Our Canada Our Country Our Stories Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

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  Foreword

  Family

  Tapping the Trees

  The Curling Kettle

  The Debonaire

  An Occasion Fit for a Queen

  Achieving Their Goal

  The Georgetown Boys

  Family Ties

  A-Camping We Will Go

  Macaroni Sundays

  When We Were Young

  Frying Up a Feast

  Remembering Gram

  Natural Beauty

  Gone Fishing

  Marrying the Farmer’s Daughter

  What Money Can’t Buy

  Kindness

  The Wedding Dress

  Queen of May

  Water for Africa

  Vanquishing the Fort McMurray “Beast”

  Born to Help

  A Lasting Legacy

  Saving Our Shorelines

  Curling for a Cure

  Helping Blanding’s Turtles

  Volunteer Veterinary Team

  Sewing With Pride North of 60

  Paddling With Purpose

  From Milk Bags to Bed Mats

  From Rescue to Rescuer

  Flying High on Knowledge

  Making a Difference

  Northern Manitoba Matters

  PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary

  Lessons Learned in Ethiopia

  Racing for a Cure

  Turning Dining Out Into Helping Out

  Generosity in Motion

  Give Me Shelter

  Moulding Young Minds

  Valour

  Battle of Vimy Ridge

  Lessons My Father Taught Me

  Dodging Death

  Noble Steeds

  Camp X

  Legendary Flying Goose

  Making a Connection

  Canada’s Dambusters

  The Forgotten Ones

  Canadian Kangaroos

  Lone Rider

  Uncle Wilfred Remembered

  Accentuate the Positive

  Tales From the Sea

  Izzy’s Story

  A Letter Home From Afghanistan

  A Tribute to Our Vets on Remembrance Day

  A War Vet’s Best Friend

  Vets in Transition

  Memories

  Memory-Go-Round

  Facing Off Against a Blizzard

  The Coldest Day in Canadian History

  The Fabric of Her Life

  My Early Education

  Hockey Night in Hedley

  Ice Dreams

  This Old Sugar Shack

  Summer Dreaming

  Larger Than Life

  A Man Named “Apples”

  Cowboys, Flapjacks and Fun!

  The Saturday Matinee

  Going Home to “Lost Villages”

  The Last Steam Donkey

  A Treasure Reclaimed

  Remembering RCAF Station Namao

  Sowing the Future

  Adventure

  High Hopes

  My Struggle With the Nahanni

  Climb Every Mountain

  The Yukon Is Gold

  Life in Igloolik

  Beauty and the Barrens

  Searching for Wild Bill

  Epic Winter Race

  The Motorcycle Diaries

  Grand Manan, New Brunswick

  The Mystique of Sable Island

  Swimming Great Bear

  Wild About Horses

  Community

  Canada, Do You Have Room for Us?

  Salami and Popsicles

  A Fairy Tale of Ice and Magic

  Reflections on Canada

  Loving Peace River

  Come From Away

  Journey From Nepal

  A Pioneering Black Nurse

  A Long Tradition of Service

  The Show Must Go On

  Forging New Friendships

  Breaking Boundaries

  Beaver Tails and Bear Paws

  Bilingualism at Its Best

  Boot Camp, Indigenous-Style

  Heart to Spirit to Hand

  Harmonizing Cultures

  Conserving Canada’s Wild Species

  Recess in the Arctic

  The Dream of Belonging

  Hunting With Mémère

  Talent

  Learning to See

  Russian–Israeli–Canadian Jazz Singer

  Saving Shoebox Memories

  Woven in History

  G’zaagin: A Gallery of Love

  Helene’s Gift

  Towering Over the Prairie

  Journey of Discovery

  The Art of the Deal

  Making History

  For Better or Verse

  Fine Felted Friends

  Musical Ambassadors

  Artist and Dreamer

  Story Contributors

  CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

  FRONT Cover

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  Jana O’Neil, Tantallon, Nova Scotia

  Originally from Moncton, New Brunswick, Jana moved to Nova Scotia more than two decades ago. She discovered her zest for photography in her early 30s while out and about enjoying nature. Jana gravitates towards capturing the everyday beauty that surrounds us, from dandelions and forest beds of wildflowers to stunning sunrises and sunsets. She feels very lucky to live in a country where we experience four majestic seasons—yes, even snowy winters! Jana’s other passions include kayaking, hiking, camping and exploring new places with family, friends and her “fur babies.” She has a wonderful son who shares in her love of photography. She is a firm believer in living life to its fullest and is always up for an adventure.

  Jana snapped this photo at Graves Island Provincial Park, Nova Scotia, on a magnificent, chilly fall day.

  FAMILY

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  Bill L. Knibbs, Medicine Hat, Alberta

  Bill shares this great picture of his brothers, the Knibbs “Leafs” hockey team, at the rink back in 1937.

  KINDNESS

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  Andrea Hamilton, Pointe Claire, Quebec

  Andrea sent along this heartwarming photo of her son Ryan and his beloved dog Blu taken at Boom Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta.

