Kamsack author G. D. (Gerald) Benneke brings local history to life again in his second book, Promised Land: Home and Family.
Both Home and Family Book One: Love and Hate follow the Buechler family in a fictionalized version of Benneke’s own family story.
Love and Hate finds Carl Buechler, the eldest, setting off from the United States for the untamed Canadian prairies to seek his family’s fortune.
The naive young man finds the Assiniboia Territory harsh in climate and bitter in conflict, but he works tirelessly to build a home and a life for himself and his family.
Success and failure are his constant companions, but he perseveres.
In Book Two, that perseverance sees the Buechlers realizing their dream of prosperity and community in a land that is slowly becoming civilized.
They have what they came for, but the prospect of disaster striking is never far from mind as they attempt to achieve security for future generations.
This is a story not far removed from many local people whose parents or grandparents homesteaded in this area.
Benneke grew up on the stories of his immigrant grandparents and their harrowing journey to seek a better life in an unknown country.
He holds an degree in Education from the University of Saskatchewan and taught English and History in various Saskatchewan schools before returning to the family homestead where he is now the fourth generation to own and operate the farm.
The self-published volumes are available at Coles Books in the Parkland Mall and through www.friesenpress.com.
