THE CLEMENT STORY

In the year 1879 Mr. and Mrs. John Clement from England arrived in the Boulton district.  After finding their homestead, building a shack to live in, they settled down for the winter.  They soon made many friends.  John was a carpenter by trade and his wife a mid-wife.  With no Doctor or nurse within miles, one will readily see how Mr. and Mrs. John Clement soon made friends and were loved and needed by the settlers in the Boulton district.

They had three children Fred, William and Rosina.

In the year 1883 Fred Clement arrived from England (a brother of John Clement) and in 1884 he sent to England for his wife and family. They arrived at Minnedosa where they were met by Ted.  I have often heard Grandma Clement say, "If I had had the money I would have bought a return ticket to England, and no one would have stopped me."

    The trip from Minnedosa to Boulton was full of adventure.  Can you imagine a team of oxen hitched to an old four wheeled vehicle, all their luggage and supplies, three children with their parents and a driver leaving Minnedosa on a bright warm summer morning to journey to Boulton district. As the day wore on the oxen became hot and thirsty and headed for a slough to drink and to cool themselves in the water.   They took their time while the frightened Clement family sat wondering if they would all be drowned or eaten by flies and mosquitoes. It took a full week to make the journey from Minnedosa to John Clement's home in Boulton. There, Fred Clement, his wife and family lived until he built a house on his homestead.

    When the house was nearly finished, Fred decided to take his wife and family to see their new home. As they drove along Fred kept saying, "We should see the house very soon, it was there yesterday." But they never did see it. A prairie fire had beat them to it. Nothing remained but ashes. However, another house was built on a different site nearer to John Clement's home and they were moved into their new home before winter.

    Grandma Clement (Mrs. Fred Clement) had many stories to tell of the hardships they endured the first few years. Then a minister arrived and church services were held in different homes on Sunday. More settlers arrived and the Boulton school was built. As people became acquainted, everyone seemed fairly happy. The Clement children went two miles to school in the summer but because of deep snow and the cold they didn't attend in the winter.

    Indians were regular callers on the settlers in the district. It took a long tome to learn their habits and to understand the Indian ways.  When Grandma was alone with the children at night, she was scared to death by the howling of wild animals and the thoughts of Indians creeping up upon them. She would bolt the door, put out the fire and with her family she would huddle together in the dark.

    One day a big chief came to their house. He was carrying a big knife and chased Mrs. Clement around and around the table. One of the children took off on high speed for neighbor, Mrs. Adams. She came on a galloping horse and not being afraid of the chief she soon sent him on his way but not before Mrs. Clement fell to the floor in a faint. Mrs. Bill Adams and Grandma Clement remained friends as long as they lived.

    This is another of Mrs. Fred Clement's stories—Jack Gill, who lived over in the Asessippi Valley had captured two young elk. He cared for them, tamed them and by the time they were two years old he had halter broke them and trained them to drive when hitched to a wheeled vehicle or sleigh. What a fine pair of drivers they were! Jack Gill was a store keeper in the valley and used the team of elk in many ways as well as pleasure driving and hunting in the winter.

    The years slipped by quickly Fred Clement worried with his brother John as carpenters and built many C.P.R. stations. They received a dollar a day with board and room provided. Sometimes the brothers would be away for three months at a time. Mrs. Clement would be alone with the family to fulfill the requirements on the homestead to attend to a garden and chickens and to put up feed for their cattle, etc.  The girls were trained to assist their brother in this work. Grandma Clement really did her best. When at last they had a horse and buckboard, she drove the girls to Russell to take music.

    In the days of the very early settler eggs were 3 to 10 cents a dozen, dairy butter 12 to 15 cents a lb, a bar of laundry soap cost 25 cents to buy, the price of one dozen eggs plus one pound of good dairy butter.

    In the year 1912, Fred Clement with his wife and son Frank moved to Binscarth. Frank bought out the Livery Business and that was the start of his business life.

    Mr. and Mrs. Fred Clement both died in 1932. They are interred in the Binscarth cemetery. They left five daughters and one son to mourn them.

Frank Clement

    This is a write up of Mr. Frank Clement from the GMC Dealers Digest, 1962. I am sure the people of Russell and District who know Frank and sons and their families will enjoy reading this business history.

