“By the time the 1950s rolled around, this area had seen a lot of changes. Automation and hydroelectric power had changed the landscape. Horsepower had gone to the wayside. All the farms had at least one tractor. Everyone had some sort of automobile. Road construction and maintenance had become big business. All the northern townships had road crews to maintain their roads. Of course, land taxes had been implemented to pay for this service, but everyone seemed to embrace the improvements.
The last of the one-room school houses were closed, and a new big brick school was built to replace them. All the children were bused to the new public elementary school. Then they went into town to attend high school. All children were given the opportunity to finish high school. What a privilege to be granted.
Jake and Jackie both graduated from high school in June of 1949. Jake had hated school, and had no interest in attending college. He headed south and got a job in a car factory. Jackie went to hairdressing school. She could have attended after grade ten, but Logan and I had felt she was too young. We had really babied the twins, and they didn’t have the maturity level of their siblings.”
“Did you ever tell Mom that, Gran,” Beth laughs?
“No, dear, and you shouldn’t either. Some of the things I’m telling you today are meant to stay just between us. And that’s one of them. Anyway, Jackie really didn’t mind waiting to go as she had a young beau in town to occupy her time. His family owned the grocery store there. They had plans to get married once he was finished school. His folks wanted him to attend Business College for a few years. Then he would take over the store when his father retired. When Eric, your Pa, left for college, Jackie went and got her Hairdresser’s License.
James had been working with Logan in the store since he had finished Business College in 1941. He had married and had six children by this time. They had bought a house a few doors down from the store. Even though our children had all grown and left home, we had grandchildren nearby to enjoy. And that we surely did.
After all the children were grown and out enjoying their own lives, Logan and I started a new chapter in ours. We learned to appreciate life in a different light. We’d never had the opportunity to enjoy any of our married life alone together without children. We had a full house when we started out together with seven children, then we added two more.
The first twenty years of our marriage were spent concentrating on running the store and rearing the children. It had been a busy household for some time. As much as Logan and I enjoyed special moments together, our time was never entirely spent on us. It took a lot of getting used to when the last of our brood moved out.
With James running the store, Logan and I often took the truck and headed south to pick up supplies. It was always an overnight adventure. The roads certainly weren’t what they are today. Highway 400 from Barrie into Toronto wasn’t built yet, and the old Highway 11 used to wind its way south through every little town along the way. The automobiles of that time didn’t travel as fast, either. It took twice as much time to make the trip as it would today.
Sometimes we’d spend the night at Murray or Mary Beth’s. It gave us time to spend with them and their families. It was nice to see the grandchildren. They seemed to grow up faster than our own had. We always had lots of catching up to do anyway, and we enjoyed those visits.
We tried to stop by Logan’s family store to see his kin, too. We visited with his brothers and their families. Logan would talk store business with them. They’d compare notes on what the latest trends were. It always seemed that we were a little behind in the north country. Styles weren’t so important to us country people in the north.
Once, we decided to take a side trip and spent the night at Niagara Falls. Now that was exciting. I’d never been there before. We drove all around and did some sightseeing. Of course, the falls themselves were the biggest attraction. They were magnificent. Absolutely breathtaking. Guess that’s why Niagara Falls is one of the top destinations for a honeymoon. Well, we were like honeymooners ourselves. Logan rented us a room for the night in a very elegant hotel. They had a formal dining room where we decided to go to for supper. We ate like the rich folks do, ordering wine and entrees. We feasted on a seafood dinner. It was fabulous. We’d never had lobster before. The whole experience was thrilling to me. We had never done anything so luxurious. Logan said we had worked hard for a lot of years, and once in a while we needed to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
August was always a good month for us to take a trip south for supplies. If we had need to go towards Hamilton, we’d travel farther south towards St. Catherines and pick up fresh fruit. We picked peaches, pears, and apples right off the trees. That was always a treat. Sure can’t buy that in a store nowadays. Nothing tastes as good as right off the tree.
It seems like we got to see a lot of countryside on our trips. We met a lot of real nice folks, too. I never realized how big Ontario really was until I started travelling with Logan. To think that the south western corner was so flat with fields that stretched on for such distances, I would never have guessed. Their machinery was so much more advanced, too, and bigger than what the farmers here at home were using.
On our spring trips, when the fruit trees were in blossom, we both loved to stop on the roadside to absorb the beauty of the scenery. The orchards were so grand. I had never seen the like. The sheer splendour is hard to describe. I can still close my eyes and envision the rows of fruit trees covered in flowers. And the aroma was so pleasant. It was a real delight to experience. We sure can’t grow orchards like that in this area. Mother Nature just won’t co-operate.
Well, anyways, Jacob came back home after several years of working in the factory. He hated it in the south. His sweetheart refused to marry him and move to Toronto. That was probably the clincher. Anyway, he had managed to save enough money to buy a small house. It was close by to Ashton’s General Store, and Logan gave him a job helping James in the store. A few months later, he was a married man. Everything was falling into place.
With both the boys running the store, Logan liked to make all the deliveries. I usually went along for the ride. It gave us a chance to visit with the folks thereabouts. Since I didn’t work in the store very often by then, those excursions gave me a chance to get out. I always found someone to tell me the latest news and catch me up on the gossip.
It was about that time when we decided to change homes with James. His family was growing and their house was pretty small. James was at the store all the time anyway, so it just made sense. Logan said it was just another step to distance himself from the business. It also gave James and Jacob the comfort in knowing it was their store to run. With both the boys working at Ashton’s General Store, Logan was thinking on retirement. That would give us even more time to enjoy our days together.
The little house suited us just fine, and it took no time at all for us to settle in. By summer’s end that year, Logan told the boys he was going to retire and turned the store over to them. It seems we were busier than ever after that. We didn’t spend too many days sitting idle. We always had something on the go. Guess busy people just like to be busy. We seemed to be out and about all the time.
One of the biggest highlights I remember was the day Logan and I made the trip to see H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth II and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh. That was back on October 29th, 1951. We travelled to North Bay and met up with Charity and Janice and their families. Jackie had closed up her shop so she come with us. What an air of excitement there was in the whole city. That was just one of those times you get to enjoy and savour the moment for your lifetime.”
“I’m glad that you and Grandpa got to enjoy some good times together, Gran. You both had to work hard. Life sure wasn’t easy for you.”
“No, dear, it wasn’t, but retirement really worked out well for us. Everything just seemed to fall into place. I guess that is just how life really is. We never consider it at the time, but looking back you can see how things work out. Anyway, with the children all grown and Logan being retired, we sure enjoyed our free time together. That empty nest syndrome they talk about today didn’t seem to affect us at all. Logan and I just tried to enjoy each day as it came, and we always found a way to fill it.”