Pioneer House
Our Pioneer House was the pioneer home of the John Deynaka family donated by Don Strause and it is now a virtual time machine allowing one to discover what life was like for some almost a century ago.
June 10, 1991
Welcome visitors to the pioneer home of the John Deynaka family. This home has been brought here for its preservation and for the enjoyment of today’s and future generation’s people. Please observe the house’s humble simplicity. The early pioneers placed all their resources into the land and animals before the pleasure of personal comforts.
Originally this log home was constructed on the NW. 1/4 Sec. 30 Twp. 73 R. 17 W5 by Mr. John Orichowski who lived on that particular homestead only briefly. After Mr. Orichowski gave up his homestead John Deynaka bought it from the government for the sum of $15.00. In the summer of 1942 the house was dismantled log by log with the help of Mr. Tony Jaic, who would be John Deynaka’s neighbor at Triangle. Ted, John’s eldest son, had the task of removing the shingles with the use of a shovel, being instructed to “Be careful not to break any”. That proved somewhat a difficult task while attempting not to fall off the steep roof of the two story building.
An interesting feature of the early pioneer house was the lack of separate bedroom and living room. In other words, you did your living where you did your sleeping and vice versa.
One by one the logs were taken down by John and numbered by Tony Jaic. Everything was carefully salvaged, logs, shingles, windows and door. These were loaded onto their farm wagon and pulled by the same team of horses that brought the family to their Gilwood homestead on the SE. 1/4 Sec. 23 Twp. 73 R. 18 W5.
The dismantling, move, some 10 miles in distance, and the reconstruction took all summer to complete. The job was done wholly by hard physical hand labor.
The house’s main use was a residence for the family during spring seeding and harvest. However, in 1948-49 Deynaka’s daughter Mary lived here with her two younger brothers, Joe and Stan so they could catch the school bus to High Prairie, as the buses picked up children only on the main routes. Then again the house was used during the winter of 1949-50 due to a shortage of water for the cattle on the home place. The house served in this capacity for 20 years. As time progressed with the construction of roads the house was used less and bedlivingroomless until it fell into retirement. In 1985 was relocated to it’s present site by the Pioneer Threshermen’s Association.
Written by
Frances Deynaka Daughter-in-law to John Deynaka