Excerpt from: "Hills of Hope" - Pub. by Carvel Unifarm, 1976

David Harmon Lent was born in Hamilton Township, Ontario, June 18, 1858. On August 14, 1888, he and Annie Eleanor Francey, who was born July 21, 1865, in Baltimore, Ontario, were married.
During the first five years of their marriage they lived in Ontario where Mr. Lent taught school. As so often happens, a dispute between the school board and the teacher took place. After one of these disputes with the local board, Mr. Lent applied to the Board of Missions for the Methodist Church to be sent to an Indian Mission way out west. As a result of this he, with his wife and family of six children, arrived at Gleichen Indian Mission on the Blood Reserve, east of Calgary in 1898. In 1900 he was sent to the Indian Mission west of Edmonton as a missionary and teacher. By this time a new mission house had been built. The original buildings were just north of the church; these were log buildings. There were no roads as we know them, only a freight trail, starting from where the Saskatchewan river was crossed at Strathcona. The river was crossed on the ice in winter and forded in summer. Strathcona at that time was the end of steel. The trail wound in a westerly direction following the easiest route to the Methodist Mission, which was about two miles west of the present site of the hamlet of Duffield. The family was now seven children and the youngest was an infant only a few weeks old and was carried on a pillow. The Lents settled at the Mission.
The Indians were fascinated by the tiny white child. Mrs. Lent was the first white woman in this part of the country. It is utterly impossible for us to imagine her feeling of isolation - not another white woman for miles! She had been used to life in Ontario. Today we think we are isolated when the telephone is off for even an hour!
The Indians were kind to the family and after church or on other occasions, Mrs. Lent would serve tea and biscuits, a sort of hard-tack, sent out by the Department of Indian Affairs.
While at the Mission, Mr. Lent, besides teaching school and holding services in the Church, also travelled to the logging camps where he preached both the Gospel and prohibition; he was a staunch supporter of both. He had received special ordination from the Methodist Church to enable him to perform all services of the Church.
About this time the Department of Indian Affairs decided to send the Indian children away to school at Red Deer and later to St. Albert. Mr. Lent was the last resident teacher until many years later. By 1902, another missionary, Mr. Charles Hopkins, was coming to take over the Mission so another move was in order.
Around this time the country was being opened for homesteading and a family that had moved so much welcomed the prospect of owning a place for a permanent home. Therfore Mr. Lent filed on the SW4-53-3-W5 in the Northwest Territories.
By 1903, a small house, twelve feet by twelve feet, was built on the homestead. This became home to the Lent family consisting of Father, Mother and eight children. Later that winter Mrs. Lent's brother, Fred Francey and a cousin, Jack Carr, arrived to live with them. During some of the family reminiscings I have heard reference to the tiers of bunks along the wall, and an alcove under the stairs where some slept.
In the early homestead days many of the freight haulers would stop at Lents where they were sure of good food for man and animals, whether horse or oxen. As the house was small the men would sleep in the hay mow. These freight haulers were welcomed as they helped supplement the family income and these men were the only contact with the outside world. At first, all supplies were brought from Strathcona by team and wagon in the summer and sleigh in the winter. Many are the stories that can be told of snowdrifts and ice and other extremes such as one long mudhole with the very worst holes corduroyed to keep the wagon from sinking right out of sight. The freight road went west to Edson and Tete Jaune Cache. It passed between the house and the barn and a few miles west it branched, the north branch going to Lac Ste. Anne.
In 1906 the "Big House" was built at Lents and a part of it was made into living space for Grandpa and Grandma Francey. They lived with their daughter until their deaths. By this time another four children had been added to the family since arriving at the homestead.
The train came as far as Stony in 1905 and the mail came to Mewassin and this was a great improvement.
Mr. Lent continued teaching. He was the first teacher at Mewassin and also at Woodland when it opened. He was the first teacher at the old Smithfield site and this would be one mile east of the present road into Wabamun Provincial Park.