    Howard B. Moore (the executive Vice-President of the Federated Automobile Dealers Association at that time said he had given this description of Frank many times:  He sells passenger cars—he sells trucks he sells farm implements -he sells bicycles he sells bus tickets—he sells candy bars he sells hides and skins he pumps gas- he drives taxi." I checked it with Rod, who said, "That's about it."  Frank and his two sons, Rodney and Harold, were at the Convention. I had met Frank on one of my F.A.D.A. Chautauqua Tours of Manitoba and found him such an interesting character that I asked Rod for "a picture and a bit of a write-up." And here it is.

    Frank Clement was born on a farm on September 24th, 1888, approximately fifteen miles north of Russell, Manitoba.

    Schooling began at the age of five, and completed at twelve years of age. He had to walk two miles each way, and when winter set in was unable to attend thus completed his fourth reader only.

    He worked a man's pace until the age of 21 as a farmer, moving to Binscarth, Manitoba, on January 12th, 1912, where he entered the Horse and Buggy Livery Business with his father. The taxi business was carried on until recent years first by the horse and buggy, then the automobile and the propeller-driven snow plane. When Frank's two sons returned from the war, F. O. Rodney Clement (D.F C. - A.F.M) and Harold, purchased a 140 Cessina Aircraft to use in their business.  In 1964 a helicopter was purchased, finding it more practical for their ranching purposes.  Rod was a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly from 1949 until 1958.

    After the Second World War, when his two sons, Harold and Rodney, returned home, they relieved Mr. Clement of some of the responsibility. Manpower became more plentiful, and business began to expand, to such an extent that at this day they operate three interwoven but separate businesses, namely:

    F. Clement and Sons Limited selling Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Vauxhall and Corvair Cars, Chevrolet and G.M. Trucks. This dealership is one of the oldest General Motors Dealerships in North America. And with a 4th generation, Frank Clement, Junior, son of Rod Clement, now actively engaged in the automobile business and Harold's son Fred, presently in the implement business, there is hope the name may carry on for many years.

    Clement's Farm Equipment Ltd. selling Massey-Ferguson,  J.I. Case, Minneapolis Moline and New Holland Farm Implements.

    Clement Brothers Bar-C Ranch — raising Hereford cattle and growing registered grain.  This grain is being cleaned and bagged and shipped from Sweden to the Middle East as well as many parts of the U.S.A.

    At 77 years of age, Frank Clement is as active today as most men are at 40. He puts in a full day's work at his place of business, keeping the wheels of industry humming.

The Clement Families

    John Clement, the first of the two brothers to come to Canada, and his wife Mary, had two sons and one daughter Fred, William and Rosina.

    Fred Clement, the eldest son, and his wife Winnie were the parents of Mabel (Mrs. LeRoy Laycock), Louise, Winnie, Stanley and Garnet.

    Mr. and Mrs. Laycock have three sons, Fred, George and Morris and two daughters, Mildred and Edith.

    Stanley Clement married Rita Lucas. They have one son Robert. Robert had three daughters Lisa, Cindi, and Robbi. Lisa has one daughter Amanda. Cindi married Bryan Nichols and has three children Hope, Paxton, and Trayden, and lives in Chetwnyd B.C. Robbi married Neil Zentner (of Macnutt) and has four children Daniel, Zachary, Madeline, and Mathew.

    Garnet Clement married Edna Lindsay. They have a family of three - Gary, Grant and Kelly.

    William Clement, the second son and his wife Ellen had a son, John his son Jack married Sylvia Drosdosky and has one daughter Cheryl and one son Marlin. Marlin now resides in Winnipeg.

    Rosina married David Nairn.

    Fred Clement who came to Canada in 1883 had a family of five daughters and one son.

    Frank (the only son) married Margaret Johnston. They were the parents of four sons, Russell, Rodney, Harold and Fred and one daughter Kathleen.

   Rod married Ethel Jackson. They are the parents of two sons, Rodney and Ronnie and a daughter Bonnie Marie and the grandparents of Bradley and Kathleen.

   Kathleen married Reg Austin.  They have a son Reggie.

   Harold married Jacquelin Adolphe. They have a family of three, Fred, Michelle and Melody.

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