by Roy Gallagher
Mr. and Mrs. Dobson came to the district in the summer of 1929 or '30 and settled on the S.E. 2-58-5. He also purchased the land across from the cemetery. Later he bought a quarter of land west of Salmon's place, giving him three quarters in an "L" shape. Mr. Dobson was Canadian born but went to the States when a young man. He lived there for a considerable time but spent some years elsewhere in Canada before coming to the Flats. I believe that Mrs. Dobson and her brother, Barney Rafferty, were both Americans. They had lived some time in Spokane and I think that is where Mr. and Mrs. Dobson were married. My Dad and Mr. Dobson used to talk about some of the same towns in Washington, where they had both worked in logging camps.
After just farming for a while, they started a store and also had the post office at the Flats. He was also a Justice of the Peace while here. The Dobsons never had any children of their own but raised some foster children. Roy LaPrade was one of them and was here for a number of years. After leaving here he lived in Edmonton, where he married and has since passed away. In later years the Dobsons had a sale and moved to the quarter where Sam McGee used to live. They only stayed there a short while and then left for Edmonton where they lived out the rest of their years.
