The seniors at the Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors have a wealth of stories from these eras. It was a time when things were tough and there was not much money. There was a lot of work on the farm, or in town you worked in the shops or were hired out to the farms, especially during the hungry ’30s and the war years. You worked hard for little pay. Many seniors from home and abroad had sad memories of the war times. Things were not available then that we take for granted today. Ask your grandparents for stories of their youth you will be surprised what they did with so little money and great imaginations.

There were fun times when the work was done, before and after school. In elementary grades, you had fun times at recess and lunch, when many games were played. Children played cards (old maid, war, go fish), checkers, sports (baseball), hopscotch, alleys (marbles), jacks, steel sticks, pick up sticks, kick the can, jump rope to many rhymes, anti-i-over, in-out-the-windows, upset the fruit basket, musical chairs, farmer in the dell, sevens, over under with a ball, Chinese checkers and crokinole — as you will note, many are played today. There are too many more to mention. The school year would end with a party. Kids would bring cookies and cupcakes. Yeah, the school year was over!

There was one lady that shared a little ditty when they would stand by their desks at school: “Up and down, round and round, I brush my teeth to keep them sound, to keep them sound, clean and white, I clean them morning, noon and night.”

With summer came more work: picking weeds, hoeing between the rows of the garden, picking potato bugs and then helping with canning the vegetables in the fall. There are many chores in farming: feeding the livestock (chickens, pigs, cows et cetera), harvesting wheat, barley and oats, and haying for feed. One chore was taking lunch out to dad in the field where he worked. Dad was happy to see us as he was hungry and thirsty from working out in the heat. Grandma would make a cake when we went to visit her, and she would let us lick the spoon, which was yummy.

Well water was hard with minerals, so you saved rain water to wash your hair, which made it soft. Hauling water from the well was a lot of work, especially when it came to wash day. Washing clothes was done on a scrub board, or sometimes a wringer washer. Then the clothes were hung on the clothesline, hopefully to dry.

Some of our seniors come from all over Canada; one lady comes from South Africa. What a joy these seniors are, with a twinkle in their eyes as they tell the stories of their youth, and the fun times they had playing cricket, practicing dancing, playing house, rafting in the slough (ask grandma about that), and picnics at Kootenay Lake, Lake Erie and lakes from their hometowns.

Some seniors loved horseback riding with their families. Being an only child, one senior rode with her dad — she was his boy. Others enjoyed visiting their relatives in different provinces.

I would like to mention at this time the fashion show that was put on by the Krafty Kronys partnered with Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. There was a full house. Thank you to one and all for supporting this worthy cause. The profit from this fashion show was $1,605, 100 per cent of which goes to help TAPS. Many thanks to all that made this fashion show happen.

TAPS is forever grateful to the community of businesses and private contributors. Thank you for your commitment to this worthy cause.

Marleyne Krell is a volunteer with the Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors.