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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1986-12-23, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1986. Christmas on the School Train BY TOBY RAINEY Christmas in my memory was a much simpler time, a time of peace and joy, a time made most memorable by the arrival home of my sisters, all older than my twin brother and I, and all only seen twice a year, at Christmas and at Easter, when they always made the long journey so that we could all be together. There were no messages to buy! buy! buy!; no bright, colored lights; nocarols made meaningless by constant repetition. Indeecj, there were no stores, no electricity, no TV, and very little radio. Christmaswas, to all of us,just being together. My childhood was spent on a Canadian National Railways School on Wheels, a Pullman rail car converted into a travelling school and home on wheels, a school supplied by theCNRand funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education, to bring what little book learning it could to the totally isolated children of Northern Ontario. Some of the story is familiar to people still around Blyth, for my father taught in Blyth in the early ‘20’s, before he found his calling, and “went north’’ for the next 39 years, until his retirement to Clinton in 1964, and many of his early pupils have followed his career with great interest. The School Car was shunted onto a railway siding at a tiny settlement in the vast bushland of the Canadian Shield, leftfora few days at a time, then picked up again and shifted to the next hamlet along the railway. Most of the kids that came to school were children of trappers, Indian and white, or children from logging camps, or the children of French-Canadian or newly-immi grated Iialian railway section hands. Few spoke English as a first language; some had never cele brated Christmas before the School Car came into their lives. Preparations for the school’s Christmas Concert began long before the season, so all children at each stop the car made could take part, one concert per stop. For us, who lived on the car itself, this was an enchanting time. We each only learned one part, repeated at each concert along the way, but we got to see a whole series of celebrations, each one different and more fun than the last, each one the major social event of the season for the families that took part. In early December, we would go out with Dad to find just the right Christmas tree, always a cedar, because it had to last for a month or more, until all the kids along the line had seen it. With thousands of acres of bush to choose from, it Foundation appreciates cash gifts If you want to give a gift to somebody who has everything, how about giving something that will keep on giving, that will continue to give joy to generations yet to come? Consider a gift of cash to the Maitland Conservation Founda tion, given in your friend’s name. All donations to the Foundation can be deducted for income tax purposes, and the recognition of gifts made can be made at the donor’s discretion. Information about the Founda tion may be obtained by writing to The Maitland Conservation Foun dation, Box 5, Wroxeter, tele phone 335-3557; or by contacting yourlocal Foundation member, Bruce McCall. Box 149, Brussels, telephone 887-6481. often took hours to find the perfect tree; then it had to be dragged home and laid on the school room floor to thaw out ... and what a glorious perfume it gave off! After supper, it would be set up on Dad’s desk (there is not much room in a school room 25 x 9 feet!), and wired firmly into place, so as to withstand the jolting of a month of rail travel. We madenewpaper chains each year, in school, but the same dear ornaments came out every year, each one in turn wired firmly for safe-keeping to a fragrant bough, each one the favourite of one of us. One of the best traditions took place with each child at school, when each of us took a cardboard carton, crepe paper, stickers, or whatever was around, and decor ated our very own Christmas box, always personalized with the owner’s name, to be used for keeping Christmas treasures to gether far into the New Year. Few kids we knew had rooms of their own, so the box was a little private space, a place to be alone in a crowded household. Christmas memories crowd to my mind, each one special. We were unjaded by the consumerism that affects children today; we had little, and little was available, so we cherished what there was, and found joy in the simplest things. I remember the jerky, black-and- white movies Dad would show, using an old 8 mm. projector hooked up to a 12-volt car battery, the only source of power we had; and Irememberthe pure sweet ness of the Christmas carols, played on a wind-up gramaphone that we took turns running, while the whole family listened together. 