HISTORY: Families and People: H | HARDER

The Harder family moved to Joe Rich in about 1951, at about the same time as the Hockeys came here. They rented the Mack house on the northeast side of Highway 33 from Weddells and worked for them. Abe Harder, the father had a small mixed farm there. They were Seventh Day Adventists. The Harder children were Hilbert born in 1938, Raymond born in 1939, George born in 1945, Dorothy born in 1946 and Richard (Paul), the youngest. Paul had diabetes and died young.

The Harders lived very simply. Other schoolmates of the children still remember that they had a very aggressive billy goat which terrorized children who visited the Harder home. It did other unpleasant things too. Doug McClelland had just purchased a brand new pickup truck and was chatting with Jim Weddell when he turned around to see the goat standing on the roof of his truck cab.

The Harders moved from Joe Rich to the Arrow Lakes area in the 1950s. There they bought a farm. When the Hugh Keenleyside Dam was built in 1968 and the level of the Arrow Lakes rose and their farm was flooded out. Mrs. Harder is still alive in her mid 80s and living in Salmon Arm. Dorothy also lives there. Raymond drives trucks for Petches in Rutland. Hilbert, worked for a while in a saw mill with Dave Weddell and is now retired in Blue River. George drives a truck in Kamloops. Mr. Harder is dead.