Snippets from the Significant Sixties

 My previous post did include a number of things from those sixties, but this one features a number of others, some quite dramatic, events.

Certainly some spare time was spent with other members of the family, exploring nature. Even in the largely agricultural area of what used to be known as Kent County, now Chatham-Kent, were some accessible and enjoyable natural areas to enjoy besides Rondeau.

Sinclair's Bush

There were always things to get our attention, whether it was birds...

Baltimore Oriole

 ...or butterflies, especially if they were on a colourful flower...

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Michigan Lily

 ...or trees in flower...

Pawpaw flowers

 One of the flowers I always was on the lookout for, and it is in flower right now, is the Wood Lily

When I see them, I am often reminded of the verse in Matthew 6, vs 28 and 29, which says "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not nor do they spin, yet I say unto you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these." Just another reminder of how awesome God's creation is!

 I was blessed to have been born into a family that loved nature, and even moreso it was a family whose many goals and activities were based on faith in God and His love for each of us. We had regular family devotions, and Sunday was often a day of rest. And at the edge of our farm, was the local church, the Guilds United Church, and again fortunately, the ministers of my youth were fairly evangelical. The terms United Church and evangelical hardly seem to go together at least nowadays, but at the time, we were incredibly blessed by the ministers who were with us. I realized my need for God at a fairly early age, and asked Jesus to be my Saviour when I was about 9. I am totally convinced it was one of the best decisions I ever made!

Guilds United Church

The church was an important place of so many things, and I went to Sunday School, even taught Sunday School on occasion in later years, was a member of our choir and was quite involved in our youth group. Our youth group joined together with the youth from the nearby New Scotland UC, and it was a great time of learning and ministering in various ways. Our youth group even undertook doing church services on occasion, and while it was really worthwhile for the youth, the adults appreciated it as well. What helped our youth group along was to be involved periodically with a very active youth group from Chatham, which had some great Christian leadership via the ministers and other leaders. Our family was also involved with Faith At Work, and attended several conferences in various centres across southwestern Ontario. And once I got to university, I connected with a leader of the youth FAW conferences, and became a member of a team of youth leaders for a couple of conferences. It was truly a way to grow and share ones faith journey.

As is typical of small rural communities, the church attendance and support gradually waned over the years, and although this one had been an important part of the community for well over a century, it is there no longer. The photo above is actually a painting of the building, done on a piece of the slate tile roof, by a friend of the family.

 The sixties were busy with so many things, some of which I mentioned in my previous post. There was lots of work on the farm, and as a result I did a lot of driving tractors and pick-up trucks, sometimes even along the very quiet side road which was the only way to access the back of our farm. I had good training from my parents, being very cautious especially when I was on the road. And this paid off, as when I went to get my official driver's license, I actually tried out for what was then, classified as a 'chauffeur's license', and got it on the first try which was a bit of a miracle as the person who tested me was notorious for being difficult to please. More than a few people who were even trying for a basic license had to try again. Back in that day, a chauffeur's license enabled me to drive vehicles up to and including tractor-trailers! And I actually did a bit of that when I was working for my grandfather's  company which built and distributed farm equipment throughout southern Ontario. I just drove the tractor-trailer sometimes loaded with gravity grain boxes quite locally, but it was an adventure.

I was quite involved with Cubs, Scouts and Venturers, including camping both winter and summer. I also found time to play pond hockey, and even for a while, played in the local house league. It was fun, but I was never going to go far in a hockey career. I also got my hunting license, and I went hunting for geese, ducks and rabbits depending on the season, with some of my friends. But that was short-lived due to a change in interests which I will explain a bit in a future post.

Our family managed to find time to camp in various places, including Inverhuron Provincial Park and Samuel D. Champlain Provincial Park. There were five of us, and we had a 9 X 9 tent to sleep in. But sometimes it rained, and most of the time we managed it. Dad, ever the optimist, would sometimes look up at the sky and say "the clouds are getting higher" suggesting the rain might be over. But the rain continued, and so on one occasion it was so wet that all five of us slept in our station wagon! At least we attempted to sleep, and I guess we did. By this time, mom & dad decided we should try out a tent trailer, so rented one, and camped for a few days at Rondeau, back when the south campground was open. The campground was just a short distance away from the southeast beach, where this next photo was taken.

Hairy Puccoon on a sand ridge

It was quite wooded, not like the very open campground at the north end of the park. We really enjoyed it given its relatively remote situation. Unfortunately for those who like that wooded type of campground setting, the high water levels of the early 1970s caused so much flooding that it was closed, and with the exception of 1985 when it re-opened for a couple of months towards the end of the season, it has been closed ever since. This next photo shows what even a fairly open part of it looks like today. Most of it is so chock full of shrubs, saplings and mature trees it is hard to even walk through it let alone envision it being a former campground.

The year 1968 was memorable, and for the most part, not for good reasons. Over the course of time from about May through October, there were three major incidents that claimed the lives of seven guys who were my age, or slightly older. I knew most of them, and two of them had been some of my best friends. The first incident was when one of them was working at a local feed mill company, and while he and another fellow were given the responsibility to begin the clean-up of what corn remained in the silo, jumped into the remaining corn near the bottom of the silo, and it collapsed and they were both suffocated. I still remember getting the call on that Friday afternoon, from his aunt who he had been living with, and she told me what happened and asked if I would be a pallbearer. Yikes!

The second incident took place in late summer, when two good friends who had been working on their family's farm all summer were given a few days off to go fishing up north. Unfortunately neither could swim, and when the canoe they were in capsized, they both drowned. Yikes again!!

The third incident happened in early October, when three boys were returning from a friend's party and crashed into a train late in the evening as it was a bit foggy. All three died. The girl in the back seat who had been sleeping at the time, survived but with serious physical injuries, and likely life-long emotional injuries. Yikes again!!!

On a more positive note, one of the really worthwhile experiences, which actually took place in the summer of 1970, was when I was accepted into the Junior Forest Ranger program. It was through the Department of Lands & Forests, which eventually became the Ministry of Natural Resources, and is where I eventually spent my entire career.

 This involved living in a fairly remote camp (no hydro or running water) with 24 other boys, and our jobs and work experiences were quite varied. They included brushing along trails and roads, taking a canoe trip to clear portages for other canoeists, getting an underground tour of a gold mine near Timmins, doing maintenance things such as picking up garbage in the provincial park we were located at and getting some forest fire training in case there was a forest fire affecting the nearby forests. All in all it was quite a worthwhile summer, and I loved it. There wasn't much to do in our spare time, such as evenings or weekends, so I typically got my running gear out and ran for several miles along the roads and trails of the park. Or sometimes went canoeing in the lake we were on, called Leg Of Lamb Lake due to the shape of the lake. I also learned to play cribbage with my cabin mates.

This next photo is of our 'motley' crew of 24 Junior Rangers, plus three leaders. Can you see me? I am in the first standing row, fourth from the left. 

Prior to participating in this summer camp, I envisioned becoming a forester or a forest ranger. However after this summer, as much as I enjoyed it, I decided I wanted to pursue a career that was broader in nature, and focused on wildlife, and such. And so as a result, it changed what I applied for after high school. I decided not to apply for a forestry program which would have meant attending the University of Toronto or the one at Thunder Bay. Instead I applied to a Fish & Wildlife program with the University of Guelph as my first choice, and Queen's University (at Kingston) as my second choice. So that is how I ended up at Guelph, and that is another major story and in a very good way! God had His plans, which made such a huge difference in my life, and I cannot express enough praise and gratitude to Him for things unfolding the way they did.