Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 21, 1929, Winnipeg, Manitoba Contributions and comment before the Days of water taps Erskine Campbell. It is Coin Back some eventful years to recall How t lie genial old water Man filled his barrels the tubs that were die reservoirs of Supply for and morning tin Bath ablutions in the Kitchen h drinking of angry we Are today turn on the tap marked hot ant water at Only a tepid temperature comes out How furious we Are when no water comes at All if. Indeed such a preposterous thing can possibly happen but Many us can re member when the Only plumbing consisted of a Short pipe running from an elevated tub in the Corner o of the Kitchen to the adjacent sink. And this Only in Tho Best houses. As to How the tub was kept sup plied we shall try to Tell. It was done by Billy Rutherford the water . In. Summer Billy and his pal Prince a heavy Black horse delivered water to Tho citizens at Twenty five cents a barrel. To consisted of two heavy wide wheels about five i get High with equally heavy Timber Axle and shafts. On this foundation was .1 Box about six feet Long by five feet wide by three feet deep with a on top and a Hose connected to a tap in the Bottom of the Back. W Prince would plod majestically Down the Lane to a Gate then turn away ind Back the cart to the Kitchen door or window. The Hose would be put into the tub and the tap turned on. Frequently this procedure was impossible. There might not a room to manoeuvre so nicely or the tub might a too High or the Hose too Short or most often of All the Yard might be a morass and even the mighty Prince could not Back the cart in. When this happened Billy filled his big Metal buckets at the cart s tap and carried , slopping water All along his tracks and first filled the tub and then the extra barrel in the Back Kitchen. In Winter it ,.Tho cart was put away and a Low sled was used it was Short narrow and heavy with a capacity of two Large barrels tors and aft. Was pulled by Prince. The barrels soon acquired an outer and inner coating of ice As did the narrow running boards on each Side by the constant slopping Over of the water. As a Small boy it was a great Delight to travel about the town with Billy hanging precariously to a barrel Edge the Arm so used being thoroughly wet and the overcoat sleeve Frozen stiff. After the last of the water was delivered Billy used a Small Hatchet to Clear away the ice inside. The barrels and this was a perquisite of the last customer who gathered it up in a Large dish tin and put it behind the stove to melt. Prince knew by the tapping that More water was needed and started Back to the town pumps on the South Side of water Street some Little distance East of main Street and it was of course from these pumps that the Street was named. There were three of four pumps in a run for there were a few other water men and each was surrounded by a platform about three feet from the ground and an icy handle was used to pump the water which was no Job for a cripple. It took eight or ten up and Pyn move ments of the. Handle accompanied a also and Cut Steps to mount the North Bank. A great civic improvement was attempted by a flight of wooden taps at the foot but after the Steps had become encrusted several with Ico and Snow and people had involuntarily Toboggan a Down them on the tails of their overcoats they were abandoned. It o w West of Colony Street pastures and Market gardens and Tho water men did not often Ven Ture beyond the limits named. We had real weather in those Days and cot the Wishy Washy Winters we now have with hardly. Enough Snow to keep snowshoes off the ground. a week at a time Billy was snowbound but As this meant an abundance of fresh Snow we gathered it in tubs and Wash boilers which were put As near As possible to the Kitchen stove and provided water for All purposes. Billy used to make about ten trips to the pumps each Day and each trip earned him Between seventy five cents and one Dollar so he was considered a substantial citizen. He was a genial soul and an inveterate gossip. Visiting All Day As he did Little escaped him and his visits became longer As the Day wore on and his store of news items increased. Many mistresses found it convenient to jute role a the Cook during these visits Inci by squeaks groans and gurgles dentally to keep themselves abreast before water came up but finally j of the times gushed out of the overhanging the it spout and fell into the of Tho cart in summer or into the barrels in Winter. When your morning tub is filling at exactly your Favorito tempera Ture give , thought to the in those Daj s Winnipeg divided into Hiorth and South. I makers of. Winnipeg who Tor led so hard and had Only occasional the i ablutions in a tip Bath usually t real old timers the Bannatyne. Take i to the rather than logans and others had settled carry the water upstairs. We write the Early Days in the this As our own experience with of the streets now bearing their j out presuming to speak for others names but Long _ _ streets were there. Before those along with Dairyman Evans who they lived in nightly drove his fifty cows along the