The Alaska Adventure - September 14-21, 2008 The trip was the brainchild of Bro. Bill McRae, Worthy Chief of Lord of the Isles Camp #191. Early in the year, he announced that he was organizing a cruise to Alaska for the members of District 19. While I can credit Bro. Bill with the idea, I strongly suspect that Sis. Lynn McRae was more that a little involved in the actual organizing. In the end there were 12 members and a friend who went on the trip. They were Bro. Ron and Sis. Mary Fix. Bro. Jim and Sis. May Wilson, from Lord of the Isles, Bro, Jim and Sis. Eileen Gram from Lord Tweedsmuir, Sis. Tilda Stewart and myself, Bro. Lee and Sis. Diane Hunseth from Fraser Glen and Sis. Sandy Cuthbert, a friend of Bro. Lee and Sis. Diane. Of course, Bro Bill and Sis. Lynn McRae from Lord of the Isles were there to make our total of 13. May not be a lucky number, we we all had a great time. Sis. Tilda and I traveled into Vancouver with Bro. Bill and Sis. Lynn McRae by limousine We did this ,not because were ere being extravagant, but because it was cheaper than parking two cars for a week in Vancouver. In any case, it was a great start to a wonderful trip..... To continue this story, read further in December 2008's Scotian.
(Submitted by P.D.C. Bro. Murray Stewart, Fraser Glen Camp #220)
Recalling life's ups and downs in Lynn Valley The signal was loud and clear; one long blast meant they were heading up Lynn Valley Road. A short blast followed by a long one meant they were heading down. Longtime North Vancouver resident Jimmy Sim would listen for the signal as the district fire truck raced up or down Lynn Valley Road on its way to a fire. Sim was a volunteer firefighter with the district for 10 years, and the truck siren would tell him whether he should follow the truck up the road or go to No. 1 fire hall for directions to the site of the fire." "But they were going up the hill, I was right behind them," he says. Sim could usually be found on the corner of Ross Road and Lynn Valley Road where he owned Sim's Meat Market, which he opened in 1961 with his brother George. And he lived nearly on Mountain highway, so was always within earshot. Before the fire department hired a permanent force, it was made up mostly of volunteers, explains Sim, who volunteered from 1961 to 1970... To continue this story, read further in December 2008's Scotian.
(Submitted by Helen Hughes, North Vancouver, BC)
How It Was Then Let's think for a few minutes about how people lived in Scotland in the early years of the 19th century; their habits, customs, traditions, their family relationships, who did what in the family home. The visitor from England didn't feel at home in Scotland in those days. For instance, he missed the greenery that surround the cottages in England. He felt that Scotland was a dull, depressing country. The English visitor was accustomed to a flower garden at the front door of his home. Farm gardens in Scotland at that period on history, were as one historian wrote, "severely utilitarian". But this was as difficult time in Scotland and there was a tradition of poverty. Times were, to put it bluntly, tough. In Scotland here seemed to be a lack of respect for the family home and a lack of amenities which the Englishman took for granted. Men and boys entered the home without removing their headgear. The supper table didn't have a white cloth or other suitable covering. A Sunday meal was usually a sheep's head left to boil in a pot beside the fireplace while the family worshipped for hours and hours at church. ..... To continue this story, read further in December 2008's Scotian.
(Tom Messer, Editor, The Scotian)
