In honour of my great-grandparents Allan Vansickle and Ella May Young’s 110th wedding anniversary this week, I asked my aunts to share some of their memories of their grandparents with me. Here goes. I’d be happy to add more to this memory post.
From my Aunt Anna Mae:
I have such wonderful memories of Pa and Grannie.
Before I went to school and my Dad worked nights at the Coach and Body plant in Brantford, Grannie and Pa lived in Harrisburg. After Dad had breakfast, Mom got us kids ready and off we went to Grannie and Pa’s house so Dad could get some sleep. John would be at school. I am not just sure but your Dad may have been in the buggy and trailing along was Ella Marie, Bill, and myself. Of course we had a honey pail to get it filled with milk. Later in years Grannie and Pa moved to a farm on German School Road and on Pa’s Sunday off in the nice weather Mom and Dad allowed us three older ones to start walking to meet them coming down. That was an exciting time for us. Now remember John, at that time lived with them.
Now about Pa: He had asthma real bad and at times I remember him crawling on hands and knees trying to make it from barn to house. Uncle George and Aunt Elva lived in part of that house on German School Road as they shared farming until Pa retired. Every morning and I mean every morning Pa had cream of wheat or oatmeal porridge, a cup of tea (which he drank out of a saucer) but also used that cup of tea to keep his toast warm. Now remember Grannie had to toast that bread over the wooden stove. Of course he had homemade jam on the toast. The best time for us kids was to go to the farm to help when it was thrashing and corn picking time – all done manually by hand. Hard work but we also had our fun. Dad and Mom both went as well.
The thing that sticks out in my mind the most about Pa was one day he was going to drive into Paris for something ….. myself, Shirley, and Norma were visiting so he asked if wanted to go and of course the answer was “yes”. Well the road heater had just gone by and Pa got too close to the side of the road and the loose gravel started to pull over into a rather deep busy ditch. Pa started hollering “Whoah” but the car kept going but the bushes kept the car from turning over – just on its side. Norma and Shirley were frantic as they had a few scratches and Pa pulled us out the windows. As we were only a bit from the house, Uncle George brought the tractor down and pulled the car out.
Now about Grannie: I loved my grandmother. To me she was the most wonderful person in the world and taught me many things. I loved it when I could go for a visit. When Pa and Uncle George went out in the mornings to do the milking, Grannie and I, whenever I was there, would quilt. Grannie cut the pieces of cotton out with the scissors and placed them in a “Laura Secord” chocolate box. We sewed the pieces together by hand to make a double “Wedding Ring” which I gave to Jessica. After Pa came in for breakfast, Grannie and I went to the barn to wash the milking machines. There was no running water in the house. We carried the drinking water from a pipe that ran from a pump across the road to the barn and then carried it to the house. Not easy. Also no inside washroom … had an out house which Grannie washed every Saturday… life was not easy but I never heard Grannie complain. She was a real worker and she was not in the best of health. She baked every Friday and the house got cleaned every Saturday.
Christmas was the time I loved to visit as Grannie made each grandchild a Christmas basket out of Bristol board and filled it with homemade candy including chocolates which she showed me how to make. She weighed each basket so everyone got the same amount and made a name tag for each. She was so proud of us grandkids. She was a wonderful cook and the thrashers loved coming to her place because of her cooking. I remember we had to fill a washtub with water and hang towels on the line for the thrashers to wash before meals. Sometimes there would be anywhere from 6-10 extra men to feed and then hand wash the dishes and start preparing for the next meal as sometimes they would be there for dinner and supper. I never, ever heard Grannie curse …. her favourite saying was “laws” instead of cursing. When they lived in Harrisburg, all the village called them Grannie and Pa… now that should tell you something.
Note: when they retired and moved to Lynden to be near Aunt Jean, Pa would complain about the money she spent on stuff for the goodies she made……… So she decided for every plug of chewing gum (tobacco) he bought , she would put the same amount in a tin and would tell him that is what you spent on tobacco during the year and you have nothing to show for it but I do. Cathay would shut him up.
Pa ended up with dementia and was in a nursing home in Paris. The home in Lynden sold and Grannie spent her remaining days staying a month at a time with either Aunt Dorothy or Mom.
Bobby I forgot to mention that Pa could not read or spell. Grannie always read the newspaper to him. He could only write his name on a cheque. Grannie wore a hearing aid but only when she was going out somewhere. I remember it was was a device that went in the ear (as today) with a cord that fastened to a gold coloured battery box about 3×5” that fastened to her undershirt. The batteries were expensive and the cord turned green from the body moisture being the reason for her not wearing it all the time. Grocery shopping was once a month (after the milk cheque came in) at the then A&P on King George Road in Brantford. They also rented a small cold storage unit at Sunnyhill Dairy in St.George because a cow and pig was slaughtered every year. Grannie made the best head cheese that I have ever tasted!
You can tell Bob that Pa could not read or write, only thing that he could write was his name, Grannie had to read the newspaper to him, and he would sit by the radio every morning when he was retired and listen to CFRB in Toronto. When he was on the farm and he wouldn’t start to milk the cows until 6:00 am and 6:00 pm at night. And when he was ready to start the milking at 5-6 minutes before the 6am or 6 pm he would sit on a stool until it was right on the 6 o’clock time. And every cow had to be in the same stall every morning and night. And he would never allow anyone to mow the hay in the barn. He would be up in the mow and he had a real breathing problem. Same thing at harvest time… he was the only one that could be on the straw stack even when he could hardly breathe. I saw him come out of the mow and get on his knees trying to get his breathing back.
My Uncle Bill
We mostly remember Pa and Grannie living and working the farm on German School Road, but they also lived in Harrisburg for awhile too. Pa had asthma and worked hard getting the chores and field work all done. You would often see him resting on an old tree stump at the end of a hard day’s work heading back to the house. Grannie looked after the inside work and was a terrific cook and baker. She did all her own canning from canned pears, peaches, cherries, raspberries, plums and then the relishes, chilly sauce, all sorts of pickles the sweet ones were like no others the best and she also made her own ketchup and mustard. She made chocolates and all sorts of cookies, tarts, pies and Christmas cake for everyone that came to visit at Christmas time. Grannie also did sewing and needle work. She was a very crafty lady and played the piano.
– My Aunt Ella Marie and Aunt Margie
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