North end. The Hudson s Bay Broadway from the pasture just company Hudson s put on the Market the Bay Reserve bounded West of Colony Street to the stables on the West Side of fort Street be roughly by Portage Avenue on the i tween Broadway York with North main Street on the East the. Assiniboine River on the South and the indians their Papoose strapped to the squaws backs and with the Colony Street on the West. A creaking of carts has gone the old Hardy pioneers crossed the water Man arid now we merely Boine and built houses in the turn a tap and grumble if and in Winter each resident there j finicky wishes Are not fulfilled at had his own track across the River i once. At Camp by Margaret Grieve Prairie dwellers cannot re Sist the mystery that is the _ Charm of those Large bodies of water by which Blissful. Away Home again p Camp Lite finished for another year Al past and gone save for the memories the and the Odd Mosquito bite. Yes and Tho Prana its of the Camp appetite. The Blissful Days and the blistered shoulders of the Sun tanned Aims and faces and the simply enormous por Ridge and Bacon and Coffee platters of Fred fish All disappeared at an. Astonishing rate. If the Days were a Blissful the in gits were not wholly uneventful. There was Tho night when our first deep was shattered by j loud piercing "whoopoe-ee-ee.1 visions of indians on the Ivar path flashed across sur still sleepy minds. Again it came whoops said tha dog angrily. Be quiet commanded a aroused and irate Sleeper More. And splashes with Inch laughter and shouting. Convinced us. That some Young neighbors ing. A Midnight bathing party this relieved our first feeling of alarm but Aid not Conduce to slumber especially when. The. Gramophone added its Jazzy voice to the general merriment. However along to wards the wee hours the last whoopee Ivas thrilled the visitors drove their car Back to town our neighbors went to sleep and so did we. For Prairie Dweller a Large body of water has All the Charm of mystery it is a breath of Romance of the unknown. Much of our time we spent on the Beach watching the water and dreaming. As in a dream one saw stretching far beyond the horizon the Miles and Miles of water that make up an Inland sea. Saw too the great Ocean with its moving Waters at task of pure ablution human when the wind blew the water into capped Waves that came chasing each other in foam across the Sand bars one dreamed of Little children Riding the. Breakers far off sunny Hawaii dreamed of cd who go Down to the sea in on whatever errand bound of their dangers of their triumphs til the Early mornings Calm. Sull with a faint Hazo where it seemed to melt away almost without a horizon line into Grey Blue of the sky. In late afternoon the Sun made a path of dazzling brilliance across the . At Sunset it was magnificent. Sometimes it was a Glassy sea of Crimson sometimes. The Sun went Down a fiery Ball leaving behind he in both sky and Lake gorgeous of Violet and Rose amethyst Ana Gold. Ilife at . Ads. Swamp Back of the cottages teemed with Swal lows and sauc3 Kingbird. Bowl on Tho. Beach Ive saw the White terns the Little Sandpiper hosts of blackbirds and Many yellow headed blackbirds. Sometimes a Brilliant Wilson s War Bler flashed by and one Day two smart Natty looking Cedar Wax wings were seen. Near our cottage a late family of Robins kept their parents Busy foraging for grubs. One ardent naturalist searched Long and with Field glasses for the. Author of a Bird song. Led her. My own Strong convict Holch i was supported by Ted the that the blvd was a Squirrel. On the last morning of our stay three great Blue Hierons visited our Beach it was our first sight of them. It was Art Ideal Holiday but even on that Safe Beach and. In that shallow water danger lurked con stantly. The peach from the Toronto Telegram 1 fuzz less peaches have at the new York state fair and their Advent is said to Confer a Benefit Oti Mankind which is Only now coming to be fully appreciated. But the Canadian Orchards will still rely on the Good old fashion peach which retains its Winter flannels throughout the summer. For it is Only that woolly covering which permits the Canadian peach to defy reports of late frosts which annually and inevitably throw the Shadow of ruin Over the peach crop of Ontario. Moreover it should not be Over looked that if the fuzz reduces in any measure the palatability of the raw peach it preserves so Many the More for the housewife to do. Down. If the Basket which is brought Home does not attract the exploring hand seeker there is More Chance of. An extra bottle ii the fruit rejoice Tho Winter table. The fuzzy peach has Ita Points romantic about to make a on his . Think he s the Sandhill Cactus by Hamilton m. The fruit of this Plant should be better known and a desire to possess it is awakened by the Bloom s Rose purple Beauty e in the present month when we take a walk in the san Hills we May. Meet one of the strangest of our wild fruits in the form or the Berry of the Sandhill Cactus. Even in. A. Land where edible wild fruits Are Abun Dant and diversified the produce of the Cactus is remarkable. It is a fruit