Caragana hedges were a popular plant utilized as a wind break during the 1930s in southern Alberta. The planting of caragana hedges was promoted in the Lethbridge Herald on “The Farmer’s Own Page” on December 25, 1931 and on other occasions as well. Caragana hedges were ideal wind breaks to plant during the Great Depression as they were fast growing and drought tolerant.

Cale Harris reported that caring for his family’s caragana hedges was a chore that he had as a child. He said: “Besides working in the garden, my parents had planted a a caragana hedge around about, at least half of the farmstead along with a lot of poplar trees. And one of my jobs was to keep the caragana hedge trimmed and pruned. I was probably seven or eight years old when I was taught how to operate shears for cutting the caragana hedge.” Cale was born in 1926, so it would have been about 1933, or 1934 when this job became his.

Bibliography:

Lethbridge Herald Newspaper Archives December 26, 1931 Page 18