Living Landscapes

From Broad Axe to Clay Chinking
Isle Pierre Road
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Two brothers, Vincent and Steve Kucey came from Czechoslovakia in 1933 and went to the Canadian prairies before settling in British Columbia close to Prince George on the Isle Pierre road. Here they built up a large farm with cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. They sold cattle, pigs, and hay. Horses, of course, were needed to do the heavy work like skidding logs to build buildings, pulling a plow to make the gardens, and also for haying. Tractors were not in use in those days.

The Kuceys had a large cow barn, built of logs, also a horse barn. This horse barn had a gambrel roof and a loft and what was very different about this loft was the board floor. It was plastered over with a type of yellowish clay which could have had sand mixed with it. It was a solid covered floor and no hay seed or anything could fall through the cracks. This is a picture of the rafter detail of the horse barn.

The chicken house was also of logs. It is said that some of their Czechoslovakian friends helped them with the construction of their log buildings. The first building that was used as a dwelling place was built with very neat dove-tailed corners. They also built a log house but it burnt down, years later, when some other people owned the farm. A hay shed, built on huge poles with a space underneath, for implements, and a salt and feed shed were other additions to the farm.

Most notable, though, is the large root house for storing vegetables over the winter. The root cellar itself was made of cement while the top was a large, log construction in which they put hay, and this also acted as insulation for the cellar below. The cellar was dug into the side of a hill so the entrance to it opened on one side while the loft part opened on the other side with it’s entrance also at ground level, that part having been built on the top of the bank.

The Kuceys were popular people and they would make a big picnic dinner in the summertime, inviting all the neighbors around the area from Chief Lake and Reid Lake. As one neighbor said “ It was a great place to go for supper.” Steve was the housekeeper, while Vincent did the business. They made lots of wine, dandelion wine being their specialty. In the spring time the countryside would be covered with dandelions.

While Steve remained a bachelor, Vincent did get married in later years.

Living Landscapes


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Two brothers, Vincent and Steve Kucey came from Czechoslovakia in 1933 and went to the Canadian prairies before settling in British Columbia close to Prince George on the Isle Pierre road. Here they built up a large farm with cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. They sold cattle, pigs, and hay. Horses, of course, were needed to do the heavy work like skidding logs to build buildings, pulling a plow to make the gardens, and also for haying. Tractors were not in use in those days. The Kuceys had a large cow barn, built of logs, also a horse barn. This horse barn had a gambrel roof and a loft and what was very different about this loft was the board floor. It was plastered over with a type of yellowish clay which could have had sand mixed with it. It was a solid covered floor and no hay seed or anything could fall through the cracks. This is a picture of the rafter detail of the horse barn. The chicken house was also of logs. It is said that some of their Czechoslovakian friends helped them with the construction of their log buildings. The first building that was used as a dwelling place was built with very neat dove-tailed corners. They also built a log house but it burnt down, years later, when some other people owned the farm. A hay shed, built on huge poles with a space underneath, for implements, and a salt and feed shed were other additions to the farm. Most notable, though, is the large root house for storing vegetables over the winter. The root cellar itself was made of cement while the top was a large, log construction in which they put hay, and this also acted as insulation for the cellar below. The cellar was dug into the side of a hill so the entrance to it opened on one side while the loft part opened on the other side with it’s entrance also at ground level, that part having been built on the top of the bank. The Kuceys were popular people and they would make a big picnic dinner in the summertime, inviting all the neighbors around the area from Chief Lake and Reid Lake. As one neighbor said “ It was a great place to go for supper.” Steve was the housekeeper, while Vincent did the business. They made lots of wine, dandelion wine being their specialty. In the spring time the countryside would be covered with dandelions. While Steve remained a bachelor, Vincent did get married in later years.