|
Our thanks to Anne McClaughry
for sending in this material for us to use.
The following comments were not included in
the story "Marsboro Then and Now" because they apply, not only
to those who settled in Marsboro, but also to a great extent, to all the
Highland Scots who settled in the townships of Lingwick, Winslow and
Hampden as well. The condition under which they lived, worked and
struggled to survive were, in the early days, similar in almost every
respect. The obstacles they faced, and eventually overcame, were the same,
they spoke the same language, (gaelic) belonged to the same religious
denomination, shared the same traditions, customs, and beliefs, as well as
the physical strength and indomitable spirit of the Scottish race. There
was also a great deal of blood relationship among them, many families
having relatives scattered here and there throughout all of the four
townships.
The history of those early years is as
misty as the glens and mountains of their native land, and to the
inhabitants of the rest of Canada, then and now, the state of the early
settlers in the Part of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, which was settled
by gaelic speaking Highlanders during, the eighteen hundreds is as little
known as that of Barnes or Sumatra, of both they have heard a little and
perhaps guessed a lot. They are completely ignorant of the manners,
customs, habits, traditions, wants, and hardships which were faced by
those courageous men and women, who at the outset, had heard little and
knew less at times about the severe climate of this new land, its great
distances and vast forests. Its long winters, deep snows and often bitter
cold. Who knew nothing about clearing the forest from the land, but who
nevertheless changed the forest into farms, built homes and roads, and
became communities of independent and happy people.
They left practically no written records of
those early years. They were not, it seems, interested in history as it
might concern themselves. They were only interested in the present and the
future, in the making of homes, shelters for themselves and their
families. In pocessing land on which crops could be raised for food, and
in preserving and observing their religious beliefs, and their own
conception of what religion and christianity should stand for.
What is now known of their history is only
scraps of information which has been handed down by word of mouth from one
generation to another, and has become dim, and perhaps distorted with the
passage of time. While a good part of it is still remembered by many
surviving members of the second generation, there seems to have been no
effort made at the time to record events as they occurred. Any attempts to
do so now can only be a feeble, and certainly an inaccurate account.
At the beginning there was the forest.
Everywhere, vast, silent, majestic, sometimes beautiful, at time menacing,
but always indifferent. Challenging this forest was man. With little more
than his physical strength, courage, endurance and purpose to back him, he
attached the forest and mastered it. While it may be taken for granted
that he at times must have been bone weary, there is no evidence that he,
at any time, sank below the soles of his shoes in the well of
discouragement.
The first task to face those hardy people
was the building of homes-houses. Those houses were built either in small
natural clearings or on land from which the trees had been removed. Built
of round spruce logs, whose ends were notched in such a way that the side
and end logs fitted at the corners in such a way that nothing short of an
earthquake could shake them apart. They were, of necessity, rather small.
The space between the logs was chinked with moss and the cabin covered
with a roof of split cedar shingles. A door, sometimes with wooden hinges,
as well as a window or two, was placed in the wall and a floor of split
logs or lumber (if available) laid down. Wooden pegs were sometimes used
during the period when nails could not be procured. There would be no
plumbing and only a minimum of furniture, some of it very likely home made
in those cabins, and they would not be very warm even though they were
heated by two wood burning stoves, a cookstove and a large box-stove,
which could accomodate large chunks of split hardwood. The stoves of that
day were not very effecient. The beds were not equipped with bedsprings
but had wooden slats placed between the sideboards on which a straw filled
tick was placed. These ticks were made of very strong linen, tailored to
fit the bed and with a long slit down much of their length on one side.
Through this slit, clean fresh straw was stuffed at least twice a year
until the tick was buldging full. The slit was then closed and securely
fastened with cloth strings. When filled with fresh straw, these ticks
would make an interesting rustling sound whenever the occupant changed his
or her position. They were very comfortable, and there are many alive
today, including this writer, who have slept peacefully and comfortably on
a straw filled tick. Years later, bed springs and mattresses stuffed with
cotton waste became available and replaced the straw filled tick.
Those cabins all had dug cellars underneath
for the storage of vegetables, crocks of packed salted butter, as well as
anything else that required careful storage.
