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happiness

Driver’s License, Concussions, and Fire (FGK-22)

I’ve always loved hearing my uncle tell stories – he has a way of telling them that makes me picture the events in my head quite clearly like I was a fly on the wall.

A couple of weeks ago we had a fire just west of us, and the ranch brought out their fire brigade to help bring the flames back under control. The ability of the people who live out here to fight fires has always impressed and humbled me. I remember Grandma telling of the time when a huge fire came from Jumping Pound Mountain area (is this right?) and was headed their way. She was pregnant with my uncle and my aunt would have been a toddler. She escaped with the car while others stayed behind to fight the fire. I think that one did end up going all the way to Bowness.

There are only a couple of letters that were written on a typewriter, and this is one of them. Given my dependence on autocorrect, I was quite impressed by how few words got scratched out. (Seriously, I just retyped that sentence three times – if I was on a typewriter there’d be no paper left)

Mount Royal College

Calgary, Alberta

April 9, 1953

Dear Margie:

Well I guess that it is about time I wrote you a letter isn’t it? I had one all wrote out last week but I forgot to post it. What do you think of my typing? I am bringing this letter up with THUNDERHEAD and GREEN GRASS OF WYOMING. I am sorry that I did not get them up to you last week.

I am sure scared about the Easter exams coming up next week. My math is something terrific. Sure has been bad weather lately hasn’t it? This will be bad for the little calves that come at night won’t it? I sure miss being out there every night to ride through the cows and claves.

What did the Easter Bunny bring you? I didn’t get a dog goned thing. I guess I must be on the outs with him.

Reese and Betty have quit and George and Mary are going over there in their place.

We have a better chance of getting a ball team this year because Ken and I have been lining out some players that we think would play. There still isn’t much chance of getting a team up though. I think they are going to play inter-house baseball here this year instead of touch rugby. The other years the boys played rugby while the girls played softball but I think they are going to play baseball for boys this year. I sure hope so because baseball’s as good a game as was ever played.

Today Fred Kelly and I were fooling around in his room, I was pretending I was dead and he picked me up in the fireman’s hold and tried to pack me out o f the room when he fell over to one side knocking my head against a light switch which broke both my head and the light switch, but it was my lucky day that it hit my head because I might have gotten hurt if it hurt me any other place. Well, my head’s kind of got a sore lump on it now but I guess I’ll live.

Last Friday, while we were deworming, mom came out to the yards to tell us that there was a fire over near the tweed hayfield. We haven’t used any of the hay over there and Dad was kind of worried about the hay, so we rushed over to Brushy Ridge to find the fire. When we got there the Brushy Ridge guys had it out. The fire started behind Curly Rown’s garage and luckily there was an east wind which blew it against the road and put itself out. Just as the fire went out the wind changed to the west. Dad said that if the wind had changed when the fire was going it would have gone clear down to Bowness.

Buckles is in his glory now because I kicked him and the other colts out to 21 to finish up the sheaves left in the crop field. I guess he figures he’s out in the wilds again. He sure is going to be a big hunk of horse flesh in a few years.

I got my driver’s license yesterday with mom and when we went to go downtown she asked me if I wanted to drive but I said no because I didn’t feel like it. Ever since I was ten I have dreamed of the day when I would get a driver’s license and when I finally get it I don’t want to drive. I think that mum pretty near fell over with surprise.

Well, that’s all I have to tell you now.

Dearest Love

Marshall

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happiness

Haying and Strawberries (FGK-21)

Thanks to some of you, I now know who the Barkleys are. I sure wish I’d known Mrs. Barkley, her letters sound so thoughtful and loving. And I know that I keep commenting on the handwriting, but hers is really quite fantastic. I can’t explain why exactly, but I really liked this letter, it made me feel warm and happy inside like a good cup of tea. Oh, and while I am thinking about tea – notice where she says they broke a saucer. Honestly, it never occurred to me when they’d bring food to the men in the field that they’d have tea cups with saucers. I don’t know what I’d imagined, but I just never thought of cups with saucers. So much work, but it does make tea taste better!

Although this letter is about daily life in Jumping Pound, the letter itself was mailed from Phoenix Arizona – it cost 6 cents to mail a letter from Arizona to Alberta in 1954 apparently.

So, where was Auntie Sheila off to that was giving her butterflies? Interesting to see that there was yet another polio outbreak in the area at this time – mom had been in the hospital just a few days short of 3 years by now. Kind of puts things in perspective for me with our current situation.

Sunday August 30 (1954)

Dear Margie

We haven’t heard any report of you lately and surly hope you are moving around now.

