Last week, Kathy and I visited Margaret and Viktor Fast who lived in Nipawin and who now live in the northeast area in Saskatoon. We had a wonderful visit with them recalling old times in Nipawin and at L. P. Miller School where Viktor was the teacher librarian. Driving to their home, I noticed a community school near their home called Henry Kelsey School. Something struck me about the name of the school, and later that evening I had a flashback to my first teaching job in Kinistino in the early 1970's.
At that time most smaller towns had hospitals, and Kathy had been hired to work as the lab tech at the Kinistino hospital. I was hired to teach Grade 9 and 10 English at R. J. Humphreys, a grade 7 to 12 school. In those days there was limited housing for teachers in these smaller towns. Often the principal had the biggest teacherage and the teachers worked their way up to the larger teacherages the longer they stayed in the town. At least that was how it was in Kinistino. The principal, Merlin MacFarlane, had the largest teacherage, and Kathy and I had the smallest, about 500 square feet.
This little white teacherage was located right on the schoolground, and it had been home to many teachers before us like Rubin Rickhardt and Harold Schultz, just to name a few. To the right of the teacherage was the Coop manager's house, and it had a fence along our side of the property. In the background was the Grade 7 to 12 school where I taught. To the left was the elementary school - Henry Kelsey School. There was no fence between the teacherage and the elementary school.
At noon Kathy and I would come home for dinner and balls would be bouncing off the teacherage, kids would be running around our house, and kids would be looking in the windows as we ate. I mentioned at school one day that there wasn't much privacy living at the little teacherage, and somehow it got back to the local school board. They decided to build a fence.
One day a carpenter showed up and built a fence - the back fence went from the back wall of the Henry Kelsey School to the Coop managers fence on the right side of the property. That meant a fence was not needed along that right side where the Coop fence was, and the school itself would be the fence on the left side of the property. A fence was then build from the side of the school to the front side teacherage and from the other right front side of the teacherage to the Coop fence. The back yard was enclosed by the back fence, the front fence was from the school to the teacherage, the teacherage to the Coop fence and the school acted as the fence on the other side. The front yard was open.
It was a rather ingenious plan - not much fence had to be built by using the Coop fence, the side of the school and the teacherage itself to enclose the back yard, except the plan had one flaw. The backyard did not have a gate. When I needed to cut the grass, I had to carry the lawnmower through the house! When Henry Kelsey School had fire drill, half the school children exited from a door on the side of the building into the back yard! In case of a fire the students would have to crawl over a five foot fence or parade through the house! When I mentioned this, a new gate appeared in the fence the next spring.
We had some good times living in that little teacherage surrounded by our new white fence. A few years ago, Kathy and I took a drive through Kinistino, but Henry Kelsey School and the little white teacherage were no longer there. Just a memory sparked by driving past a school in the city.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Ups & Downs of Alberta Vacation
Well, you could say our trip to Alberta in July had its ups & downs. On Friday, July 20, Kathy & I drove over to Edmonton to see her sister Donna & family. Donna is renovating her home & as we drove down the street we almost missed it because of the new front entrance that has new stairs that go up & down to the basement giving her more living area on the main floor where the old steps used to go down. It was a downer as she was supposed to go with us the next day on our holiday but decided to stay with the renovations. The next day, we met Uncle Bruce & Aunt Brenda to drive on down to Calgary. The first stop was at the ProBass, but we missed the exit to the mall and had to go up one side of the cloverleaf and back down the other side so we would be in the right direction to turn into the mall. After touring ProBass we met my English friend, Roger Hawkins at the food court & had a great visit. He was especially up when he learned that I had watched my first full soccer game on TV with Manchester City winning, but he is probably down now that Canada beat his English girls soccer (sorry, that's football) team at the Olympics.
We then drove on down to Millarville to visit our friends, Bruce & Jan, but we could not find their acreage, so we drove on down to Turner Valley & had supper of pizza & beer along the downtown roadway - the Turner Valley park - if I recall correctly, those beer went down really well. Then we had to drive back up passed Millarville until we finally found their acreage. We had a great late night visit downing a few Scotch, but the next morning had to drive back down to Turner Valley for the famous Chuckwagon Cafe & Cattle Company breakfast. The breakfasts were wonderful and the cowboy decor awesome, but then we had to drive back up to the acreage to get our trucks, quads, and trailers. We were getting to know that stretch of road really well driving up & down it so often.
