GED4WEB version 4.41 Spiers Leslie Clifford [Male] b. 6 JUL 1928 Detroit, Michigan, USA
Source
Title: canada.GED
SUNNY VALLEY FARM - 1930'S
By Leslie C. Spiers
Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go! However, in the case of my parents, my brother Howard and myself, the journey was across the Detroit River on to Toronto and then north on Highway 11 to my grandparents house near Huntsville where all the wonders of life on a farm were waiting. Sunny Valley Farm had all kinds of terrific places for young boys to explore - the barn with its hay loft and stalls for cows and horses, the many acres of fields and woods and several hundred feet of shoreline on Lake Vernon. In addition to a large vegetable garden, the farm also had several varieties of wild berries. In fact, there was a large raspberry patch up the hill from the farmhouse which produced many a pail of fruit. Besides the domesticated animals on the farm there was also lots of wildlife. In particular there were deer, fox, raccoons, partridge, mink, rabbits, weasels and once a lynx that got in the henhouse.
After my Grandfather died in 1931, the farm slowly stopped functioning on a large scale. The horses, King and Queen, were sold and then, piece by piece, the farm equipment was removed. However, even up to the 1960's, there was always a couple of cows and lots of chickens; eggs, milk, cream and butter were always plentiful.
Living in the farmhouse itself was my Grandmother Annie, my Uncles Gordon and Edgar, and my Aunt Evelyn. Both Gordon and Evelyn married and left the farm in the early 1930's. My Uncle Gordon was cutting ice at the Lake of Bays when he met his wife, Elsie,who was working at the Bigwin Inn. While working at Camp Onaway on Lake Vernon, Aunt Evelyn met Art Johansen who also worked there taking care of the riding horses. My Aunt Ida then came home to keep her mother company.
My Grandmother was a wonderful woman who was respected and loved by everyone in the family, especially me. If she was ever depressed or not feeling well, she never let on but was always in good humour and cheerful. I think my Grandmother was the best cook I have ever seen; she could whip up a meal in nothing flat out of almost anything and have it taste like a million dollars. I remember that one of my favourite desserts was her wild raspberry steamed pudding. She also baked bread about once every two weeks and I have never tasted any bread that I liked better. As with most farms, the biggest meal of the day was at noon with a light supper at about 5 o'clock. Sometimes I think that the best cooking is done on the old cast iron wood-fired stoves. My Grandmother once said that the finest thing she ever got was a dumb-waiter my father built for her so that she wouldn't have to walk all the way around the house and down into the cellar to get milk and butter.
Entertainment at the farmhouse was provided by a RCA Victrola record player, some games, and an organ in the parlour. I remember my Aunt Evelyn playing "Little Brown Jug How I Love Thee" on that organ. There were no modern conveniences on the farm; no electricity, radio or telephone but we never missed them and there was a peacefulness that you cannot buy today.
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Copyright 2017 Kevin Spiers