Sam Waller was an avid diarist who faithfully kept a diary throughout his life in addition to his other notes, papers, and writings. The Sam Waller Museum currently has the bulk of his written work including three complete diaries that chronicle his time spent in Moose Factory, Ontario. These diaries provide valuable information about what it was like to live in northern Canada in the 1920’s.
Sam wrote in his diary nearly every single day. Recurring subjects include his involvement in the church and the school, nature observations, weddings, deaths, and of course, his growing collection. The diaries also detail the weather, the yearly freeze and melt and days of importance to the small community such as holidays and mail delivery. All of this information provides a complex picture of Sam’s life and are a valuable museum and historical resource. Today, the Sam Waller Museum maintains the diaries in their collection and are working to digitize the diaries in order to enable future generations to enjoy them as well.
Below is a short segment from the second of Sam’s diaries written on April 30th, 1928:
“Wednesday April 30th. This a.m. two lovely geese circled around but were not shot. Precisely at 10:30 a.m. the ice broke up and started coming down the river accordingly. I let the children out for 3 days holiday. It is a wonderful sight the great expanse of ice all about seems to suddenly break up into wedge shapes of varying size and seem to move. When one is looking across the river suddenly a huge piece will be tilted up right many feet high and come down with a crash. About noon it stopped there being insufficient water to break up the rest. The next tide may finish it and then some will clear out. I have been working at my birch bark lodge in the bush. Today Willie shot a beautiful sparrow hawk and I have to its skin. The stove pipes were all cleaned today.”