SNOW FUN
Much to our delight, Nova Scotia had lots of snow while we were growing up. We shared ice skates, sleds, flying saucers and toboggans. Our favourite place to slide was down "Arthur Doane's Hill", about a quarter mile up the road. There was a barbed wire fence at the bottom of the hill, so we had to remember to duck our heads. We'd stay for hours, sliding down and then trudging back up.
I was too lazy to go all the way home to use the outside toilet, so I'd just wet my pants! My reasoning was that since I was already wet from all the ice and snow, no-one would even notice. But when we ran home for dinner (lunch), the others would tell on me, because they could smell me. And no-one wanted to get on my sled with me since I stunk!
At the house, someone (usually Daddy, if he was home) would "sweep" us, one at a time, before we could go inside. We'd first enter the cold, unheated porch where we'd hang up our wet snowsuits on nails; our mittens, boots, scarves, etc. would all be left out there too.
Once in our warm kitchen, we'd all gather around the wood stove, used both for heating the whole 2 story house and for cooking. We woud sit in a kitchen chair, put a large log of firewood inside the oven and stick our frozen feet on top of the warmed wood. It would only take a minute or two as one's feet would get very hot, very quickly!
What joy to sit together and eat platefuls of hot beef stew or liver & onions with gravy, etc. There usually was homemade white bread, homemade butter, milk from our cow and a date square or cinnamon roll for dessert.
If we ate our big meal at supper time, it was usually at five o'clock sharp, unless the train was late and we had to wait on daddy. He worked for the C.N.R. (Canadian National Railway) most of the time. I recall that he also drove the snowplough some winters, so perhaps the railroad job was in the summer & Fall months. When he'd arrive home in his coveralls, very tired and very dirty, he'd first wash up in our kitchen sink. Before we had running water, we just had a pump. He seemed to take forever and I thought I may starrve to death before he finished.
Often, it would be dark and Mum would light the aladdin oil lamp to see by. I was always scared that one of my rowdy brothers would knock it over while arm wrestling or something and we'd all go up in smoke!
Sometimes, after supper and our lessons were all done, we'd don our snow gear again, grab our dull skates from the nail and walk briskly to a frozen river or pond. The bigger boys would build a huge, blazing bon-fire with old rubber tires and we'd sit near it, on old tree stumps or rocks to lace our skates up good & tight. Then, we'd skate off as fast and as far as we could, singing or laughing and holding mittened hands with one another. It would be pitch black and freezing cold, with only the Milky Way to light our way back home.
Our feather beds would be waiting for our cold, tired but very happy bodies. So cold, we could see our breath in the moonlight of our rooms. So cold that what we put in the "chamber pail" during the long night, would have a thin layer of ice by dawn.
How safe and comforted I felt, awaiting Santa Claus with Jack frost to keep us amused. But most of all, how loved I felt!
Much to our delight, Nova Scotia had lots of snow while we were growing up. We shared ice skates, sleds, flying saucers and toboggans. Our favourite place to slide was down "Arthur Doane's Hill", about a quarter mile up the road. There was a barbed wire fence at the bottom of the hill, so we had to remember to duck our heads. We'd stay for hours, sliding down and then trudging back up.
I was too lazy to go all the way home to use the outside toilet, so I'd just wet my pants! My reasoning was that since I was already wet from all the ice and snow, no-one would even notice. But when we ran home for dinner (lunch), the others would tell on me, because they could smell me. And no-one wanted to get on my sled with me since I stunk!
At the house, someone (usually Daddy, if he was home) would "sweep" us, one at a time, before we could go inside. We'd first enter the cold, unheated porch where we'd hang up our wet snowsuits on nails; our mittens, boots, scarves, etc. would all be left out there too.
Once in our warm kitchen, we'd all gather around the wood stove, used both for heating the whole 2 story house and for cooking. We woud sit in a kitchen chair, put a large log of firewood inside the oven and stick our frozen feet on top of the warmed wood. It would only take a minute or two as one's feet would get very hot, very quickly!
What joy to sit together and eat platefuls of hot beef stew or liver & onions with gravy, etc. There usually was homemade white bread, homemade butter, milk from our cow and a date square or cinnamon roll for dessert.
If we ate our big meal at supper time, it was usually at five o'clock sharp, unless the train was late and we had to wait on daddy. He worked for the C.N.R. (Canadian National Railway) most of the time. I recall that he also drove the snowplough some winters, so perhaps the railroad job was in the summer & Fall months. When he'd arrive home in his coveralls, very tired and very dirty, he'd first wash up in our kitchen sink. Before we had running water, we just had a pump. He seemed to take forever and I thought I may starrve to death before he finished.
Often, it would be dark and Mum would light the aladdin oil lamp to see by. I was always scared that one of my rowdy brothers would knock it over while arm wrestling or something and we'd all go up in smoke!
Sometimes, after supper and our lessons were all done, we'd don our snow gear again, grab our dull skates from the nail and walk briskly to a frozen river or pond. The bigger boys would build a huge, blazing bon-fire with old rubber tires and we'd sit near it, on old tree stumps or rocks to lace our skates up good & tight. Then, we'd skate off as fast and as far as we could, singing or laughing and holding mittened hands with one another. It would be pitch black and freezing cold, with only the Milky Way to light our way back home.
Our feather beds would be waiting for our cold, tired but very happy bodies. So cold, we could see our breath in the moonlight of our rooms. So cold that what we put in the "chamber pail" during the long night, would have a thin layer of ice by dawn.
How safe and comforted I felt, awaiting Santa Claus with Jack frost to keep us amused. But most of all, how loved I felt!
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