Let me ask you a question — if you achieve the thing you are dreaming of, will you be happy?Tom Sukanen was one of the pioneers of this part of Saskatchewan. He came from Finland as a young man with immense strength and talent — and a dream of one day going back to Finland as a … Continue reading Dreams and happiness
Moose Jaw
Paradise
This is Crescent Park in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Not really paradise, just a pretty nice spot to find smack dab in the downtown of a city on the arid prairies. The first home of mankind was in a true earthly paradise, the Garden of Eden. As a consequence of their sin, Adam and Eve were … Continue reading Paradise
Here and there
Tomorrow is our anniversary and I am taking my wife out to dinner in a restaurant that opened just one week ago. The restaurant is in Moose Jaw, the city where our married life began 43 years ago. One of my cousins and his wife will meet us for dinner, we plan to visit two … Continue reading Here and there
Remeniscences
My cousin Julia was 18 years old when I was born. I think she started teaching in a one room country school in the fall of that year, taught for two years, then married Ed Ludke. Their first child, Doreen, was born a year later. I knew nothing of Julia without Ed until he passed … Continue reading Remeniscences
Problematic behaviours in children and adolescents – Our family’s experience
I listened with bemused interest as my daughter described racing the Moose Jaw city bus to the end of the block. There was a bus stop in front of the second house on our block and she would wait there on the sidewalk with her trike until the bus left the stop and then pump … Continue reading Problematic behaviours in children and adolescents – Our family’s experience
Buckley’s Mixture versus Christian Evangelism
In the mid-nineties I saw posters in Montreal’s buses and subway trains showing a bottle of Buckley’s Mixture with these words beside it: You’d have to be really sick to take that!, followed by the question: Are you sick? (I’m translating from French here; the English version of the ad campaign may have been worded … Continue reading Buckley’s Mixture versus Christian Evangelism
Vacation Bible School Memories
Two weeks ago it was announced in our congregation that one more Vacation Bible School teacher was needed, for the oldest class. That sounded like something I could do, so this 70-year-old grandpa spent the past week teaching Bible lessons to a group of twelve and thirteen-year-old girls (no boys in that age group came … Continue reading Vacation Bible School Memories
What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Conclusion
We stop at the Yvette Moore Gallery to see her depictions of prairie life, past and present. Her paintings appear as illustrations in three soft cover children’s books. The first, A Prairie Alphabet, has sold 330,000 copies. Next stop is the Chocolate Moose Fudge Factory and Craft Market. The items on sale range from prairie … Continue reading What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Conclusion
What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Part 2
I was born in this city sixty-eight years ago. My parents are buried in a cemetery on the south side of the city, beside my Uncle Art and Aunt Katherine, my father’s brother who married my mother’s sister. My wife’s parents are buried in another cemetery on the west side. Moose Jaw is built at … Continue reading What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Part 2
What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Part 1
A squirrel scampers across Main Street and stops in front of the five storey brick edifice that used to be the Grant Hall Hotel. He sees an opening, scampers up the step, but this is not what he is looking for. He reappears, runs a little way toward us and disappears into the next opening. … Continue reading What I Did During My Summer Vacation – Part 1
Flatlander Faith 