Lögberg-Heimskringla - 11.02.1994, Blaðsíða 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskrinala • Föstudagur 11. febrúar 1994
EINAR’S ANECDOTES
The Kid was back home
The war was over and
becoming analogous to
the previous World War,
during the first half of this, the
Twentieth Century. Western
mankind tried to eliminate
each other on the plains of
Western Europe. Both efforts
were a disaster causing death
and destruction to friend and
foe yet leaving mortals like our-
selves, blooded as it was called,
alive to continue out the centu-
ry. Thus we Octogenarians can
expound on the, “Good old
days” without being chal-
lenged, especially if we avoid
delving into recorded history
and remain with the topics of
eveiyday events.
The old hometown local
beer parlour was an excellent
place for this. It has been a
functional place to socialize. It
is a perfectly legal institution
since 1928 when these dens of
iniquity were approved for men
and then during more liberal
times for women as well.
The summer had ended and
the fall duck hunting season
had begun. The weather was
miserable, but perfect for ducks
and hunting mortals. After a
day of modest success it
seemed to be a good idea to
have a few beers at the Oak
Point beer parlour. We were
not disappointed for there we
met friends dating back to our
childhood in a postal district
named “Hove”.
Here we came upon
Clarence, who was now a mid-
dle aged man. Another person
in the parlour was an elderly
woman recently inducted into
the ranks of the Old Age
Pensioners.
After a while it was time to
reminisce. In order to orient
ourselves the conversation
turned to when World War I
ended, when we all lived in the
same district.
My pal Swanny and I were
bosom pals that winter
although it was a full mile
between the two farms where
we lived. Not only was Swanny
a pal but a mentor and advisor.
It was a frugal economy and
neither one of us had a dime
with which to buy rabbit snare
wire. We tackled the chicken
wire fence and unravelled
enough wire to make a large
number of snares. The wire
was stiff and unwieldy but
Swanny claimed it was the way
you set the snares which deter-
mined if you caught rabbits.
The Kid took this to be the
gospel truth and throughout
the winter we faithfully tended
snares much like a trapper
tends to his trap line. We
caught one rabbit throughout
the whole season.
That was it; our friend
Clarence was so intrigued and
being well fortified with beer,
the story had to be told many
times during the evening. After
switching conversation to
other matters and happenings
of those boyhood days.
Clarence would interject and
say, “Tell us the story again.” It
became monotonous to the
extent of having a sobering
effect, beer or no beer.
It was a pleasant day and
evening with friends in the old
home village, not intellectual,
but an interlude with, old true
and trusted friends.
Uncle John elated
■ ncle John chose to live
beyond the outskirts of
a rural town, away
from the noise and pitfalls of a
large city yet with all the won-
ders of our modem age. Town
ordinances had not been
strictly imposed and regula-
tions of modern living, as we
know in this day and age,
were not the scourge we met-
ropolitan mortals are presently
subjected to. As a matter of
fact, Uncle John lived be-
yond the town
boundaries
and thereby
escaped the
encroaching
by-laws our
modern town
councillors
U;
delight in passing at their cold
winter evening council meet-
ings. After all, town councillors
are dedicated individuals, who
shun the dens of iniquity. They
look upon quaffers of beer as
sinful wasters of time, better put
to good use in council cham-
bers rather than Twentieth
Century Beer Parlours.
These matters did not con-
cem Uncle John, for he was old
and his sense of sight, taste,
sound and smell had lost the
keenness of younger days. Early
in life he had decided to settle
well away from the turmoil of
progressive twentieth century
modern living. It was a long
walk to town, but he did not
mind walking for he firmly and
correctly looked upon walking
as a healthful assist in attaining
longevity. What did matter was
the town had grown and
reached his once remote baili-
wick.
The crisis had reached him
as it does with all of us old
codgers, after collecting the old
age pension for twenty five
years. His was the rural prob-
lem, of a leaning outhouse a
sort of leaning Tower. The next
problem was his middle aged
By Einar
Amason
nephew who
took it upon
himself to
modemize the
outhouse fac-
ilities. They
decided to
make it an in-
door facility;
however upon further investi-
gation they discovered a rock
formation where the septic field
had to be located.
This brought them back to
square one, it simply had to be
an old fashioned facility, cold
in winter and hot in summer.
After giving serious thought to
design and visiting other such
facilities, it is comforting for old
Uncle John to know that build-
ing is under way. Each week on
an appointed after work hour,
his nephew and a friend don
their carpenter aprons and
exercise their skills in the con-
struction of this long overdue
facility. We are told it will be
transported to its destinations
on a Rent-All truck where it
will grace the backyard of
Uncle John’s estate next to a
Rural Manitoba town, erect
and stately and not a leaning
tower.
«i
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by Catherine George
he very thought of more ice
and snow puts most of us off
these days, but by mid-July,
when the heat and humidity are get-
ting us down, we may well be singing
a different tune. That might be the
perfect time to head off to Iceland,
known as the “land of fire and ice.”
The 16-day tour is being organized
by the Royal Ontario Museum’s vol-
unteer committee. It will be guided
by Barry Griffiths of Quest Nature
Tours.
The itineraiy will follow the Ring
Road around the island, beginning
and ending in the capital of
Reykjavík. Cost is $4,875 per person,
double, with retum air fare from
Toronto, accommodation, meals and
sightseeing transportation. It’s open
to 20 people who must be members
of ROM at a cost of $75 annually.
Highlights include a tour of
Reykjavík before continuing to the
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, the port town
of Stykkishólmur, Berserk Lava
Field, Skagafjörður, the monastery at
Þingeyrar and the northem town of
Akureyri. Next comes the Goðafoss
waterfall, the volcanic Láké Mývath,
Hallormsstaður forest, the
Vatnajökull glacier, Skaftafell
National Park and the coastal town
ofVík.
Then it’s on by ferry to Heimaey in
the Westman Islands where a 1973
volcanic emption forced the evacua-
tion of 5,000 residents. A full day will
be spent in Reykjavík before catching
the retum flight home.
You can see a slide presentation at
the ROM’s Planetarium Lecture
Room, Feb. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8
p.m.
For further details contact tour co-
ordinator Josine Jeffery at (416) 487-
7419 or Barry Griffiths, Quest Nature
Tours, (416) 221-3000.
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WE’VE
MOVED!
Effective Januaiy 26,1994, the Multiculturalism Secretariat,
formerly located at 509 - 428 Portage Avenue, has moved to:
Muiticulturalism Secretariat
Community Access Oífice
Unit 7 - 794 Sargent Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0B7
Our telephone (945-1287) and fax (948-2006)
numbers are unchanged.
We lookforward to seeingyou at our new location.
Manitoba