Tim's Grandfather, Floyd Fugate, left the rich soil of Iowa by the lure of "free land" in Northwestern Ontario. He made a brief stop in North Dakota to visit some relatives and then stepped across the border into Canada. He quickly found out why the land was being given away. What wasn't swamp, was stony soil. The trees were cut with an axe to be used for firewood or taken to a nearby mill for lumber. It was back breaking work to make pastureland. As a child, Tim would visit his Grampa and spend the days picking stones in the fields. Fond childhood memories for Tim but for his grandparents, was this land a gift or a curse?

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