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l4 - 'WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE THIS MONTH - See us on “ N arr mun swim ’ CHICK-A-DEE NURSERY SCHOOL 10 mm STREET . smurrwu: (Ensyor Vlcmnu. soum Manicures . Pedicures -Facials oWaxing oMassages ~ GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE ~ almanda ’Day 6362 'Mainsa, W WWW 905-642-7445 18 moms IE s was om 1%}. may! We'd like to thank all our clients by offering these We’re Celebrating our WWW Specials Offers good dim: March 31, 2004 DAY NuR‘SE‘RV Full Time - Part Time Programs Short Long Term Day Care Fun Nursery School Program Nutritious Hot Home-Cooked Meals Qualified Loving Staff Licenced Staff Government Subsidy Available OPEN 7AM - 6PM MOM-FRI. Feisty Aunt Elsie has a memory that comes and goes with the hour. Now and then she forgot my name and retold the same old stories daily as l sat and listened to tales of a life I knew little about. Tales of living dur- ing the Depression, when Eaton‘s cat- As we neared the border between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, my mom pointed out landmarks and got more excited by the minute. Cousin Mary Kinsmen, who lives and works in Halifax and is a great lover of dogs and music, met us and before we could say Peggy's Cove we were sit- ting in Centreville in my 85-year-old Aunt Elsie's home. surrounded by family photos and steeped in a past filled with colourful memories. Finally. with mom celebrating her 82nd birthday last October and life going by far too quickly. I decided it was time to take the plunge and head east by train, even though it was winâ€" ter. Our accommodations were described as a private bedroom for two and l was actually looking forward to an amazing journey of mother and daughter rediscovering their roots. When we opened the tiny door, we stepped into a room the size of a dou- ble bathtub, where we spent 32 end- less hours packed in like sardines. For years, my mom said she want- ed to take me to the place of her birth and childhood in Chester and Centreville, Nova Scotia. www.5touffvilleoqlinuom' Going Back To My Rural Boots PUT SOME HOT STUFF ON YOUR WALLS SWEEP AWAY THE COMPETITION PAUL GROSS nDll Tired of homemade bluebeny and apple pies. they had envied the little boy next door who taunted them. say- ing he was having lellol the new treat many could not afford. That little boy. Albert, is now a 74-year-old man who sits by a wood stove in the same fam- Laughing, they told me of taking red crepe paper and pressing it to their lips to add a little colour when they were teenagers going to a local dance. Heaven forbid their mother should find out! My grandfather Nauss and his team of horses had gone through the ice. Soon afterwards. he died of pneuâ€" monia at the age of 36. leaving behind a house full of children and my grand- mother, who herself had fallen ill with tuberculosis. As my mom and aunt said, "The younger generations don't know how easy life is today. not nec- essarily better. only easier". DONNA SUMMER ‘ There were also stories about the horrors of tuberculosis and the hun- dreds of people who were sent to local sanatoriums. My mom and aunt talked about going tobogganing dur- ing my childhood and looking up to see a black cloth in an upstairs win- dow of their home, a sign that some- thing was drastically wrong. alogues had a dual purpose and what you produced in the fields kept you' and your family from starving in the winter. are as vivid today as they were all those years ago. BID ON A Meant-”cons - TICKETS ARE JUST '10“ AND ARE AVAILABLE AT Bun: HERON Booxs, Passzms PRESENTS woons GcWoons on AT THE noon 8mm, APRIL 3RD, 2004 7: 00PM UXBRIDGE Commm Camus CELEBRITY DOODLE Uxmunca CELEBRATION OF THE K1175 SILENT AUCTio‘N YORK-DURHAM HERITAGE RAILWAY ORIGINAL CAm BAX - 8mm»: Plum ' Emmmmm GIVE A QUEEN A GOOD HOME: DECK YOUR HALLS WITH AN ““0”” VANESSA DGRAVE u-u v: ‘ DON FERGUSON’S DOODLE AND MAY THE FARCE as wma you Meeting my relatives who live so far away, I wished I had taken this trip‘ sooner. We arrived home filled with new memories and yearning for something that had disappeared, leaviné only the stories behind. Life lesson learned; don't wait until it is too late. ily home remembering the good old days, when catching a mackerel didn't require a licence and people took time to know one another. BID ON Lack of membership and declining attendance at society programs have put the future of the organization in ieopardy and volunteers and executive mem- bers are urgently needed to ensure its continuation. Anyone who is interested in community history is invited to attend the meeting and bring a friend. Whitchurch-Stouffville Historical Society is holding its annual general meeting Feb. 26 at 7:30 pm. at the Silver Jubilee Club downtown, on the southwest corâ€" ner of Main and Market streets. Historical Society urges community to get involved Ruth LeBlanc MARCH 2004