165 The Royal Canadian Legion www.mbnwo.legion.ca POOLE, Walter David WWI Walter was born on September 24, 1889, the fourth child of James M. and Rebecca Poole, in Freeland (birth certificate indicates Glendale) about 10 miles SSW of Neepawa. Because of severe fall frosts, the family moved to Springhurst (Springhill) SE 3-16-16 in 1891. The school Walter attended was located on S 34-15-16 near the water spring, which was a widely used water source back then and also more recently. In his early twenties, Walter was active in the well-boring business. The machine was powered by a team of horses which walking in a circle to drive what was called a horse-power. On February 19, 1916, he enlisted in the Canadian Army with the 45th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was shortly sent overseas with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles, twice wounded with shrapnel and also gassed in France. His duties were an infantryman, sniper, and with the railroad troops in Belgium, receiving his discharge on May 22, 1919. On February 5, 1919, in Belfast, Ireland, Walter Poole married Elizabeth M.T. Stuart and returned home with his bride. She was an accomplished bookkeeper and musician and used these talents for the benefit of her family and the community. Walter obtained a homestead in Saskatchewan, NE 1-42-17 W2, east of Pleasantdale, but for reasons unknown, he returned to Springhill and purchased the NE 3-16-16 from his father. During the 1920s and 1930s, a pastime many people enjoyed and hoped to benefit from was “figure puzzles” that were sponsored by magazines and papers to increase circulation. Walter and Elizabeth were fortunate in 1927 to win the first prize in a national contest sponsored by The Country Guide. The prize was a 1927 Chevrolet sedan and $1300, this was followed by a second place finish in a similar contest sponsored by Goblin in 1928. They again won a car or had the choice of taking the cash equivalent. This was a great blessing to them during those times as they had four children and there were occasions when they had neither the money nor credit available to purchase a bag of flour. The merchants weren’t uncharitable; they also required cash to purchase supplies. Walter was a custom thresher and also did land breaking. Threshing would begin on the lower levels northwest of Neepawa and would progress up the slope of Riding Mountain through Springhill, Polonia, and Mountain Road area. During the late 1930s into the 1940s farm methods and prices improved and they decided to buy a farm at Oberon from Mr. and Mrs. Tom McKenzie, then retired to Neepawa in 1949, leasing the land to their sons, Arnold and Elmer. Walter passed away on June 24, 1957, following a lengthy period with a crippling stroke. Elizabeth passed away on September 4, 1965, several days after a severe stroke. They were both buried in Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa, Manitoba.
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