  VALOUR

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  Catherine MacKenzie, Fall Lake, Nova Scotia

  Catherine shares a great shot of her grandfather Harry Thompson MacKenzie leading the troops as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves.

  MEMORIES

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  Liz Youngman, Ottawa, Ontario

  Liz shares this peaceful image snapped by her partner Barb Gray, by the lake in Bowman, Quebec.

  ADVENTURE

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  Tyler Dixon, Calgary, Alberta

  Tyler enjoying the beautiful view at Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Banff, Alberta.

  COMMUNITY

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  Leanne Smith, Calgary, Alberta

  Leanne snapped this awesome picture of the Indian Village while attending the Calgary Stampede several years ago.

  TALENT

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  Timothy Mohan, Elliot Lake, Ontario

  Tim shares one of his incredible pieces of art called “Two of Us.”

  FOREWORD

  * * *

  Long Story Short

  Hi there! I’m the lead editor of Our Canada magazine and I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re holding our new book in your hands. If you’re an avid reader with a passion for this great land we so proudly call home, I think you’re in for a treat. I’ve been editing Our Canada since 2006 and, prior to that, I spent two years writing promotional mat
erial in support of the then newly minted “reader-written magazine” published by Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada.

  If there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate over the years, it’s that the old saying is true—everyone does indeed have at least one great story to tell. You’ll see what I mean as soon as you dive into the 120-plus story selections that follow, all of which were originally published in Our Canada or its companion magazine, More of Our Canada, during the past five years.

  But before you do, I’d like to share Our Canada’s story with you—well, the condensed version at least.

  Our Canada was launched as a bimonthly publication in January 2004, following an overwhelmingly successful “Show Us Your Canada” contest held in Reader’s Digest magazine the previous year. The Reader’s Digest editorial team at the time waded through all of the contest entries, and then selected and fleshed out the content that appeared in Our Canada’s highly successful premier issue. With that original blueprint in place, a small editorial team dedicated to Our Canada was created and the magazine was off to the races in earnest. By September 2005, Our Canada had grown from zero subscriptions to 250,000, becoming in the process one of the most successful Canadian magazine launches of that era. In a nutshell, the new magazine “written by Canadians, for Canadians” went viral in print, long before “going viral” became a phenomenon on the Internet.

  In September 2008, responding to a growing number of subscribers who wished to receive Our Canada 12 times a year instead of the usual six, we introduced More of Our Canada, a subscriber-only publication scheduled for delivery during the “in-between months” of Our Canada’s bimonthly publication calendar.

  Moving forward from that point, we solidified our online presence on www.ourcanada.ca, where most of the incoming submissions are accepted and categorized, and jumped onto the growing social-media bandwagon, primarily via our Facebook page. While generating ongoing momentum for our two magazine publications, and engaging with a highly active and loyal social media following, we also produced two hardcover books of photography and collaborated on a third one about travel in Canada. In 2014, we started up our iPad edition and more recently we’ve been accepted onto popular digital magazine platforms such as Texture, Google Play, PressReader and Zinio.

  Fuelling the magazines’ ongoing popularity to this very day is a steady flow of reader-written stories and photo submissions sent in to us by everyday Canadians from across the country, representing a wide range of age groups, walks of life, cultural backgrounds, interests and pursuits. From rural hamlets to major urban centres, remote northern outposts to southern border towns, fishing villages in the Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador to the First Nations cultural sanctuary of Haida Gwaii, B.C.—and everywhere in between—Our Canada is above all a gathering place for all Canadians. We strive to be a venue where everyone is welcome and invited to share their memories and experiences, hopes and aspirations, and love for this wonderful country of ours.

  Being “reader-written,” we do not engage the services of professional writers but rather select and polish written submissions sent in to us by the everyday people of Canada, regular folks just like you and me. And therein lie two of my favourite aspects of the job that my colleague, Senior Editor Maryanne Gallagher, and I are privileged to perform: firstly, reading through all of the amazing stories sent our way, which number in the thousands, and, secondly, reaching out to those individuals whose submissions are selected to appear in an upcoming issue and working with them to make their story the best it can possibly be. Editorially, our aim here is to point out and see that any gaps in a submission are filled; make sure the facts being presented are accurate; and edit for length as well as consistency of writing style and grammar—all the while maintaining the contributor’s natural tone of voice and turn of phrase.

  For our readers, from one issue to the next, the end result is a wonderful snapshot of Canada on any given day, focusing on shared memories and adventures; family, culture and community; talents, hobbies and interests; and an overall love of Canada and its people, places and wildlife. As a gesture of thanks for their participation, selected contributors receive a free copy of the issue in which their submission appears and a free one-year gift subscription. More importantly, I believe, our published contributors reap the satisfaction of seeing their work through to completion—and of being able to share it not only with their inner circle of family, friends and neighbours but also with a national audience of well over one million Canadians.