When the girls were older some of them would go to the town where he was teaching to attend school, and keep house. The older children stayed at home to help their mother.
A year or so before the first war broke out they built what was known as "The Beanery", the first restaurant in Duffield. The original Beanery is part of the present Lucky Dollar Store in Duffield, the building having been moved to the different location. Mrs. Lent and some of the girls ran the restaurant for about a year.
As with all families, as they grew up, the older girls were married and grandchildren arrived. The eldest of the family was a son Louis. He enlisted in 1916 with the 202 Battalion from Edmonton. After arriving in England he was transferred to the 31 Battalion. He was wounded in 1917 and returned in the spring of 1919, after being in the Occupation Force. He spent many years as a steam engineer in the coal mines of Alberta. In 1932 he married Orlo Puller of Calgary. They lived in Foothills and later Cadomin where Orlo died. Louis retired in the 1950s when the mines ceased operating. Louis travelled extensively after retiring. He never forgot any of his army pals and was always a most welcome visitor. He died on December 13, 1972 at the age of eighty-two.
Velma was the eldest daughter and she married Donald McDonald and lived in the Brightbank District for many years. After her husband's death she moved to British Columbia to be near her daughter. At the time of her death in April, 1973 she was living in Port Coquitlam with her youngest daughter. Velma had six boys and two girls.
Lillian married George Duncan in 1912 and her story appears elsewhere in this book.
Verna married Aubrey Dennill of the Woodland District. They operated a restaurant in Duffield until 1917 when they and Aubrey's two younger brothers went to Islay. Later after the Canadian Pacific Railway line was built, they moved to a farm near Dewberry. They retired in 1945. Verna died in 1947 and Aubrey several years later. Both are buried in the Smithfield Cemetery.
Maida married Herbert Duncan in 1917 and farmed in the Rich Valley District. She was widowed in 1919. In 1924 she graduated from the Royal Alex Hospital in Edmonton. Maida had a varied nursing career until retirement. At present she is living near Haney, British Columbia. Her son lives at Williams Lake, British Columbia.
Freida married Edwin Woollard in 1918 and her story appears elsewhere in this book.
Ada has retired from teaching and lives in Edmonton. She taught at Smithfield shortly after Normal and at retirement she was Dean of Girls at Victoria Composite School in Edmonton. She is now enjoying curling, golfing and travelling - all the "fun" things she never had time for while working.
Jenny married Larry Jackson in 1937 and they had one daughter. They operated a store at Websters Corners, British Columbia. They built a house on the Lougheed Highway where they retired. Larry died in November, 1973.
David never married. He enlisted in the Cavalry, but that wasn't for him! He went north and spent most of his life as a prospector at Coppermine, Yellowknife and Fort Smith. He retired due to ill health and now lives in Beaverlodge.
Irene died at an early age from pneumonia.
Arba joined the Army Engineers in British Columbia as a Diesel Engineer. He married Mary Lawrie in 1953 and they had one son. They live in Surrey, British Columbia where he operated a mushroom farm until poor health forced him to retire.
Roy was born on the homestead in the "big house". Almost the youngest of a big family, he never lacked advice. His early schooling was at Smithfield. Even before he was old enough to go to school, he took off one day to meet the older children coming home; but his timing was out and when he arrived at school no one was around. He sat on the step and waited. When the children came out at recess, he was unceremoniously hurried home as the older children knew his disappearance would cause concern at home. At various times Roy attended school where his father was teaching, Youngstown in Alberta, Cupar in Saskatchewan, and Beausejour and Emerson, Manitoba where he finished Grade 10.
At this time he took over the active responsibility of running the farm as his father was no farmer and his mother found it too difficult. He ran the farm until his mother's death in 1930. In November of that year he decided to resume his education by attending the Vermilion School of Agriculture. The first year classes included English and Mathematics along with the practical courses such as blacksmithing, carpentry and sciences. Sports and social activities contributed to an interesting winter. Final results found him at the top of the class. He returned to the farm for the summer but in November returned to school for his second year. In spite of the fact that Roy was distracted by a girl student, he was again first in his class.
