The elder Kerbes Brothers – Part 3 (Sons of Peter Kerbes)
Gwen Hall
In 1931 August Kerbes bought land north of Wooded Hills School, near the Red Deer River. While he was building his house and corrals, he lived with Alex and Riina Krisbi who farmed two miles away. There he met their daughter Lilly.
August and Lilly were married in 1933; they had five children: Charlotte (died in a house fire), Gwen, Robert, Richard and Rose.
August and Lilly had to rebuild their house after a disastrous fire. They endured much hardship and had to live off the land. August, who was a skilled hunter, provided a steady supply of deer, rabbit, grouse and wild ducks. In addition, he trapped muskrats and weasels to supplement his farming income.
August enjoyed playing his guitar while visiting friends, and sang songs he learned while working in the U.S.A. In 1942, he and his family moved closer to Wooded Hills School to make it more convenient for the children to attend school. They attended High School in Big Valley.
Gwen received a R.N Degree at the Calgary General Hospital in 1957. She married Bill Snyder the same year and they had three children: Dan, Grace and Jason. She divorced Bill and married Ernie Hall of Gibbons, Alberta in 1970.
They continued farming until 1980 when the couple moved to their current home near Boyle, Alberta. Gwen worked at various hospitals from 1953 to 1988.
Robert was born prematurely on the farm and was kept warm in a shoe box on the door of a wood stove. He farmed in the Stettler area while working part-time on oil rigs. Following his marriage to Carol Holtz in 1966, they had four children: Stanley, Jeffrey, Corina and Lana Mae.
Richard was born at home during a blizzard, with neighbor Pauline Nicklom acting as midwife. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Zoology degree in 1965 and joined the Canadian Wildlife Service. His studies of wild geese (Snow, Ross, White-fronted, Canada) took him on many expeditions to the northern breeding grounds of these birds. His work with geese enabled him to travel to many countries and resulted in the publication of several books and research papers. His studies serve as a basis for decision-making about the effects of high Snow goose populations on the fragile northern environment.
Rose married Bob Silverthorn in 1967 and they have three children: Randolph, Bartlett and Cindy. Bob taught at NAIT in Edmonton while Rose worked at the Petroleum Club. They have retired to Ohaton, Alberta.