Water, always a necessity, was often a
problem. It was obtained, when possible, from cold springs or clear
running streams, but it often happened that water in the form of a spring
or stream was not to be found near where the lay of the land dictated that
the house should be built, which meant that a well, sometimes more than
one, and often to a considerable depth, had to be dug in order that a
sufficient supply of water for both the house and the farmstock could be
found. The water had to be carried into the house in pails, after being
drawn from the well, as well as being drawn from the well for livestock.
Eventually pumps were installed in deep wells arid other ingenious methods
of transporting water evolved. Flumes or spouts for bringing water from a
distance were made by cutting slender tree lengths and hollowing them V-shaped
and fastening them together end to end. Watering and feeding troughs were
also made from hollowed logs, and these troughs were placed, at a later
date, along the roadside wherever water could be conveniently brought to
them in spouts, so that horses could take a drink at intervals while being
driven on the road. Another method of carrying water from a distance was
the, so called, pumplog. In this case, medium size logs were cut into
short lengths, a hole was bored the length of the log by means of a long
auger, one end was holled in a V-shape and the other end pointed to fit
into the hollowed end. Joined together, the logs in effect became a pipe,
and buried in the ground, would carry water a long distance and last for
many years.
For some time at the beginning of the
settlements, the settlers had few tools of any sort. The principal one
being the axe, and with this they cut down the trees and cut them into
manageable lengths to be piled up for burning, as well as all the other
jobs that could be done with a sharp edged instrument. The advent of the
broadaxe, however, brought about a minor revolution in the building of
houses. This instrument, with a blade approximately twelve inches wide,
could be used to hew four sides of a log to a plane. First a strip of bark
was peeled off the full length of the log, a chalkmark was then snapped on
this strip from end to end, the rounded side was lightly scored with an
axe, and it was then hewed to a smooth plane by an expert with the
broadaxe. It is said that some men became so expert with this instrument
that they could split the chalkmark the full length of a log. From then
on, all buildings were built of four sided smooth faced logs.
On the inside of those log walls, holes
were bored into which wooden pegs were driven on which to hang clothing
and any other articles which needed to be kept out of the way at times.
The two man crosscut saw also arrived on the scene a way back at some dim
time in the history of this period and became one of the most useful and
labor saving implement in their possession for many years.
After a great deal of backbreaking labor,
patches of land were cleared of trees and grain was scattered between the
stumps, the grain was covered as much as possible by dragging and
scratching with the limbs of trees. The grains sown were barley, buchwheat
and oats along with potatoes. Barley and potatoes, in that order, were by
far their most important crops. The barley and other grains were cut with
a sickle or a scythe and threshed with a flail, and the grain, after being
well dried, was taken, sometimes many miles, to a grist mill where it was
ground into a coarse flour and afterwards cooked into scones on the
surface of the stove. Those barley scones were made and eaten for many
years as a main item of food as wheat flour was unavailable much of the
time. Buchwheat was treated in the same way as barley and was a staple
part of their diet, though to a lesser extent than barley. Oatmeal
porridge was, of course, a standard breakfast food in every home. Oats
were grown as food for cattle and horses, the grain being fed to the
horses, after the settlers had moved up from oxen to horses.
Potatoes, of course, were a very important
food item, and great care was taken both in growing and storing them,
together with other vegetables.
The problem of getting their grain to a
grist mill was a serious one, as there were very few such mills located
within easy reach. Those mills were all operated by water power with an
overshot or undershot, water wheel driving the grinding wheels. We may
take it for granted that the settlers had very few domestic animals during
the first few years, as they would have neither adequate shelter or food
for them, but they would all have one or two cows for which they would,
somehow, find winter feed while they foraged in the bush during the
summer. As time passed and the acreage of cleared land increased, it
became possible to raise a certain amount of timothy hay with which to
winter feed stock. The hay was cut with a scythe, gathered by means of a
hand rake and pitch fork, and stored in a log barn or, in some cases,
possibly stacked.
As their supply of grain and feed grew, the
settlers increased their livestock in proportion, mainly sheep and cattle,
with a pig or two and a flock of hens. Good quality cows were important,
not only because of the milk with which they supplied the homes, but
because of its by products, butter and cheese. After the milk was drawn
from the cow it was strained and poured into a can which was then placed
in a well or spring of cold water. After being immersed for several hours,
the cream all rose to the surface, the skim milk was then drawn off
through a tap at the lower end of the can. The cream was then allowed to
become slightly sour, after which it was made into butter by being churned
either in a crank—operated barrel churn or in what was known as an
"up and down" churn. Some of this butter was made into one pound
prints to be sold or exchanged for goods or groceries at the nearest
store, and some, after being well salted, was packed in earthern crocks
for winter use when milk and cream were seldom plentiful. Cottage cheese
was also made from the skim milk, but the bulk of the skim milk was fed to
calves and pigs.
