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Cold Winds and Blowing Snow, Again |
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February 2004
Driveways and sidewalks to shovel, again. Good time to think, though. But, the good news is that January is over and February is a much more interesting month.
We have the fun of Groundhog Day followed by the romance of Valentine's Day. It is hard not to like a day that celebrates with chocolates and flowers!
To help celebrate the spirit of Valentine's we thought it would be fun to find the couples in Vernon and Salmon Arm who had been married the longest. Also, we wanted to find a couple that had met in an interesting way. We had such a good time that we plan to do this again in other communities. I doubt very much if we will find a couple that can beat our 75th Anniversary winner, Bert and Lenora Morris, but you never know.
If there was such a pair, we would certainly love to meet them. Chatting with our February couple sure brightened up a dull January day. We do have our share of dull January days, don't we?
However, the seniors that we have been talking to hardly seem to notice.
Senior Centres, from north to south, are hustling, bustling places. People are line dancing and doing Tai Chi, getting their exercise and having fun at the same time. Choir practice, pool tournaments, bridge tournaments, potluck luncheons…people have no time to worry about the lack of sunshine. Crafts, woodworking, painting, carpet bowling and quilting are popular in many centers and almost all have some sort of 'keep fit' classes scheduled. Exercise used to be difficult in the winter, but no more! 'Mall Walking' is now popular at Cherry Lane and Orchard Park, to name only two. Vernon's Multiplex has gone even further, giving walkers a new goal to reach each season. This season's challenge is to 'Walk to Avonlea' and a record is kept of all the kilometers walked, so competitors can check off their milestones as they pass through Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg and on to the Maritimes.
If there are people in our communities who are bored or lonely, or anyone who is just feeling at loose ends, we urge them to call their local senior centre. They will be warmly welcomed and soon feel at home. Boredom will cease to be a problem. Volunteers are always needed, too, so if you have experience and/or energy to share you will soon find yourself busier than ever. We used the Schubert Centre in Vernon as our example, this month, of the activities available in our different communities. Each centre offers common activities and each has its own special interest and personality, so call your 'local' and join in.
These were my thoughts as I was shoveling my driveway. Having decided that 'enough was enough' I set off to walk to the mailbox. This involves a long walk down a snowy country lane, and then up a very steep bit of road to the mail. I was feeling quite pleased with my winter survival skills, and that reminded me of the stories Bert and Lenora told me about the winter of 1928 in Horsefly. Those two young people had to ride horseback two miles out, breaking trail all the way, to get their weekly mail pick-up. Every day Bert had to drive his team and sleigh a total of twelve miles to carry hay back to the cattle. Drinking water came out of the lake, once they had broken the ice. Lenora says that there were two general stores in Horsefly then, but you couldn't buy meat, milk or bread at either of them. I puzzled about that for a minute before realizing that the farmers raised their own meat, everyone had a cow, and the women made all the bread their family needed! How Lenora made bread in her little trap line cabin is beyond me, but she did it. Not many teenagers today would manage like Bert and Lenora did - not many of any age! Happy Valentine's Day to them and to all of you from Seniors Choice. |
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