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Ernest Ellis arrived in Winnipeg
from England in 1903. He had been a stockbroker in his uncle's London
office but had a desire to seek adventure and independence. He took a
position with the University of Manitoba which he subse-quently left to
move to Treesbank and the Millford district. It was during this time
that he met Beatrice Criddle, oldest daughter of Percy and Alice
Griddle, who had also come from England some years before. Ernest and
Beatrice were married in 1910 on November 10th.
They rented the Sutcliffe farm until 1919 in the Treesbank district.
Then Ernest decided to look elsewhere for a permanent place to farm. By
this time five children had been born to them. That summer Beatrice and
her family moved to her parental home until Ernest's return. He hooked
two horses to a wagon and leading two others made his way north to
Bowsman where he made a thorough survey of a large part of the farming
area. He found nothing to his liking. In the fall of 1919, he purchased
the West half of 35-7-17 and Northwest quarter of 26-7-17 from R. B.
Fawcett. The following spring the family moved to that farm, just north
of the town of Wawanesa. There the last two members of the family were
born.
Farming during the 20's and 30's was for no one an easy profession. It
was certainly no different for the Ellis family. The long, work-loaded
days were accepted as essential to success, but in spite of it, time
was always found for enjoyment. Ernest in particular became involved in
com-munity affairs, starting as he did on the farm at Millford where he
became secretary of the U.G.G. and in addition took up the fight
against prohibition to become secretary of the Moderation League. His
personal tastes in this connection provided him with enthusiasm and
unflagging energy. He possessed a unique sense of humor and there were
few situations in which he could not find cause for laughter.
Beatrice
shared with him a sense of fun and light heartedness. Her
interest in the things of nature while shared by him to a degree, were
never fully understood and participated in. Like her brothers and
sisters, she had a love and knowledge of practically every living
animal, bird and plant. Even though she was kept busy looking after her
eight children, milking cows and other farm work, she always had time
to devote to her plants, garden, berry picking, and the things she had
been brought up to love and appreciate. Her interest in sports was not
only as a spectator, but as an active participant. Tennis, skating and
curling were her favorites, and she never lost an opportunity to become
involved, and even at the age of 70, walked to Wawanesa to curl.
At Wawanesa, Ernest became involved in many organizations so that
farming became more of a sideline to him. Much of the work fell upon
Beatrice and the children.
In 1921 he started a seed-cleaning business which he entitled "The
Wawanesa Seed Grain Association." Specialization in the handling of
forage seeds such as clover, alfalfa, brome and rye grass resulted in
the development of a market in all three prairie provinces. For a
number of years, the business flourished but during the 1930's, like
many other farm projects, faded to existence level only.
He was the first secretary-treasurer of the Wawanesa Consumers' Co-op
and also the first chairman of the Wawanesa Hospital, holding that
office during its development until shortly before his death.
Ernest's participation in sports took him to many Manitoba communities
and although tennis and curling were major interests, he never lost his
love for cricket. This game he followed enthusiastically and was always
pleased to meet someone of similar interests to discuss the game and
the players involved on both a national and international basis. At the
farm at Wawanesa, a tennis court and golf course provided constant
entertainment and were enjoyed by people from all over the district.
Bags of grain at the Ellis Seed Plant
Adapted from Sipiweski, page 294,165,
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