The Intrepid Fox

The Intrepid Fox is the story of a Polish immigrant who carved a successful farm out of the raw wilderness that was Northern Alberta in the early days of the last century. The author writes of the day-to-day events in the lives of her parents, John and Mary Liss and their seven children, struggling for survival on an isolated homestead.

Her parents married after having seen each other only two times. They began married life in a 12' x 12' log cabin , shared with their father-in-law. And it was in that tiny cabin that their first child was born. Just when life looked a little promising, calamity struck. A fire completely destroyed their newly built home. Then in 1929, the depression brought financial hardships and the threat of land seizure for non-payment of taxes.

John Liss was a man of high moral principles and strong feelings of social justice. He fought for farmer's rights against the big grain companies, packing concerns and dairy cartels. To this day, farmers benefit from cooperatives he helped organize. Businesses called John a trouble maker and a Bolshevik, and threatened to tar and feather him. But this strong willed intrepid man never waived in his beliefs.

The author writes of daily life without phones, electricity or running water. She tells of the family's never ending farm chores, of food preparation and of the constant fear of farm accidents and illnesses where medical care was non-existent.

She describes the bitter cold of the long winters, the children's 3½ mile trek through snow to their little one-room schoolhouse and of the welcome sight of Mother waiting for them in the warm kitchen on their return.

There was never enough money on the farm and the children grew up learning to make-do and to improvise. A 5 cent Rose Marie chocolate bar cut into nine pieces was a rare treat. The sound of an airplane flying overhead mesmerized the family. When a moving picture show came to the little village of Sangudo, the children watched in wonder at this remarkable innovation.

Life's horizons were limited. The poor conditions of the roads and the undependability of the Model A Ford made for uncertain travel. Being back home by milking time ruled the family's life. Survival depended on each child doing his chore and each one realized the importance of his task.

John Liss was a strict disciplinarian demanding instant obedience from his off-spring. Yet Helen writes with humor of her two older brothers' exploits and antics that Dad never knew about. The beer making, the wine snitching, the cigarette smuggling trip into the United States have become part of the family's lore.

When the author's father goes off to war in 1941, Mary Liss is left in charge of a 480 acre farm and seven children to raise. The family sorrows over the devastating drowning death of a brother at 24 years of age. Their agony is compounded in 1946 by the paralyzing accident of the oldest son.

After 65 years of dedicated toil and commitment, the Dominion of Canada recognized the accomplishments of John and Mary Liss with the placing of an historic cairn on their farm. Both pioneers were further rewarded by their community for their many achievements and for the betterment of the area's rural life. And their final recognition is found in this delightful and sensitive telling of their saga, which will bring insight and enjoyment to the reader.

Helen Liss Ivanhoe Smart was born in 1927 on an isolated homestead in Northern Alberta, Canada. She and her five brothers and sister were a closely knit family growing up in a sparsely settled countryside with few roads, no electricity, no phone, no running water and no indoor plumbing. Each of the seven children knew they were part of a unit working together with chores that were essential to the family's survival. With the emotional support of devoted parents, the family overcame the loss of their home by fire, struggled through illnesses without doctors, survived the crushing depression of the 1930's, emerging self-reliant and non-complaining. At nineteen, Helen finished her formal schooling and began teaching grades one through eight in a one room log cabin schoolhouse in the Alberta foothills. The area was still so remote and wild that one day her landlord shot a bear from the back door, which became that night's dinner. In 1949 the young schoolteacher married L. F. Ivanhoe, a petroleum geologist, and moved to Taft, California. She has lived in Libya, Israel, Turkey, Italy, Columbia and Mexico, and has visited most of the countries of the world. Her work has been published in the Saturday Evening Post, Sunset Magazine and various children's magazines. But this story of her family's pioneer struggles and successes has been her life long ambition. Today Helen lives in Goleta, California with her husband Hugh Smart. She is active in community affairs, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and spends hours each day tending her beautiful garden.