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The
Squamidian Report – Feb. 11 / 23
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#1081 Russ Nova Scotia Sus The Ontarion
Well now, It has been quite a long time since I have been able to hike the Panorama Ridge Trail. I’ve been doing a lot of walking on our local neighborhood streets but thats not the same as the more challenging ice and snow covered rough trails. It’s also not as demanding. So, while I’ve been capable of doing that hike for a few weeks now, the weather conditions had not cooperated. We’ve had non-stop rain down here and heavy wet snow up there. I needed to wait until the snow was packed and hard so that my crampons could dig in as slipping and/or falling is not an option. On Wednesday the weather did break. We woke to clear skies and about zero degrees here which meant it would be a few degrees below freezing up there at the top of the gondola. After our usual morning walk on the street we headed up, went in for a coffee by the fireplace and then put on our crampons and headed out. I really didn’t know what to expect because the trail would be rough with foot prints frozen into the surface, and it has lots of steep ups and downs. Walking was certainly more strenuous than on the street. I expected that so no problem there. After weeks of dull rainy weather the clear sky and bright sun were welcome and the air was totally still. It was pretty nice. The hike gave my legs and hips and back and arms a good workout as expected and that was good. By the time we made it back to the lodge I was feeling the old muscles a bit, and was a bit tired but it all felt fine. Thats a hike of just over a mile with some steep elevation changes. The up-hill parts are no problem. The down-hill parts are harder on the knees and the walking sticks sure help with that. (I should thank my sister Carol for suggesting them, and Sue for getting them for me). What I’ve found with using walking sticks is that they help with stability, they force me to stay upright, and they help with avoiding slipping and therefor avoiding falling. The crampons we wear on our boots give incredible traction so that also means no slipping or sliding. Something I’ve noticed once I started regular daily walking is how much damage my old, bad, hip had done to the rest of my joints. I had been walking with such a heavy limp that my knees, the other hip, and my back and lower spine had been compensating for and were very crooked, my posture was the pits. The sticks let me walk upright. It will take a while for that to become ‘natural’. As well, they make up-hills and down-hills much easier and give the arms and shoulders a bit of a work out. So, it’s all good, and I had a nap after we got home. We took a few pictures (as proof?) on our hike. The first one has the Mamquam Range behind me hidden in the clouds, the second one has Garibaldi behind me, the third just Garibaldi without me in the way, and lastly the valley spread out below with the Chief in the foreground.
* Seems to me that a couple of weeks or so ago had I promised to do an audio version of ‘Irene Goodnight’. So, by taking advantage of the fact that ‘The Wife’ was in Maple Ridge for most of last week, I was able to put that all together. As I’ve said before, a very quiet house is needed for doing that kind of recording. Not just for sound purposes but for concentration purposes. It takes a lot of concentration to record a song. I’ve got to come up with a game plan, decide on an intro and ending and all the stuff in between. I’ve got to figure out how much harmony(s) to use, when to use it, and so on. It all makes for a great hobby and is very satisfying which means that basically I do it for me. I then share this kind of thing with you guys but thats because I can and is part of trying to inject some entertainment into this news letter, and to simply share my hobby. But mostly I do it for the fact that its fun, interesting and challenging. As well, recording songs will leave something of ‘me’ for my granddaughters at some point down the road. That in itself makes it all worth while. So, enjoy. This was a surprisingly enjoyable song to put together. doug ****
From Russ
A petal dropped. On the 13th Anniversary of her death and, on the date of her Birthday, the one-and-only petal produced by her 'indoor' Hibiscus this winter silently dropped to the floor. My wife inherited many superstitions from her 'half-Irish' mother. Was this coincidental timing of her birth, death, and the drop of the dead petal just that? or was this a "message from beyond"? Let's look at some of the superstitions surrounding death and "spirits". When he died, she covered his 'shaving mirror' so that his spirit could not be trapped inside. Another superstition was to cover all the mirrors because the first to see his/her reflection in a mirror was the next to die. There were many clocks in their home and, as he was a 'clock-smith' could keep them all running, and chiming, but the Grandfather's clock stopped when the old man died - never to run again. After he died (at home), his corpse was 'watched over' by family and friends to ensure the spirit did not leave the body. Watching over the dead was a way to avoid "premature burial". Have you ever heard the word, "Taphephobia"? Neither had I until now - it's the term given to the fear of being buried alive (a not uncommon occurrence in the 19th century - and even feared by some today) By the way, did you see the news on Monday February 6th about a woman living in a long-term care home who had been pronounced dead, and three hours later a mortician noticed her breathing? Why did they carry his dead body out of the house 'feet first'? This was done to keep the deceased from looking-back into the house and getting another family member to 'join him'. Why did his widow busy herself turning family pictures face-down? It was another way to keep from being "possessed" by the spirit of her husband. Spirits, or ghosts were feared even after death, and because my bottom won't stand anymore sitting I'll continue next week with some superstitions associated with cemeteries and burial.
