Thomas and Caroline Thomsen were part of the first wave of Danish immigration to Canada. They came to Alberta from Chicago in 1905 and homesteaded about 3 km west of the present Dickson Store .
Besides being an industrious farm wife, mother of seven and staunch church worker, Caroline was a midwife who attended many births in the community.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomsen's son, Elmer, left the farm for a while. He returned in 1930, bringing his wife Esther and small daughter. They stayed with Elmer's parents while Elmer built their log home from timber cut on the home quarter. The cabin was roomy, with a kitchen/living room, bedroom and open front porch.
Soon there were four children. Times were tough and their meagre farm income could not support everyone. Elmer took his family to southern Alberta, eventually working in the printing industry. From there he moved his family to the US, where he became a successful inventor.
The log cabin sat empty until 1939 when Elmer's youngest sister Gladys and her husband Hans Kappel moved in. They stayed until 1945 and then Ruth, their oldest sister, a schoolteacher, and her husband Soren Norre lived there temporarily. After 1946 the log cabin remained empty.
In 1965 the Thomsen farm changed hands and was subdivided. Luckily, the cabin's new owners found out it was one of only two pioneer buildings that remained in the area. They donated it to the Danish Canadian Museum, where it is now part of our permanent collection.
Visit the Thomsen Pioneer Cabin, restored and open for visitors.
Adapted from Nelson Nicholson's 2009 article,The Thomsen Cabin in Dickson
More Immigrant Stories:
• Ask about Elmer Thomsen's most famous invention when you visit the Thomsen Pioneer Cabin
• Read the story of Ruth and Soren Norre's adventurous daughter
