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. 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
Our Remembrance Day ceremonies and traditions are a way of keeping memories alive. Remembering the stories of pride and shame, bravery and cowardice, outrage and fear, comradeship and sacrifice, sadness and grief. I remember one rainy cold morning on Remembrance Day. I was about five or six and was at our neighbour’s house. Old Ed, … Read more
(Just a note before Marilyn’s story) We sent out a very important email on Thursday and 3/4 of you never opened it. It has to do with big changes at Canadian Senior Moment and will effect your future receipt of our newsletter and a lot of new benefits available to subscribers.. Please take a moment … Read more
By the time the roast chicken came out of the oven, I had already washed my face and hands and was seated at the kitchen table, waiting for Mother to dish out supper on my plate. In the centre of the table was a steaming bowl of potatoes mashed with butter, a bowl of mixed … Read more
Mother and Dad were married in 1946, and for their first four years, they lived a peaceful life in a house they rented in Debert, Nova Scotia. In early spring of 1950, they purchased a farm with quite a bit of land in the nearby community of Great Village. The house had not been … Read more
It was the fall of 2017, and for the first time in decades, I wasn’t sure I could host Thanksgiving. My mother had passed away on October 2nd—just two weeks earlier. The house felt different somehow, like all the air had been let out of it. Bill and I talked about it one evening in … Read more
Thanksgiving, also known as “Turkey Day,” in 1954, was one I shall never forget. I remember Mom telling me that around midnight, Grandmother would be up making the stuffing, then seasoning the turkey before she stuffed it, then she’d get Grandpa to help put it in the oven at a low heat. The turkey would … Read more
The staff had named her Annabelle. For weeks, she remained invisible to those who passed by her cage at our local SPCA. On a cool day in January, my husband and I strolled through all three of the cat rooms housing over 40 cats awaiting adoption, but something kept drawing us back to Annabelle. We … Read more
Father was still working the farm in 1956, and that fall after the hay crop had been taken off the field, my brother and I asked if we could gather up any loose hay left on the field to make a hay fort. To our delight, his answer was yes. Nowadays, hay forts are typically … Read more
Walking along the edge of the river with my family, with a fishing pole in hand, was something I did not enjoy. I remember watching Father and Mother casting their lines out to the middle of the river, and on some fishing trips, bringing in several trout, which made for a very tasty meal. My … Read more
