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.
|