Time spent going to school in a horse-drawn school van in the 1950s produced good memories but also some bumpy ones
In the 1950s, a teenage cousin from Michigan came to visit us in Manitoba. Seeing her first horse-drawn school van, she came running with the news: “The gypsies are in town!” Back then, the term was not considered a racial slur. In fact, my cousin admired these itinerant folks who travelled about and enjoyed a […] Read moreTag Archives Alma Barkman
New student’s goal was to be ‘gold star good’
The author’s first-day-of-school jitters were soon replaced by a quick understanding of how the system was going to work
My interest in making mud pies in the playhouse had waned, netting minnow fish in the little creek behind our house was no longer a challenge, and I had a great longing for real, live playmates. When I pestered Mom why I couldn’t begin school at age six like all the rest, her answer was […] Read more
Country roads once created motoring challenge
Sand, mud and worries about bears all made life interesting when navigating the rural roads of the author’s childhood
John Denver’s song, Take Me Home, Country Roads recently did just that — in memory. On our farm, leading through the bush to the field beyond was an abandoned lane. It was the path my mother and I walked when taking lunch to Dad when he was combining. Compared to the scratchy hot stubble teeming […] Read more
Bites by the gardening bug keep the itch alive
Toiling in the garden all summer can bring aches and pains, but gardening also produces rewards that money can’t buy
When we built our house several decades ago, the echo of pounding in the last nail hadn’t yet died away when we turned our attention to the garden plot out back. It didn’t look like a garden plot. The dirt near the house was packed so hard by trucks delivering concrete that for days of […] Read more
When Grandma visited, the kitchen came too
The author’s mother always came prepared when she visited from her home in the country, ready to cook up a storm
She came to the city at regular intervals, carrying her battered old suitcase. Grandma never knew what it was to pack her bags. Even if she had all the time in the world, she would wait until the Greyhound bus was about ready to leave and then hastily toss the essentials into her suitcase. Invariably […] Read more
Creepers and climbers help cover cantankerous conflict
“So what do you want me to do with these weeds?” asked my husband, Leo. “They are not weeds!” I replied indignantly. “They are Virginia creepers a friend gave me. I want them to provide shade along the south side of the carport.” “Humph! As if that’s ever going to happen.” “Not as long as […] Read more
Early training instills cow whisperer qualities
Time spent in the barn with Mom as a youngster came in handy later in life during an encounter with a ‘difficult’ cow
Whenever I watch the TV ads featuring dairy farmers, I remember the time when, as a preschooler, my mother would take me with her when she did the milking. I liked it best of all when the days were short and the lantern I was entrusted to carry made patterns of light in the snow […] Read more
Bountiful harvest always produced the fall carrot crunch
Growing carrots has always been a challenge. In years gone by, I had to watch my husband like a hawk or he would plant several rows of the things just because they produced so well. No amount of arguing could convince him that, come September, there was always a glut of carrots on the market. […] Read more
