COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Kindness

Sometime toward the end of the 1945-46 school year, a small group of Rosengard children were introduced, in a very gentle sort of school assembly, to the concept of a formal education. After the summer holidays we would be the Grade 1 class at the Rosengard School.

Although I have only a very faint recollection of that experience, I can recall that Erica Penner, who introduced us to the wonderful world of public school education, taught us a song that continues to resonate with me. The words as I recall them still hold true:

Little drops of water, little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean, and the pleasant land.

Little deeds of kindness, little words of love

Help to make earth happy, like the heaven above.

The word “kindness” has such an all-inclusive quality, which according to the Oxford dictionary includes being friendly, generous and considerate. By extension, it seems to me that those qualities also enable us to apply compassionate and empathetic responses toward others, should the need arise.

Many decades have now elapsed since our family moved away from our humble farm on the gravel ridge at Rosengard. The memories of my place of birth, my early childhood education, extending into my teen years, and the countless social engagements within the context of that community, continue to enrich my life in numerous ways.

There were people of our community, who I am told held something of a social event, its main purpose being an auction sale or bazaar. This sale, I think, must have been mainly of items made by the women. I presume there may have been baked goods. I am certain that there were also handmade clothing items.

I cannot claim to have any personal recollection of this social event. The reason I have an awareness of it lies chiefly in the fact that I was the recipient of two very lovely handmade dresses, and, if possible, an even more exquisite item.

This elegant item, albeit of a utilitarian nature, was truly exquisitely made. I think it may have been Erica Penner’s creation. I was truly enamoured by it, and although I have no photograph of it, unlike the dresses I received that evening, it has clearly left its imprint on my mind.

The piece in question was a white pinafore apron designed for a small child. The garment was edged with a checkered green fabric. The green trim was exquisitely accented by the white background. This garment would have been fine without further embellishment. However, there was more. My pinafore apron was beautifully embroidered, and not just with something like flowers, or cross stitch. What further enhanced my garment was an embroidered version of the nursery rhyme, “Little Bo Peep”, complete with an embroidered staff in her hand! It is no wonder that I still remember it!

Our community of bygone days exhibited kindness in numerous ways. In most instances it was simply the way its members interacted on a day to day basis. Such activities also extended to the ways members helped each other during the annual butchering of pigs. This activity was, for our community, an essential fall event, in order to augment our food supply for the months ahead.

There were numerous smaller acts of support and kindness which were carried out without fanfare. It was simply the way we intermingled.

Among the many Rosengard individuals who could be mentioned, Annie Nikkel Siemens comes to mind. One year, on Easter Sunday, our neighbour, Annie, invited four young girls, my sister Anne and I, along with our friends, Margaret and Mary Penner, to accompany her on a visit to the home of her friend Justina, who was bed-ridden. And so it was that the five of us along with Justina and her parents, spent an afternoon together on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949. I don’t recall all of the details of that afternoon, but I am certain that Annie led us in a meditation, and no doubt we also sang some hymns. Justina’s parents, invited us to join them for Faspa, which, given the occasion and our common heritage, included Easter bread. Such memories are priceless.