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As the year comes to a close it’s easy to say out with the old and in with the new!
Last week when my nephew got back from a trip to Lloydminster he told us about a strange sighting he had near Paradise Hill.
He recanted about first seeing a smoke stack moving across the field then a pair of horses pulling a strange looking building with only a small opening in the front. Obviously he had never seen a horse draw caboose outfitted with a wood heater and the small window to pass the reins through. At any rate Adrian being from Toronto may have read about people traveling like this during the winter but never really saw it in person. He did say the whole picture was almost like a fantasy seeing the snow spray up from under the horses as they trotted along pulling the little house with the smoke billowing out of the stack. Having heard this, his aunt Donna piped up that’s how we got from Ministikwan Lake to Whelan or Loon Lake during the winter. They would heat up rocks to keep their feet warm and the stove would keep the caboose liveable and it was in a caboose she experienced her first rollover. Can you imagine not having to worry about gasoline exploding but a wood stove setting your shelter on fire? The good old days?
What a past time, hats off to those horse enthusiasts who help keep those traditions from day’s gone bye alive, so future generation get a glimpse of what pioneers endured as the country was opened up.
During the holiday season we try enjoy memorable events with family and friends. This year my brother and his family joined us along with two friends from Calgary. Donna was pushing tobogganing as a traditional event. On the 26th twelve of us headed for the Worthington Lake Esker late in the evening with half a moon casting light in the darkness we made our way up and down the steep sand hill which offered all the speed any of us needed. On a good run sliding out onto the lake, on a bad run rolling off into the saplings. We all enjoyed a little warm Christmas glogg around the fire while roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. After four hours the fresh air and exercise took its toll and we headed back to the house vowing to return after the next snow fall, perhaps in the New Year.
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