An impromptu science lesson taught students and teacher alike important lessons about the metamorphosis of life
The air quality in our old school built in 1922 was not the least enhanced by the fact that all the farm boys did chores in the same big boots they wore to school. It would have taken a strong air freshener indeed to neutralize the smell of stale farmers’ gold mingled with sweaty socks. […] Read moreStories by Alma Barkman
Farm dog finds there’s more than one way to fetch the cow
Toddling around in our big front yard one summer day, I heard whimpering sounds coming from the vicinity of the lilac hedge. I stopped to listen. This was definitely something new. I started walking along the lilac hedge, parting the leaves as I went. Suddenly a white leghorn hen flew out in a flurry of […] Read more
Old farmhouse gave shelter from life’s harsh realities
It takes a lot of living to make a house a home, and our house saw a lot of living. As a child I tried to imagine our sprawling farmhouse as the local showpiece it had apparently once been, painted in white with pale green gingerbread moldings above the triple bay windows. By the time […] Read more
Wildflowers were a source of welcome colour
Violets, roses, marsh marigolds and tiger lilies were among the blooms that added highlights to a prairie landscape
Shaded by dozens of big trees, the farmyard of my childhood was not the best place to grow flowers, so anything with the least bit of colour captured my curious young eyes. Wild violets growing here and there in the shady patches of the river bush were usually yellow but purple violets were at a […] Read moreAnnual clash over rhubarb masked affectionate relationship
I can’t recall how Bunyan and Poka got their nicknames, but they were neighbours in the small village about two kilometres from our farm. Although Bunyan didn’t own a blue ox, his one source of pride was a team of horses called Queenie and King. Whenever they emerged from the little thatched barn in which […] Read more
Role model of stability remembered
A visit to Grandmother’s house may not have brought fawning adoration, but important lessons were learned just the same
Over the sand hill, down across the red bridge, around the corner, and the clump of poplars that sheltered my grandparents’ homestead came into view. As we turned up the lane after a spring shower, I looked back from the rumble seat of my Uncle Clark’s Model A roadster and watched the tire marks unraveling […] Read more
Black and white threat was cause for alarm
The arrival of the school inspector was almost as dreaded an occasion as a skunk making itself at home on the farm
Skunks made regular calls to our chicken house, cranky old clucks notwithstanding. I went to gather eggs one day and as I approached, there was a black and white “kitty” we didn’t own looking out at me from the hen house. I beat a hasty retreat with my basket, while the skunk just ambled off […] Read moreThe joys of learning to skate at the rink of hard knocks
I was 13 years old when I got my first pair of skates for Christmas. From then on, I imagined myself gracefully sliding across the surface of the outdoor rink in the village about two kilometres distant. I was too afraid to venture that far on cross-country skis (have you ever been alone in the […] Read more
Long-awaited accordion produced a miracle of music
Of all the instruments stacked beside the piano in our living room, my brother’s big Hohner accordion was my favourite. If only I had a smaller one just like it. Eaton’s mail order catalogue was most accommodating, featuring a little 12 bass accordion on its pages. Not only that, but customers could make full use […] Read more
Eccentric implements kept farm rumbling
The author’s father was always rounding up quirky makes and models of tractors, while many of the cars could be cranky
On the quarter-section farm where I grew up, we had an odd collection of cars and machinery that growled, roared, rumbled, whined or snorted across the land. Some became exasperatingly silent, like the 1931 Studebaker that would seldom start on a Saturday night when I was excited to go shopping at the “big” town 20 […] Read more
