Kay’s Memories

The first place I remember living at was located by a river near Shell Valley and I was about 7 years old. I’m not sure how long we lived at any place but I do remember the last winter we lived at this place, we got snowed in. We had to build a tunnel from the house to the barn. Thank goodness the barn wasn’t that far from the house!

Dad drove the van to school that year. The horses jumped on the banks to get through the snow and the van and the stove bounced around. We were really scared we would get burned. Once we got out of the valley, it was alright, and we picked up other kids on our way to the Tummel school.

Then we moved west to another valley, and there was a lake at the bottom of the hill. It was like a meadow. It was down from Bill Bodneruk’s place. We lived there for a few years. In the summer, we walked about a mile and a half to be picked up by a van. We walked bare feet and carried our shoes and socks and put them on when we got to the corner where the van pic

ked us up. We took them off again when we walked home after school. In the winter the van picked us up also but we didn’t take our shoes off during that time! :o) We got paid a few cents when we walked.

To make a living and help out the family, we picked raspberries, strawberries, saskatoons, cranberries and chokecherries for mother to sell to the general store in Roblin. Mr. Rosen owned the store and Mother got her groceries there. Mary also worked for them in their house, also the store.  Her pay also went towards the family.

Mother sold strawberries, raspberries and saskatoons in different sized pails. Cranberries and chokecherries were sold in a flour bag.

Doris worked at Anderson’s across the meadow on the other side of the river. Elsie worked at Comfort’s, further west of Anderson’s. They both shared their money to feed the family.

Then, one summer we lived in a couple of granaries for a couple of months by Brook’s place, before we moved to the Jury place. There we lived for a few years. John Zitaruk was courting Mary at the time as she was working at Skinner’s and John did too. They were visiting in the kitchen. John bought a gallon of wine and put in the living room under a bed (somebody was sick and couldn’t climb the stairs, so we had to bring a bed downstairs). So while they were visiting in the kitchen, brother Johnnie decided to have a party by himself, and snuck the gallon of wine upstairs. Then, later someone found him with his arms around the gallon, drunk as you know what. His eyes were like saucers so they took him downstairs and laid him on the floor by the front door. It was winter, Mother thought the draft from the door was better for him. We took turns sleeping with him and he was some better by morning. I think he still remembers that.

After a few years we moved to the Merinuk house for one winter then we moved to Shellmouth and lived in three granaries for a few months. Then to the white house beside Stevenson’s and May Weber. We lived there for a few years. then, Mother and John Zitaruk bought the Neil Morrison house. John paid for most of the house. Mother passed away in that house and a few years later Dad followed her.

Mother  was a very hard worker. She stooked. hayed, milked cows, gardened, cooked for us, canned chicken, fish, vegetables and you name it. Because money was scarce and Dad liked the odd drink for himself or to share with company, she would even cook up some homebrew at a near bye creek. One time she had made a batch at night and when she came back in the morning she realized bears had ripped everything apart and they ate the mash and drank the moonshine so no doubt they got drunk! Good thing we didn’t run into those hung over bears!

She also baked and never read in English or Ukrainian. Only spoke in Ukrainian. Very little English, but understood it. All her recipes were in her head and as we all know, everything was tasty.

Mother enjoyed listening to the younger ones, tease, telling jokes, and stories. She would sit back and laugh.

We never went from the table hungry. Laundry was done and mended as needed. We only wore knit mitts and socks. She also made her own yarn from sheep we had. She made quilts from the wool.

Dad always enjoyed the young boys and girls. They were always called “ GUYS”.

PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE GRANDPARENTS AND PARENTS WE HAD. THANK YOU GOD AND LORD JESUS FOR BLESSING US SO GRATELY!