Margaret Petz- When I was a little guy, I spent a fair but of time at Granny and Grampa’s. I had met most of the family but not Margaret. If memory serves me correct, she was in Hamilton and then came back home to Shellmouth. When I first met her, i thought see must be a movie star – she had her hair done up, make-up, nails polished and a fur coat. Not something you see in Shellmouth every day. I wasn’t the only one that noticed her however as she started dating Gerry Hooper shorty thereafter. For some reason, they would would take me along with them when they went out. I guess I must have fell asleep one night and Gerry carried me in to bed – no easy feat as I was a big kid! :o) I guess I figured out this was a pretty good gig as there were a few times I would pretend to be asleep so I would get carried into the house – I suspect they figured this out but played along with me because that is just the type of class act they both were!
Other memories of Shellmouth and the family that Granny and Grampa raised: Although we all know that nobody could work as hard or take as good a care of others like Granny could, she had her guilty pleasures also – she loved to listen in on the party line to make sure she knew all of the local news. Grampa could best be described as a “character”. I was his Wist partner and while he loved to win, he hated to lose. I seem to remember the cards flying through the air on more than one occasion. When i went to school out there, I guess I used to doddle coming home and apparently Grampa used to say, “I better get the tractor and go pick up the fat guy – otherwise he will freeze to death! I also remember Uncle David taking Calvin and I into Langenburg for the weekend and how he would sing Charley Pride tunes in the car and make his world famous breakfasts for us in the morning – or take us to the Burger Baron when we moved to Regina. I remember Aunty Margie taking such good care of me, Uncle Jimmy taking me to ball games and doing other activities with me, Uncle Peter taking me to wrestling matches in Calgary and Uncle Nicky teasing me. :o) I also remember many, many trips up the hill to Aunty Ann’s store and all of the great Davidson cousins, especially Calvin. Then there was Phil and Elsie, spending time at Uncle Johnny’s and Aunty Dot’s and playing with my cousin Dougie. And I can’t forget Aunty Mary and Uncle John – two of the kindest souls you will ever meet. Then there is Aunty Doris the spark-plug and on it goes…In addition to having the most caring and best mother in the world who somehow has the patience to put up with me, I was a very lucky boy to have kind, loving relatives who took such good care of me. While I loved Grampa and the person he was, my soft spot will always be Granny – she is a true Saint and has been my guardian angel throughout my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. I think we can all count ourselves lucky to come from such great stock.