  On the following pages, with the collaboration of book editor Pamela Johnson, designer Olena Lytvyn and proofreader Joan Page McKenna, we’ve compiled a representative sampling of the type of stories we present in every issue of Our Canada and More of Our Canada. Drawing upon content from our core departments, we’ve structured the book along thematic lines, focusing on values and topics to which most Canadians can relate: Family, Kindness, Valour, Memories, Adventure, Community and Talent. As you’ll soon see, the stories span the country and generations of life in Canada, touching upon many of the cultures and traditions that make up our great Canadian mosaic.

  Being able to share with you in book form for the first time these wonderfully down-to-earth, inspiring, funny, and at times very moving submissions is both an honour and a pleasure for all of us here at Our Canada. Enjoy!

  —Gary George, Editor-in-Chief, Our Canada magazine

  Tapping the Trees

  Fond memories of time spent with Dad in the sugar snow

  Big, fat flakes land on my upturned face. I stick out my tongue and taste the moist sugar snow. Instantly, I am transported back to when I was eight years old on our farm in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The sap was running—my favourite time of year!

  I was outside with my little brother, Billy, when I noticed the shed door open and ran to see what Dad was doing. He was sitting on a small stool, surrounded by wooden sap buckets, holding each one up towards the window and peering inside.

  “What are you doing, Daddy? Are we going to put the sap buckets on the trees today?”

  “As soon as I finish checking for cracks,” he said. “See, when I hold them up to the window, the light shines through the cracks—so far, only two. I’ll put those in water and the wood will expand, filling in the cracks, and then they’re as good as new.”

  “Can I come? I can help.” He looked at me, reached over and touched the top of my head,

  “Oh, you think you can help, do you? What can you do?”

  “I can hand you those little things you put in the trees.”

  “Okay, but first go and tell your mother, so she can watch Billy.”

  After taking Billy to Mom, I went to the barn, where Dad was hitching June and Sandy to the big sleigh with sides that he used for hauling logs from the bush. We placed the buckets in the back of the sleigh and I scrambled onto the front seat, close to Dad, as he started the horses with his usual: “Hey there, giddup.” Starting out, Dad kept saying: “Whoa there, slow down, easy, easy. They want to run, Shirl. It’s been a long winter; getting out in the warm spring air makes them frisky. Whoa, Sandy, take it easy.”

  Dad always spoke softly to the horses, I guess much like he did with us. A quiet, gentle man, my father, wanting only enough to feed and clothe his family. Independent, willing to help his neighbours in times of need, but mostly content to stay on his own farm, working with his animals and reading in the quiet evenings. On cold winter nights, my sisters and brothers and I would curl up beside him on the couch and listen to stories from the Bible while Mom sat in the rocker with her knitting or mending.

  We reached the sugar bush, stopping at the first maple tree. Dad began drilling a tiny hole in the trunk of the tree, just about even with the top of my head. Setting the drill aside, he picked up his hammer and I handed him one of the spouts, which he hammered in place.

  The spouts had a little hook on the bottom where he placed the metal handle of the bucket. Instantly, the sap started dripping with a d
elightful splash as it hit the bottom.

  “I like sap better than when it turns into maple syrup, don’t you, Dad? Can I taste some now?”

  “Not yet. When we get back from tapping the rest of the trees, there’ll be enough sap in here and we’ll both have a good drink.”

  Back to the sleigh, on to the next tree, weaving our way through the sugar bush, the branches brushing against us, the snow filtering down softly through the billowy tree tops. It’s a wonderful memory that returns to me every March, when the sugar snow lands on my tongue and I remember the sweet, mapley taste of sap.

  —by Shirley Davidson Bonic, Regina, Saskatchewan

  The Curling Kettle

  Getting a handle on this popular winter pastime just takes a little imagination

  About eight years ago, when I was in Grade 4, two of my 12 siblings—Joline and Jason—and I joined our school’s Little Rockers Curling Club. After attending our first practice, we were so pleased with it that we decided we needed to curl every day of the week. Unfortunately, a farm in rural Saskatchewan does not have too many curling rinks waiting to be used—unless, of course, you use your imagination.

  First off, we needed ice. It must have been our lucky day, because we discovered a frozen slough out in the pasture that was pretty smooth. Even better, it had no snow on it, thanks to the howling Saskatchewan winds.

  We rushed to the house with excitement and grabbed our brooms, planning to head out to curl. Then we remembered that we didn’t have sliders—but that didn’t stop us. We took care of the problem by putting generous amounts of duct tape on the bottom of our boots. Now we were ready to curl. Then we realized that there was still a gaping hole in our plan. We didn’t have any curling rocks.

  What could we use? We started to search through the house. Yes! Mom’s kettle would do wonderfully. It was the next best thing to a curling rock. We took off out of the house with the kettle in tow and slid out onto the slough. Much to our dismay, it was too windy for the kettle to do anything but blow off course.

  Well, we were determined, so we put our heads together. If we filled it with water, we thought, surely it would be heavy enough. When that was put to the test, the water kept sloshing out of the top. So now what? We still had one last idea to try. We filled the kettle with water once more and froze it before trying again. This time, it worked like a charm. Our curling rink was a success and we spent many hours out on that slough.