Looking at The Neat Little Book Shop

Summer at The Neat Little Book Shop

 

 

The Car For Business or Pleasure

 

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Larry Smith's International Harvester Collection

 

 

"Julilly sat on her mat and cried.  She had thought and dreamed of Lester and Adam dragging their heavy chains back to Mississippi.  Now Jeb said they might be free right now in Canada.  Inside her there was a welled-up fountain of joy.  The tears came from its overflowing.
"But what's this Underground Railway?"  Liza finally asked.
"You don't know 'bout the railway?"  Jeb laughed.
"The slave catchers gave us the name.  They said run-away slaves just seem to disappear underground and that there must be a railway down there."

~ Underground to Canada, Barbara Smucker,  Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 1977
Barbara Smucker (1915 - 2003), was a Mennonite who lived and worked as a librarian in Waterloo, Ontario.


Jenny crack corn and I don't care,
Jenny crack corn and I don't care,
Jenny crack corn and I don't care,
My massa's gone away!

I am bound for the promised land.
I am bound for the promised land.
Oh, who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.

[Photo:  Haldimand County lbw]

"When they were around ten, eleven, thirteen," he said, "every Saturday night I would get away from my commitments and read to them.  It was our Saturday night together.  I read them Rousseau, history books, poetry, Victor Hugo.  Later, Stendhal, and Tolstoy.  We'd talk about what we read.  Read out loud to each other.  Every Saturday night for years...It was," he paused, "one of the happiest periods of my life.

Kirk Du Guid interviewed soldiers in the Haldimand area and in their own words published for posterity their stories.

"[Soldiers]  hope by telling their stories they will leave a legacy, so that our youth can understand what happens in conflict, and why people go to 'serve'."
~ Kirk Du Guid.

Other books by Kirk Du Guid THE FIRST COLD CASE, THE FIRST DRUG SQUAD, Du Guid's Anthology and To the Last Round.

The Neat Little Bookshop is pleased to make available a limited quantity of Soldiers' Stories.  We also have limited quantities of THE FIRST DRUG SQUAD and Du Guid's Anthology.  Books by local authors make thoughtful gifts.

The second printing of Soldiers' Stories includes additional special soldier stories.

"Chiefswood" erected in 1853 Home of Pauline Johnson

 

THE IDLERS

 

The sun's red pulses beat,

Full prodigal of heat,

Full lavish of its lustre unrepressed;

But we have drifted far

From where his kisses are,

And in this landward-lying shade we let our paddles rest.

 

The river, deep and still,

The maple-mantled hill,

The little yellow beach whereon we lie,

The puffs of heated breeze,

All sweetly whisper~ These

Are days that only come in a Canadian July.

 

So, silently we two

Lounge in our still canoe,

Nor fate, nor fortune matters to us now"

So long as we alone

May call this dream our own,

The breeze may die, the sail may droop, we care

not when or how.

 

 

~ E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), 1861-1913, Flint and Feather, 1912.

 

 





At Cottonwood Mansion

 

Shirley Otterman   Norma Mowat   Harold Schaus

 

Thank you, Norma Mowat & Harold Schaus Canadian veterans, for your service 

 

Corporal Harold Schaus poses with his son, Ken Schaus

LEST WE FORGET

 

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

~ Lt. Col. John McCrae, Canadian army doctor.

 November 11, 1918 the war finally ended

 

 

 

York Grand River Historical Society

Visit www.warplane.com

Flight Engineer, Craig Brookhouse, describes the historic Lancaster flight from Hamilton, Ontario to England.

Craig Brookhouse from Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

[Photos:  May 19, 2015  Craig Brookhouse & Historical Society President, Ken Martindale. lbw]

Winston Churchill former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Nov. 30, 1965 - Jan. 24, 1965)

     "A man can wear out a particular part of his mind by continually using it and tiring it, just the same way as he can wear out the elbows of his coat.  There is, however, this difference between the living cells of the brain and inanimate articles:  one cannot mend the frayed elbows of a coat by rubbing the sleeves or shoulders; but the tired parts of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts.  It is not enough merely to switch off the lights which play upon the main and ordinary field of interest; a new field of interest must be illuminated.  It is no use saying to the tired 'mental muscles' -- if one may coin such an expression -- 'I will give you a good rest,'  'I will go for a long walk,' or 'I will lie down and think of nothing.'  The mind keeps busy just the same.  If it has been weighing and measuring, it goes on weighing and measuring.  If it has been worrying, it goes on worrying.  It is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendant, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded.
     "A gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion;  the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.'  It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition.  The stronger the will, the more futile the task.  One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp.  And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.

"The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man."

[Tomorrow:  Churchill's wisdom on new interests and hobbies.]

~ Winston Churchill, PAINTING as a pastime, The Right Honourable WINSTON S. CHURCHILL O.M., C.H., M.P.  Odhams Press Limited, Ernest Benn Limited, 1948/ Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ltd.

Candles ~

"The image of Jesus as the light of the world and the midwinter longing for the return of the sun have led to the candle being associated inextricably with Christmas.  This can be seen in church ceremonies such as CANDLEMAS, CHRISTINGLE, or candle-lit carol services, and in numerous home devotions."
Around the world, countries practice different customs:
In Ireland, it is the custom to place a candle in the window during the Christmas season.
In Eastern Europe a large candle is placed in the centre of the table, sometimes stuck in a loaf of bread.
In Germany the Advent wreath, the Lichstock,or Christmas pyramid, and the Christmas tree all employ candles.
In southwestern United States and Mexico luminaria and farolitas light up the night.

