The Squamidian Report – June 18 / 05
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Hi All,
Oh it’s good to be home. Not only can I breath here but I can see through the air, for miles and miles. That was one of those very hectic busy trips where your time was not really your own and you were pulled in a lot of directions at the same time but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
No need to cover the parties and get-togethers as Ewan, Sus and Greg have done a much better job than I ever could. I will instead tell you about something I did managed to squeeze in that I’ve wanted to do for a long time – take a short day-trip up to the Cedarville area. Ryan and I picked up Vivyan and headed up through farm country to Proton Township and Cedarville, the closest village to the farm where I was hatched. Took some pictures, including shots of the old stone church and the one room schoolhouse where mom attended as a kid. Drove on to the cemetery where her parents are buried. It sits on a hilltop over looking the surrounding farmlands. There is a lot of history written on those old tombstones.
The drive past the old farm held a few surprises. For starters, the old concession road used to be so narrow that the weeds and high grass on each side would rub on the vehicles sides as you drove, with no where to pass any other vehicle you might meet. However, meeting another vehicle was not likely. It was also very up-and-down-ish with the low areas through the swamps built directly on the old corduroy logs system and the up sections climbing over the gravel knolls. The corduroy logs would poke up through the loose gravel each spring making for a very bumpy road. Now the road has been widened and the low areas filled, the sections over the gravel knolls leveled. Many of the trees though the low swamps have died, being drowned by rising water levels caused by beavers damming the creeks. The swamps are now very open areas of marsh grass and low shrubs.
There is a high gravel ridge that snaked though the area, actually a glacial deposit called an esker. These ridges formed when streams of melt water tunneled through and under the ice sheets, picking up gravel and debris and then dropping it under their path. The ridge that the old road used to cross has been mined for it’s gravel and the gravel face is now so far back from the road we could hardly see it. We used to hike back along the top all the way to the river through the hardwood forest. Called it the ‘Hog’s Back’.
The next surprise was that the old barn is still standing. The windmill is gone, the barnyard is a mess but the barn is still there. The house my parents were married in and I was born in (not at the same time) is in pretty bad shape, very neglected looking and run down. I knocked on the door hoping to find someone home so I could get permission to wander around a bit but there was no answer. Took some shots of the old place anyway.
We did a lot of reminiscing and I picked up more of my mothers family history as we chatted on the way home. Don’t know when I’ll have a chance to visit that area again so I’m glad we found the time. I took some shots of the old farm and the cemetery. Cemetery pictures may be morbid to some but they capture a part of my history.
Some pictures… http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/Pictures/Farm/farm.htm
*
It is soooooooo good to be home. The lawn needed mowing, the flowerbeds needed weeding but the air is clear and cool. Had some good scenery over northern Ontario, the parries and the mountains. Landed in bright sunshine thanks to the 3-hour time displacement. Had to drive through Vancouver during rush hour traffic but that’s no worse than driving in Kitchener during the off hours.
*
I’ve posted a few 60th Bash pictures taken by myself and other at: http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b2/60th/june11.htm
One thing I didn’t mange to get was a picture of Lorne and Vivyan together. They just don’t sit still long enough and are usually doing their own thing. If anyone did manage to capture them, I’d love a copy.
d
****
Hello all,
It's been a while since I wrote to everyone, but I just saw quite a few of you. Since most of you were there anyway there really can't be much point in writing about it. But Carol asked me to, and I don't want to be in trouble! Also I know a few of our favourite Squamidian readers and contributers couldn't make it, so I'd like to rub it in a bit. Australia is a bit of a trek after all.
It was obvious pretty early on that the celebration had achieved proportions well beyond simply wishing Lorne and Vivian (Grandpa and Grandma) a happy 60th wedding anniversary. The word is "jamboree," I looked it up. The fact is that it started winding up several days before the main event. As Brubachers and friends were rolling in to town they met up and the fun began. Naturally the homestead was the hub. I came to town late, but I knew right where to go. By the time I arrived on Friday "Coast to Coast" was already warmed up, tuned up and ready to go. They sounded great.
Let me go back a step. At some point it became obvious that there was going to be so much music that it needed to be somewhat organized. Grandpa came up with a playbill. Sharon and Melissa sang, Beth did her thing backed up by Tim, Grandpa sang with his quartet (Amour) and Octet (Second Career), with Judy joining for their second performance. It was also excellent to have a chance to hear the Timbretones, with grandpa's brother Wayne. I saw them at The Centre in the Square recently. Coast to Coast was the apt name adopted by Sus, Warren and Tim playing guitar, Doug playing mandolin and sometimes Ryan on a hand drum. Those old tunes sounded like magic.
