Goodbye Tabarette

Mum and Dad had lived in Tabarette for about a year when in the early spring of 1947 , Dad noticed Mum knitting socks that were not the usual work socks . They were tiny and white . At his surprised and questioning look , she announced that she was pregnant . "How do you know ? (That was how my Dad told the story. )

"The same way every woman knows ," she answered . What she didn't tell him then , was that her Mother had visited her . Her mother was long dead , but Mum told me how she had seen her one day that February when the missed menstral cycle sent her into a great fear and loneliness that she had only experienced at her Mother's death . She explained how she had cried out for her , something she hadn't done since the sexual abuse by her Father . Then she saw her standing there by the stove smiling . Mum told how a peaceful calm settled in her heart and the fear and lonliness " just disappeared ". " And do you know ? She was there for every one of my children's births ...even the lost ones ."

 Dad was happy that they were going to become a family ( although it led to a period where he and Mum went through some rough water - for another blog not this ). In his style , he quickly let everyone know that Mum was pregnant  and it wasn't long until the news spread along the line . Then the advice started to roll in from family men and 'pie eaters' alike .

The predominant point of view was that Dad should see about transferring in to Mattawa section because a pregnant woman in that kind of isolation was not a good idea . Four hours by train was a long trip , even with two trains a day , timing could not be guarranteed .

Mum was willing to use a midwife , a custom she was familiar with in England . Her oldest sister was a trained midwife and several times she pressed Mum , a young girl , into service for local births when no other woman was available in the home to help . On the farm , she had helped out with the lambing so was familiar with those processes . She felt that she could handle the birthing ...in the sense that she knew what was going to happen and what was needed . But , she was alone , she had no family there to support her , and no one to jump to service when the time came ... other than Dad . He still had to work . He was sure that it would happen while he was out walking the section and became very worried that it could be hours before he found her in the throes of birth .

Dad applied to move into the Mattawa section but there were no positions available to him . He hadn't built up enough senority to be considered . He explained that the situation was serious and would take anything that was closer to Mattawa . Getting his wife to a hospital for the birth was essential , especially since it was her first child . So , when a position came open at Snake Creek , an hour train ride north of Mattawa , the men along the line made sure that Dad was the only one who applied for the transfer ...and it came with a section house .

Mum and Dad packed up their possessions for the freight train to carry .Two small wooden crates , a bed and dresser , two coal oil lamps , a table and two chairs , their secondhand couch and chair , a little oval table that Dad had made from scraps of lumber from a boxcar to hold the lamp , the washtub filled with miscellaneous items , Dad's duffelbag and a steamer trunk waited beside the track . After a thorough house cleaning , including the storm windows left leaning against the back of the house , my parents said a nostalgic goodbye to their 'honeymoon' home . Mum placed the broom right next to the front door with a note welcoming the next family "... and keep the broom handy ."

CPR logo - The Beaver

 

The Beaver was chosen because it represented the hard working nature of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

It also created a lot of work for CPR section men who were contantly pulling apart beaver dams that threatened to flood or wash away the lines . Many a train derailment was caused by a washout created as a result of busy little beavers working in the area .

I often wonder what Aboriginal people thought about hoisting this as an emblem . To them , the beaver was not to be admired at all . NO! to all the negative racial stereotypers out there ...it is NOT because ' Indians are lazy.' 

The beaver displayed some negative behaviours that were not to be emulated by humans . It was never used as a clan animal because of its nature to mate with its young . It is a little too hardworking that way and thus reproduces itself quickly . I suppose that might have been a reason they were happy to trap them out for the European market way back when .

There are more beaver in Canada now than there has ever been to which anyone with a dream home in a rural setting next to a babbling brook can attest . 

Garden in the Bush

Fresh vegetables were rare and in Northern locations , other than beans and root vegetables , there was little fare to be ordered up with the supplies .

During her first winter , Mum made plans to put in a garden come spring . She ordered seeds in from Montreal to arrive by May .

The days lengthened and warmed until finally the soil was beginning to thaw . Mum chose a sunny spot not too far from the back door that she thought would have enough soil to grow what she planned : beans and root vegetables it was .

The ground never saw a spade , or pick axe as it would have it , but determination , a lot of sweat equity and Dad's help produced a small garden plot by the end of May . Dad wasn't too sure that they would get the results that Mum hoped for , but he indulged her.

Mum carefully hoed the plot into rows and planted seed precisely to instructions on the envelopes : two rows of carrots , two rows of beets , two rows of yellow wax beans ...all things she could preserve in jars when the time came . With the blueberry preserves and these , there would be treats for Christmas and visitors during the winter .

Throughout June and into July , Mum and Dad carted water from the spring and collected rainwater in the washtub for watering the plants every few days . Each evening they spent a few minutes weeding . By the middle of July , they were eating beans and beet tops with supper ... the best reward for hard work in a garden .

One early morning just after Dad had left to fill the switch lamps , Mum headed out to the outhouse . As she was returning , she could see beyond the house  , a large animal in her garden with greens carrot tops hanging from its mouth . She headed for the garden , grabbing the broom off the back step as she flew by . Who did he think he was eating her carrots ?

