Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Mom's stories on our trip

Yesterday, we left home to go to Fredericton to make arrangements for our Bergeron-Damboise reunion to be held July 18 and 19th.
So we asked Mom to come for the drive, she was hesitant at first ,but soon changed her mind.
So around 745 am we left. I was in the back seat with Mom, and the men in the front seat so I had a chance to chat with Mom.
The topic started when I asked Mom, if she remembers what her house looked like when she was little. "Oh yes I remember "she said. We lived in a log cabin, my Dad built, and inside it was only a one room house. Mom continued " We have bunkbeds at the far side of the room, the boys slept together and the girls slept together, and she said Mom and Dad had their separate room divided by a sheet . She said " Dad used to save the straw from the oats and fill mattresses made by Mom with the straw, and put it on the bottom of our beds, then Mom would sew pillow cases and they would used the feathers from the chicken they plucked inside" I said were they comfortable? Mom said , oh yes, and she said when it came time for the straw and feathers to be changed Mom and Dad did so. As you can see , I was really excited,I felt just like a child being read a story book. Now what?
Mom continued " And ,she said, Dad used to work in Lumbercamps and sometimes if he was to be gone for long periods, he took us with him, Mom would pack her trunk and off we went."
Now she said " In the lumbercamps, Mom (my grandmother) used to cut the lumbermen's hair, she charged 25 cents a hair cut. She did pretty good with that. And many times she would cook for them. My grandfather was a saw filer , and he used to also make saws, so he would be needed in these lumbercamps. So that was an interesting story that my Mom shared with me, since I had not heard it before.
We had a nice trip, yesterday, we went to see the Hall where our reunion is to be held, and then to the park where we are to meet for the first time, and then to the motel many of us will be staying at. We took photos and then we returned home.
I treasure the stories Mom tells me, it is as if I am there, seeing everything, but really I can only imagine being there but I do know one thing. Mom was there.
Thanks for the visit , do stop by again
Have a great day
Aline

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, endearing story.Sounds like my husband's father and grandfather who worked in the woods and lumber mills as did his father before him in New Hampshire,Me. It was a hard life but a life that built strong men and women of character ...
Loved your mother's story ... GeeGee

alineskee said...

Thank you Gee Gee. Yes they had a hard life but like my brother and I were saying, back then it was an everyday thing and they did it all automatically. Just as we do thing today just because we have to.
Aline