Sorry, I have been so slow in writing lately. Hope everyone else hasn’t neglected you so.

We are still at this hay job but hope to be finished in a few days. Our garden is producing a little now so it makes my job a little easier. Mr. Barkley’s brother from Longview came and helped us and we have had quite a good boy to drive the tractor or the bailer. Carmen and I had to get pulled thru a creek at the Kaster place one day and I got stuck in a creek in Mr. Wallace’s field yesterday. Just broke one saucer hitting the bumps in all our trips that really was not too bad the way we had to go at times. I guess they will come to the house for the few dinners left.

Have been expecting some more good strawberries but as yet they haven’t arrived. The raspberries I believe were better than ever. I just had to go to Cochrane for them. Irene and Clarence met the at the school to get theirs.

Have there been many new patients coming in? Surely too bad there are so many cases again this year. The man and wife we know are in isolation yet but are evidently showing good improvement already.

My niece and her husband were here for a few days a week ago and expect some friends from Vancouver for a few days this week so hope this haying is finished before they arrive

Guess Sheila will be having butterflies today. Sure hope she likes her choice. We’ll all miss seeing her at the weekends. She really looked well and nice when we saw her a couple of weeks ago.

Hope to get some barely swathed this week. Plenty of green grain around yet. My men are talking bailing some hailed crop at the Kaster place.

Be a good girl Margie and hope I hear another “forward” report on you soon.

Best Wishes,

The Barkleys

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A “Gang Letter” from school (FGK-19)

Today I’ve got a “gang letter” sent from the little one room school house mom and her siblings used to ride to. Many of the names I recognize as they’re cousins of hers, or neighbours, and I was delighted to discover this is where “Rose” is from. I still don’t know who she is, but at least I’ve got her placed with where she came from.

It’s kind of fun to read the handwriting on these letters, some of the kids are so young and either just learning handwriting or mastering printing, the older ones are perfecting a much more stylish kind of writing. I thought it was kind of interesting to get the perspective of 10 different kids, of varying ages, about what was going on in their lives at that moment.

RR#2 Calgary, Alberta

March 30, 1953

Dear Margie:

Well Margie, the Easter season has rolled around again, and we are sending you a gang letter. The last letter we sent you was a gang letter, and we hope you enjoyed it, so we are sending you another one. Be sure you get the letters read in the correct order.

The letters were all numbered, so I’ve written them out in the proper order. As far as I can tell, they go from the older kids to the younger ones.

We are sending you a Easter surprise Margie, so don’t be surprised if you see a rabbit or chicken come hopping into your room.

Well goodby for now Margie

Your friend,

Elaine

PS You will be minus one letter, Margie, for Raymond isn’t here today

#2

Dear Margie,

We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago and in it we decided to have a penny march. Our pennies marched across both blackboards and the Red Cross Corner. today we counted them and found 422. Beforehand we had all guessed how many there would be. Elaine guessed 421 and won the contest. Her prize will be a chocolate bar.

Margie, our club has put in more money per person than any other school in Alberta!

As it is turning spring we decided to have a chart showing the signs of spring. We called it our “I saw” chart. Among the signs found are bluebird, blackbird, robin, green grass, ants, butterflies etc.

How are you coming with your schoolwork? I would kind of like to know.

Well, until I write my next letter. Adios

Your friend, Lawrence

#3

Dear Margie:

You remember our Red Cross corner, well Grade V and IV made a ski hill. It is excellent work. Especially for them. Ha ha. We have a slanted board about 45 degrees slant with imitation snow and men on toboggans and skis coming down the hill.

We are going to the hall to wash dishes tonight and try and clean the hall if possible.

I’m going to the dentist in the Easter Holidays and staying in town overnight.

Hope you’re making good progress.

Your pal

Rose

#4

Dear Marg

We will soon be hunting for magpies. The magpies and crows campaign will open April first. I think there will be lots of magpies . I think that south of the school will be a good place for hunting magpies.

The magpies feet and the crows feet are five cents a piece.

I hope you are feeling fine.

Do you like your doctor?

Do you like your room?

Sincerely, David

#5

Dear Margie,

The ice is getting weaker every day. The water has been running over the ice for about five days.

One Sunday, Elaine, Bill, Dad, Mom and I went shooting gophers. Dad took the first shot at a gopher 5 yards away. We were shooting for and hour and got ten gophers. The roads are fine.

Yours truly, Jim

#6

Dear Margie,

We are making flowers out of coloured paper to put on the windows. Grade one to nine have a window of their own. When it gets nicer we are going to put up the window boxes again. Grade four and five are against seven, eight, and nine.

