When Rose and Alex were married, life was no different than before. The land was farmed, cows milked, cream separated, and the garden tended. They had two children: Eunice and Melvin. Alex passed away in 1945, and Rose sold the horses and farm machinery, and rented the farm to the first Mennonite family that came to the Whitemouth area in 1945.

In the meantime, Rose went to a wedding in Whitemouth. There, she met Jake Stark, visiting from Steinbach, attending the wedding of the daughter of his uncle, Steve Stark. The couple married in 1948, and took up the farm again on April 7th, 1948. Rose and Jake have one son, Dennis.

Before Jake married Rose, he lived near Steinbach on a farm with his parents. He and his brother cut jackpine and cedar shingles (on a shingle-maker) for a man named Davidson at Marchand. After he was married, he farmed and worked out, first for Vadeboncouer in 1948, cutting birch off the river bank east of Oscar Noel’s farm. The brush was cut away before the forebay was brought to its present level. He then operated a cat and sheeps-foot packer, packing the new dikes. That winter, he drove a White truck for Vadeboncouer hauling rock out of the new tailrace channel below the power house. He then worked for Carter Construction on the 5th and 6th generators doing carpentry work for $1.10 per hour. In the early 50’s he worked, building MacArthur Falls power house. He then worked on a small power house at Ear Falls. Ontario with Herman Beeskau, Willie and Ed Liske. He then worked for Malcolm Construction at the Atomic Energy Site. They built the research and development building. then a storage warehouse, the power-house and then the reactor building. He was the second man hired on at Pinawa by Malcolm Construction.

In 1965, he built his new dairy barn, and started a dairy herd. His first shipment of milk to Grunthal dairy was on July 11, 1967. After Jake drove around among the neighbours and persuaded 15 to ship milk, Hamm Transfer came to the area and picked it up.

The farm was sold in October of 1978: they now have retired into a house in Whitemouth.

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