The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Over the next several Wednesdays, The Reminder will present the final installments of Gail Baker's Looking Back series. The full-length version of these articles, which bring to life memories from longtime residents and pioneers, will appear in an upcoming book (stay tuned for details). We hope you enjoy these trips down memory lane. * * * The Wood Family has deep roots in the Flin Flon area Ð and proudly so. Dave Wood immigrated from England to Canada in 1928 to find work. "Dad thought he would like to be a farmer, but once he started working on a farm, he decided that he didn't really like it, so then he became a commercial fisherman on Lake Winnipegosis," recalled daughter Sheila. "Dad heard of a job opening up in Flin Flon at Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting." In 1930 Dave came to Flin Flon and was hired on at HBMS, working in the zinc roasters, where he would remain until his retirement in 1972. In 1937 Dave married Sybil Mitchell in Dauphin. They made their first home in a apartment on Main Street. Both have since passed away. Sheila was born in 1940 at the Flin Flon General Hospital, delivered by Dr. Guttormson. In 1943, the same year the family bought a home on Hillcrest Ave., daughter Leslie was born, delivered by Dr. Percy Johnson. In 1945, twins Dallas and Dennise arrived to complete the family. They too were delivered by Dr. Johnson. Their neighbours in the early years included: Lou and Jack McNeil, Vesta and Bob Davie, Janie and John McDonald, the Agerbaks (Lloyd, Eileen, Floyd and Greg), the Swyshuks (Dorothy, Gilda and Sybil), Bert and Flora Plante, Steve Klym, Kents (Carol and Joan), Sylvia and Finn Haggarty (Myrna), and Zola and Dick Mainwaring (Fern and Donna). The girls all started their education at Terrace School in the late 1940s and early '50s. After Terrace, they went to Hudson for grades 7 and 8 and then on to Hapnot. Some of the teachers they recall include Chris Dunning, Ruth Betts and Anne Edworthy (Warrington). Their many friends included Sylvia Cassidy; Loretta Petersen; Edna, Jean and Gail Fisher; Jill Judd; Eleanor Nowazek; Joan Einarson; Carla Hearn; Susan Finnie; Ann Neilsen; Marsha Judd; Fran Arnold; Laverne Morran; Linda Zimmerman; Janice Richard; Donna Zimmerman; Norma Eidt; Gloria Cassidy; and Earla Chamberlin. After school the girls remember meeting on the rocks at the end of Grandview and playing "Vampire Bat." Leslie explained how one person would be the vampire, hiding somewhere in the back lane between Hillcrest and Fifth Avenue. The object of the game was to get down the lane and back without getting touched by a vampire. "There was lots of screaming and giggling going on, especially as it got darker outside," laughs Leslie. "What about 'tin can-can' with the used Pacific milk cans," adds Sheila. "Yeah, after that game was over, we'd take the cans and make 'horseshoes' out of them and run clacking around the neighbourhood," notes Dallas. The girls remember that the Nowazeks had the best ice slide in the neighbourhood. Of course they had their own form of slippery fun. "Dad built us a skating rink in our back yard and we thought it was so big that it was at least Olympic size," Sheila recalls. Street Hockey Street hockey was also a great pastime after school and on weekends. They actually used a puck (not a road apple) while old catalogues became goalie pads. Dallas and Dennise had someone cut their hockey sticks down for them because "the girls were too short," they recalled with a laugh. They also remember many happy hours sliding down the rocks and the sewer boxes. During the summer holidays, Sheila would "tote the three younger girls off to Phantom Lake." "We'd pack a lunch and take off down the foot path," she said. Future summers would include time at Camp Whitney, because taking a summer holiday and going anywhere was virtually unheard of. Growing up on Hillcrest, the girls remember chasing the ice cart and "stealing" ice chips when the ice that was obtained from Spirit Lake was being delivered. Mr. Palmer delivered to every household for their ice boxes because at that time there were no electric refrigerators. They remember that each household had a huge water drum just inside the door, where water delivery was received on a regular basis for household use. Mr. Quesnell, also known as the honey man, would make regular visits to remove the wet garbage. There was also regular milk (in glass jars that would freeze in the winter and pop the paper plug) and bread delivery. Dallas relates how in winter they would have to move downstairs in their two-storey home because it got so cold that the frost would make neat designs on the windows and the bedding would freeze to the walls. As the Woods grew into teenagers, they enjoyed dances at the Jubilee Hall, with the music mainly supplied by records. See 'Active' P.