1 remember clearing and flood ing a skating rink on a empty lake, hours and hours of work for the joy of sliding about on mocassined feet (nobody had skates; it was too cold to wear them, anyway). We played wild games of hockey, with a real puck, until the dog would grab it and run off; I remember “skating” at night, with billions of star overhead, or shimmering curtains of Northern Lights above; I remember railway emergency flares stuck in snowbanks to light the ice, and the scratchy music of the old gramaphone that someone would have carried out; I remem ber the haunting thrill of hearing the timber wolves’ chorus in the inky forest around the little lakes we played on. Andwhentheholidaywasover, I remember the sadness of the last day my sisters would be home, counting the hours left of the time with them, feeling like it would be forever until Easter. I remember waiting for trains in the night, to stop and take them away into the darkness; Irememberthegamesof Monopoly we would always play while waiting for trains that could be hours off schedule in that great empty land; and I remember Dad going to the door every few minutes to listen, to see if he could hear the train coming, for there were no stations - a dispatcher up the line would have told the Transcontinental passenger train to stop at “Mile 36,” or whatever. I remember the happiness each time he closed the door without hearing it in the distance; and the pain when he finally said, “It’s coming - get ready.” I remember the tearful good-byes, the watch ing as they waited with Dad in the darkness for the mighty engine to grind to a halt, the surprised and sleepy faces peering from lighted windows, wondering why the train was stopping here, with no light for miles ..... I remember so much of the good, old times; I remember, and I wouldn’t change a hair of it! Have the merriest yet! Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas to all our Friends and Patrons. May the new year fullfil all your hopes and dreams. Bill, Brenda, Tina & Shane Geo. Burkholder Auto Body 24HR.TOWING BLYTH 523-9474 523-9541 .0 ,61 ..2J SI Brussels Village Market A K0MMUNITY FOOD MARKET Ron & Trish Clarkson, Proprietors [Formerly Stephenson's Grocery] Open Mon. to Sat. 8a.m. to 6p.m. 887-9226 Fri.8a.m.to9p.m. MANY IN-STORE SPECIALS WESTON BROWN ‘N SERVE ROLLS Ji WESTON SOFT ‘N CRUSTY ROLLS MEALTYME BREAD 675 G. LOAF HOSTESS POTATO CH I PS zoo g SCHNEIDER’S 175 G. LUNCHEON MEATS REG. $3.59 MINUTERICE 700 g. JOLLY GOOD DATES CHRISTMAS BOX KLEENEX V .99 .99 .89 1.19 1.19 2.59 REG. $3.19 500 G. 200’s 2 PLY ALPHABETS 450 g. TANG 276 G. ORANGECRYSTALS SCHWEPPES GINGERALE 750 ML. CARLTON CLUB BOTTLESCOLA, GINGER ALE, SOFTDRINKSor*lnplAs?i?Te1ee-99 2.59 1.19 2.39 1.49 3/1.00 GENERIC PLAIN, RIPPLE POTATO CH I PS 200 G. PKG EA.. 99 E.D. SMITH 28 OZ. JAR EA. GARDEN COCKTAIL .99 WELCH’S OR WHITE GRAPE JUICE 1 l. jar ea. 1.99 MAPLE LEAF REGULAR MINCEMEAT 24oz.jarea. 2.99 REYNOLD’S 18” x 25” PKG. EA. ALUMINUMFOIL 1.99 15 M. EA. STRETCH ‘N SEAL 1.29 CHUNK PANTRY SHELF LIGHTTUNA 6.soz. tinea. .98 OCEAN SPRAY WHOLE, JELLIED 14 OZ TIN EA CRANBERRYSAUCE 1.49 Christmas is Here! Warm thanks for your goodwill and support. i ^IVe look forward to 'continuing to serve you.t I Ron & Trish Clarkson j Gertrude & Alice Brussels Village Market O oYo o -/oj READY BULK AND PRETZEL STICKSMINI PRETZELS 500 ^PKG 1.991 NESCAFE RICH BLEND, 8 OZ. INSTANT 6 OZ. COFFEE VIVA DECAFEEINATED, 4 99 I BICKS WHOLE WITH GARLIC. NO CARLIC, PICKLES POLSKI OGORKI 1 L. JAR 1.99 BABY DILLS, SWEET MIXED, YUM YUM 1 L. JAR EA. 2.49 MINUTE MAID FROZEN FROM CONCENTRATE AND ORANGE JU ICE^ML i“r99 BIC “C” COLA, GINGERALE, ORANGE SOFTDRINKS 24x280ml. CASE 4.99 STOVE TOP CHICKEN, PORKSTUFFING MIX ,70G eag 1.29 SCHNEIDER’S SLICED SIDE “NUMBER ONE” B ACON QUALITY 500 G. PKG. EA. 2.69 EMPEROR RED PRODUCT OF U.S.A. CANADA NO. 1 GRAPES 1.74 KG. LB. .79