My GrandPal, Catherine, was born in 1927 in Mayfield, Ontario. Her mother’s name was Isabella and her father’s name was George. Catherine had three brothers, George, Harold and Donald, as well as two sisters, Isabel and Marie. Two of Catherine’s brothers were older, and Catherine was the youngest of the girls.
The large family of eight lived together on their family farm. The family lived in a red-brick farmhouse. The farm’s property was over a hundred acres and had gardens, fields and trees. A stream also ran through the property.
In the winter when the stream froze over, Catherine and her brothers and sisters put on their ice skates to skate down the stream. Although Catherine and her siblings had a lot of fun on their farm, they also had chores too. Catherine was responsible for milking the cows before she went to school, but she had a lot of help from a four-legged friend.
Catherine loved dogs, and her dog Lassie was a big help in looking after the cows. Lassie was a big dog who had golden fur with tints of red. When the cows were in the field, Lassie would run back and forth, herding the cows back to the barn. Once the cows had been rounded up, Catherine milked each one.
When her chores were finished, Catherine would go to school. Although she had to wake up very early to get her chores done, Catherine still had to walk two miles to school. Sometimes in the winter months, Catherine’s dad would hook up the sleigh to the horses and take Catherine and her siblings to school. Catherine also loved to cook with her mother.
When she wasn’t doing her chores, she enjoyed making pies and butter tarts with her mom. The farm had vegetable and fruit gardens, and Catherine’s mother grew pumpkins, strawberries and blueberries on the farm, which was perfect for making pies! Her family farm, although much larger, is still a working farm. The farm has stayed in her family for many generations.