apparently Little known it never finds its Way to Market or the pantry but it is edible nevertheless As Many wild Rind some human beings can testify. Canada is not a. Lati Rich in plants of the Cactus Type. We must go South West to the dry Belt the desert and most arid regions in order to see the real vegetable wonders of club shaped this great in which the Woodpecker bores a Fine nest Cham Ber and the Little Elf owl occupies when the original owner is through with it. In. Canada the Only real Home of Tho Cactus is in of this same dry beat that teach appeared up frito the Valley s of Central Brit ish Columbia and Southern. Alberta and South Western Saskatchewan. Hera the Flat leafed Opuntia thrives abundantly covering great sections of the Sun baked Earth with its terrible Spears yet raising from amid these same Needle pikes in june Flowers of most wondrous Beauty Large Wax like yellow Are airy petalled blooms As charming As their surroundings Are warlike and villainous. La the Sandhill Region of Manitoba we have the strange Little Roux to bladed Mamil Laria a Plant of far less formidable appearance yet. Though. Small armed Cap a pie like the others of the clan. A frightful thing for Barefoot boy to set foot upon a thing of Beauty Bloom a fruit strange and wonderful in its is late when most other fruits Are fallen. Such plants to exist in dry areas because they have adapted themselves to drought conditions. They store up when a Central into the Sand to secure moisture when there is Ottlo available their leaves Are pedestrians outdone from the Cincinnati enquirer it is planned to raise City Speed limits but unfortunately the leap ing Muscles of the pedestrians will remain the same. Hijackers in. Chicago stole a truckload of hogs in route to the. Stockyards. Detectives on the Case Are confident there will be a squeal. Detroit leaves they spread in a Circle about Tho Root forming a Flat plate tending to hold the the soil just As a it if plentiful they have deep Root reaching far thick rapid and Fleshy preventing the this in itself dampness in mulch docs. Tho greatest wonder perhaps of these plants is their ability to withstand a burning Sun in baking soil Aud remain Green and healthy. We have no really desert conditions anywhere in. Canada yet. During particularly dry seasons in the West Opuntia is called on to with stand very severe Strain of heat and in lesser degree Tho Samo conditions occasionally Are met by Lamillar a of the Plains eastward. It May be that in reality these plants Are most at Home in the driest season. They really Are at the limit of their Range Here for the reason that other places where they do not grow Are too wet the storing of water and prevention of evaporation is not so necessary in our areas where rainfall is More or less certain. It is in the True desert that we read Oil tie thirsty traveller tapping the Cactus and on the most burning Day treating him self to a pint of refreshing water. When Young the Sandhill Cactus is but a Small cylindrical Little body with Crown of spines but As Tho Plant expands from year to year it throws out from All sides tubercles so that 1a Lime ii. Lis comes a Flat matting surround Ling the Central Root. In the Early it is such a picturesque thing that Many Plant lovers have brought it to Rock Garden or Flower pot among the House plants. Tender such conditions it thrives Well if Given pot of Sand and not treated too generously with Tho sprinkler. Probably no Flower Lover Ever transplanted this Cactus who first had not seen it in. Bloom. Then it is a thing of nature seems to give her creations compensations in one Way or another Aud the spiny homely cac uses have their blooms. Tea Flower of Mam Illaria when opened wide or nearly inches across Rose purple in Many shades of this Lovely color is a rest ugly Beautiful and we cannot help wondering How such a gorgeous thing could a born from such unprepossessing source. Sometimes a dozen blooms Spring from the Mac Ting of an older Plant and. When several of these open at the same time then indeed is the warlike aspect of the Plant forgotten in the splendor of its loveliness. When the Crown of numerous sepals and petals fade they close and twist themselves into a dry Little Tail that in time becomes an appendage to the fruit. So when we Cone upon the ripened Berry in september we find what appears to be some Yellowish and Reddish gooseberries sitting among their spines but holding up a convenient tempt us to taste. The berries Are sweetest after being touched by the Frost when the in Side becomes juic3r and liquid. The pertinent inside a rather Tough skin the Small seeds being on the skin. Like Many wild fruits the first taste is the sweetest. To enjoy such a feast one must have a Good Supply of berries s o that there Are no second tastes. The after when a from seed or skin is by com is ii vary is if i eater insists on Mastic at ing. To enjoy them it is Best to be at Large in the san Hills where table manners do not count for much and one can bite the Berry suck the liquid Aud then get rid of the rest. Nor is this after taste an Accident. Such plants have fruits with unpleasant