Story #23 in the Harry Forbes Remembers Series
In our large family, there was always someone or perhaps several persons free to make the trip to get the mail on mail day. The three and a half mile trip was made by saddle horse, horse and buggy or shank’s mare (on foot). The buggy trip could be frustrating as sometimes the only horse available to use was Lady and she was balky. One person would occupy the buggy seat holding the lines while another led the horse until she was going at a reasonable rate. The one leading would quickly grab onto the back of the buggy as it went by, then climb up and over into the seat. Once the mare got started, she would give no more trouble as long as you didn’t try to make her change direction. There was never any trouble on the way home.
One time my brother had hitched a team, one of which was Lady, to the wagon. Several of us were going for the ride that day to get the mail. However, the trip was aborted because Lady lay down and nothing could persuade her to get on her feet again. This was a trick balky horses would use if you tried too hard to make them move. We also had a saddle horse that was terrified of trains. If one happened to be going by at the crossing when he was being ridden, he would bolt. The rider had his hands full trying to bring him under control again.
Friday was a ‘must’ to go for the mail. There might be a notice on the board announcing a dance that night, a coming ball game, a picnic or some other event. There were no phones in the district.
I don’t think we ever considered those trips for the mail a burden Our pleasures were very simple in those days. The trip along the prairie trail was something we enjoyed. We had to cross the railway track on the way. If a passenger train happened to be going by at the time, the passengers would exchange waves with us. A freight train would most likely be carrying a line of men on the tops of the cars. They were men, travelling from one place to another, hoping to be able to find work somewhere. Some of them rode on the rods on the underside of the cars, thus the expression ‘They rode the rods’. When war broke out and recruitment started, there were no longer men lining the tops of the railway cars; they all seemed to disappear into the armed forces.
A whistle-post was situated a mile before each crossing sign or town, and it alerted the engineer to blow the whistle to warn that the train was close. There were no bars to come down at the crossings and no warning lights on the sign with a cross on it. My brother tells of a narrow escape he had. He was driving a team of horses on a wagon that held 60 bushels of grain, taking a load to the grain elevator at Kincorth. The wind was howling and dust was blowing so he didn’t hear the train whistle. His rig had just cleared the track when the train whizzed past.
Kincorth boasted two grain elevators, the Saskatchewan Pool and the Federal. If your destination was the Pool, you first had to drive past the Federal. Dad and my brother were taking a load one day. The Federal agent came out and tried to persuade them to use his elevator, saying he’d give a better grade than the other one. Dad was a dedicated Pool man, so wouldn’t yield.
There were always cows to be milked on our farm, The train was a convenient way to send our cream to the creamery in Maple Creek. The cream or other items were taken to the railway station, then a flag was waved to inform the engineer that he is to stop the train. The same method was used if one wanted to board the train for a trip. In the larger centres, of course, the regular stops were scheduled. In my mind I can still see and hear the conductor standing at the open door calling, “ALL ABOAR-RD, ALL ABOAR-RD” as the train was about to leave.
Though I don’t remember it, the passenger cars were also used as a means of recreation. My sister remembers a rail car being left on a siding at Kincorth in which movies were shown. She believes they were silent, with the written words shown. This was an enjoyable experience for all the residents of the community. It was a rare thing to be able to see a picture show. The shows were probably sponsored by the Wheat Pool as they later used the school houses to show movies that were no longer silent. These were followed by goodies and coffee provided by the ladies of the district.
There was little entertainment in the town of Maple Creek, especially if you were strapped for money. When my sisters and I took our last years of high school, and later worked there, we did not always go home on weekends. Our Saturday and Sunday afternoons were spent with a group of our peers, gathering, then loitering at the railway station, watching the passenger trains arrive and leave. We knew who had come to town and who had left.
During those school years, when we had to spend the weekends at home, Dad would take us back to town on Monday mornings. Generally there was no excess time for us to get there but we did not want to be late for school. The road crossed the railway in two places to get into town, one on the west, where we usually crossed and one a bit further east. Often when we got to our crossing there would be a long train shunting back and forth across the road. Not wanting us to be late for school, Dad would turn and go to the east crossing, sometimes to find the same situation there. There was nothing to do but sit and stew until the train cars moved on.
The bygone trains served as transportation, carriers of freight, mail service, an enjoyable outing for children, a place on entertainment, a cause of frustration, and all too often, the source of hazardous fires.
Note: Sometimes I don’t remember some of the details so I plumbed the memories of a cousin and my older siblings to corroborate the correctness of my memories and to add some of their own.