The weather has been good this year. The flowers are coming out. we have seen a crocus up on the hill.

We haven’t had a trip up the the rocks yet this spring. We are going some of these days to scout around. When we get up there we are going to have a debate.

Do you like the room you are staying in? And do you like your bed? Is it nice and soft?

Sincerely, John

#7

We are having a rabbit contest and who ever wins the rabbit contest gets a basket of Easter eggs. We are going to see who can colour the nicest Easter egg. We are having a reading contest too.

Your friend, Lynn

#8

Dear Marg,

Grade one are having an Easter test. They are doing better than the last time we wrote. I am going riding with dad to 29 Saturday. I hope you are doing alright.

Your pal, Joan

#9

Dear Marg,

We had a game of basketball yesterday.

We are hoping we will hear the frogs soon.

We are having a reading test for Easter.

Love, Mary

#10

Dear Marg

I saw a redwing blackbird and a calf. I am going to a show next week.

Bill

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Speaking in Pig Latin (FGK-18)

When I was in elementary school there were several instances where either mom or dad sent in a note for the teacher. It became normal practice for little Melissa to get called up to the teacher’s desk so that I could read the note for my teacher, as I was the only one around who could read my parents’ handwriting. They both joked about how it was the downside of having gone to law school and taken so many notes, their handwriting suffered because of it.

I found a gem of a letter to share today. It’s one started by mom to her friend Rose. I don’t know who Rose is- anyone?? Anyway, I can confirm from this letter that the handwriting was not a bad habit picked up in law school, but was firmly established by the time mom was 13.

1820 Richmond Road

Calgary, Alberta

Nov. 21, 1953

Dear Rose

I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner but…

Thanks so much for all the magazines you sent me. We enjoyed them very much. I liked your letter too (what I could make out of it).

I have a strange feeling this is going to be a dumb letter so you’d better stop now and prepare yourself for it.

Honestly, if you knew all the things we did in here! Right now the whole ward is talking in Pig Latin and King Tuts it’s really fun. I’ve got so that whenever a nurse asks me a question I answer her in King Tuts then the whole ward starts it. The poor woman goes out feeling dizzy.

I wish you could see me now, I’m under a stack of comics we borrowed from the boys down at hall to give to the big boys for their checker game. We discovered we hadn’t read them so we are reading them now. We got the checker game anyway.

This letter made me laugh, I could see mom’s strong childhood spirit shining through in every word. It also made me think of when we lived in Quebec and the boy went to the all French school. He got so frustrated trying to learn French to keep up with his friends, that he spent recesses and lunch teaching his classmates English. I know this because I was called into the school and scolded for having such a rebellious son.

I’m familiar with Pig Latin, but don’t know about King Tuts. I’ll have to look that up.

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The True Spirit of Easter (FGK – 14)

Today I’m sharing a letter from mom’s cousin Lawrence. I didn’t know him really besides from stories. He and his family moved back to Alberta in my junior high years (so about 82-84), but unfortunately Lawrence passed away in 1986. My mom adored Lawrence, every time she told a story about him she lit up, I think he was one of the boys who allowed mom to be a Tom-boy and play with them. In fact, when mom told her version of the Firecracker story , his name was mixed up in it – I just can’t remember if she was trying to impress him or if he helped egg her on.

Box 58, Cochrane, Alberta

14, April, 1954

Dear Marg

Gosh this sure has been a busy day. In fact, it has been a busy week. We had tests sent out by the office, one on Social, one on Science, one on English and one on Math. I haven’t taken my science test yet and I don’t know what marks I have on my math test. I got 68% on English and 52% on Social Studies. My social was a little low and has been all year. I should have good marks on my math though. The test, although very long was seemingly easy.

It gives me test anxiety just to post his grades. Report card time was always a nail biter for me as my grades were usually less stellar than one would have wanted. Grades are an odd thing, when we are in school they are one of the most important things in our lives, when we are living our lives, they are pretty much forgotten.

I don’t know whether or not I told you that the grades one to five were doing an enterprise on Indians. Well, they are. We had a big celebration today. Everyone was dressed up with fancy Indian costumes and we even had make up to make us look like Indians. I borrowed a fancy outfit from the Indians worth about $175.00. It was beautifully beaded. O’Brien took our pictures and if they turn out all right I will send you some.

Say in my last letter I told you that pen pals letters were flowing in a constant stream, well today I got another. She is a girl from New Zealand who seems to be very interesting. Her birthday is on the very same date as Dave’s, May 27. She lives on a dairy farm where they milk 97 cows! She sent pictures and everything. However she stated that her mother had passed away about a week before she wrote. I’m sure sorry.