# Con't from P.# One of their favourite high school teachers was Vi Anderson, who had comical sayings such as, "Yea gads and little goldfish" and "Oh dear, bread and beer, If I were married I wouldn't be here." Some of the other friends they recall from their youth include Irene Kypna; Marg Edworthy; Peggy Nicholson; Nellie Brydges; Norma Hutch; Donelda Fancy; Wayne Chamberlin; Wayne and Dwayne Scolville; Perry Bloxom; Wayne Soltys; Doug Anderson; Allan Richard; Gerry Thompson; and Jean Neilsen. Sheila was very active in the Girl Guide movement. In 1954, she was the youngest Guide to receive her Gold Cord from Lady Baden Pole. Leslie, and later Dallas and Dennise, belonged to the figure skating club. Dallas once won the pairs competition with Thelma Hanson in one event and Roberta Devine in another. Leslie and the twins also belonged to the Canoe Club. Leslie's first canoe lesson is one she will always remember. Canoeists Norman Crearar and Gib McEachern took her out in the canoe to the middle of Phantom Lake, upset the canoe and said, "Lesson number one Ð now get back in the canoe." Finding Work After-school jobs included Sheila doing ironing, cleaning silver, and piling wood for Annabel Bexton at her boarding house on Main Street. The pay? Twenty-five cents per hour. Sheila also did a stint as a car hop at the Gateway Drive-in in 1956. The business at that time was owned and operated by Lil and Jim Puritch. Leslie worked at Phantom Lake for Eva Woods in the concession. Leslie would walk to work, work ten hours, then walk home for 50 cents a hour. Dallas worked at the Rex Theatre with Irene Kypna, Vivian Langlois, Butch Lekopoy, and John Rutledge. Dennise took babysitting jobs, ironed for Vesta Davies, and was a waitress for Ray Hickin at the Chicken Village on Hapnot. Some of their other memories from growing up included watching the cordwood bonspiels on Ross Lake and the outdoor rink on Steventon Blvd. They also recall the 1950s as a time of change. Plumbing eliminated trips to the outhouse in the summer or using "the pail" in the winter; while canned television provided plenty of entertainment. Sheila married in 1958 and had three boys: Daryl, Dean, and Joel. The family moved away in 1967, coming back in 1993. Sheila married Merle Sproxton in 1996. Other than to visit her kids and grandkids, of which she has four, she is content to live in Flin Flon. Sheila spends her spare time golfing, curling and cross-stitching. Leslie was married and had three children, Kerry, Christine, and David. The family moved away for about 20 years. Leslie is happily re-established in the area, living in Creighton. She works for Creighton Economic Development Corp. and is also the building manager for Creighton's Bedrock Manor. Leslie has three grandchildren and spends time knitting and enjoying her flowers. Dallas married in 1965 and moved to Fort Churchill, Manitoba, where her daughter, Onalee, was born in 1966. The family then moved to Portage la Prairie, where Wesley and Dennise were born. Dallas lives in Winnipeg, enjoying her three grandchildren. She comes back to Flin Flon Frequently. "Flin Flon is a easy place to live/visit," said Dallas. "All our friends are here as well as new ones we make every time we visit. I love to bring my children and grandchildren her to swim in the beautiful lakes and let them get to know where I grew up." Dennise left Flin Flon for about three years, but returned home and met and married Don Rose, her husband of 30 years. Dennise still enjoys curling, a sport she took up as a young girl. "My mom and I are the only ones in our family who have the honour of being on curling teams that have gotten a eight ender," she laughed. Thanks for sharing your memories, ladies.
