Oliver Holtby was a modest, generous man who loved music, books
and painting. His rich legacy of art is found on envelope backs and other scraps
of paper. His work reflects an Oriental delicacy of life and colour.
Born in Leeds in 1882, he was the eldest in a family of five. He
and his brother Bob sang in a boy's choir and Oliver also played the violin. In
a volunteer army youth group he learned the use of firearms and how to handle
horses - skills much used later. He was apprenticed to the Coalport China Works.
He learned to paint landscapes on china under stern taskmasters. Plagued with a
lung disease, he decided to join his family in their Canadian venture. They
sailed on the SS Lake Manitoba and eventually homesteaded seven miles from town.
The first winter was a difficult one. Oliver was left in charge of the farm and
the women in the family while his father and brother worked away. In the bitter
cold, Oliver froze his foot and his poor diet resulted in scurvy. Dr. Amos had
the family moved into Lloydminster where they lived with others in a communal
tent until the Immigration Hall was finished in February, 1904.
The Holtby farm was later a hospitable focal point with Baptist
Church services held there plus socials and musical evenings. When Bob married,
his mother and Oliver moved to a small house on the same farm.
Music was always important to Oliver. He played background music
for silent films in town and later belonged to the Joseph FairBrother Band and
the "Twilight Hour Orchestra". He sang in a group led by Elsie Batty.
He also taught music and painting.
Oliver endeared himself to all that knew him. An avid gardener, he gave most of
this produce away and this epitomized his life. "It is more blessed to give
than to receive". He spent his last months in the Dr. Cooke Nursing Home
still painting and playing his violin. He died in 1975 nine days before his 93rd
birthday.