There would be a few animals added to their
stock each year through natural increase, and there would be some steers
or heifers for sale to a butcher or cattle buyer each fall to augment
their income. Sheep were very important and highly regarded as a source of
income, not only for their wool, but because sheep are prolific and lambs
commanded a good market and a good price in the fall of the year.
The sheep were sheared early in the summer
following lambing. The wool was then washed, dried, carded and then spun
into yarn on a foot operated spinning wheel to be knit into socks and
mittens. The older ewes would be sold in the fall and occasionally, one
would be butchered for mutton. Whenever a sheep was butchered, its hide
was stretched out and nailed to the side of the barn, or to some other
convenient wall, until thoroughly cured. It was then trimmed, sometimes
dyed, and became either a floor rug or a winter seat cushion for a sleigh.
Pigs were raised for bacon, ham, and salt fat pork which was used in the
making of "pork and beans".
A flock of hens furnished eggs for cooking,
as well as a few extra for sale or exchange. Those early settlers were
thrifty, frugal and abhorred waste of any kind. The women, particularly,
were expert not only in the prevention of waste but in getting the best
possible value from whatever came into their possession as well as
combining a number of things together to make into something entirely
different -- such as home made soap and home made sausages. They were
expert knitters, clever needlewomen who made their own clothes as well as
their childrens, and often their husbands as well. They also fashioned
quilts, made pillows and pillowslips and many other articles for use in
the homes, besided the mending of clothes which is a part of raising a
family — especially of boys.
A great deal of outside work also devolved
on the women. When the men’s work on the land was pressing, the women
not only worked with the men but took over many of the tasks usually
performed by the men, such as milking cows, feeding calves, chickens and
pigs, together with cooking the family meals and caring for the children.
The lot of the pioneer wife was especially hard in the winter. There was
very little return by way of cash from the labor expended in clearing land
and attempting to create farms and establish homes in a hardwood forest,
but a certain amount of money was essential, and in order to acquire this
needed money, the men were forced, for a number of years, to seek winter
employment in the lumber camps of the state of Maine, leaving their wives
with the whole responsibility and care of the home, family and livestock.
The distance between homes was very often considerable and the roads in
winter would be little more than trails through the woods and the snow, so
that not only was the work they were called upon to do strenuous, but the
responsibility was great, the life was a lonely one, and in case of
sickness or accident, help was hard to get. During those early years
medical attention was hard to get as doctors were few and distances great
over poor roads. Consequently, there was seldom a doctor in attendance at
or during childbirth, only what was known as a midwife. From all this we
must acknowledge that while we may well look on the men of that era as
having been heroes, we must admit that the women were even more heroic. It
is also a fact that despite the lack of medical attention at childbirth,
infant mortality was very low, and families were large.
Sawmills were eventually erected in several
places throughout the area some by lumber companies, and some by
individuals. The early ones were driven by water power and were equipped
with either a "slash" or a circular saw. The "slash"
saw operated up and down, cutting on the down stroke, and was primitive
and slow. The circular saw however, was quite fast and efficient, and by
bringing their own logs to the mill, the settlers could acquire as much
sawn lumber as they needed by paying for having it sawn. With the coming
of the sawmill and plenty of lumber, building began in earnest. Large
houses were built which were finished with lath and plaster as time went
by. Those houses lacked many of the conveniences of the modern home, such
as plumbing, etc, but were a far cry from the little log cabins. Big heavy
timbered beams were also erected for the storage of hay and feed and the
housing of livestock.
One of the most important men in any
community, and the most in demand for many years, was the carpenter. Those
men were nearly all self-taught, but extremely clever with tools and did
remarkably good solid work, much of which is standing to this day as firm
as the day it was built. Another equally important man in a pioneer area
was the blacksmith with his forge, bellows, hammers, chisels and tongs. He
was the man who spliced and mended broken machinery, tightened wagon
tires, shod horses and performed many other miracles. The blacksmith and
his smithy were an indespensable part of pioneering life.