But that Sunday afternoon it was time to drive to the McLean Lake campground and meet Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob, Uncle Andy and Aunt Betty, as well as Uncle Andy's brother, Mark, and his wife, Cindy. We had trailers, trucks, and quads up and down that one stretch of campground.
The next morning Bruce, Andy, Mark, & I quadded up & down the rocky trails of the foothills without incident even though we went up one steep trail that we were not supposed to be on but got down that trail without incident. That afternoon we drove up toward the mountains to Forgetmenot Lake having stopped on the tourist side with the railings to view the Elbow River falls. We had a wonderful afternoon drive.
The next day, Tuesday, was company day. I think Amanda Osicki & her girls were the first to arrive and then Maryanne & Marieve came. They had driven down from Calgary. Maryanne decided to quad with Mark, Bruce, and myself up along the wild side trails to the Elbow falls. We quadded on up there but I did not get too close to the edge as it was a long way down to the rocks and the water below and there were no railings and I did not want to hurt myself. We quadded back to the campground & had supper with the new visitors, Randal, Jeff & Michelle & their boys, Bruce & Jan and maybe Jason & Jen. It was a great evening together!
Wednesday was our long travel day. We drove back down to Turner Valley & walked the streets there, then on down to Longview, almost down to the Crowsnest Pass when Uncle Andy realized that we had missed our turn at Longview and had gone down south too far. Luckily, Aunt Betty was in our vehicle as she was running down Uncle Andy's navigational skills & I am sure was ready to tune him up a notch or too if she could have gotten her hands on him. Anyway, we drove back up the same road to the Longview corner to head up into the Kananaskas Valley along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. We stopped by a mountain stream for a picnic lunch, then drove passed numerous mountain sheep, mountains, creeks and lakes until we came to Peter Lougheed tourist site which we spent some time going through. We then came to a lake that supplied power and had a short earthfilled dam. Aunt Betty was walking along the top of the dam, and a coyote was walking toward her, also on the top of the dam, but when the coyote got to her he went down the side of the dam letting her pass. Betty kept walking having the top of the dam to herself. That is when, we who were watching this, decided that an old cougar could trump a wild coyote every time!!!!! She still swears that it was just a big dog off its leash - we just call it Wiley Coyote! On we drove until we got back down to Bragg Creek and then to our campground. A very enjoyable day together!!!
Thursday morning we had a leisurely breakfast together, and then Bruce, Andy, Mark, and I decided to go exploring the quad trails again, especially this one crossroad trail that we had seen. We went through numerous mud holes, water, and over many rocks, and the trail kept going up and up and up. We stopped for a break and put our coats on as it looked like it was going to start to rain. We decided not to go on the trail along the side of the foothill but to continue up the steeper trail. We came to a rocky bit of a ledge as we went up the trail, and the first three bigger quads, made it over, but I was on the small quad at the back of the line. Going over the ledge, I realized the quad was going over backwards, so I sprang backward off the quad landing on the left side of my back and my head (thank God I was wearing a helmet), sliding headfirst on my back down the rocky trail. Looking up, I could see the quad upside down in the air and heading toward me. My quick thought was this was it - I was done for. Fortunately, the quad landed just to the right of my shoulder & head and tumbled down and down the trail as I kept sliding down on my back, finally coming to a stop.
By this time, the boys realized I was in trouble, stopped their quads higher up the trail, and were coming down to help me. I stood up, kind of nauseus and dizzy. I had pain from my right knee up to the middle of the left side of my back. Stumbling down the trail, I leaned bent over the back of the quad, realizing that my head was kind of spinning and leg & back hurt but I didn't think anything was broken. I saw Bruce & Mark coming down the trail and shouted to get the quad upright & Bruce thought that I was pinned under it, but I just didn't want the fluids to run out. After making sure that I was relatively fine, they worked hard uprighting the quad and getting their quads around and winching them down that slope. The windshield was smashed, the seat had flown off, one corner was bent down a bit, and after finding a couple of the pieces of the starter, the quad ran. Now I gingerly rode my bigger quad toward the campground, Bruce riding the smaller one that had rolled. Not the most pleasant quad ride that I have ever taken!
