Page 17 - "The Time We Had for One Another": The Curtis Family & Songs

ISSUE : Issue 55

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1990/8/1

ing that I associate with that, the smell of wood burning.... And then of course, stripping off all these layers of socks and jack? ets and sweaters and--and scraping those socks. And then Mum would hang them over the pole. There was always a pole above the stove. Every coun? try home had one of those for drying clothes. It wasn't just used for when you came in on a cold winter's day and you had to dry your socks or mittens or whatever. It was also used when you took your clothes off the line and they might not be quite dry. You ironed them--maybe ironed them first. If they were still a little damp, you hung them over the pole to finish drying. Anyway, my father would be on the couch, smoking his pipe. And Mum would usually be busy, doing all the chores that mothers have to do. And especially then, when there were many chores to be done. Seldom a night went by that we didn't sing. It's really incredible. We'd sit around the stove. Open the oven door for the warmth from that. There was usually some wood in there drying. Hard? wood would be drying in there. That's also part of the smell, too. You stuck your feet in there. You'd pull a chair up to the oven door. Maybe 2 or 3 of us would be sitting around it. And put our feet in on the wood. Oh, such a good feeling. And probably Mum would make us cocoa. (And your father...?) Be on the couch still. And often, as we were there, he was either whistling or humming a tune. Very, very often he was whistling a tune. Just himself, mind you, very, very quietly. He Monica Curtis McNenly did this all his life. Like I remember right up until the very end he did this. Trying to recall the verses of a song, maybe. Or keeping his memory fresh. Maybe that's how he remembered all these songs for so many years, and all the verses. For awhile during the evening he wasn't sing? ing them, or whatever. He didn't spend all his time singing them. But he was keeping them fresh in his mind. I never thought of that, but that could very well be.... The other thing was. when we weren't ski? ing- -we didn't always ski--but we were out on the hills every evening with some form of vehicle for coasting. And that often involved the adults in the community too. A lot of the men came out. And sometimes even took the big wood sleigh. Because the kids wouldn't be able to pull it up the hill. And oh. so many of us would pile on that to come down the hill. And the men. too. And then they'd haul it back up for us. Isn't it wonderful? Just wonderful. DECO MOBILE INC. Carpets • Wallcoverings • Draperies / Verticals • Hardwood & Cushion Floors 'Ceramics DECOmOBILE'NC. FROM FLOORS TO WALLS, WE COVER THEM ALL! Cushion Flooring, Carpeting, Wallpaper, Mini Blinds, Verticals, Lighting Fixtures, Safe Stride, Ceramic Tiles, Pre-finished Hardwood, and much more • FREE ESTIMATES • Owner: Dee MacDonald 727-2398 • Tigger's Ent. 727-2653 • Sales - Blair MacPherson 727-2522 P. O. Box 46 MARION BRIDGE Nova Scotia Spaghetti, Lasagna, Fettucini Alfredo Subs, Burgers, Quality Steaks and Bruce's own Pizza Pizzazz with more than 15 toppings to choose from I FULLY LICENSED | TAKE-OUT AVAILABLE /inn • Welton Plaza weacceptthe 'UU Sydney, N.S. major credit cards. 'aunicA Motel and Dining Room (LICENSED) CHETICAMP 3-Diamond AAA Rating • Listed in y/here to Eat in Canad' Colour TVs • Phones Ideally located beside C. B. HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK hiking • fishing • golfing saltwater beach • more! P. O. Box 1 Cheticamp, N.S. BOC IHO (902) 224-2400 Est. 1938: McKeown Family

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