Precious Memories

Downpour followed a ‘perfect summer’s night’

By Art Johnston – Olds, Alta. In the war years, I was stationed at Mossbank, Sask. I played in the station band, so on weekend leave I would get a 72-hour pass instead of a [more…]

All of my teachers had an impact on my life

By Julie (Friesen) Johnston – Shaunavon, Sask. My childhood school was located in the middle of the village of Schoenfeld, Sask., was called Maharg School. Attending that school has left me with a lot of [more…]

Trap snap caught him…twice!

By Don Morse – Calgary, Alta. We are sometimes troubled with mice in our attached garage. I have been successful at keeping them under control by setting traps baited with fresh cheese. The best place to [more…]

Widow sang duets with ‘smart little critter’

By Ruth Jeeves – Wolseley, Sask. My father was a veterinarian in Regina, Sask., from 1913 to 1969. Growing up as his helper, I made many wonderful memories. This one stands out in my mind. [more…]

I learned new words during my short farming career

By Herb (Buster) Brown – Pinawa, Man. I had a short, but very enjoyable, farming career. In 1945, farm help was scarce. I was asked to drive a tractor on a farm west of Holland, [more…]

She practiced so she didn’t ‘throw like a girl’

By Bernice Millar – Turnor Lake, Sask. I was always a very active girl and I believed I could do anything my older sister, Beth did. She knew how to ride a bike and said [more…]

‘Mrs. Rubin took us on imaginary trips’

By Gerald Richards – Brandon, Man. When I started school at Halbrite in August, 1949, my teacher was Mrs. Rubin. She taught Grades 1 to 3. In her classroom, there was order and regularity. We’d [more…]

Young couple’s date included zoo escape

By Irene (Epp) Klassen – Calgary, Alta. It was 1949, my last year of nurses’ training, and John and I had just gotten engaged. We didn’t have money for a real date, but it was [more…]

Nell and Doll were our favourite team

By Lloyd Kitching – Carman, Man. My brother and I were just teenagers when our father died. Along with mother, we took over the operation of our small mixed farm. We had no tractor and [more…]

Mother’s deck possessed a special touch of warmth

By Bonnie Baxter – Thunder Bay, Ont. It was more than just a mere bundle of boards fastened together to form a wooden patio. Our cottage deck was not only an extension of the cottage, [more…]

Puny porker was a farmyard fugitive

By Anne Sturby – Edmonton, Alta. Every time I watch the movie Babe, I am reminded of the predicament my father found himself in with a pig he purchased from a local farmer for the [more…]

Seniors help lost dog find his family

By Doug Pinder – Creston, B.C. I live in the Kootenay Valley at Lister, B.C., or rural Creston, about one third of a mile from the Canada/USA border. It was March, and we’d just had 10-inches [more…]

Young life was busy and happy for these farm kids

By Margaret (Kopeck) Gentle – Saskatoon, Sask. I started dressing and playing with our orange Tabby cat after I lost my rag doll. I’d left it in the farm yard and a horse stepped on it [more…]

Safety simply wasn’t a priority in Canada’s pioneer days

By Wilf Miller – Keremeos, B.C. My father came west in 1903. Childhood memories of dad telling stories of the Old West were as if we were there too. When he came searching for his [more…]

Sad looking dog was a loyal family member

By Sylvia Williams – Summerland, B.C. It all began when I was in high school when I was about 16. We lived in an isolated area northeast of Edmonton, so I had to go to school [more…]

Intense heat shattered by sudden storm

By Pat Trask – Harris, Sask. The sun beat down on the parched fields of grain. Five days of this intense heat had shattered any hope for a heavy yield from these fields. Hour after hour, [more…]

Hand-dug well water wasn’t wasted

By Joanne Rawluk – Gypsumville, Man. My parents often spoke of the hardships they, and their parents, endured growing up. When I tell my own grandchildren of my early childhood “pioneering” on the farm, they look [more…]

Being a war ‘groom’ was the right decision

By Mary Lloynd – Abbotsford, B.C. Royal Air Force (RAF) serviceman, Henry Lloynd had to come all the way to Canada to discover his future and it would be me, way back when I was Mary [more…]

‘Porky’ shared his home with me

By Harold Thom – Nakusp, B.C. I spent the winter of 1948-49 working in a logging camp near The Pas, Man. It must have been the coldest darn place on earth, but I was 17 [more…]

Her mother helped launch her ‘career’

By Carol (Swain) Crane – Medicine Hat, Alta. This morning I was standing in front of my adjustable ironing board with my heat-regulated steam iron. Pressing the few articles of clothing that aren’t perma-press, I thought [more…]