Arriving at the campground, I assured everyone I was just shaken up and downed a couple muscle relaxers that just happened to be in Bruce's trailer, and I think I slept for the rest of the afternoon. Earlier that morning, we had decided to go to Calgary for supper, but after my fall, it was decided that we would all stay at camp or all go to the city. After downing a pain killer, I said I was good to go to Calgary. Luckily the Asian food was delicious because the truck ride was not so hot! Upon returning to the campground, after Kathy bought a new camera at London Drugs, because her old camera had been around my neck during the tumble, and was a bit scratched up, I downed more pills and got through the night, only getting up once
Friday morning was a nice morning, nicer than I felt. Again we had a great breakfast, and we had previously decided that we wanted to take Brenda and Kathy to see the campsite side of the fall. Bruce & Brenda each rode a quad and Kathy rode behind me along the easy trail to the falls. I made it most of the way but did not want to ride the last part of the trail, so Kathy Bruce and Brenda went into them on their own. After riding back, I don't really remember much of the rest of that day. By that time I realized that I was concussed, but I didn't want to say too much. Besides, I was up and about!
Saturday we got up, had another great breakfast, and said our goodbyes as it was travelling home day. I had planned to drive up to Nipawin in 2 days but just kept driving, listening to the Rider game on the radio. Boy, did the Riders ever let us down that game! Without giving up, I kept driving for about 11 hours until we arrived home!
Well, it has been about 8 days since our holiday, and I was down on the bed or the couch for several days trying to heal up. Last night I tried to make it through the whole night without a pain killer but got up at about 3 AM for one and decided to write this blog. The sun is up and shining brightly now, so it is time for me to finish up this blog and to get on with another day.
That is the highlights of the ups and downs of our Alberta vacation.
We then drove on down to Millarville to visit our friends, Bruce & Jan, but we could not find their acreage, so we drove on down to Turner Valley & had supper of pizza & beer along the downtown roadway - the Turner Valley park - if I recall correctly, those beer went down really well. Then we had to drive back up passed Millarville until we finally found their acreage. We had a great late night visit downing a few Scotch, but the next morning had to drive back down to Turner Valley for the famous Chuckwagon Cafe & Cattle Company breakfast. The breakfasts were wonderful and the cowboy decor awesome, but then we had to drive back up to the acreage to get our trucks, quads, and trailers. We were getting to know that stretch of road really well driving up & down it so often.
But that Sunday afternoon it was time to drive to the McLean Lake campground and meet Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob, Uncle Andy and Aunt Betty, as well as Uncle Andy's brother, Mark, and his wife, Cindy. We had trailers, trucks, and quads up and down that one stretch of campground.
The next morning Bruce, Andy, Mark, & I quadded up & down the rocky trails of the foothills without incident even though we went up one steep trail that we were not supposed to be on but got down that trail without incident. That afternoon we drove up toward the mountains to Forgetmenot Lake having stopped on the tourist side with the railings to view the Elbow River falls. We had a wonderful afternoon drive.
The next day, Tuesday, was company day. I think Amanda Osicki & her girls were the first to arrive and then Maryanne & Marieve came. They had driven down from Calgary. Maryanne decided to quad with Mark, Bruce, and myself up along the wild side trails to the Elbow falls. We quadded on up there but I did not get too close to the edge as it was a long way down to the rocks and the water below and there were no railings and I did not want to hurt myself. We quadded back to the campground & had supper with the new visitors, Randal, Jeff & Michelle & their boys, Bruce & Jan and maybe Jason & Jen. It was a great evening together!
