Freedom to Play: We Made Our Own Fun

A VERY SPECIAL TIME

knew I was a reader and if they had a book they’d bring it to me. Our only newspaper was the weekly Family Herald. I read it from cover to cover. Initially, Dad used to read it aloud. That would be some of our entertainment. When we finished with it, it went to the outhouse as a substitute for toilet paper. I hated Eaton’s catalogue , but the Family Herald wasn’t bad. Church picnics were mainly for the Sunday school—there would be three-legged races and sack races. Everybody came to the picnic. There were no hot dogs, hamburgers, or ice cream. At a birthday party you would be served a piece of bread and jelly—that would be your treat. My most pleasant memory is probably the first time my grandfather took me fishing in his rowboat with its removable mast and sail. I had several wonderful fishing trips with him. (My grandfather died just before my eighth birthday.) But I could probably come up with ten or eleven things like that and still would wonder which is my most pleasant memory. I remember going on several picnics with Mom and Dad. People didn’t do that very often, but every now and then we’d go off—just the family . We’d have roast “Tomcod,” a small cod (main bone, sound bone not removed as in the split fish) salted and dried. We would wrap it in paper, moisten it, and put it among the coals. We would toast homemade bread over the coals of the fire (no baker’s bread available then) and, of course, have a cup of tea. A VERY SPECIAL TIME As the Palmer family of Freeland, Prince Edward Island, had no sons, Donna Palmer Ebbutt and the two sisters nearest her age did much of the farm work. But, as Donna recalls, there was always time for fun and to celebrate holidays and special events. After the apples were picked and the potatoes and mangels dug, sorted, and stored, then came Halloween. We didn’t have many outfits but we went out trick or treating on Halloween night. We usually got an apple but no candy. Some of the young guys went 202 Freedom to Play around upsetting outdoor toilets or taking gates off their hinges and then we couldn’t find our gates. We didn’t upset toilets, we just screamed and howled and made a bit of noise. It was a real fun night for us. Christmas was a very special time. We always had Christmas concerts in the school. I remember one year when my oldest sister was principal of a school, she bought the three of us dresses— 99 cents each—so we would be all dressed up for the Christmas concert because we all had a part in a dialogue or singing. I remember there were candles on the tree in the hall because there was no electricity. We always cut our own Christmas tree. We’d take the sleigh and go out to the back of our field to cut our tree. Then we three kids would haul it home and put it up in the parlor—as it was called then—and Dad would sit and watch us and smoke his pipe. We’d put the tree in a bucket of potatoes and then we would take binder twine and hook it to each side of the bay window so it wouldn’t fall over. All we had for decorations were those red and green streamers, cranberries we strung, and some tinfoil icicles. Actually it always turned out to be a nice tree and every year my Dad said it was the best tree we ever had. Christmas Eve we always went to midnight service at the Anglican Church. There would be snow on the ground glistening in the moonshine. Dad used to put us in the wood sleigh and cover us with a buffalo [robe]. As we were on our way up to the church we could see the line of horses and sleighs and hear their [harness] bells ringing as they came to the church. Everybody had bells on their horses that night. And when we got in and around the fire, everyone was so happy because it was warm and cozy and because it was Christmas Eve. It was a night to behold. Mum stayed home to prepare a big dinner because we always had the minister and his wife...