Old photos far from the farmette

It's a brilliantly sunny, though cold day in Grey County. A chilly -15C going up to a balmy -8C.

This past week I've been doing some research for a project I'm starting. Came across some incredible stories and remembered that Rob had scanned in a bunch of really old photos. So I thought I'd give a wee peek at the Harris/Heidt family passim.

This is one of my favourite photos of my mom, who was Audrey Heidt at the time. She said they always had dogs and cats on farm where she grew up and that's why we always had animals around the house when I grew up.

The big house behind her was her home, where she, parents Milton and Edna and six siblings shared space. It was eventually sold and, in my time, the Rycroft family lived in it. Our wee bungalow was built in the pasture in front of it, on an acre of land Grandpa severed off.

Here's a real oldie with my Grandpa Basil Harris (middle back) surrounded by his all-girl baseball team. It must have been in the mid-1920s, because Basil married Ida May (kneeling at Basil's left) and she had my dad Harold in September, 1928.

Here they are as grandparents with my older siblings, Barb (l), cousin Donnie, Dan (the chubby one on grandpa's lap) and Bob. This was long before I was even an idea.

One of the most fun family stories was how Basil liked to play jokes. He once told wee brother Bob that the holes in doughnuts were poison. So Bob dutifully ate all the way around his, leaving a circle of cake around the toxic middle.

Couldn't finish the post until I showed a photo of moi. Here I am just past the age of two, 'helping' brother Dan (who would have just turned 11) with shucking corn on the back steps of the house in Frome where we all grew up. I look like a pretty happy wee girl there. Sister Sandy would have been a newborn baby.

The photo must have been taken on a Monday, because the laundry's on the line in the background.

We have very few of the photos left from the old days. I treasure them all and the memories they trigger. Until next week.

Gratuitous pet photo courtesy of Laddie (or maybe Lassie), who's in front of uncle Vern (l), Grandpa Harris (centre) and dad. All of their dogs were named Laddie or Lassie, depending on the gender. Circa mid-1930s?