Wednesday was our long travel day. We drove back down to Turner Valley & walked the streets there, then on down to Longview, almost down to the Crowsnest Pass when Uncle Andy realized that we had missed our turn at Longview and had gone down south too far. Luckily, Aunt Betty was in our vehicle as she was running down Uncle Andy's navigational skills & I am sure was ready to tune him up a notch or too if she could have gotten her hands on him. Anyway, we drove back up the same road to the Longview corner to head up into the Kananaskas Valley along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. We stopped by a mountain stream for a picnic lunch, then drove passed numerous mountain sheep, mountains, creeks and lakes until we came to Peter Lougheed tourist site which we spent some time going through. We then came to a lake that supplied power and had a short earthfilled dam. Aunt Betty was walking along the top of the dam, and a coyote was walking toward her, also on the top of the dam, but when the coyote got to her he went down the side of the dam letting her pass. Betty kept walking having the top of the dam to herself. That is when, we who were watching this, decided that an old cougar could trump a wild coyote every time!!!!! She still swears that it was just a big dog off its leash - we just call it Wiley Coyote! On we drove until we got back down to Bragg Creek and then to our campground. A very enjoyable day together!!!
Thursday morning we had a leisurely breakfast together, and then Bruce, Andy, Mark, and I decided to go exploring the quad trails again, especially this one crossroad trail that we had seen. We went through numerous mud holes, water, and over many rocks, and the trail kept going up and up and up. We stopped for a break and put our coats on as it looked like it was going to start to rain. We decided not to go on the trail along the side of the foothill but to continue up the steeper trail. We came to a rocky bit of a ledge as we went up the trail, and the first three bigger quads, made it over, but I was on the small quad at the back of the line. Going over the ledge, I realized the quad was going over backwards, so I sprang backward off the quad landing on the left side of my back and my head (thank God I was wearing a helmet), sliding headfirst on my back down the rocky trail. Looking up, I could see the quad upside down in the air and heading toward me. My quick thought was this was it - I was done for. Fortunately, the quad landed just to the right of my shoulder & head and tumbled down and down the trail as I kept sliding down on my back, finally coming to a stop.
By this time, the boys realized I was in trouble, stopped their quads higher up the trail, and were coming down to help me. I stood up, kind of nauseus and dizzy. I had pain from my right knee up to the middle of the left side of my back. Stumbling down the trail, I leaned bent over the back of the quad, realizing that my head was kind of spinning and leg & back hurt but I didn't think anything was broken. I saw Bruce & Mark coming down the trail and shouted to get the quad upright & Bruce thought that I was pinned under it, but I just didn't want the fluids to run out. After making sure that I was relatively fine, they worked hard uprighting the quad and getting their quads around and winching them down that slope. The windshield was smashed, the seat had flown off, one corner was bent down a bit, and after finding a couple of the pieces of the starter, the quad ran. Now I gingerly rode my bigger quad toward the campground, Bruce riding the smaller one that had rolled. Not the most pleasant quad ride that I have ever taken!
Arriving at the campground, I assured everyone I was just shaken up and downed a couple muscle relaxers that just happened to be in Bruce's trailer, and I think I slept for the rest of the afternoon. Earlier that morning, we had decided to go to Calgary for supper, but after my fall, it was decided that we would all stay at camp or all go to the city. After downing a pain killer, I said I was good to go to Calgary. Luckily the Asian food was delicious because the truck ride was not so hot! Upon returning to the campground, after Kathy bought a new camera at London Drugs, because her old camera had been around my neck during the tumble, and was a bit scratched up, I downed more pills and got through the night, only getting up once
Friday morning was a nice morning, nicer than I felt. Again we had a great breakfast, and we had previously decided that we wanted to take Brenda and Kathy to see the campsite side of the fall. Bruce & Brenda each rode a quad and Kathy rode behind me along the easy trail to the falls. I made it most of the way but did not want to ride the last part of the trail, so Kathy Bruce and Brenda went into them on their own. After riding back, I don't really remember much of the rest of that day. By that time I realized that I was concussed, but I didn't want to say too much. Besides, I was up and about!
Saturday we got up, had another great breakfast, and said our goodbyes as it was travelling home day. I had planned to drive up to Nipawin in 2 days but just kept driving, listening to the Rider game on the radio. Boy, did the Riders ever let us down that game! Without giving up, I kept driving for about 11 hours until we arrived home!
Well, it has been about 8 days since our holiday, and I was down on the bed or the couch for several days trying to heal up. Last night I tried to make it through the whole night without a pain killer but got up at about 3 AM for one and decided to write this blog. The sun is up and shining brightly now, so it is time for me to finish up this blog and to get on with another day.
That is the highlights of the ups and downs of our Alberta vacation.
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