Dad was a farmer who quit farming when he was 50 because he hurt his back. To go from farming to being an hourly paid employee took a lot of courage. With some help from his friends he pulled it off.
One of dads sayings was “If you can’t say anything good about somebody don’t say anything at all” .
Dad was a past master of the Mattawa Masonic Lodge 268.
Much of what dad did was because he was a Mason. I know they helped many people that were in trouble.
Dad was a supporter of the United church , did some road work for the Town Ship of Bonfield and drove a school bus.
Another saying of dad’s was “Damn the Luck”. I heard him say this when the baler (or something) broke down and when he found out he had leukemia. I miss him.
(Originally posted by Wayne in Storyworth, 2023)
Helmcken Falls, in Wells Grey Provincial Park in BC.
Desolation Sound Marine Park , Lund , BC.
I’ve been to Europe , Australia , Arizona all over Canada but the two above are pretty unbelievable.
To see Wells Grey properly you need a canoe and tent . You can see the falls with a car but not the volcanoes and true wilderness of the park .
Candle Lake Sask .. Northern Lights
Candle Lake Sask .. 50 teenage Canada Geese with 5 mothers all in one flock on the beach. The mothers were watching me very carefully but they did not run away. I just backed away slowly.
The Grand Canyon .. hard to believe.
Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. watch the tide go out or in.
Lake Elsbeth on the Gibson Lake road in Timmins.
(Originally written by Wayne in Storyworth, 2023)
What was my mom like? My mom was awesome.
She always had my back . Even made my sisters angry because she spoiled me so much. She was a city girl who had to become a farmers wife and she did most things better than the farm girls like. Knitting , CREWEL EMBROIDERY, CROCHET, QUILTING , SMOCKING , she made shirts and pants too. I learned knitting , embroidery and sewing from her. She was into many crafts too like copper tooling, paint by numbers.
Mom was a leader / member of the 4H , UCW(United Church Women) and WI(Women’s Institute) .
Mom taught me a lot about making preservers , pickles and cooking in general. As a kid I was her helper in the kitchen. She was an unreal cook. When I went to university I did the cooking and the other guys did the cleaning , there was four of us. After I got married Rita banned me from the kitchen.
Moms love of flowers and things that grow is still with me today. We had a big garden on the farm .
Mom won a lot of prizes at the fall fair in Bonfield and used the money to buy her cherished china that Amy and Meghan now has.
Some farm things she did but wasn’t that great at like milking cows, shoveling manure, driving tractors . She always sang out of key.
(Originally posted to Storyworth in 2023)
A drink of iced water. When doing hard work like loading and unloading wagons full of hay-bales on a hot summers day there’s nothing better.
Camping . watching the fire burn and tending it. Going for a bike ride through the camp ground. Meeting different people at the camp ground. They all seem to have interesting stories about why they are at the camp ground. Like: just got divorced. Looking for a job in Alberta (They were from New Brunswick). Installing wind turbines in the summer and living in Florida in the winter.
Watching the wild life . The rabbits and prairie dogs hide in the camp ground to avoid the coyotes. Teasing the squirrels. Making poogy pies on the fire. Fishing at Carson Pegasus Park in Alberta.
Hiking when Rita was able. She drives around on her scooter now.
Driving across Canada and finding interesting places to feast like “Bills sticky fingers” in Portage La Praire Manitoba. (Best ribs in Canada).
Trans Canada Motel in Dryden Ontario. Fried Baloney and Corn Chowder (was owned by two new-fees but I think it burned down. I miss it).
“The Sub Place” in North Bay Ontario (the best roast chicken subs in Canada).
Andrea’s in Bracebridge Ontario (real Spanish coffee and beef tenderloin stroganoff)
“The Green Gables” in Whitecourt Alberta (best prime rib in Canada, owner was a butcher )
The Granada in Powell River BC (Baked spaghetti )
The White Fox Inn, Thunderbay (spent our anniversary there)
Saskatoon has many great restaurants too like The Granary, Mano’s , Arby’s, to name a few.
(Originally written and posted to Wayne’s Storyworth in 2023)
My favorite store was “The Joke Shop” on main street in North Bay , Ontario.
Why? You could buy itching powder and little fire crackers to put in cigarettes. The itching powder was sprinkled down my sisters back . The little fire crackers were pushed into the end of a cigarette . When somebody bummed a smoke you would give him the one with a fire cracker in it. When you lit the smoke for him it would blow up. The smoke ended up looking like a peeled banana.
The store had many neat things in it.
(Originally written by Wayne for Storyworth in 2023. His memory is from around 1960. The Joke Shop was on the corner of Main Street and Wyld Street, just a few doors down from Loblaws.)