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48 THE RURAL VOICE
NOTEBOOK
EVOLUTION IS WONDERFUL
by Wally Armstrong
Thornhill resident Wally Armstrong,
remembering his farm boyhood, de-
scribes some of its joys, and poignant
sorrows — both arising out of the
innocence of the child.
I
speak with the authority of
years. I remember 1916, and
the old farm, and the little one -
room schoolhouse.
"Please, Teacher," I asked, "Is it
true we should kill pigs in the new of
the moon or the meat will shrink in the
cooking?"
The teacher sat down at her desk
with a frown. A city girl on her first
year in a farm school, she was our
pupil as well as our teacher. There
was mutual respect; she was "best
friend" to all of us.
"Well — I never heard that one
before." She shook her head. "I don't
know. What does the class think?"
She had a way of turning a ques-
tion into a lively discussion. There
were stories from parents and uncles
and some from imagination, but
nothing definite. Eventually she
suggested we write to the Minister
of Agriculture. He should know!
It took a few recesses and lunch
times, but at last the letter had Teach-
er's approval. We waved down the
mailman's horse and buggy and the
letter was on its way.
Waiting always seems long, and
there was a distinct negative feeling.
We were just a little white school-
house at a crossroads deep in farm
country. The busy people in the big
city would not bother with us!
Teacher kept encouraging us, though.
Perhaps they will — wait and see...
When the answer arrived it was
passed among us with awe. We
marvelled at the official "Department
of Agriculture" in the upper corner; it
had my name on it and everything.
"Why not open it and read it to the
class," Teacher suggested.
"This is a well-known old super-
stition," the letter said, "still followed
by some. But now, in this enlightened
age, most people look only to the
condition of the hog and the state of
the market."
The great Government had heard
us and answered, and we felt we
belonged — we were people!
Speaking of pig -killing gives me
disturbed memories. Before the roar
of tractor and truck took over, the
countryside was comparatively quiet.
The squeals of pig -killing were heard