PART ONE: From Bushland to Bandstand
Writing the story hasn’t been easy and, most of the time, it has been done in sporadic fits and starts with no discernible end in sight. As I grow older, I realize that there is a distinct possibility that I will never finish, so I have decided to take a bit of a shortcut. My aim is to present my story to a specific online audience in palatable segments, making it easier to read and easier for me to continue changing, adding and editing as I go along. Hopefully, by following this course, I will find ample time and inspiration to actually finish and publish at least the first half!
My intentions for writing this story are simple ones:
Acquaint and reacquaint people I grew up among or otherwise met along the journey with people, places, events and conditions whom/which they may have forgotten over the years
Leave an account for the younger generations as to how times and conditions have changed over the past 75 years
Lend an insight into the lives of people like me, who follow their inquisitive hearts and are not satisfied to follow the path most commonly travelled
I hope that you enjoy what I have to offer. A Song in the Spruce is being created under the banner of Buck Mountain Press, an independent publishing house which we developed a couple of years ago in conjunction with the release of my first book, Olaf & Me. Thanks for reading!
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This story is dedicated to my children and grandchildren, Kerstin, Frans, Teya, Max and Ophelia, and to all our relatives, through blood and in spirit, who have come before us and blazed the trails to where we find ourselves today.
My wish is that these dear ones and others in following generations might use this account to help to understand the lives of those who preceded them and in some small way help to bridge the gap through the ages.
Chapter 8
Grade six was an eventful year in many ways. The new, modern school was becoming commonplace and now housed all of the elementary grades from one to six. Within the new hierarchy, those of us who were attending Grade six were the “seniors” in that section of the school. In a way, it almost seemed like we were already in Junior High…