WOMEN IN MY LIFE by Ralph Bice
From January 10, 1979
I hope when anyone sees the title l have chosen this week they will not think l have been reading those confession magazines and have decided to make a wholesale confession. I have thought just how much it meant to know these very friendly ladies. They are all gone now as they belonged to the same age group as my parents. Since they were so friendly to me there is no doubt they were as friendly with everyone else.
One of the first women l met when we arrived in Kearney (which will be sixty-eight years in February) was Mrs. J.T. Shaw. Father had purchased the house, once the Bennett Butcher Shop, and it was right across the street from Shaw’s Taylor Shop. There were a lot of kids whose age matched my brothers and sisters. Newcomers at that period were usually made welcome by the neighbours and my mother and Mrs. Shaw became and remained close friends. They were two of the members of the Women’s Institute and each held many offices. Mrs. Shaw always seemed to have time for a short chat with me.
Older people today seem to have forgotten just how much a friendly smile, perhaps a pat on the head, mean to a growing youngster. Even when my family was grown and there were grandchildren l enjoyed many visits with Mrs. Shaw. After my mother had gone they seemed even better and the memory is pleasant.
Then there was Mrs. Ed McManus. That family had arrived in Kearney a couple of years before we did. Ed McManus was known as one of the best camp foreman of his time. The children went to the separate school so we did not get to know them as well as we did the kids in the public school though l wrote entrance exams with one of the girls in Burks Falls in 1913, They were Irish, of course, and Mrs. McManus had the most friendly smile and to hear her say, “Hello Ralph.” More than once l could find an excuse to meet her just for that friendly hello.
One time, perhaps during the last war, l had occasion to visit Harry White as were both on council and had been given a special job. Harry married Nellie McManus after he returned from the first war. Harry was not home but Mrs. McManus was at the stove with her usual warm greeting. Seated by the door was another lady who would have to be Nellie. I let my hand drop, rumpled her hair and twisted her ear. Just when l expected reaction of some sort Nellie came in from another room and everyone was laughing. I looked down and the lady in the chair was a perfect stranger. Ever feel embarrassed and small? At the time I could have walked under a duck with a silk hat and not touched the duck. But all came out well. The stranger was a sister of Mrs. McManus and when I got to know her she was almost as nice and friendly as Mrs. McManus. Hardly seems that little incident took place forty years ago. It is still so fresh in my mind.
Then there was Mrs. Frank Groom. Her family lived on the 8th concession. I first remember when she would bring eggs and butter to our house when we first lived in Kearney. It was always so nice to meet her in town. Cheerful and friendly, she always called me “Mr. Bice.” It did not matter if her husband or her son and I were having arguments about Algonquin Park (which was frequent) she never changed.
I was at her house three or four times for meals. I always remember, with a smile, that she poured me a cup of tea remarking that she thought I was one of those who liked their tea when the meal started. (She was right.)
Then there was Mrs. Noble Gilchrist. On many occasions her son came from the 10th with the buggy and I spent a day and night with him. The first year I deer hunted it was with him. We got our deer. We also helped rebuild a log barn.
Today when people write of visiting they go into great detail about the house and contents. I do not recall anything about the house or furniture. But I will never forget the pleasant welcome I always received when I visited there. Almost like having a second home. And this more than sixty years ago.
The last would have to be our well remembered school teacher, Mrs. Crooker. There are still quite a few of us left who attended Kearney public school when it was one room, enrolment close to sixty, and she was the teacher. Born near Stratford, she came to Kearney to Sand Lake in the late seventies. A woman neighbour helped her with her studies and she walked to Sprucedale to write her exams. When I think of present day teachers my mind goes back to this very dedicated teacher whose whole aim was to see her pupils receive a good education. Wonder how many teachers today would take on her duties? She also believed in corporal punishment which many of us can attest. But I have never heard one of her pupils speak ill of her.
When my mind goes back I always think of these very pleasant and nice women who made growing up a nicer experience for a growing boy.