IT WAS HARD TO ACCEPT CHANGES

Every generation has its things that are indicative of the era and in some cases special to the people who lived in a decade of the century.

Grandfathers talked about courting grandmothers in the times when they drove high stepping horses and rubber tired buggies or the drive home from the church social on a crisp winter night. The drive home was possibly the only chance they had to be alone. Suitors were entertained in the kitchen, the gathering place for all the family.

Older people talked about the first automobile they saw and the time they had their fIrst car ride. The stories about the early automobiles are legion, the mud roads, the dust and problems with side curtains, flat tires and poor headlights.

The first youngman in the community to drive around in his model "T" roadster created considerable comment: "he'll kill himself if he doesn't slow down", "that thing makes too much noise", "I wonder whatever possessed his father to let him spend his money on such a contraption", "he won't have the car for long after he marries Mary-Lou, she's such a sensible girl", "he'll be glad to drive the horse and cutter once the snow comes".

The fIrst villager to have a winter top installed on their touring car was considered " someone trying to put on airs". The village wag contended that the whole family would die of carbon monoxide poisoning if they traveled with the windows closed.

Several young fellows in the village sported automobiles with a rumble seat, fender mounted spare tires and a trumpet horn. The fancy vehicles of the village youth, especially those who came home from the American cities, always caused considerable stir when a new model was parked on the main street.

The first lady of the village to drive an automobile was considered real daring. Women were supposed to be timid around mechanical things and it "just wasn't natural for a lady to drive a car". Now, sitting bolt upright, driving a gentle horse and buggy was alright, the horse had some brains; or if the lady was properly attired and rode sidesaddle, it was considered acceptable but most ladies were content to let the men do the automobile driving.

After the W.W.I, the big thrill was going to the local fairgrounds or a grass field to see one of the many barnstorming pilots with their two seater airplane. Those who dared to take a flight in these wood and canvas crafts were the centre of conversation for several months. Grandfather was still talking about his aeroplane ride when his grandson joined the RCAF during the W.W.II. People stopped work in the fields and craned their necks to see an airplane in the blue summer sky.

Electricity came to the village and many firsts such as electric motor driven washing machines could be seen in newly wired homes. The barber bought electric clippers and the beauty parlour had an electrical device for doing a permanent wave that allowed the village ladies to have wavy hair.

One family moved to the village from the city and brought their electric vacuum cleaner, washing machine, electric kitchen range and several other electric appliances. Everyone in the village wondered what the lady of the house did all day with her time when she had all these labor saving devices to do her housework. It was declared that once Mrs. So-and-so got a radio, she spent too much time listening to the fool thing. The sewing circle was sure the electric washing machine would never replace the scrub board and yellow soap; and the electric iron just didn't iron the starched shirts properly.

Anything new in the village would cause a stir and sometimes be the topic for the post office gathering, for several days. A new blue serge Sunday suit brought forth the usual remarks, "it will last him until he is buried in it". Furniture was not only an event for afternoon visiting but the big question: "Wonder how they could afford it?" and, if a new baby arrived in a family of six, the interchange of news of the day would end with a sympathetic tone: "such a burden for the mother, and the father should have known better".

The arrival of a new truck in the village required a lot of examination and the customary debate as to the merits of a Reo Speedwagon compared to an International. There came a time when the steam traction engines gave way to the gasoline tractors and the barbershop theorists knew nothing could ever power a threshing machine like a Goodison steam engine. These same village speculators also voiced a negative opinion against the first grain combine to arrive in the area.

A change in anything in the village would bring about a lively conversation as to the pros and cons of the article; the need for the change and most important, the influence such modern variance would have on the community. The villagers became accustomed to everything around them and sometimes the changes were akin to sacrilege.

Every village had its experts who could converse on any subject. They rarely accepted changes in anything. The tried and true methods and articles of the former decades should be able to satisfy the present generation.
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