Hans and Lena Johanson

Hans and Lena Johanson left Estonia in 1905 with their six daughters - Alide, Lena, Linda, Rosy, Salme and Lizzie - and took out a homestead southwest of Stettler.

In 1910, Hans died of lung disease. Friends Hans Asberg and Carl Yurkin, who had emigrated at the same time at the Johansons, helped Lena and her daughters on the farm. In 1915, the three families went by wagon north to Rich Lake, near Lac La Biche, where they homesteaded for about 15 years.

Lena eventually moved to Vancouver to live with Linda and her husband. She died there in 1961.

Alberta's Estonian Heritage