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Life in the slow lane

    Winter time life on the farm was basically doing barn chores. You would pick a nice day when we would crush oats or barley as we fed chop to the livestock twice a day, along with hay and straw. Each morning we harnessed up the horses as we loaded the manure onto the stone boat by pitch fork and it was taken out to the field and spread. Real good fertilizer! The livestock were untied and herded down to the well for water. We also hauled water up to the barn by a 50 gallon drum to water the pigs. This would take all morning. At night it was back out to milk and feed the cows again. It was work, but it was fun.

    There was also time for recreation, mainly hockey to be played in the winter. Gordon Bond lived about a mile from our house. Gordy had a big pond just north of his house. He would take the tractor with the blade on it after the pond which, was probably frozen right to the bottom, and he would clear a section of ice off to play hockey.

    The Bonds would phone the neighbourhood boys to come and skate and play on the pond. Ken Bond lives in the same house that his Mom and Dad lived in on the same farm. The Gray boys Donald and Murray, the Carter boys, Denis and Donny plus myself would show up and it was hockey day at the Bonds!

    We would play away for hours, the n it was up to the house to get our skates off and warm up. Doreen Bond would have mugs of hot chocolate for us to drink. After a brief pause it would be back to the pond to play just a little longer before heading home to do the evening chores.

    The Nolan family was so fortunate and blessed to have such great neighbours like Gordon and Doreen Bond, Wally and Dora Gray and Allan and Catherine Carter. In the winter as well, sometimes the adults would get together to play cards which meant the kids got to hang out and play as well.

     A number of years later, Ken Bond, Donald Gray, Murray Gray, Donny Carter and myself all played for the Kenton Sabers recreation hockey team. How's that for a great memory? Denis did not play hockey but was a pretty good curler.

     Interesting how a hockey day at Gordon and Doreen Bonds would produce 5 kids within a couple of miles of one another, playing on the same hockey team, all around the same time!  Thanks Gordy for clearing the pond so we could play hockey.

     When we all played for the Sabers, after the game, the parents would come down to have a drink with the team and tell some stories. You should ask Ken Bond about Allan Carter telling Amos and Andy jokes! Great times folks, great times!