Contrary to what we might assume, not everyone had horses and wagons. Walking to wherever you had to go was even simpler and cheaper than a horse and that's how many people got around. Elmer had a bicycle which he sometimes rode 40km to Cranbrook or Fernie just for something to do. He rode it to dances in Jaffray and home in the dark through the bush. Another mode of transportation that was popular in Jaffray was a little contraption which resembled a dog sled, called a "kicker". You didn't need a dog to operate it, though. A person stood on the back runner and kicked to propel the sled over the icy roads. They were traditional transportation in Sweden and were introduced to Jaffray by one of the resident Swedes. People travelled for miles in the wintertime on them. Kickers were more reliable on icy roads than vehicles. During the 20s, wagons or vehicles usually had to dodge stumps on the rough roads but by the 40s, even the Crowsnest Highway was complete, and usually passable.

The nearest medical care was in Cranbrook or Fernie and one usually travelled there by train or drove horse and wagon on the dirt road, a full day's journey there and back. Generally, the Matsons were strong and healthy. Elmer's brother, Anton, born in 1908, was the one exception. Sickly from birth, he died at age 14. Doctors occasionally came to the schools to examine the children and on one such occasion Elmer was told he needed his adenoids and tonsils removed. The doctor's advice was, however, ignored with no later repercussions. Years later Elmer had to go to Calgary to get a tooth removed. The operation required two hours of work with a hammer and chisel to pry out the interwoven roots. When Elmer and Mary were cutting Christmas trees, Mary's axe bounced off a branch and wounded her. "I wasn't very good with an axe", explained Mary. "It jumped up and split my boot and cut my toe. I didn't want to go to the doctor. Elmer said, "I know why you don't want to go. Because you're not all dressed up!' I was in work clothes. He took me and I got four stitches. It was nothing." When Mary was pregnant with Lynda her mother insisted that she stay in Fernie with her family so she would be close to the hospital. Mary was worried about who would take care of Elmer but her mother informed her that "Elmer can take care of himself!"

Much to the disgust of Socks, he soon became plow horse and was teamed with a partner, Chief. Together they skidded logs and pulled the farm implements. Land used to grow crops such as oats had to be plowed and disked in either spring or fall to prepare it for production. The earlier plows required the operator to walk behind but Elmer had a modern "sulky plow" which he could ride on. "We got lazier all the time," he chuckles.

Medical Care

Elmer and his saddle horse, Socks, who became the plowhorse

Elmer and the horses work on the ranch