Fonds 0261 - Frank Paige fonds

Frank Paige was born in Lachine, Quebec, in 1890. He was one of six children. He originally homesteaded the SE 17-55-3-W5 in the eastern part of central Alberta near Heinsburg in 1911 or 1912. In 1922, Frank bought the quarter of land (SW 1-74-6-W6) north of Sexsmith from John MacDonald. He lived in a one room shack, heated with wood year round and farmed with horses. By the 1950s he needed help; his fields had a noxious weed problem, but he was distrustful and didn't seem to have a close friend. He started writing many letters to the County of Grande Prairie and government departments trying to explain his situation but his writing was very indeciperable and likely came to be ignored. By 1958, Frank Paige was an old age pensioner and had rented out his land but was unhappy with the farming practices of his renter and the County was pressuring him to solve a weed problem. His letter writing increased and included a letter to A.O. Fimrite, a local MLA who advised him to consider selling his quarter, retaining an acreage for himself. He evidently did not take the advice. In 1963, he was still writing to the County, requesting information on who was paying for cutting the couch grass and were there any debts against his land. It seems the County found him to be a nuisance and ignored him eventually. On a cold day in February, 1965, a passerby noticed there was no smoke coming from his chimney and went in to investigate. Frank was found partially frozen and was taken to the Grande Prairie Hospital. He lost some of his fingers and had to have two artificial legs. He then lived in the Alberta Hotel in Edmonton for some time and then ended his days in the Auxiliary Hospital in Grande Prairie. He died c. 1980.