Roy returned to the farm, but crops were poor. There were no student loans for university in those days, but at least they could eat, even though the choice was limited, eggs and potatoes for one meal and, for a change, potatoes and eggs the next meal. There were no mail strikes in those days and letters were received regularly.
In the summer of 1933, Roy with the help of Mr. J. Sparks started to build a house on the NW4-53-3-W5. He was appointed weed inspector for part of the Municipal District of Inga No. 520 and although this helped finances, it kept Roy busy that summer. Roy was Vermilion bound again in November but not for classes, - for wedding bells! On November 18, 1933 Roy and Joan Currey were married. They settled into the recently built house and started farming. Roy continued to work as weed inspector and in 1938 he was also appointed to perform the General Assessment for the Municipal District of Inga No. 520.
1942 was the year that the Social Credit Government introduced the idea of forming larger municipalities. The Municipalities of Tomahawk No. 519, Inga No. 520 and Spruce Grove No. 521 were dissolved and this area became the first large Municipal District of Stony Plain No. 84. Roy was elected to Division No. 4 in March 1942 and served continuously until 1966. In 1968 he was elected to the County Council of Parkland No. 31 but due to illness did not contest the 1971 election.
In 1947 Roy was Deputy Reeve holding that position until becoming Reeve in 1963. Other positions he held were - Chairman of the Agriculture Service Board, Member of the Civil Defense Control Commission (later Emergency Measures Organization). He was an active member of the group that organized the Rural Electrification Association and also the the Stony Plain Seed Cleaning Plant. In 1957 the Smithfield Mutual Telephone Co. was organized with Roy as the first secretary. He is a member of the Meridian Lodge No. 129, Stony plain Chapter 119 O.E.S., the United Church at Wabamun and the Interlake Golden Age Club at Darwell.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Lent have a family of four girls and one son. The eldest daughter, Betty, graduated from Stony Plain and then trained at the Royal Alex Hosospital in Edmonton. In 1958 she married Gordon Milne of Duffield and they have a family of three boys and three girls. In 1974 Gordon was elected Councillor for Division 4 of the County of Parkland No. 31.
Twin girls, Margaret and Maida, were born two years after Betty, and Margaret also graduated from the Royal Alex Hospital. In 1960 Margaret married Sid Fuhr of Duffield. They have one son and daughter. Maida joined the Air Force after graduating from high school and in 1960 she married J.H. Baskerville. They have moved to several Canadian bases including five years in Europe at which time Roy and his wife visited them. They have a daughter and two sons and are presently stationed at Canadian Forces Base, Cold Lake, Alberta.
Another ten years elapsed before another son, David, arrived. He followed in Grandpa's footsteps and became a teacher. He graduated from University of Alberta in 1970 and in that year married Cathryn Baker of Westlock, also a university graduate. They lived in Edmonton and in July 1974 moved to Westlock where they have purchsed a farm and are both employed in the area.
Seven years after David was born Roy and his wife were blessed with the arrival of their youngest daughter, Catherine Dianne. After graduation from Stony Plain she attended University for two years and then obtained employment in Edmonton. In January 1975 she was married to Terry Eddington of Edmonton.
Mr. D.H. Lent continued teaching until nearly seventy years of age. After he retired he lived on the farm for a few years and then moved to a small house near his daughter, Velma, at Brightbank. He passed away in August 1938 at the age of eighty and is buried in the Smithfield Cemetery.
During the time that the family was growing up money was always scarce but that didn't stop them from enjoying life; picnics at Kapasiwin Beach, dances in the school and at Christmas the school concerts, which often involved travelling by team and sleigh for several miles. In the early days, the Church played a much more important role than it does today, both as a teaching centre and as a social centre. An item in the recently published book of the Tomahawk District says that the first church service in that part of the country was held in the Martin McDonald home and the Minister was Mr. D.H. Lent. The date was between 1908 and 1910.

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