THE SOCKS.....

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a Light to my path..." -Psalm 119:105

 It was the night Mother darned our socks. Those well worn socks.  By lamplight. As we watched. In  low burning light.

Trying to be good. This Christmas Eve. Pretending to sleep. Trying not to giggle. 

"Not believe in Santa Claus!You might as well not believe in fairies..." -F. P. Church

                                                        

1950's

Imagining an orange in the toe, nuts, maybe some candies, and a book. Oh let there please be a book! For each of us!

1950 Victoria

Stuffed into those socks. Those patched socks. Chosen with care. Fire crackled merrily, in the wood stove. It sang its own songs.

1940's Bethune. Davey.

 "In the same way, let your light shine before others..." 

                                                                                               -Matthew 5:16

1930's Bethune Xmas

Mother hummed, as she sewed. Father dozed  with his pipe.

It was a gentle peace. Like no other.

horse and snow

We tried to not think about Christmas morning.  The feast to come. …potatoes, shredded cabbage, mincemeat. Those socks…

Finally,  last stitch. Ready to place  on the kitchen table.

1938 December journal

Near the fire. Not too close, though.  Ready for the magic. 

Xmas 1920's

The four of us drifted off, in the cabin. Warm and safe.

xmas 1920 

Dreaming of simple treasures . Of excitement and wonder. 

As the years rambled on, needle and thread fell silent for good, and the pipe, unlit,  lay on the mantle.  

Isobel, Grandmother, Mum 1940's

The Light which  came into the world, came to us, in that small cabin. 

Stuart and Bill 1930's

A fire still sings,  each Christmas eve. 

1960's Victoria xmas

Those socks. Still patched and stitched  with thread.  Wait for us.

xmas eve

Filled with light.  Not so far away. Not so long ago…

1950's Bethune xmas

"There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every one...."- John 1: 9-13

Photographs ( family vintage) 2024

 

1930's XMAS Recipes ( 1)

"Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality..."

   -Washington Irvine

On the farm, in Bethune, Saskatchewan,  ( not just in the 30's, but over the years she visited home), my mother would bake these pastries  with my grandmother. Vinegar tarts, and Mincemeat....doled out at the holidays......with care. Counted into their Christmas tins , to await  the holidays. Savoured and saved. At Christmas, we tend to  bake  that which reminds us of our past, maybe a past we never knew , but cherish cause it's  family. My mother said these pastries reminded my grandparents of the family they left behind in Scotland all the years ago ,and ever saw again.

My mother also said her brothers liked to sneak them  , and run off with them into the snow, stuffing their cheeks as they ran. Every time she baked them, she said she could see Bill and Stuart , their cheeks full like chipmunks, laughing, as grandmother threw up her hands in good humoured despair. Ingredients were precious. To make up for it,  there were extra chores for  the boys. Year after year, when they were children, grandmother never seemed to really mind.....

DEPRESSION ERA VINEGAR TARTS 

2 cups brown sugar , 2 large gobs of butter ( tblsps),

4 splashes ( tblsps of any vinegar), 1 cup corn syrup, 4 eggs 

Beat ingredients till fairly combined. There will be pieces of butter swimming in the mix. That's okay. 

Bake in a hot wood stove oven ( or 350 degree modern oven for about 15 minutes. test the centres. Should be bubbling, add 4 minutes extra time, till set and pastry browned.  

Set out in tins in the snow to cool. Make sure tins are covered with a tea cloth. Store in tins, possibly dust pastries with icing sugar, if you wish.  

"Like snowflakes, my memories gather and dance...each beautiful , unique.....and gone too soon." -Deborah Whitt

MINCEMEAT TARTS 

PASTRY ( tarts or pie):

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour,1 Tbsp sugar, pinch salt, 3 Tbsp veg oil or lard,

1 cup cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces ,¼ cup cool water, 2 tsp vinegar

(Combine together quickly. Keep in fridge to chill until ready to use as shells.)

It used to be that the tarts were actually made in large muffin tins. Nowadays we use frozen tart shells. My mother always made this for the mincemeat ( homemade or bought cans)....she'd serve them scalding hot from the oven......and slathered with thick cream. 

"Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,  but always it will be a day of remembrance. A day in which we think of everything we have ever loved..." - Augusta E. Randel

HOMEMADE MINCEMEAT 

medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated

1 cup golden or Thompson raisins,1 cup dried currants, ½ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup finely diced candied ginger, ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

⅓ cup honey, ¼ cup brandy, optional,1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest,2 Tbsp lemon juice,½ tsp ground allspice

½ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves,¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Cover and chill  Mincemeat ingredients for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. You may want to pulse the ingredients in a food processor if not fine enough . If ingredients are too thick , the mix will be coarse and not cook down to gooey loveliness.

 Preheat the oven to 400 F. Pull out the dough from the fridge 15-30 minutes before rolling out or cutting into tart shells.Place the pie onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes at 400 F, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and then bake for about another  40 minutes, until the crust  is golden brown. If doing tarts takes about 20-28 minutes. Keep an eye on them .

                                                                 

"Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others, rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving...." -B.C. Forbes

Stack into tins, or ice cream pails you can freeze..may last long enough to serve to company!

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past. Courage for the present, and Hope for the future.." -Agnes M.Pharo

Photographs 2024 and family vintage....

 

THE BOY who WENT to WAR....

"A soldier fights, because he loves what is behind him...." -Gilbert K. Chesterton

Stuart ( with Jesse the dog),Isabella, Robert, Bill

                                     May 29th, 1940  Bethune, Saskatchewan homestead

Regarding: DIEPPE AUG 19, 1942

FROM Signaller S.S. Shiels HQ Company   South Saskatchewan Regiment  DATE: 23/9/42

 Dear Sis (Nessie, my mother):

     Received your airgraph re Sept 5. I am OK. Excuse writing as I am in a cast from hips to neck and out to fingers of right hand. Had one bullet just miss back bone, and go through seat about 5 inches deep. Another hit centre of right back but glanced up smashing shoulder and have a neat hole through     “humorous”. 

     I took a prisoner and fetched him back, after being shot up, so you can judge from that the injuries are slight. When we evacuated amid a hail of bullets, ,shrapnel and dive bombing we could see green waves of Jerry pouring in for miles back. The official score was 5000 dead and wounded for them, and 3350 dead and wounded and prisoners from us. Believe you me, they have a healthy respect for Canadians. Will write as soon as right wing is working.

                                                                Love, Stuart.

1930's Bethune farm

"A boy doesn't have to go to war, to be a hero..." -E.W. Howe

Mar 21 , 1934

Robert, Nessie, Stuart, Bill 1930's

"Courage isn't having the strength to go on. It is going on when you have strength..." 

-N. Bonaparte

Hunting gophers, 1930's Stuart /Bill

 

farmhands 1930's

Stuart, Isobel, Nessie, Bill (back)

Isabella (Jesse) Robert (front)

"Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle..." 

                                  - Psalm 144::1 (Psalm of David)

Mar 21 1934 Stuart , ready to ride

Home on the range

"When you go to war as a boy, you have great illusion of immortality...."

-Ernest Hemingway

At rest after a long day's work...

May 29th, 1940

                   Stuart, Bill, Stuart's buddy with Jesse .....

"Courage is not the absence of fear.....it is something else mor important...."

- F.D. Roosevelt

Hitchin' a ride ......

.The long road to somewhere....

1941 Buddies. Not sure if any of the others came back from Dieppe......

Aldershot Barracks 1940...Ongoing poker game  24/7 while they waited to go overseas...

Bren gun carrier

       "The brave die never, though they sleep in dust....." -Minot Judson Savage

In Portobello Pub 1941.....

the Compound....

"Be strong of heart, and of good courage, nor be afraid of them...."- Deut 31:6

Stuart, as Signaler, with South Saskatchewan regiment..... 

From 1940's 

  written by E. Hilton Young (1879-1960)

My mother saved this from the Times Colonist (Victoria). 

Dec 31, 1911 (Bethune, Saskatchewan)-Feb 27, 1975 (Vancouver, B.C. Mt. View Cemetary)

Vintage family Photos, 2024

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy..." -Martin Luther King Jr.