Russ. ****
From Nova Scotia Sus
Its looks like we may be losing another building in Scotsburn. Years ago Scotsburn was a booming little village. There was the Scotsburn Dairies where they made ice cream, butter and other dairy products. Another building housed the offices for Scotsburn Dairies. The Scotsburn Co-op sold everything from soup to nuts, hardware to paint supplies, appliances, feed for animals, a bakery, and a lunch bar. These are all gone. Across the street was the office of Gammon Building supplies with the mill behind them. Many years ago the railway went through Scotsburn and had a beautiful old wooden railway station. My Dad painted a picture of the old railway station before it was torn down. He donated it to the fire station hall and it is hanging there. The gas station still exists but only fixes cars, no gas. The Post Office is still there and the Scotsburn School for grades primary to 5. The latest building to be deleted is the former Odd Fellows Hall. This building was purchased from the Odd Fellows by the community of Scotsburn to be used for events such as karate classes, yoga, seniors clubs and so on. When Fiona hit, the roof was damaged and the insurance hired a company to come to repair it. Well to our dismay they totally ripped it apart looking for mold. The beautiful hardwood flooring and wainscoting is gone as well as the kitchen and all the walls. They even took the wooden railing on the stairway to the second floor. We are left with bare walls and floors. The insurance company says there isn't enough money left to fix it. It is so sad to see what was once a grand hall is now destined to be demolished. It sounds like Scotsburn is a deserted village, it's only the businesses that have left. There are many beautiful homes still making it more like a bedroom community. The fire hall holds events inside and out. The railway tracks have become a beautiful trail for hiking and biking. We have the fire hall and the churches to do our exercising programs. I've lived here long enough to experience all these changes. That's the one thing we all can count on is change. Sus ****
The Ontarion
Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe but we’re heading for another mild month in the middle of winter of 2023! When I look outside today, most of our snow is melting and will likely be gone by tomorrow which is Friday of this week! It’s nice to see it melting so quickly! I’m tired of winter even though we haven’t had much of one this year it’s still been tiresome! I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer enjoy any aspect of winter now that I’m getting older. I guess it’s just not my thing to go out and grab a shovel or work the snow blower any more at my age! Good thing we have Adam around to do most of the snow clearing for us these years! He’s been a great help over the past 5 years since my heart surgery and both Carole and I appreciate all the work he’s been doing for us in and around the house! What would we do without family? * With so many special occasions all packed into a short time span each year we have been kept busy shopping for gifts for each other and planning for each one of these events! It all starts off with Halloween, then Carole’s birthday, then Christmas, then New Years celebrations, then my birthday, then to top it all off, there’s our anniversary and then Valentine’s Day! All these events within a little over two months! It’s interesting to see how they all transpire for our winter months each year. We should be used to this winter span of celebrations since we’ve been doing them for 50 years now! Hard to believe it’s been that many years since our wedding day on January 19th of 1973! I guess one gets used to such a busy routine after so many years of the same old same old! I must admit it’s actually fun for the most part when we face the same challenges each year! However, it becomes difficult to think of surprising gifts each year after so many years of doing so! When one reaches a certain age, it’s difficult to imagine just what one still needs to add to their collection of life’s necessities! Oh well, there’s always something that makes each occasion special! Taking a look at the local happenings, The Kitchener council recently approved the construction of 5 more 20 story and higher residential and commercial buildings in the downtown core! The city and Regional councils seem to be spending our tax dollars like there’s an endless supply of them falling from the sky like raindrops! The Regional