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SOOKE HISTORY: Historian has connection to Norwegian pioneers

Elida Peers | Contributed
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The plan for the Saseenos subdivision. The lots were marketed by Alfred Carmicheal Realty in the 1920s. (Contributed - Sooke Region Museum)

Elida Peers | Contributed

It slipped by me, and I should have taken note. Nov. 11, 2022, was Remembrance Day and 100 years since my parents Michael and Karen Wickheim, arrived at Saseenos, transported by George Throup’s motor stage from Victoria.

Arriving from Norway with their six-month-old daughter Nanna, they found accommodation in “The Birdcages” buildings, which originally housed B.C.’s government until the Parliament Buildings were built.

While my mother stayed there with the baby, probably welcoming a chance to rest up from the challenging trip across Canada by CPR Colonist Car, my father took excursions looking for land out in the country. He found acreage within the new subdivision of Saseenos, where the lots were being marketed by Alfred Carmichael Realty.

It was gathering dusk when George Throup stopped to unload their trunks at the corner of Parkland and Sooke Road, and the young couple began the trek to the four acres they had chosen to turn into a farm home. That first night they were welcomed by the Beasley family, who had already settled at the corner of Parkland and Blythwood. Mrs. Beasley was the daughter of Edward Milne Sr. and his wife Susannah, who arrived in Sooke from Scotland in 1884.

The couple needed to purchase some basics, a tent to serve as their first home and a wood heater to cook on. Water was carried from Lannan Creek. In those days, their little home site was surrounded by massive Douglas-firs and red cedars. Split rail and picket fences were built as they worked towards establishing a chicken farm. Cash was in very short supply and what they did not have, they did without.

My mother Karen was quick to learn English, and both were great readers, though the light was only available from coal oil lamps. Michael was already fluent, having earlier left Norway in his teens and then gone on to prospecting in Alaska when gold was discovered in Nome.

Karen raised six children, and her love of gardening led her to friendship with another Norwegian lady, Mrs. Sverre (Dagny) Hansen, after the Hansens had come to settle on nearby Harbourview Road. Two of Dagny’s children, Arnie and Gerhart Hansen, still live in Sooke and may recall how the immigrant women exchanged visits. The four-acre farm is still in the family today.

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Elida Peers is the historian of the Sooke Region Museum. Email historian@sookeregionmuseum.com.

MORE HISTORY: Stories of Sooke highlights rich tapestry of life in the region



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