These people have been playing together for years. It was a real treat to have them click when there is normally so many miles between them. Doug and Warren normally play together in Squamidia, so they formed a good back bone. Sus and Tim joining in was so natural that it was seamless to anyone listening. Ryan added something positive and rounded out the sound nicely. If anyone of these people came to town on their own it would be reason enough to have a celebration or two, and getting to hear them play on their own would be a treat. When Tim and Doug play a few tunes together in January it's like Christmas. Having them all play together was a big enough deal that it could fill a whole Squamidian on it's own!
Each of Grandpa and Grandma's kid's contributed something to the weekend, and it shone. Saturday afternoon we headed out somewhere near St Agatha, with whatever we needed to have a great time. There were so many people there that I hadn't seen in years. Some of them I only had the chance to speak to for a few minutes. A few I met for the first time. This was the whole of Grandpa and Grandma's descendants and their significant others, plus all the friends and lots of extended family as well. Add to that a great group of barber shoppers and you had quite a few. I don't know how many, but it takes quite a few to be too many for the homestead.
People seemed to be mindful of the potential dangers of drinking on in super hot weather, and no one went too far. The people from the coasts were gasping from the heat. Fortunately people had the sense to bring plenty of water. As soon as they left the heat wave subsided. I don't recall such hot and humid weather for a few summers. After all the music, food and drink there was still time for plenty more music, food and drink. Once it was dark everyone started home, with smiles and a few mosquito bites. It ended because everyone was done, not because of the hour. It was satisfying.
The next day many of us went to church a Christ the King. Even Nathan was good to go in the morning! Jamie forgot, and my aunt Marg Cameron from Nova Scotia went to the wrong church, but they weren't missing for long. There was a lovely lunch at the church afterwards, which was really a continuation of the previous celebration. Then we headed back out to the homestead to cap it all off with a few more homemade tunes. Sweet.
The surreal part was simply walking up the street with everyone that was left. It was like we had traveled time and space to a foreign suburbia, smack dab in the middle of the old country jamboree. It wasn't bad though, it was interesting. The air was as thick as I've ever seen it though, and I know Doug must have breathed a big sigh of relief when he got back to Squamidia. He didn't even want to transport the Ontario air back to BC in his mandolin case, for fear of contamination!
Howard, it was good to see you, but way too short! Sus, I'm so happy that you came all the way to Ontario. It's been way to long since I saw you. Thank you for making the whole thing that much better. I wish I could have seen Peter and Zane too, but I know KW is pretty far from the sea for June! Warren, thank you so much for coming along, it made it a lot more fun for me. Sorry about the heat! Give my best to Janice. Hopefully I'll see you soon.
Clyde, I'm glad that I finally met you. Hopefully we'll get together again sometime for a little longer. Until then we'll have some fun stirring things up through e-mail. Thanks for distracting so many of the bugs!
Ed, hang in their buddy! We missed you, and I look forward to having some laughs again soon. Jim, sorry you couldn't make it, I'll see you in October at Fern Glenn Inn. Joey, sorry I got drunk and started hitting on your wife. Nothing personal.
To everyone else that wasn't there for any reason, all I can say is NEXT TIME!
Grandpa and Grandma, it was all such a big deal for me that I barely had the chance to wish you a happy 60th wedding anniversary. Congratulations! Thank you also, for being at the head and centre of such a warm and fun loving family. I feel pretty lucky to have had so many good times with a big bunch of remarkable people over the years. That's something that you can be very proud of.
Talk to you soon,
****
Well here I am back in Nova Scotia. I had a wonderful time visiting everyone in Kitchener and I feel much closer to you all. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Hamilton and felt that warm rush of humid air I felt right at home. Hugh Cameron met Ward, Mae and I at the airport and then proceeded to give us an off the beaten track ride to the homestead. We even went by the house we used to live in near Copetown. That evening we visited with Lorne and Vivyan while we waited for Doug, Warren and Ryan to arrive from their flight. Hugh graciously housed Ward, Warren and I for the week giving us the run of the place and even his car for a day. It was great to spend time with my brothers. We talked day and night getting caught up in our ventures and reminiscing the past. Our daily jam sessions were great out at Lorne's. I managed to build up some worthwhile calluses on my fingers from playing the guitar so much. I need to be around you guys more! Lorne and Vivyan were terrific. We spent almost everyday at their house visiting and singing. Their family has always been my family. As much as I love my Nova Scotia home I do miss the big family gatherings that always happen there.
The big reunion was loads of fun, great music and good company. It was great to meet the Squamidian family. Everyone did a tremendous job of organizing the event especially Carol who I am sure did not rest for weeks. Even the weather was perfect as far as I was concerned. It was so great to see you all. Sunday was also a great event. I'm not used to partying so much day after day! Carol did a wonderful job with the service and her speech about her parents was heart-warming and so true. I will always have great memories of them and how they welcome all into their home and family. When it was time to leave it was very hard to say good-bye. We had all become closer.