pits or skins or seeds for the reason that the plants bearing them do not want the eater to bite or destroy them but to Scalier them. The Little Tail handle on Mamil Lavia s ruin itself is suggestive it is the invitation to pick with the Spears to bite it throw it away. That hav9 the Irule Are the ii Luck Doc has to a the Only wild been noted eating Sharp tailed grouse Iho Loving ant. Tho fruit safely. Through in tie Berry tie to Cut it Loose and too Tough an under Hakius even Fop such a wicked Listic Hercules there Are others. Tiow com make use of this otherwise the a Plant is to certain mice. Of our first Spring nimble in uie Sand Hills we Whai. Is left of a Cluster o spines Annj some Nic Plant utterly evaporation common to most Peculiar Berry is of but one Cora welcomed in Hutt Erite Homes by Helen Loyal partners Crown life bus mass policies Are Loyal the loss of the key Mca who pass of. In the communal Colony within an hour s drive of Winnipeg the very Good looking Young women whose dress is so quaint cast critical looks on the style of the City flapper whose heels Are too High Mortlo ugh paths insurance company provincial office Mclntyre Block Winnipeg a w. Nash c.l.u., f. H. Somers supa Man Date special general agent their pries Dike round Earth s it interest Din the Bird 07s reaching Canada one of preacher of the Colony and colonies of the we were really interested was founded in. James Valley where common ownership was not merely curious lie became quite cordial and invited us to look around War the outcast. Got out of the car Aad were of the new Colony s Laws is at once by a group of whoever1 leaves must take with Good looking Young ladies who Only the clothes he wears and themselves As our escorts. No. Introductions were necessary those belong to the All the girls Over fifteen had furthermore he is exiled names embroidered with Cross in Bright colors on the hand every year the colonists elect a Leader a preacher a Carpenter that covered their Heads t soon singled out a. Rosy cheeked Jolly looking girl labelled Susanna any other officials they for my own and we started necessary. Two women Are our tour. Of inspection. Pointed each week to prepare cams the Hofer s Home a meals. Everyone does his share of rooms in the common . It consisted of four Large the work. Girls front Tea to rooms decorated in Blue and years Cara for the smaller bods chairs and varnished while their mothers and the seemed to be. The chief girls and boys work in the furniture. The floors would be the envy of any Winnipeg with the men and in their color they re me of Honey. All this is less than a a a drive from Winnipeg. Four the House we visited the South of Ehe a Side Road leads dining Hall which is a group of Large la three parts the main As tvs stopped besids the room where the men and House a tall bearded fellow eat at Long tables on Separ the doorway to sides of the room the Kitchen us. He introduced himself As a smaller dining room where an unexpected by Ernest Graham to Trtat a Small world it is 1 i agreed corns was walking along to seek fresh Fields to con the other evening worrying about nothing in particular and nobody is too old to Start doing t n t. Ii you be got the necessary guts without warning i Felt a tap right or. A that s the shoulder. In. Turning murmured the sex Warrior in t was greeted with i thought typical Lancashire drawl. Was you or. X who d a you " seen any of the boys since you left the it now How the Ell inquired. Grop gracious Are you. See old Bill push ,1 asked taken his Well worn Cap to the Hack Surprise. His head yes i seen Max the q.m.s., yer remember in who did yer think about three years ago. Was the poor Bloke was out of a Job Bill. Touched me for ten Bah and t had t the heart Ter refuse. Slimy Bill was my Batman Wien i was with the Hoyal engineers in reminds me sir. At the word i pricked up my ears for Bill had always been to sir anybody. I Aske d him what on Earth know that i still. Owe yer Vas doing Here Iri Canada. To a candid .1 i silly remark i reflected remember old tried to jog my he not cleaning your uniform for into the nost intimate details one and a Tanner a any grinned Bill. I work although. Interesting cannot be repeated. Here. It was All to. He real Railroad and purpose however i could not Bill winked this Eye. The actual loan to mind. The children under fifteen have their meals. Across from this is a building that serves As both school and Church for tha tames Valley has Church every night. The teacher supplied by the government Over fifteen for when they reach that ago boys and girls alike Are expected to work in the Fields. Two hours of each school Day Are devoted to. The study of the German language. Prom the school we proceeded to the Community Garden where i was surprised to note a Large part of the Garden poppies my planned. We eat the sometimes to was planted with Friend Susie sex seeds like mix them a c j i do you i its ten years. Ago this bade you go of Bye on. The Little platform of Andricci station let. That go anyway _ said but when i Call round at your House i shall not be insulted if you offer a a Glass of some Ciao a a jibs ;