.

Art and his family moved to Lymburn area in 1946 on NE8-73-12-W6. By this time the family consisted of Aubrey, Ellenor, Allan and later siblings William (Bill) and Lynn joined the family.
The Greber family was involved in the community as Art and later Violet were on the Lambert School board as well as different community organizations. Violet was an integral part of the Hythe Pioneer Round-Up book, collecting and writing stories for the publication. Art passed away Jul 31, 1969 and Violet February 13, 1979 and they are both buried in the Hythe Cemetery.

Aubrey married Faye Bolt, Dec 21, 1963 and they had a son Aubrey. Aubrey was married to Hazel Pebbles Dec. 14, 1972 in Grande Prairie and they had a daughter Sheila. Aubrey worked for Molson Brewery in Calgary for a number of years and later moving back to Hythe to work for his brother, Al’s construction company. Hazel passed away in Beaverlodge on December 13, 2005 and is buried in the Hythe Cemetery. Aubrey was married to Elsie Webb in Wembley on June 28, 2008, and he passed away February 11, 2014 and is buried in the Hythe Cemetery.

Ellenor married Bryce Robinson from LaGlace and that is where they lived for a number of years. They had three children, Judy, Tracy and Ryan.

Bill Sr. spent his life in the Hythe area and worked in the oilfield. Bill had one son also named Bill. Bill died February 12, 2006 in Beaverlodge and is buried in the Hythe Cemetery.

Lynn married Dave Miller Mar 3, 1980 and they had three children Amanda, Terry and Lisa. Lynn lived Spruce Grove, Alberta where she died on July 2, 2003 and she is buried in the Hythe Cemetery.

Allan married Edna Hodgson on September 1, 1962 and they had four boys Tommy, Allan Jr., Timothy and Clayton. Allan stayed in Lymburn working the farm where he was raised. In order to support the farm he went to work at various jobs including hauling logs and heavy equipment he eventually bought his first heavy equipment in 1974 and this grew into an oilfield construction business that was first ran out of their home at the farm in Lymburn and later moved to a shop by Hythe. Allan's first marriage ended and he married Sharron Sanford on March 21, 1987 in Lymburn.

Custodial history

The records were donated by Clayton Greber.

Scope and content

The fonds consist of records and photographs relating to the Greber family.

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Immediate source of acquisition

The records were donated by Clayton Greber who collected them from family members.

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  • English

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Accession numbers: 2013.058 ; 2013.062

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0634

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South Peace Regional Archives

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  • English

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