Australians flock in the hundreds of thousands to CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT.
Pilipinos place candles in their parols.
In France a beautiful custom is carried on in France's Auvergne on Christmas Eve.  A candle is lit by the oldest member of the family and used to make the sign of the cross.  It is then extinguished and passed on to the eldest son,  The candle is passed from family members until it reaches the youngest.  It is lit and placed in the middle of the table  ~ a signal for the feast to begin.
In Norway the thick Christmas candle must burn all night long on Christmas Eve or, it is believed, a family member will die that year.
Gouda, the centre of the Dutch candle industry, turns off all the electrical lights in the city centre on Christmas Eve, while the mayor, by candlelight, reads the Nativity story to the crowd.

~ The WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA of CHRISTMAS, Gerry Bowler, McClelland & Stewart Ltd.2000.
Illustration from Tasha Tudor

The New Haldimand County Fire Dept. Station 4 in Cayuga

Clearly Visible Behind the Doors:  Fire Trucks





Sign on Door: "This Station is NOT Staffed"

The New EMS STATION 3

 

 

"No Road to Glory"

Harfleur, France

"Months of intensive, extensive and expensive training elapses before young Jones set foot upon the soil of France.  Stepping down the gangplank of the Channel packet which had crossed under cover of darkness from Folkestone, he felt that at last the great adventure had begun in earnest.  Harfleur, France had fanned the flames of fanciful reflection.  It conjured up visions of the English King, Henry, who, after he had captured the ancient port in 1415 marched on to the brilliant victory of Agincourt.  Now the old town was a British camp occupied by British troops, not as enemies and invaders, but as allies and comrades-in-arms.  Those little red patches of the 1st Division which he had recently acquired, seemed to be his golden spurs of knighthood.

"Three weeks were spent in idling at the base.  These days would have proved boring enough but for the excellence of the dinners at Tortoni's.  This restaurant was a famous rendezvous for the beginning of the ending of a spree in those days of wine, women and song, days of a last carousal before the plunge into the unknown -- the hazard with death.  It may seem strange that lads of conventional upbringing, about to enter into the valley of the shadow, should turn a deaf ear to the teachings of the Almighty and spend their last moments of security with the devil as a buddy.  However, most of the army were gamblers, playing their stakes, life against death, and pleasure against perdition.  Were God a Mrs. Grundy, then are the cenotaphs mere empty tombs indeed.

"At last Jones received orders to join his Battalion in the war zone."

~ NO ROAD TO GLORY, by Major A. R. Thompson, late 4th Battalion, C.E.F.

Tomorrow: The 4th Battalion.  [Graphics:  Wikipedia]

[Photo:  "Rest in Peace Cpl. Nathan Cirillo." www.Facebook.com]

HALL OF HONOUR

"The great Hall of Honour is destined to change as Canadian history unfolds.  Additional marble carvings will be added to the current collection which commemorates events and distinguished Canadians.  In 1932, the Dominion Memorial commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Confederation, was unveiled by the Earl of Bessborough, then Governor General of Canada.  The memorial was a presentation to Canadians by Canadian countrymen residing in the United States.
The figures and symbols represent past and present Canadian resources and development.  Here the story of Canada is revealed in a series of fascinating plaques and statues ~ a fitting tribute to a vast country with a great past and a bountiful future.
Among the many commemorated events is the Canadian Nurses' Memorial which represents the years of service to country and humanity from 1639 to 1918."

~ THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, Grant-Mann Lithographers Ltd.

 

Entrance to the Houses of Parliament

Confederation Hall into the Hall of Honour

[Photos: files lbw]

James Walker ~ Among Trees

When one lives with a bookshop, there is a rule:  do not lay your book down unless you have your name on it ~ and a big bookmark in it.  I have lost the book Looking for Old Ontario, which wouldn't be a big deal except that I posted yesterday that I would quote from it today.

The intended quotation about trees is an important one given that rural areas have adapted a culture of clearing land of trees. It is well-known that Haldimand County resists planting roadside trees and modern farming requires huge fields void of fences and trees.  Haldimand-Norfolk Stewardship Council partnering with other environmentalists is working to combat the trend by developing tree-planting programs ~ one being Memory Gardens.  The Stewardship also encourages and supports land-owners in efforts to create new woodlots.

Tomorrow, if the historical book shows up, we will present the story of municipalities paying farmers to plant hardwood trees along roadsides.


[Great 'shot' James.  Where is this?]
Postscript:  Sunday, June 15 ~ Still looking for Looking for Old Ontario!

ROADSIDE TREES ~

"...a human-made element of rural Ontario.  They give articulation to a landscape where the next highest field feature may be the fence post.  Roadside trees are not the remnants of clearing but were consciously reintroduced...amid the widespread belief that trees 'for shade and oranment' contributed to the virtue of country life.  Poets were aroused by the frightening prospect of a treeless landscape, and Arbor Day plantings became regular spring events at country schools late in the nineteenth century.
"Farmers pointed out that shade and beauty did not increase their income, and we read in Canada Farmer's Sun of the resident who cut down his line of non-productive forest trees.  The journalist urged others, as a compromise, to plant nut trees at the roadside.  Shade benefited church-goers, weary travellers, and sweaty kine on sultry August afternoons.  It did not matter that such trees did not grow ramrod straight for the satisfaction of lumber merchants.  As for the romantics, the play of light and shadow through basswood or hemlock added immeasurably to the maturing landscape."

~ LOOKING FOR OLD ONTARIO, Thomas F. McIlwraith, University of Toronto Press, 1997.

[Tomorrow:  Beginning in 1883 municipalities could pay farmers for planting roadside hardwood trees]

Thoughts and prayers with those mourning a loss today.

 

D-Day June 6, 1944

 

[Photo: lbw]