She yelled and ran towards it waving her broom in the air . All it did was raise its head , look unconcerned in her direction and proceed to tear out another mouthful of tender young carrots . Mum was not put off her task . She was more than familiar with chasing animals out of the gardens on the farm , so she felt no fear doing the same with this one . Using the broom to swat its withers she finally got the reluctant animal moving . Soon it drifted back to the bush and she repaired the damage , gathering small carrots from the ground to cook up with supper .

When Dad returned after work , she described the animal in answer to his questions . She was still more than annoyed over it .

" Was it a bear ?"

"No , it wasn't a bear! . I know what a bear is ! It was bigger ."

"What colour was it ?"

" It was dark brown ...a bit bigger than a farm horse ... and it had wide horns ."

Dad immediately went out to find its tracks . He came in shaking his head and told her she had chased a moose out of the garden . Then , he roared with laughter and explained a few things about moose to her . " You're lucky it didn't charge you ...it could have killed you ."

" Well he shouldn't have been eating my carrots !" 

This story like others made it way up and down the line - one about a feisty English war bride who had mistaken a moose for a beaver ( my Dad's addition) and sent it running in fear back to the bush off the end of her broom .

Cold as Ice

During the spring and summer , Sundays were the time that Mum and Dad left all thoughts of work behind for rest , relaxation and fun . That was Picnic day !
Each Sunday , they would pick a different location somewhere in the vicinity to explore . Mum would pack a lunch and they would head up or down the track to find access to a new Eden and laze away another Sunday .

Once a spot was found , Dad started a tea fire and they would root around discovering what surprises the place offered while the teapail boiled up . After tea and sandwiches ,they went to see what fun and mischief they could devise .

In from the track a few miles up , Dad spotted a pristine lake . The water was clear as glass , everything on it's gravel bottom exposed to sight . Most lakes in that part of the country were deep and dark showing no hint of what lay beneath . So this diamond was tantalizing to them both . It must have been a special place to someone in the past because on the shore they found an abandoned fishing boat .Perhaps it belonged to a former occupant of the section house .

Dad decided to launch the boat so he and Mum could take a ride on the lake . The two of them dragged the boat into the water and Dad poled it a little deeper . It soon became evident why it had been abandoned . Time and neglect had made it "as leaky as a sieve" . Mum , a nonswimmer , refused to go any further and climbed out . She waded back to shore and refused to succumb to Dad's encouraging disclaimers .

Dad poled it out a little deeper announcing that he was going to have a little swim before heading back in to shore . He stood on the prow , struck his best diving pose for his wife , and gracefully slipped under the surface of the water .

In less than a few seconds , he reappeared on the prow of the boat having launched himself out of the lake . " Holy Mother of C***** that's cold ," he howled .

Mum erupted into peals of laughter that didn't subside for the whole time it took for Dad to pole the boat ( now full of water to within a few inches of the gunnels ) back to the warmer edges of the lake where it became moored to the bottom .  The whole time ...and it was a long time...Dad cursed and denounced the trick played on him by nature . Mum laughed at this picture of 'Adonis grounded' until she "peed her pants".

So the two of them rekindled the fire and sat while Dad warmed up and her 'laughing accident' evaporated in its heat .

Lesson: Clear , gravel-bottomed lakes in the north are , nine times out of ten , spring fed wells that are as cold as ice .

Damn Skunk

During the summer , on Washing Days , the cookstove was busy all day heating the water for the laundry . Mum's habit was to throw open the front and back door in the section house at Tabarette so the intense heat and steam would clear the house - and maybe keep it below 90F if possible .

One day she came in from hanging clothes on the line to find a skunk wandering around the kitchen . As was her usual style she grabbed her broom , slowly and carefully ...she knew what a skunk was by that time . As was the usual style of a skunk , it continued to explore the kitchen , not bothered by Mum's presence at all . ( Thank heaven !) Skunks are rarely intimidated -often startled but rarely intimidated .They keep going about their business fairly sure that no one will mess with them .

Mum waited until the skunk was facing the door then swept the skunk along quickly with a continuous round of  'bum swats' right through the house and to the front door , where she gave it one last lift through the door and onto the track . Then she slammed the door and shut the front window  preparing for what was to come .

The skunk was a little stunned from the last landing and danced in circles in the middle of the track looking for the culprit . Needless to say , it spritzed a good sized area out front...but not inside .

After work my Dad entered the house in a rush to clear the spray zone and announced that he thought the train must have caught a skunk on the track . Mum assured him that the train hadn't . She explained the reason for the smell . He broke in a roar of laughter telling her she was crazy trying a stunt like that .

"Well you said it couldn't spray if it's back legs weren't on the ground . So , I made sure they didn't touch the floor ."

"Why didn't you put him out the back door ? It was closer !"

"I just hung up my clean laundry . Do you think I wanted him to spray back there ? Damn skunk !"