During the 1950s, Charlie’s Barbershop was in the heart of Great Village. It was a two-story building, with the shop on the ground floor and an apartment above it. Charlie’s shop was a single room with large windows facing the road. A red and white striped pole spun outside the door, the universal symbol for … Read more
My memories of the 1959 winter season were marked by intense, long-lasting storms and heavy snowfall, which created extensive, hard-packed snowbanks. This caused significant challenges for Father as he drove to and from work in Truro. Driving was difficult at times, especially when the plows hadn’t been out yet and there were whiteout conditions. But … Read more
What is the first thing you think of when you see or hear the word “sponge”? The most common association is a dish sponge, specifically the yellow ones used for washing, cleaning up spills, or absorbing liquid. Some might say it’s a common metaphor—a “mind like a sponge,” representing someone who quickly absorbs information. Other … Read more
Some of you will remember back in the sixties, Art Linkletter had a television show called Kids Say the Darndest things. I wish to expand that to Kids Do the Darndest Things, and I as a four-year-old child, was no exception. In fact, some of my actions were unpredictable, even to me. I found them … Read more
Mother was admitted to hospital on a Tuesday in June 1960, and a couple of days later, she had surgery. However, she had complications, and her stay would be indefinite. After getting off work, Father would drive over to the hospital, spending time with Mother until visiting hours were over. She was in what they … Read more
For many years there was an orphanage in Brookside, which is a residential neighbourhood within the Greater Truro area of Colchester County, Nova Scotia, often associated with the adjacent village of Bible Hill. During the 1950s, the facility, later known as the Nova Scotia Youth Training Centre was located in Brookside, near Truro, opened in … Read more
Monique was a little 6-year-old French girl who was a bundle of energy and endless curiosity. Her dad was in the military and travelled back and forth to Camp Debert every day. That fall, the family of three had moved into what was known as Ed and Earns old house. The brothers had lived there … Read more
From what I was told, William McLean was born in Scotland. He’d travelled by ship across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. It must have been a scary decision to leave your country and begin a new life in a foreign country. However, he married Alice MacDonald, and together they started their married life on a … Read more
Many people wrongly believe that babies do not notice or remember traumatic events. According to Mother, I never forgot this frightful experience. Mr. Barkley was in his early 70s and had been a farmer all his life—a lifetime of hard work and dedication. Life for him, his 68-year-old wife, and their two sons, both in … Read more
The Springhill Coal Mine Disaster in Nova Scotia was a catastrophic explosion in the No. 4 Colliery on November 1st, 1956. It started when runaway coal cars struck a high-voltage power line, igniting coal dust and causing widespread devastation, the explosion killed 39 miners and trapped many more. Massive rescue efforts saved many lives, including … Read more
My mother and Muriel Henwood had been best friends since their early school days. Their friendship continued throughout the war years, and even after they were both married. Muriel’s husband, Henry Brine, was a miner who worked underground in the Springhill coal mines. During the summer months, Muriel and Henry often visited us on the … Read more
What a winter we had back in 1960. So much snow fell in December and January that it made the road behind the barn leading down to the lower field great for tobogganing on. The snow began once again at the beginning of February. One Saturday morning, the weather started with light snow combined with … Read more
Lois and Howard were an old couple who lived on our road. I will always remember Lois, who as a young girl, got her hand caught between the rollers of her mother’s wringer washing machine. After surgery, she was left with just a stub of an arm above the elbow. Occasionally, as I was on my … Read more
After 30 years of marriage, Laura, his wife and soulmate, lost her fight with cancer. They’d known it wasn’t a winnable fight, but as a team, they’d laughed and cried through all the operations, chemo, and radiation treatments. In December, just a few days before Christmas, she passed away in her sleep at home. The … Read more
When my twin brother and I were about seven or eight, there was an outbreak of measles at our school. Measles is caused by a virus that spreads rapidly. In the early stages, when kids coughed, sneezed or talked, they would unknowingly spray droplets in the air. Anyone close enough to breathe in the droplets … Read more
A few years ago, I had the privilege of hearing this story from a close friend who was nearing the end of her life. Â When I was a child in the 1930s, things were different from the way kids have it today. During the Great Depression, families with children were hit harder than most. … Read more
I’m guessing I was about four or five years old the day I noticed the smoke. This time it wasn’t coming from the chimney of our sawdust-burning kitchen stove. Heavy, dense smoke. Not just a thin trail, but a substantial cloud that swelled upward into the clear blue sky. I had never seen smoke like … Read more
During my childhood, a shift began as families increasingly relied on convenience and credit to simplify their lives. However, my parents made some sacrifices I was not aware of. As far as I was concerned, we lived comfortably even though we had very few modern conveniences as Dad was reluctant to use credit. He believed … Read more
I always looked forward to Sundays, as we went to church every Sunday afternoon. As we took our seats, an older fellow named Wellsford, perhaps in his 80s, would come by and give my brother and me some peppermint candy that had been chopped in small pieces and tucked away in his suit pocket. Everyone … Read more
When I was growing up on the farm, I never once questioned how much money my father received when he sold some calves, or one of the pigs, as it was never a topic of discussion in my presence. Honestly, I never even gave it any thought. There were never outings to restaurants in town … Read more