The Squamidian Report – July 26 / 14
 
Issue #635

Including:
The Ontarion

Hi All,

After several days of promised rain that didn't show up, it finally did show up and we got some actual real rain. It had gotten pretty dry around here and even more so in the BC Interior where forest fires had become a very real problem. So the rain is a good thing but between the rain and the overcast skies, my blueberries seem to have put ripening on hold. Thats a bummer because they sure beat the stuff you find in the grocery stores. But between waiting for my own berries to ripen and reading a comment that uncle Russ sent to me, I started to open some very old memory files that had been tucked away into the far reaches of my brain. Old memories for me seem to act very much like old computer files. They seem to be achieved for safe keeping and stored away in some dusty cobwebbed corner but they are still there assuming they can be found. Its the 'finding' that can be a bit of a problem, especially if you aren't sure if they are still there or where to look for them. But, when something triggers an entry in an old archive index, very often the file that entry points to is there. However, just like old computer files, there is no guarantee that the old memory file is in a format that can still be accessed. The contained data might well be gibberish because the mental software it was written in has become obsolete. So, the integrity of the data in my memory files could very well be compromised,  but, I digress....

Russ had mentioned picking berries as a kid and being tormented by mosquitoes etc. Being tormented by mosquitoes seems to be a common thread that ties the generations together because we all seem to have endured that same torment and can certainly relate. What triggered an index file pointer to a long burred memory in my brain was WHERE he was picking berries. Back when he was young they picked those berries in the same place we picked when we were young, in the place we called 'the peat swamp'. The peat swamp was a very large swamp and forested area very close to where the old Brubacher homestead was, which is basically where the current Brubacher homestead still is. The original one where my father's parents lived was right across the road from where my parents have lived for the last, oh, I don't know, forever, or thats how it seems from my generation’s perspective. Believe it or not, peat moss uses to be 'mined' from that swamp back in the days when peat moss was used for all sorts of things. Peat swamps are acidic places and blueberries like acidic soil so they grew just fine there. As kids, we used to hike back in on an overgrown trail that had at one time been an access road to the open area where the berries grew. We were pretty young but I still remember picking and eating, or more likely, eating and picking. I also remember the remains of an old vehicle that was slowly sinking into the swamp, each year there would be less of it showing until finally it was gone.

As we grew into our teens we no longer hung out in that swamp. It had been a wonderful place for us as young boys to explore and basically be boys in but as those years went by, the city expanded and gobbled up the farms that had been bordering the swamp. The swamp seemed to shrink as housing encroached from almost every direction. The berries were forgotten about, which was a real shame. The mosquitoes probably weren't all that happy either but there was always a good supply of them in the forested areas that still surround the Homestead so no need to feel sorry of them. They are still doing just fine. Then, when I was in my late teens or somewhere thereabouts, 'they' pushed River Road right through the swamp. I aways thought that was a terrible thing to do as it pretty well spelled the end to whatever was left of the swamp. That was a long time ago and I'd imagine most people now in the area just assume the road has always been there, and whats left of the swamp is mostly just a memory.

Then, one summer day when I was in my mid 20's I was driving on River Road along the section that went through what was left of what had been the swamp. For some reason I pulled over, just to have a look around. There, to my total surprise and amazement, was blueberries, growing between the roadside and the treeline. I returned that evening and picked a small basket full. They were wonderful. And there was lots more to be picked in the near future. So, I came back the following weekend and there to my total dismay, was nothing. The city had come through and mowed down everything that had been green between the road and the treeline. Total devastation. I was shocked and heartbroken. This wonderful, small, secret, tasty link to our childhood that I had just re-discovered, had been destroyed. I checked back a few times over the following years but the blueberries never made a recovery. I stopped checking when the area was so overgrown with weeds and other invasive plants that there was no longer any chance at all of some small berry plant having survived in some hidden little corner. To the best of my knowledge, that was the end of the peat swamp blueberries although if I ever have the opportunity, it would be interesting to hike off into whatever is left of that 'green space' just to see what hidden secrets might still be there for anyone looking hard enough to find.

There was one other little peace of achieved data stored in that old memory file. Along the fence lines and edges of the old forested areas grew elderberries. I don't think there are many people around anymore who even remember what those berries were. They were tiny but there would be a lot of them growing in a big fan shaped cluster at the end of the branches. I do remember that my mother could make an elderberry pie that was incredible.


