A Christmas memory
Christmas is exciting for any boy of 10 but it was extra exciting for Donald McLeod in 1935 on the farm where he lived near Glen Huron. Sadly, Donald has passed away. The story is such a good story and the telling of it so good that I know you will enjoy it. It was written in 2006.
Although I am now in my 82nd year and have experienced many Chrisitmases with many special moments, the one that stands out in my memory happened 71 years ago when I was ten.
We were a family of nine living on a farm in the Glen Huron area. The fall of 1935, my mother was expecting her 8th child, developed an infection in her hand which eventually became septic. In November she was hospitalized. Grandma McLeod came to take care of us. I don’t remember much of that except that her hair was falling out and could often be found in the biscuits.
Mother was not responding well to the treatment. Many of the wonder drugs used to treat streptococcal infections were not invented. In desperation the doctor suggested amputation of her arm. Father hedged and opted to wait and pray.
On Dec. 23 Mother went into labour and delivered a baby girl. Father got permission from the hospital to let the family come to visit their mother and newborn sister. The community stepped up to the plate and opened the road from Glen Huron to our farm. In those days with the arrival of the first snow the battery was removed from the car and stored for the winter. The sleigh or cutter was used for transportation on the township roads. Highway 24 was open, as was the road to Glen Huron. Neighbours with shovels, horses and plows proceeded to make the road to Glen Huron passable by car.
My job was to help get the car started. Father tried to crank the car. When that didn’t work we hitched up the team to tow it. Around and around the field and barn we went with Father steering the car and me guiding the horses. Not a sputter out of the Model A. Finally my hands got very cold and while I was getting them warmed he put the chains on the tires and when I returned things went better and the car started.
On Christmas Day, Father loaded the seven of us in the car for the trip to Collingwood to the hospital to see Mother and Helen Louise. My sisters say that Charlie crawled up on the bed and went to sleep beside Mother.
After the baby was born Mother’s infection cleared up so the story has a very happy ending.
Helen Blackburn is a retired teacher, avid gardener and a long-time contributor to the Creemore Echo. She writes about local history.