Thanks again Doug for driving us around all week. It was so good to spend time with you and Ryan and Sue. We all agreed the next reunion will be in two years and it will be here in Nova Scotia. So all are invited. I think August would be the best time of the year for weather for sure. The date will be set soon. We have plenty of camping space and a fair amount of accommodations on our property between our house, Dad's house and the gallery. We will get into the details at a later date.
Thanks Evelyn and Ed for lending your car too. I wish you a speedy recovery Ed.
****
Well, here we are, back to normal!
As far as I can tell, everyone enjoyed the 60th
party on Saturday. There were a lot of smiling faces both outside and inside
the building.
The weather actually cooperated with the
event. I did however think the organizers might have put some effort into
fogging the bush with DDT to quell the mosquito infestation! Actually, the
mosquito’s weren’t bothersome until early evening when the breeze died down and
the perspiration began to surface on most of the attendees. I think in general,
we all had a good time and the guests of honour Vivyan and Lorne were right at
home entertaining and attending to the needs of their guests and family. Vivyan
looked lovely and managed to smile for the entire party. Lorne was in fine
voice as were his fellow entertainers. Carole and I were very impressed with
all of the entertainers who performed so flawlessly during the day and on into
the evening. The ladies who prepared the salads and other food for the day
outdid themselves for sure. By the way, I haven’t had a DQ Burger for years and
with the first bite there was something familiar about the taste of Saturdays
fare. If you didn’t try a little of everything on that table, you missed out on
something special. Carole and I consider ourselves privileged to be included in
this special celebration and our heartfelt thanks go out to Carol and the rest
of the Brubacher clan for inviting us to join in the party. The day was
especially cool for those of you that haven’t seen some of the other
participants in many years and got a chance to rehash the memories created by
your past associations with each other. I know that Clyde enjoyed seeing people
from his past and talking with them again after so many years. I think Clyde
especially found peace after so many years by asking Doug’s uncle Wayne the
real reason he fired Clyde from the surveying business. I think it had
something to do with the fluids flowing from Clyde’s nose and eyes corroding
the surveying equipment when he and Doug were out in the wilds of Waterloo
County on assignment! I hear that Clyde suffered greatly from allergies back in
those days and Uncle Wayne would make sure that Clyde’s assignments were mostly
rural in nature in an effort to get him used to the pollen and hopefully
eventually cure his allergies. Guess what, it worked, as soon as Clyde left the
surveying behind his allergies cleared up.
*
In speaking with Vivyan about the lovely time
had by Carole and I and of course all of the other guests, I asked when the
next big bash would be. Vivyan said she’d need a little time to recover from
this one so probably the next one would be to celebrate her and Lorne’s 75th
wedding anniversary and she’d make sure that Carole and I get an invitation to
that one as well. Hahahahaaaaa…. Cute!
Well Vivyan and Lorne, we’ll be sure to hold
you to that promise!
We had lunch with Doug, Sue and Ryan on the
following Monday and enjoyed a 2 hour informal gab about the whole week. This
of course included details of their enjoyment of living in BC and the amazing
beauty of that area. After talking about BC in person with Doug and Sue, Carole
and I have decided to make an effort to visit them in September. I’m already
searching the web for information on traveling Canada. We intend to make the
entire drive to the west coast an adventure. We’re going to see as much of the
country as we can on the drive out. Doug said that in September the weather is
beautiful out in Squamish. Sue said that like anywhere else, you can get rain
in Squamish at that time of year too but it would be nicer if we lucked out and
had sunshine while visiting them. I said “No problem Sue, don’t forget, we’re
retired and that means we can stay with you and Doug for as long as it takes to
get a couple of weeks of good weather while we’re there!” Hahahahahaaaa…….
Well, being as polite as Sue is, she still had a look of courteous terror on
her face! She hesitantly said “Well, sure, whatever!” I let her off the hook
after a few seconds and told her I was only kidding. I reassured her that we
wouldn’t overstay our welcome. The time we spent with Doug and Sue this past
week was really fun and it was nice that Carole and Sue finally got to know
each other a little better. Doug and I have been friends for 7 years now and we
figured it was time that our wives got to meet and get acquainted. Carole and I
thoroughly enjoyed their company and look forward to seeing Doug and Sue again
in the fall. There’s lots that can happen between now and then but hopefully
our plans will materialize and we’ll get to make a very memorable experience
with a trip to BC.
I guess I should go for now!
Thank you once again for including us in your
family celebration and we look forward to the next one.
Happy 60th anniversary to Lorne
and Vivyan and we wish you many more years of happiness and good health!
Bye for now…..GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
The next time someone says to you “Close, but
no cigar” remind them that Close only counts in Dancing, Horse Shoes and Hand
Grenades!
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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