It is difficult, if not impossible, for
anyone in this age of ease, comfort and convenience, to even faintly
visualize the conditions under which the early settlers lived and labored
while they struggled to establish homes in what was, at the time, an
extremely hostile environment. Nothing which they had experienced in their
native land had prepared them for the experience of cutting down the
hardwood forests of Canada, but they had been accustomed all their lives
to hard work and certain privations and had become inured to both. What
they accomplished was not done overnight or in a few short years, but was
the lifetime work of what appears to us now, to have been a race of
giants.
By looking at a few dates we may get some
idea of the time it required for those people to tame the forest and
possess the land, and by attempting to describe the manner in which it was
done, we may get a vary vague idea of the hardships and backbreaking labor
which were involved.
I do not know exactly when the first
Scottish settlers arrived in Lingwick, but it is on record that the first
Highlanders came to Winslow in 1851, and I believe that some had come to
the Western part of Hampden at that time, or shortly before, while the
first families came to the shore of Lake Megantic in Marsden in 1856. By
the year 1900 most, if not all, of the land which eventually became
cultivated farms had been cleared of the forest, but it was some years
later before much, if any, of the land had been brought into a condition,
which made it possible to employ a mowing machine to cut the hay.
First of all, the trees had to be cut down,
and this was done with the axe as they did not at the beginning have the
crosscut saw, the branches were cut off and the trunk cut with the axe
into lengths that would be piled on top of each other to be burned. Each
man cut down the trees on as large an area as possible on his own lot
during the year, and in the spring the neighbors would pool their labor to
pile the logs for burning. Grain would then be scattered on the ground
between the stuimps and covered by dragging stiff branches of trees over
it. Later on, spike tooth harrows drawn by oxen came into use. Grass seed
was also sown along with the grain. Potatoes were planted in depressions
formed in the ground by digging with a grubhoe or similar implement. The
grain, when ripe, was cut with a sickle, made into sheaves tied with
whisps of straw, and threshed with a flail.
The sickle was soon replaced by the scythe,
and after some years, the horsepowered threshing machine replaced the
flail.
After the trees had been cut down and the
timber burned, it was many years before the stumps became decomposed
enough so that they could be pulled out of the ground by the roots, and
the process of cutting down trees and burning the timber went on year
after year until clearings of many acres in extent had been formed, and in
the meantime, as many stumps as possible were being pulled up and burned.
After they had cleared what they believed to he enough land, they were
faced with the task of removing all the rest of the stumps and preparing
the land for the plow. This was not easy as many of those stumps were very
hard to uproot and some stood like sentinels in the open for years after
the fields had been plowed.
Removing the stumps was only the first
operation in transforming many acres of stumps into smooth fields and
faras. Much of the land was very stoney, and infested with large boulders.
The settlers had by now each become the owner of a team of horses, which
they had been using for various purposes, among them now was the gathering
of stones. The loose stones on the surface were loaded on a stoneboat and
taken to a selected spot where they were placed in the form of a stone
wall or fence. The field was then plowed and the many stones turned up by
the p!ow were dragged away. It became necessary to repeat this operation
each time a field was plowed so that, after some years, the stone walls
would stretch for long distances and in various directions on each farm.
It was jestingly said of one area, at the time, that there was enough
stones there to build another Aberdeen. During this period any land that
was plowed was cultivated with springtooth harrows, and after raising two
successive crops of grain, one each of oats and barley, it was seeded down
to timothy. The resulting hay, as well as the oats and barley, was cut
with a scythe, gathered up with a handrake and carted to the barn, the
grain to be threshed and the hay and straw to be fed to the cattle and
horses during the winter months.
The threshing machines of that time were
horsepowered. Two horses walked endlessly on a steeply inclined beltlike
platform called a treadmill which kept rolling out from underneath them
while they walked on and on. and on, always uphill, with sweat rolling
down their flanks. Cogs on the underside of the treadmill planks connected
with a shaft which drove a large pulley which was connected to the
separator by a long belt. Because there were not many of those machines in
the area at that time, it was sometimes well into the winter months before
everyone could get their crops threshed. The job of threshing required a
large crew of men, and for it, and other types of work needing many hands,
such as cutting firewood, house or barn raising, and many others, the
settlers had a method of pooling and exchanging labor which was
convenient, effective and economical.
