The Mansion

It was called a house, it seemed like the right word I suppose - not sure it was a home but it was certainly a building that stood out in the middle of the prairie. I don't remember very many trees around it. There was trees but not around the house itself. It layed itself bare to the elements and was there ever elements !! Anyone who has lived on the prairies knows that when it gets cold - it gets brutal cold. Extreme northern winds whipping up large snowbanks against a building that was not made for Saskatchewan winters. Of course there was no furnace, and a thermostat on the wall. There was no gas fireplace that one could turn on the gas and push the button and presto - instant heat. There was no gas or electric stove that one could cook on. No microwave and of course no dishwasher. The kitchen was small, cupboards with shelves and no doors, and a old cook stove that only operated on wood. The cook stove was kind of a relic and a dangerous one at that. You pulled off the plates on top and fed it wood. This ran the top plates, the oven and a boiler on the side that held water. Of course the wood was not delivered !! It had to be cut from the trees, and we had what one would call the woodpile. Large chunks of wood were cut into lengths from a tractor that had a pulley attached to a stationery saw. An axe was then used to cut the lengths of wood into measurable and manageable pieces that had to be hauled into the house to keep the old cook stove going. That old stove had to be running all the time in the winter to prevent us from freezing to death. I remember laying in bed in a bedroom that was the farthest from the kitchen. Layers upon layers of blankets had to be used just to create enough warmth to keep alive. Sounds like exaggeration - it was not.

The house had 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. That was it. I am not sure how big but I doubt that it would be much larger then 700 sq. ft.

On the living room wall it had a large crank phone. It was like a small cabinet attached to the wall. We had what was called a party line. At least 4 - 6 neighbors were on one line. It was quite a party line !! Apparently every party line has the neighbor who not only specializes in gossip but spends all her waking hours talking on the phone. If someone was talking on the line - you could not use the phone. You had to wait until the long winded gossiper finally hung up and then you could have to quickly get on line and make a call before someone else did. If you were listening to their conversation, you called it rubbering in. I loved to rubber in. I listened to all the nonsense. Why not? There was no radio and no television, and listening to the people down the road was about as entertaining as it gets.

We have no idea how good we have it now. Everything at the push of a button, and entertainment to boot. Longing for the good old days is just a saying, I doubt too many would want to go back living that dream.