We are having our house painted at the present time. We are having our men working away on that.

Will you be home for Easter? I hope you will be. I might get to see you for the second time in two years! At the moment I haven’t to say more except to wish you a very happy Easter Marg. May you feel the true spirit of Easter.

As ever, Lawrence

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Aunt Nan goes to the stampede (FGK-13)

Mom used to talk fondly about her adopted grandparents who lived down the hill. She told me how she used to love going down and being spoiled rotten before they had grandchildren of their own. In my childhood, one of those grandchildren, then grown up, used to be so tolerant of me as I was constantly drawn to the creek and would come and help me out when I got myself caught up doing stupid things with my horse. Never once was I scolded, I was just helped out of my mess and sent on my way.

My dear Margie,

Although I don’t write very often I think of you a lot, especially last week. I hope you didn’t miss going to the Stampede. We went on Monday and I was bored all afternoon. I thought it wasn’t as good as usual and decided I wasn’t going again. The evening performance wasn’t as good as usual but I enjoyed the chuck wagon races, but I gut just as much and perhaps more over the radio the remainder of the week.

The exhibits were just the same old thing and the Midway was as smelly and noisy as ever.

I hope next year you will be able to be one of the crowd. I’m so glad you are progressing so well.

We are all complaining of the heat now. We are never satisfied are we?

We had Jean home two weeks ago and it rained each day. she didn’t even get to the ranch.

Uncle Jack is going out tomorrow, taking out a married couple. I guess having will be in full swing in a few days.

It doesn’t seem possible you’ve been in Hospital a year, but I guess it has been long to you, however the next one will pass more quickly.

Heaps of love from Aunt Nan.

Maybe the Stampede wasn’t all that that year, but I think perhaps Aunt Nan was trying to make mom feel better about missing out.

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A Letter from Aunt Ruth (FGK-12)

I was almost taken out by a bad cannoli Sunday night, so I skipped yesterday, but it gave me time to think about this time capsule I’ve discovered. I feel so blessed that it fell into my lap at this moment in time, it’s precisely what I need right now.

Today I’m sharing a letter from Aunt Ruth. She was my grandma’s sister, a fantastic artist, and mom always spoke so highly of her.

Dear Margie

Well how are you today? Fine I hope. We are all pretty good here. It’s trying to rain outside this morning so I’m afraid my clothes on the line are not going to get dried out very much. This rain will wash everything off though, the grass and flowers are just simply covered with dust.

We had a picnic on Olive’s birthday and took some snaps and at last we have our camera adjusted properly so they aren’t too bad. Aileen is holding Lloyd on her knee and Pat is standing up in front. The men and Gordie were all playing horseshoes so I didn’t get them in, however you will be able to see the two wee ones. The one of Gordie holding Lloyd isn’t too bad is it? Also Marion Beatly and her little brother isn’t too bad either. Also, Marion says she wishes she had her hair curled.

Yesterday we all went up to the Brooks place, it’s almost 17 miles west up past Helen McDonald’s road away in the bush. My I did enjoy the drive and it’s just like a park about there. I’ll try and give you a little bird’s eye view of it. They took us all through each of their homes and they were so neat and clean and nicely furnished. They all burn sawdust up there as you know they make their living with a saw mill.

Aunt Ruth’s birds eye view for mom

Well Margie, Dorthy and Bill Anderson are being married on Wednesday so things are pretty busy in town these days. Aileen had a shower for Dorthy in the hall and she really did get a nice lot of things. They are having a dance in the hall after the wedding for everyone who wants to go so think we may go.

Your mother tells me you have last week’s Star weekly so I won’t bother to mail it to you. What do you think of Edith’s picture on the front page? I think she is much better looking than that don’t you?

As luck would have it, this article fell out of a bag of newspaper clippings a couple of weeks ago. I believe it’s what Aunt Ruth is referring to. It was published in the Herald July 8, 1953. Mom would have been in hospital 11 months by this time.

We still don’t know whether they are going to open the schools on Sept. 1st. There seems to be so much Polio around.

All the kids have the horseshoe craze around here now and so far Gordie is the champion but he gets more practice because he plays with the men up at Claude’s. Even the girls are trying it. We also have a tennis court kind of lined up out here and they play ping pong rules.

Sure be glad when you can come in and see us again Margie.

I hear you have had Wes P____ up there to see you, you really do get to see all the celebrities.

I couldn’t make out his full name, but he must have been a local celebrity.

Well Margie dear, I must go now and if you still want the Star weekly Aug 22 we will send it along if you drop me a card to let me know.

Lots of love from us all and especially from me

Aunt Ruth.