Split cedar rail fences, known as snake
fences, had to be erected around pasture lands and along roadsides, and
this was a large undertaking as it required a great many rails to erect
those long fences, all of them having first to be split, then taken from
the bush to the spot before being set up. The snakefence was replaced in
later years by a monstrosity known as the barbwire fence.
While all this was taking place, the
settlers, who had now become taxpayers, were building roads. Each man’s
lot of land was valued at its presumed worth, and each had to pay the
assessed amount of tax by working a stated number of days on the road each
year under the direction of an appointed foreman. Roads were built and
repaired by backbreaking labor with pick and shovel, and crowbar, together
with horse drawn scrapers. In fact, everything was done the hard way
because no other way was known at the time.
In an attempt to arrive at a fair estimate
of the time it required to wrest a farm from the forest in those longago
days, I shall refer briefly to the experience of my own parents, Mr, and
Mrs. Murdo P. Mackenzie, who came to Canada from the island of Lewis in
1873, and settled on 200 acres of land in the "Big Woods" of
Marsden in 1876. By 1900 all the land he wished to clear, had been cleared
of trees and much of it free from stumps, but while some of it had been
plowed, none of it was yet smooth enough to permit the use of a mowing
machine. The hay was being cut with a scythe, and in places where the
stumps were still numerous, it was still being gathered with a hand rake,
though the horse drawn rake was in common use by that time. It was,
however, several more years before the mowing machine came to be in
general use. Also about this time the disc harrow took the place of the
springtooth for cultivating the land.
From the foregoing, it might be assumed
that life for those people was a grim and joyless existence with all work
and no play, but while it must certainly have been grim enough at times,
it was not without its light moments, its joys, pleasures and rewards. The
naturally buoyant temperament of the highlander demanded expression in
community gatherings of various kinds, and while some might be of a
serious nature, others would be tuneful and filled with mirth and
happiness.
Among such gatherings would be the quilting
party (with or without its Nellie) when after a long spell of sewing, the
quilt was folded away and the evening devoted to mirth, feasting and song.
Neighborly visiting was also a source of pastime at any time of the year.
There were many poets, with many degrees of talent throughout the Scottish
settlement during those years. Foremost among them were Findlay MacRitchie
of Red Mountain, Lingw’ick, and his nephew, Angus MacKay of North Hill,
Lingwick. Angus MacKay wrote under the name of "Oscar Du", and
has been called the Canadian Robbie Burns. There were many other poets, of
lesser fame, but who were also well known at the time.
There were few musical instruments in the
early days except the violin or "fiddle", but there were many
"fiddlers", and how they could "fiddle"!
In later years the piano became quite
common and eventually, the organ even found its way into the church, but
only over the violent objections of many of the older people who did not
think that any musical instrument possessed sufficient sanctity to become
a part of church furniture or worship.
Weddings of course, were the social
highlights of the year when the bride’s parents put on a feast and the
festivities would begin in the middle of the afternoon and continue until
the early hours of the morning. At weddings, it was customary to pass
around some potent brew at more or less frequent intervals until everyone
became in the mood to sing and be merry. In those days, everybody sang
whether they had a singing voice or not, but there was many wonderful
singers among them, and some knew as many songs that they could go on
entertaining a group for hours on end.
Another interesting custom was serenading.
If, as seldom happened, the bride’s parents failed to provide the
customary wedding feast, the young bloods — and some older ones —
would gather at some appointed place armed with a variety of noise makers,
such as circular saws, bells dispans and anything that would in anyway
make a noise. Thus equipped, they would surround the home of the newlyweds
and proceed, and continue to create such a din, that in self defence, the
newlyweds would be forced to invite then into the home, give them food of
some sort and permit them to frolic as long as they wished. A good
serenade was sometimes more fun than a wedding feast.
There would also be surprise parties, box
socials and ice cream socials, and dances at intervals during the year at
which the young people let off some steam and surplus energy. All of which
helped to keep Jack from becoming a dull boy.
One of the outstanding characteristics of
those people was a ready wit and keen sense of humor which could see the
amusing aspect of all but the most tragic circumstances. Another was their
faithfulness to the church, which was spoken of as the means of grace, and
their regard for their neighbor, as well as their care for the widow and
the orphans. They were always ready and willing to come to the assistance
of any one in any sort of trouble to the limit of their own resources.
