The Rural Voice, 1994-03, Page 41Book Review
Witty observations show similarities of east and west
REVIEWED
BY KEITH ROULSTON
It's always seemed strange to me,
and a little sad, that rural people in
western Canada and their
counterparts in the east seem to see
each other as different, even as
adversaries, when they have much
more in common than they have
differences.
That commonality is obvious in
Betty Kilgour's Crocus Coulee in
Bloom. The first thing that strikes you
is that the farm -life experiences
Kilgour
describes,
from the old
days of
attending
classes in a
one -room
school house
to discovering
the pleasures
of grandma's
recipe book to
the oddities of
living in an
old house, could all have been
penned by a writer from western
Ontario as well as western Canada.
After you've discovered the
similarities between farm life in the
west and here, you then get a flavour
of the differences: picking Saskatoon
Berries, the hardy Caragana bushes
used to build hedges in the harsh
prairie climate or the fun and games
of keeping up corrals.
The back cover advertises Kilgour
as the "Erma Bombeck of the Farm
Set", perhaps to the detriment of the
book. I started out expecting a laugh
riot, sort of like reading the latest
column from our own Gisele Ireland
but instead in the first few stories (the
book is made up of short pieces,
probably reprinted columns from
papers she has written for like
Alberta Farm and Ranch) are more
gentle observations than funny tales.
The book picks up speed as it goes
along, however, and by the time
Kilgour describes attending a "colour
party" to have a snooty beautician tell
her how she too can be perfect,
there's plenty to have you laughing
out loud. Many farm women will see
themselves in her stories "A Farm
Woman's Routine", "Painting the
Kitchen" or "Cows and Gardens".
This is Kilgour's fifth book and
looking at her biography makes one
want to read some of her earlier
efforts. She and her husband operate
a farm at Three Hills, Alberta and
she writes for a number of weekly
newspapers, farm publications and
CBC. But Kilgour also spent time in
East Africa with CUSO (subject of
her book So This is Africa!) and two
years with the UN and WUSC in the
south Pacific
U
O
r•
(which led to
d Rather
Be Shelling
on Niue).
Her return
visit to
Africa
brought
about her
fourth book
From Dar to
Zanzibar in
1990.
TREVOR HUNTER
Chartered Accountant
Providing a full range of financial
services to farmers and businessmen
in the areas of income tax
preparation, planning,
and accounting.
151 Garafraxa St., S.
Durham, Ontario
1-519-369-5663
Crocus Coulee in Bloom is the
kind of book a busy person will
appreciate. The essays and stories are
all under 1000 words in length so you
can dip into the book for a few stories
at bedtime, or even get a couple of
chuckles at a coffee break. The stories
are a blend of nostalgic reminiscences
and funny tales of life on a modern
farm. Her teenage memories of six
girls tipping an outhouse that turned
out to be occupied or taking part in
the school concert will remind readers
in the second half of their lives of the
good old days. Her experiences
running a lawn mower over a lawn
built on farm land which has collected
bits of wire, rocks, plastic baler twine
and old spikes, will bring memories
of just last summer. Reading Kilgour
is like having a witty friend drop in
with a new batch of stories.0
Crocus Coulee in Bloom, by Betty
Kilgour, $12.95. Published by
Detselig Enterprises Ltd. Available
from Temeron Books Inc.,Suite 210,
1220 Kensington Rd. N.W., Calgary,
AB T2N 3P5.
SUITCASE
DANCE
March 5, 1994
Lucknow Community Centre
Dance 9 - 1 Tickets $12.00
Music by "Ultimate Sound"
r-Arni
Advance Tickets
Cal 357-1392
1/You Could Win ...
a trip to Las Vegas
(through Wingham Trivet)
or ... a weekend at the
Benmiller Resort
Trarsportation to Benmuller sponsored by
Montgomery Motors
Proceeds to Wheels Away. Dance sponsored in
conjunction with Listowel Kinsmen.
MARCH 1994 37