doug
****


****

THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

When we were kids back in the late 50’s early 60’s we would roam the neighbourhood on weekends and summer days looking for interesting things to do. This was a way to pass the time when our mums had kicked us out for the day. I remember asking my mother “Mom, what can I do?” over and over again when I was bored during summer vacation. Her standard answer was “Sit in a shoe and ride to Waterloo!” and then she’d laugh. Invariably she’d laugh thinking she was funny but all that did was infuriate me. What a dumb answer that was for what seamed to be a serious question in my mind. Mothers were supposed to have the answers to all of kid’s questions including great ideas as to things to do to keep kids busy during summer vacation. To receive a reply like “Sit in a shoe …… etc” was just disappointing to the kid asking the question. Anyway, that usually lead to my just calling on a neighbourhood friend and the two of us heading out in no particular direction wandering aimlessly through the North Ward. One of the favorite destinations we had was the huge lumberyard that was the property of a company at the corner of Louisa St and St Leger St called Panel Veneer. They were a company that made what else, Paneling and other sorts of veneer that was used to cover different furniture products such as desks and bookshelves. There were two different lots on St Leger St that held their raw lumber stock. One had piles and piles of rough sawn boards and the other held huge logs by the hundreds. It was great fun climbing on the logs and hiding in among these monsters playing hide and seek. Most times, we’d get our fanny’s booted off the property by the grumpy guy operating the crane. Just the smell of the piles of lumber would attract us to the latest stock of logs in the yard. It was great fun just watching the big trucks and train cars being unloaded on a hot summer day. Then we’d go to the little store that was on the opposite corner of the intersection to the Panel Veneer plant and buy a Popsicle or a “Flip” for a nickel to cool off!

The Offices of the huge plant were within 4 feet of the sidewalk right on the corner and there was a 4’ high concrete wall surrounding the building on two sides of the corner. It was a good spot to sit and enjoy our Popsicles and drinks. The store belonged to a fellow by the name of Leo Peng. No, he was not Chinese; I think he was either German or Eastern European of some sort. I just remember he was an acquaintance of my dads and he had a prominent silver tooth in the front of his mouth. Over the years it’s been fun to pass by that intersection and think of the times we had all that fun on the log piles. Panel Veneer was out of business many years ago but the building was still there up until vandals lit it on fire back in 2005. It had been the site of many smaller fires over the years it sat empty but that year the vandals lit an unstoppable fire in the sawdust filled old building. It burned to the ground in a huge fire that was the subject of a major investigation. The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office managed to secure the cause and the two guys that lit the fire were arrested and sent to jail for arson. Well, the lot of 16 acres sat empty after they demolished what was left of Panel Veneer. Finally after 8 years, the city granted a developer the permit to build town houses on the site and construction began. They’ve been working on the development for the past two years and had about 50% of the complex completed. They even had about 16 of the town houses sold and occupied. A couple of evenings ago one of the occupants heard a noise out behind their home and when she looked out the bedroom window all she could see was a wall of flames! She woke her kids and started to scream and wake up her neighbours. They in turn sounded the alarm and someone called the fire department. Luckily all of the people living in the new complex escaped the fire unharmed. How ironic that the new building on the same plot of land that burned 9 years earlier should meet the same fate and be the victim of fire. This was a massive fire that since the investigation has been completed, has proven to also have been set by an arsonist! The police have taken over the investigation from the Fire Dept and are now looking for the person or persons responsible. The resulting charges this time will be much more serious than the 2005 charges. This time the direct loss of life was possible as a result of this criminal act of arson. If anyone had died in this fire, the perpetrator when caught will be charged with attempted murder among several other serious charges. I hope that the responsible party is brought to justice! I’d be thinking of moving out of that complex if I were one of the current owners, just because of the history of happenings on that same corner.

I still find it interesting to think back on those days and remember that particular corner and of course Leo Peng’s store as well. In fact, I was talking to Wayne Wettlaufer a month or so ago. He was a PC party member and was running for election in our area. His campaign worker had knocked on my door to hand me a pamphlet promoting the election of Wayne at the time. I told him that I had known Wayne from my neighbourhood when we were kids in the North Ward of Kitchener. He sent Wayne to knock on my door about 15 minutes later to say hello after about 50 years of not seeing each other. Wayne and I had a good half hour of reminiscence on the porch. He then said that his old friend from the North Ward was the guy who had knocked on my door earlier. He asked if I remembered the chap and then said his name was Peng! Just then the fellow came back up the walk to talk with Wayne. Wayne introduced us and I asked if he was related to Leo Peng the owner of the little store. He said yes, that Leo was his father. What a small world! We then talked about all the cool things that Leo used to sell in his little corner store. Of course the most memorable item for the three of us was the “Pea Shooter”! We all loved to have a ball with pea shooters when we were kids back then. Of course they aren’t allowed these days, they might kill someone with such a lethal device. So today’s kids will just have to be content with hearing about such weapons from their grandfathers! LOL!

That’s all for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!

Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>
Don’t run with that pair of scissors in your hand!
Don’t shoot anybody with that Pea Shooter!
And
Don’t aim that BB Gun at anybody!
You might take someone’s eye out!

****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.