Along with the poets already mentioned,
there were many other men who were noted for some particular or
outstanding gift, or gifts, which they possessed. Among them were "Big
Angus the Singer" of Lingwick. Famous for the majestic voice with
which he led the church singing. Donald MacLeod of Winslow, who not only
possessed the strength of a giant, but was also a poet and singer of note
as well as a fervent and passionate evangelist. He was the man who built
the first saw mill in Marsboro, and was an inventor and man of many parts.
His brother, D.L. MacLeod of Milan, who at one time operated a hotel,
general store and sawmill in the village of Milan, besides having a finger
in many other pies. He also loved to drive a four horse team tandem. There
were also many others whose fame was not so widespread, but who were well
known and respected as leaders in their own communities.
The story of Donald Morrison — The
Megantic Outlaw — has been told and written. The C.B.C. has made it into
a slanderous TV picture which contains practically none of the truth, and
is an insult to the memory, not only of Donald Morrison, but to those
loyal friends who were protecting him while attempting to see that justice
was done.
Like all communities, large or small, those
communities had a sprinkling of characters who were thought to be just a
trifle odd, because of some habit or custom of theirs which differed from
those of the majority, but any seemingly strange behaviour was always
tolerated with the utmnost good nature even though it might occasionally
cause someone a slight inconvenience, and any person who appeared to be
even slightly below normal intelligence was regarded as a ward of the
Almighty.
As honesty was an outstanding
characteristic of the Scottish Highlanders, the shady character was almost
unknown, though the quick witted smart trader lived on nearly every farm,
and while hardly anyone objected to taking an occasional "wee Drappie",
overindulgence in liquor was severely frowned upon, and anyone doing so,
lost status in the community.
Along with an almost universal belief in
second sight, or extrasensory perception, many of the older highlanders
held a strong superstitious belief in, and fear of ghosts, signs and
omens, and there were certain people who laid claim to seeing a ghost
almost everytime they went outside on a dark night — it seems ghosts
could only be seen on very dark nights; and by a person who was alone at
the time — The belief in ghosts seems to have died out many years ago,
but the belief in second sight is still held by many people and its
existence has never been satisfactorily disproved.
Both men end women were extremely strong
and hardy. Some of the men in particular being exceptionally powerful,
they delighted in performing feats of strength wherever a group was
gathered together, and especially at gatherings such as picnics, which
were often held during the summer months at a lake shore or other suitable
spot, where friendly competition would be keen and where some remarkable
performances often took place.
The country was well stocked with game in
the early days, deer, bear, fox, rabbit and partridge being plentiful, but
few of the early settlers possessed guns of any kind, so the game
flourished for many years, until the arrival of the rifle, when it began
to nosedive steeply and has never recovered.
Wild fruits such as strawberries,
raspberries, blueberries and blackberries were plentiful in most areas,
also beechnuts and hazelnuts. Apples were successfully grown in some
sections, but were a near failure in most parts of the settlement.
During those years there were men which
were called "Peddlers" who travelled on foot through the
countryside carrying two large heavy packs. One pack would hold an
assortment of rather shoddy clothing, while the other would be full of a
variety of trinkets from fine tooth combs to cheap razors which they
offered for sale. These men were all said to be Jews or Syrians and
undoubtedly filled a need, but what was most remarkable was the fact that
after tramping like pack horses through the countryside for a few years,
they would suddenly blossom out with a clothing store of their own in some
nearby town.
Much of those townships which were at one
time peopled by Gaelic speaking Scottish Highlanders is now populated by
French Canadians. The Townships of Marsden and Winslow, with the exception
of perhaps one or two farms, have been entirely taken over by the French.
Parts of both Lingwick and Hampden have also been taken over, but there
are still a large number of Scottish people living in both Lingwick and
Hampden.
The descendants of those Gaelic speaking
Highlanders are now scattered throughout the length and breadth of the
land. They are to be found in almost every province in Canada and
throughout a great deal of the United States. While many grandchildren and
great grandchildren may know where their family first took root in North
America, most of them have never seen any part of it, and perhaps are not
greatly interested. But to those who have seen and still remember, there
comes moments of nostalgia for the scenes, the people, and the life that
was once so familiar and so happy.
|
