out to the land of milk and honey

Growing up in Chilliwack...........1945


Mum told me a bit about the trip out to B.C., in 1936...some relatives and a lot of friends had pulled up and immigrated from Manitoba to B.C. where jobs, weather and coastal living were a great attraction....for most it was a very positive move....I don't know of anyone who wanted to move back....Dad had lost his legacy in a business that went sour in Carberry, Manitoba...he had worked and learned mechanics in Crystal City and Winnipeg....He bought a Dodge dealership and the main road was diverted around the city and of course he depended on traffic......bummer...but I for one am glad it happened because I always thought Chilliwack was a great place......when they lost just about everything they packed it up and drove on the better road through the states out to the land of milk and honey , I think it was November and Manitoba was cold.....Dad, Mum and Faye, my four year old sister ...... Mum told me that after a harrowing trip with all the flat tires those old vehicles had....they finally got to Seattle.....she said that was when they new it was a good thing....the weather was balmy, the mountains and ocean coastline were like a new world .....they had relatives in Rosedale and friends in Vancouver, providing a base to work from...I was born December 10, 1937 in Vancouver. Dad worked at Begg Motors then after a year, moved to and settled down in Chilliwack in the spring of 1938. They rented a house, or part of a house in one of the nice old homes on First avenue...close to Young St. on the south side....From there they moved to Reece avenue at the north end of Fletcher St. (I don't remember those places at all) Dad's first employment in Chilliwack was at Empress Motors across Princess Ave. from the Empress hotel. They kept close with the home friends ..the Besticks (they had Ace Tire shop located in "Chinatown"). Dad worked a bit there as well. Dads sister.... Alice, or "Aunt Ally" as we called her and Uncle Bob Johnston...cousins Willard, Joe, Tom, Lorne, Buck, Merva and Lila lived in Rosedale.....Buck's name was Roy ( after my dad).....they had a farm on Castleman road...Oh how I loved to go out there...and we did,often...My folks would let would stay there...the girls were young teenagers and treated me like a prince...I used to watch them get on the yellow school bus...as soon as they went in the door...they stepped on a moving platform and it took them to the back of the bus...at least that is what it looked like to me when all I could see was the body part going by the windows...I always slept upstairs ..and had to learn to use a pot that was kept under the bed...In season there were always pheasants and ducks hanging in the woodshed...the shed had the smell of wood and leather harnesses, a hard packed dirt floor, tools and implements hanging on the wall and a 2 foot round knotted chopping block with a million axe marks in it...I liked being in the woodshed and thinking about the stories it could tell.There was also a root cellar that fascinated me...I visited it many times....a mound in the ground...open the dirt covered door and a blast of musty smell would happen ...then look at all the stuff...home canned fruits, vegetables ...apples and fruit wrapped in newspaper....it was really cool....thats why they had it .....Aunt Ally would cook great Sunday feasts of chicken, ducks and pheasant...apple and lemon pie....and there would be 10 to12 people at the table... oh yeah .....heaps of potatoes and the best gravy ever....who never had bread and gravy at the end of the main meal....all the boys did...that was good enough for me. The Browns lived across the road...yes....Farmer Brown....he really did.....a guy in a car came and put mail in the mailbox....I think there was an outhouse...there must have been an outhouse, I'm not sure. I will add stuff to this later......I think there are some pictures somewhere...........ya there was an outhouse....and an old Eatons catalogue in it..... It was tricky slippery stuff. The old house was unpainted, the weathered siding was grayish...Uncle Willard played baseball, he was very good at it......We watched him play at the Rosedale Ball Park. Rosedale apparently had great ball teams in those days....I remember after supper, the men gathering in the front room and listening to them talk about everything...especially fishing and hunting......How could life get better than that.