Earliest Memories

We lived in Ayer's Cliff, Quebec for 2-3 years. I was four and a half when we moved to Chicoutimi, then - when a vacancy came up - onto Bagotville Air Force Station. These are all Ayer's Cliff memories...

I have been sick, very sick. I have been in bed with pneumonia for many days. The doctor has come and gone. Finally, I am well enough that Mom says I can go outside as long as I sit on the front porch on one of our little, child-sized green chairs. I agree, Alright, Mommy. The fresh air feels so good after being cooped up in the house for so long...I sit for a time, but Laura, Richard and Cory are having such fun playing up and down the long driveway, and in Richard's yard, next door. In no time at all I am a fugitive, escaping from the provisions of my parole. And the long arm of the law catches up with me quickly. But there is leniency. I go inside again but I am not spanked. Many of my early memories deal with issues of guilt, justice and so on.

The quartet (Laura, Barbara, Richard and Cory) is outside again. We are at war with the French kids who live at the beginning of the long driveway which wends its way down to our little, white house. Why, they can't even talk properly. They are our enemies, always have been. As we trade insults - incomprehensible to one another - I see an old, metal dish detergent bottle lying in the driveway. We advance into their territory and I heave it at them. To my extreme surprise, it hits one of them in the forehead. We beat a hasty retreat, but are aware that a French mother is yelling something to our backs. As far as I remember, she never did knock on our door and tell Mom and Dad about it. Whew!

It is a rainy day and our gang is in our house playing. I am the youngest, always the youngest, and they have plans for me. They have devised a cutting-edge game called, "Hide the Poo". One person is to poo in hidden places and the others are to search until they find this particular offering. I am unanimously chosen to be "it". And, as little kids so often can, I was able to come up with the requisite material. Here, in our playroom closet...Did they find it? Yes. Did Mom find it? Yes. And she found the fly swatter as well. I don't remember whether the older participants got spanked or not, but I sure did. It was a game that was never repeated!

It is summer and the gang is roaming the neighborhood looking for something to do. We wander over to the tennis courts and see a game in progress. We begin to act silly, diverting the players from their game. A young man says he is going to call th police. Well, you never saw little children disappear so quickly. We race back to our house, run up the stairs, and round up all the blankets we can find to create a hideaway under our beds. We dash up and down stairs a few times finding supplies - a flashlight, crackers and peanut butter - to carry us through a siege of indefinite length. And we settle in to wait. Hours later, nothing has happened and we sneak downstairs to ask Mom what she thinks the chances are that we are safe. She assures us the police will not take us away. I'll bet she enjoyed the quietest summer afternoon of the year!

The Woods, our neighbors next door, have a huge vegetable garden. We often play in and around it with their son, Richard. We are there on day when his pet crow, Blackie, flutters down right onto my head. Help, help, help!!!

Our friend, Cory, and his family, live in an upstairs apartment close by. They have a television and Laura and I often go over there to watch "Captain Kangaroo". Mrs. Bowen is slim and lively. One day she startles us both no end by taking a pail and spinning it around to show us that the water will not fly out. Now we regard her with more awe than ever! Some days, Cory's big sister, Melissa, takes us to a nearby swamp so we can see beaver dams. We even walk on them. I don't remember our parents ever being concerned for our safety and there were, indeed, no mishaps.

One day Dad takes me out in the car. We are going to "Staffords", a china shop, to buy a present for Mom. We pick out a beautiful teapot with sugar bowl and creamer, which Mom had to the day she died...Turquoise blue, with gold trim...Don't know who has it now...

Today is another day of indoor play. Mom lets Laura and I bring our tricycles inside. We are driving them around and around on the hardwood floors upstairs. Such fun! Until I pause at the head of the stairs and look down. Laura gives a quick push and down I go, tricycle and all. An unforgettable moment, thanks to my big sister!

I have been given permission to go across the street all by myself. The object of my journey is the general store, where they have a bubble gum machine. I love putting in my penny and waiting to see which color rolls out. Black is my favorite, but almost anything except green pleases me. I walk to the end of the driveway and look carefully both ways. I run as though my life depends on it and I arrive safely on the far side of the road. All is well. I get my gum, and now, the trip in reverse. I look carefully again, and there is a car coming. What do I do? I panic and run out in front of it. The driver jams on his brakes and I am safely on the other side. I wisely withhold this information from my mother, but do not ask to cross the street again for a long time.

Laura has begun school. It is no fair! She is older than I am and always gets to do everything first! The horrible part is that she always will! Today she came home from school and says she can pump her swing all by herself. I still need to be pushed. She is growing up. I am losing her...

My best little-girl friend lives just down the street. Her name is Donna Hartson and her father owns a store. When I go to visit her I am always given candy. I remember pedaling down the street on my tricycle yelling, Donna! Donna!

Laura and I are quarreling. Mom is going to bake a cake and has asked us what kind she should make. We don't care about the cake itself but we have strong opinions as to the icing. I want chocolate. Laura wants vanilla. Chocolate! Vanilla! Chocolate! Vanilla! Mom tells us to go out and play. A little while later she calls us in. There, on the table, is a beautiful layer cake. Exactly one half is chocolate and one half is vanilla. How she loves us! She has made us both so happy.

We love our mother and she loves us. We never doubt it. But she has a temper! And when she is angry, streams of unrepeatable words come out of her mouth. (This lasts exactly until Laura begins to repeat them) She is in the bathroom. We know this because the door is closed and smoke curls out from under the door. We are quarreling again. The focus of our quarrel is a doll's hair. We hunt Mom down and whine outside the door. Fuss! Fuss! The door opens and the long arm of the law reaches out. The door closes again. In a minute it reopens and our doll is spit out-minus her hair! It has been ripped right off! We retreat downstairs and are as good as gold the rest of the day.

It is the summer of 1956 and there are two major changes in my life. The first has already taken place. I have a new little sister. We have decided to name her Elizabeth Joanna. Grandfather Belford is so pleased because Elizabeth, unknown to Mom and Dad, was his mother's name. Joanna is after our cousin who will be her godmother. I am not allowed to push Elizabeth's carriage on the street, but when we visit our friend, I push her up and down, up and down their driveway...The second change will come at the end of the summer. We are moving far away to a place called Bagotville, because Dad has a new job there...