A Ladle Bit of Humour

A few years back Aunt Jean and Uncle John were in Leduc. Here, we see Aunt Jean pretending to drink from the iron ladle that goes with her dad's forge, which now lives in Sean's condo. That imaginary soup must have been very hot indeed...
 

Decora-SEANs

Sean was kind enough to send me some photos of where he's placed some Mom and Dad heirlooms in his condo. I love Sean's decor, so I'm really happy to be able to present some of his space. 

The desk above is many decades old, but still in excellent shape. As you can see here, it fits perfectly under Sean's kitchen breakfast bar, with enough froom to store his cookbooks on top. And it goes with his floor! I'm so happy this has a good home in the family, because this desk has been win our lives as long as I can remember. 

Here's the working oil lamp Sean brought home; again, decades old and still very handsome. 

Here's Granddad's forge, which I now suspect may have been used to create at least some of Granddad's tools. 

Here's a close-up of the forge crank. 

I wish I had Sean's gift for this sort of thing. Sylvia's half of the house looks great, but my man cave is basically a garbage dump, aside from the theatre room. Ah well, I'm working on it . . . 

Memory Tools

Here are some of Granddad's old tools. Mom and Dad mounted these on a board from one of the Etsell sheds some years ago. These tools could date back to the 1930s. I'll find a spot to hang this; Sean has a similar tool board. I should ask him to take a photo. 

EDIT: He took a photo! I was mistaken. Sean took a barn board, but it didn't have tools on it. Instead, he mounted it on his wall, added hooks, and now he hangs his stuff on it. 

Memory Beacon

Sean and I each brought home one of these Beacon oil lanterns, originally used on the Etsell farm in Virden, Manitoba, and residing at Mom and Dad's place as long as I can remember...maybe since 1982, when Grandma died. General Steel Works started making these in 1911, but I don't think this one is that old, though I suppose it could be. I suspect it dates back at least to the 1940s. I'd say it might become handy when the apocalypse comes, but first I'd need to find oil and a wick to make it useful. 

EDIT: Sean reminded me that we actually gave the other oil lantern to Aunt Jean and Uncle John when they came by for Mom's celebration of life last year. 
 

Mom and Me at the Etsell Farm

Here's another new-to-me image from Aunt Jean and Uncle John's collection. I'm back at the Etsell farm with Mom and Smokey the "don't pull his tail, he'll put your eye out" cat. This image brings me peace. 
 

50 Years Ago...

Mom, me, her parents, my grandparents; the summer of 1975. I need to go back there again, just to smell the grass and the trees. I hope there will be sunflowers. 

Six year old Earl has a cute, jaunty hat. Looks kind of like one of the Little Rascals. 

Down on the Farm in '73

Here I am with my maternal grandparents during the summer of 1973. Their farm really was a beautiful place . . . in the summer. 

Bozo Can't Come to the Phone Right Now

Mom looks on as I pretend to answer a phone call at her parents' place. We had that crokinole board for years, and I still have one red disc from the set. Bozo got popped a couple of years after this. Stupid clown. 
 

The Wheel Rolls On

This wagon wheel came from the Etsell farm. It's over half a century old, maybe even three-quarters of a century old. Mom and Dad have had it in the back yard for years and years. 

Last weekend, Stephen Fitzpatrick and his older daughter Fenya joined Sean and I in Leduc as part of our effort to wrap up the estate. Mom and Dad were generous to a fault, so I feel good that Steve and Fenya were able to make use of some of their stuff, including this wheel; Stephen's wife, Audrey, was happy to add it to one of their gardens. It looks great, and I know Mom and Dad would be happy that the wheel rolls on; like Sean and me, they were very fond of the Fitzpatricks. 


 

Earl and Darwin II

It's still 1971, and Darwin Jones (right) and I are captured here sampling goodies during the 40th wedding anniversary celebration of our maternal grandparents. Once again, this photo was scanned by our mutual cousin David Newton. 

On the Rocks

Here I am sometime in the early  1970s watching my maternal grandfather fish in a Manitoba lake. We seem oblivious to the fallen birch between us. 

Two Empty Lawn Chairs

There's something very relaxing about this image of the Etsell farm shot in 1973. Those lawn chairs look like they're just waiting for someone to sit with a book and a lemonade. And see how vibrant the flowerbed was...

Kellingtons and Etsell 1918

Here's my great-grandmother, Alice Etsell, flanked by two Kellingtons, George and Tom. I imagine this was shot somewhere in southern Manitoba. Note the old car in the background. A Model T or Model A, perhaps? 

Grandma and Granddad's Wedding

Way back in 1931, my maternal grandparents were married. Almost 90 years ago! Mind-boggling. 

Horsey Repair Job

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the photo above because I thought the damage to the print created a neat effect.

I took a shot at repairing the damage with Photoshop, and I think it looks a bit better. As you can see, I had trouble in the hind leg area. 

Wedding Day: Peter Leask and Margaret Ferguson

Here we are on the wedding day of Peter Leask and Margaret Ferguson: March 20, 1883. These are my...great great (I think, there might be another generation in there) maternal grandparents. 

Unrepaired

Here's a damaged photo of my Aunt Jean and the Etsell horse, Thopsy. The damage on this photo might be beyond my ability to repair. But it might have made the photo a little more interesting. In the real world, both Aunt Jean and Thopsy were reacting to something on their right, out of frame. In the photograph, it now appears they're alarmed by the blob of off-yellow gunk spreading out toward them. 

Thomas Earl Etsell Reads a Book

Here's a badly damaged print of my maternal grandfather reading a book.

Here's my attempt to repair the image - a little clumsy in some spots, but an improvement, I think.

I wish I could make out what Granddad is reading. It looks like the title might be The Prime Minster - 1961, but obviously I'm extrapolating that from the visible text "PRIME," "STER," and "1961" (or perhaps it's "1962"). A search failed to turn up a match. John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister in 1961, but the image on the back cover doesn't really look like him...of course, that could be an author photo. 

Etsell Horse

Here is a photo of one of the Etsell horses, shot sometime in the 1950s.

The Etsell horses were all gone by the time I arrived on the scene, so I had to wait until a junior high horse-riding field trip to learn that I'm allergic to horses, as I seem to be to all things with fur. 

Alice Etsell and Mrs Euart

I'm scanning a bunch of Mom's old photos, and this one stood out. According to the back, this is Alice Etsell (a relative on my mother's side) and the mysterious Mrs. Euart. This may have been taken, based on the rough chronology of the album, anytime between the 19-teens and the 1940s. I presume it was shot in Manitoba. I think the cross form in the middle of the photo must be an artifact of the photographic process (judging by the way the horizontal bar overlaps the windows), but I haven't corrected it because it adds some strange, arcane interest. I wonder where this was taken, and what sort of building stands behind the two women.