council just spent 11 hours yesterday hashing over the details of the new police budget for 2024 and wound up voting to a tie of 8 for and 8 against so therefore ending in a pass due to the tied vote! They wound up voting for an 18 million dollar increase to the budget so they can add not only more equipment and features to the department but another 18 officers for the coming year! I guess with the expansion of the Waterloo Region’s population growth, the force will have to expand as well to handle the increase in crime that’s showing it’s face these days! We’ve had several murders so far this year and many more armed robberies than in years past! Just last week there was an armed robbery right in the middle of the Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo! The perpetrators were from north Toronto and three of them were arrested shortly after smashing and grabbing expensive jeweler from a store in the middle of the mall. They were nabbed by Waterloo Regional Police just outside the mall after they ran from the jeweler store they robbed! There was a fourth member to their plan who forced a woman from her car in the parking lot and then drove away before the other three members of his criminal crew could exit the mall. The police were searching for him and after three days he was found dead behind the wheel of his stolen vehicle! The police haven’t released the details of his demise but he’s no longer a threat to the local economy anyway! It seems that most of the robberies that are occurring in and around KW are performed by Toronto area criminals that think they can make Waterloo Region an easy mark in which to commit their crimes! Like I’ve said in previous Ontarions, they can commit their robberies and murders and then jump right onto the 401 and make an easy and fast get away from KW! It seems that most of the news reported by our local CTV station here in Kitchener is bad news and of crime in nature! It would be nice if they could put together an entire broadcast of GOOD NEWS for a change but I guess that’s next to impossible with the way things happen these days. They say that “no news is good news” but then again no news would be a pretty empty broadcast, wouldn’t it? One of the more prominent news items that affected me personally over the past few weeks was the announcement that my favorite hang out spot as a young teenager has been sold and closed down permanently! SONNY’s drive in burger joint that was opened in 1964, and was not only my favorite hang out spot on weekends while in high school but a favorite spot of hundreds of fellow students during the 60’s will soon be demolished and replaced by another high rise building no doubt. It’s been purchased by the branch of Conestoga College that was it’s next door neighbor but for what purpose is still to be announced! It figures that with all of the multi story student housing buildings that have sprung up in that area that this property will undoubtedly be another one of the same nature! It was sad to see such a part of my teen years go by the wayside but I guess that all good things must come to an end eventually! Even though I haven’t been a teenager for many many years, I used to still drop into SONNY’s once in a while just for old time sake and a burger and a shake. However, those times are now no longer possible since SONNY’s will soon be nothing but a good memory! We used to call our attendance at SONNY’s “Friday Night at The Fights!” since there was always someone that caused a scuffle in their parking lot on their busiest night of the week each Friday! I even got into a few of those scuffles myself but, nothing of a very serious nature! Usually just a screaming and swearing match that most times amounted to not much more than that! Luckily most times nobody was hurt other than a few bruised egos after a good amount of not much more than verbal threats! Threats and a few occasions where after showing up and throwing up from an evening of heavy teen aged alcohol consumption just caused embarrassment to the victim! LOL! Like I said, a lot of good old teenaged memories to be had and talked about after the demise of SONNY’s on Weber St N in Waterloo! I’m sure SONNY’s will be missed by hundreds of people that frequented that place during their teen years and are still living in this area in their senior years! Well folks, that’s about all I have on my mind for this week! 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 ****
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