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Crazy driving, constant hope, and tea time (FGK-9)

Based on the timeline given in the previous post, which you can find Here, mom had been in the hospital for 3 weeks when Grandma wrote this letter:

September 1st 1952

Dearest Margie:

I have thought of you constantly all day but you won’t get a letter today from me, there just seemed no way to get one in to you. Dad and Slim and I came home from Calgary right after seeing you yesterday and we met a car right by the slough at Edges and it side-swiped us and burst our rear bumper. Boy! Was Dad ever mad. It was a car from our oil well and they were coming so fast we were really frightened so Dad pulled as far into the ditch as he dared to. We met the same car one Sunday when you were in Isolation and it nearly put us in the ditch that time too, and it tossed a rock up that hit our windshield and put another crack in it. We told him about it too and in no uncertain terms. His car was badly dented and scratched though. We had a miserable little cup of tea with cheese and crackers when we got home, then Dad did the chickens while I got a bit of supper and Slim helped the Ecklund’s milk. Then we got ready and went to church – picked Sheila and Marshall up first at Aunt Ruths.

I loved this story. I can imagine grandma and grandpa in this moment, but I also think of all the times white knuckling it in the passenger seat while grandma drove us somewhere. Or of my favourite driving story about her occurred probably in the early 80s. She was driving home to the ranch from Cochrane on the 1A when a car started following closely behind her. She sped up, the car sped up. She slowed down, they slowed down. Finally she hit the pedal to the medal and shot out of there only to see flashing lights in her rear view mirror. When the officer came to her window what he got was a lot of trouble “How dare you scare an old lady like that, what were you thinking following me?” She got an apology instead of a ticket.

And, there’s the little comment “we had a miserable little cup of tea with cheese and crackers when we got home” which may sound like it was no big deal, but knowing grandma it was a BIG deal. Teatime was something you didn’t mess with in this house, and there was usually something sweet. I remember when Grandma was in her 80s she fell and broke her arm. I was in emergency with her while they were doing X-rays and assessing her. The doctors and staff were quite concerned about her break, but Grandma was livid because it was tea time and what she really needed was a cup of tea. I remember her trying to explain to the doctor that if he’d just stop and leave her be for a minute so she could go out and get a cup of tea, everything would be just fine. They wouldn’t let her go, but I ran out and got her one, and it really did seem to make things better for her. In fact, in my family growing up, and now with my own family, whenever anything even remotely stressful happens, the first thing we do is make tea.

There sure wasn’t many at church, only 24 counting the minster, and he preached a good sermon too. Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ed took the kids for a drive while we were in to see you. They were sure scared of his driving but enjoyed it otherwise. I think they went up to where the Cochrane Rodeo was to be held. We came straight home from church, I felt kind of sick – headache etc. But woke up feeling fine today. It is nearly 10 pm now so I’m really tired. We did a big washing today. Just after we got the lunches put up and got started with the washing. Uncle Clarence and Donnie came long. They stayed drinking coffee for hours. Donnie didn’t get into much mischief though, just let the hose on my washing machine down once and let the water run out it a while before Sheila caught him.

Dad was away measuring hay and Clarence just left and we cleared the table when Dad brought Dave Bryant and Mr. Fox in for coffee and they stayed until 15 to 12 o’clock. Then we really had to hustle and didn’t affect anyone only Dad for dinner but Rose (Reese??) and Slim came in too. However we finally got through washing and doing dishes and I wrote 11 thank-you letters and cards for you while Sheila ironed clothes.

I phoned Mrs. Hope today to see how you are and she said you are just getting along fine without Mrs. Powers. I was pleased to hear that, and Mrs. Hope was very nice, she explained why you had to have the penicillin etc. She said your kidneys needed it, your innards get so sluggish when you are so inactive and the penicillin is just a precaution, she thinks you won’t need much of it ‘cause she said you are rally doing exceptionally well now. I hope you get a little sleep now int he day time too. You must be very tired of all that mess of compresses but try and stand it for a little longer, it will be worth it to be cured.

I thought it was really sweet how Grandma explained to mom what the nurse (I assume?) told her about mom’s health. Mom was only 11 and all alone in the hospital and it probably meant a lot to know that her mom was checking up on how she was, and then to have her mom explain to her what was going on.

It will be worth it to be cured. Forceful hope is a what I see throughout these letters. Words are powerful, and whenever Grandma talks about mom getting better, she never allows for anything but constant hope and positive thinking about how that’s going to happen.

I am terribly tired tonight so I must go to bed now, I’ll write you some more tomorrow and I’ll be in to see you on Wednesday. Lots of love Dear – Mom xxx

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