Marjorie Her War Years

by Patricia Skidmore

  “What kind of apples, sir?”

  “Oh, goodness me, all varieties. There are McIntosh, Reds, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Stayman, Delicious, Wealthy, and Winter Bananas. The farm has averaged between twenty-two thousand and twenty-five thousand boxes every year. Last year we shipped out nine tons of cherries, too. Yes, the trees are in their prime.”

  The driver pointed and turned to the children. “Now there’s a building. That barn was Captain Dun-Waters’ pride. Look at the octagonal shape. The cows go in and stand in their stalls all facing the centre. The captain was famous for his herd of purebred Ayrshire cattle. The Fairbridge Farm School inherited those, too, along with the rest of the property. The captain put all modern milking equipment in his barn. His cattle got nothing but the best!”

  He drove the truck just a few feet before stopping again. “And up there — you can’t see it very well because of the pine trees — but there is a hundred-foot waterfall. We call it Fintry Falls. Shorts Creek flows through the high farm area up above there, on the other side of the road, you know, and comes down here and drops at the Fintry Falls. It is certainly worth a hike up there to see it. The water supply for the entire farm comes from that creek. Captain Dun-Waters put pipes underground to all the buildings so all the houses have a good supply of water. The captain also put in two separate heating systems in the manor house. One is hot water and the other is hot air. The house stays toasty warm even on the cold, snowy, wintry days. The creek drives a large dynamo that generates electricity — you can find it in that building over there — and that gives all the buildings electric light, and there is power to spare for the farm machinery. All the houses have a telephone system, too. He was a smart man, that captain.” Again, the driver drove a few feet then stopped.

  “Over there, beyond the barn, are the blacksmith and the carpenter shops, some storage sheds, and the stable. And over there, the granary, chicken coop, and pigsties. There’s the silo.” He put the truck in gear and drove on. A moment later, he drove down a narrow road leading through the trees. They rounded a bend, and the children could see a large stone house with honeysuckle growing up its sides. The ornamental gardens were beautiful, and, best of all, there was a splendid-looking lawn all around the house. Huge pine trees bordered the lawn. Marjorie wondered if this was where they were going to stay. Surely not. It was too posh!

  “Okay, here we are then — the manor house.” The children craned their necks to get a better look at what was to be their home for the next four or five months. “Don’t push. You’ll be out in a jiffy, and you can do all the looking you like.” The driver pulled the truck close to the house and stopped.

  The girls sat there and let everyone else off first; it was safer that way. They could see how anxious the boys were to get off the truck and check out everything. Marjorie looked at Lavinia. “What do you think? I like it so far; do you?”

  “I think so. Let’s go see the house.” Lavinia and Marjorie scrambled off the truck after the boys.

  The duty master walked down the manor house stairs to greet the newcomers. He asked for their attention, but it was impossible to be heard over the excited chatter. He let out a loud whistle and yelled, “Boys!” That did the trick. “Okay, now listen. I see some familiar faces, but for those of you who don’t know me, I am Mr. Thomas. I will be your duty master for the next few months. I want all you boys to bring your gear up to the porch and find yourselves a bed. You will be sleeping on the porch. The screening keeps the bugs out, and your evenings will be nice and cool. It can be warm up here, and often the temperature stays high, even all night. Once you’ve done that, you can run down for a quick dip in the lake before our meal.” The boys grabbed their gear and charged up to the veranda.

  Mrs. Howard stood back. She said, “The children were like this last year as well. They seemed to really like it up here. Marjorie and Lavinia, come with me. I’ll show you to your room.” The girls followed Mrs. Howard into the manor house.

  “What a grand place,” Marjorie said as they walked through the large living room. “What a massive fireplace.”

  “Oh, yes. Can you imagine how wonderful it is to have the fire blazing on the cool September and October evenings? I suppose you would hardly think it now. This has been such a hot day. It must have been in the nineties. It’s cooling off a little bit now.”

  As the girls walked through the dining room and then the kitchen, they looked at each other and gave huge nods of approval.

  “Here we are, girls. Your room is through this door off the kitchen. You can put your things down and change for a quick swim if you like. Then I will need your help getting things settled away.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Howard. We’ll just have a quick swim, and we’ll be right back to help you,” Marjorie assured her, hardly containing her excitement.

  The girls looked at each other. Lavinia was the first to say what was on both their minds. “Marjorie, we get this room all to ourselves! It’s lovely.” They quickly grabbed their bags and pulled out their swimsuits.

  Seconds later they ran through the kitchen. “But, what about the Ogopogo? Won’t it get us?” Fear spread across Marjorie’s face.

  Mrs. Howard laughed. “So, you’ve heard about the Ogopogo, have you? I dare say it won’t come in close to shore. So, as long as you don’t go out too far, you should be okay.” She winked at the girls.

  The girls ran off, and Mrs. Howard smiled as she heard, “Last one in is a rotten egg!” The girls plunged into the cool water, and all the dust and tiredness of the day’s travel was quickly washed away.

  The lake was divine! It was clearly the best part of being at Fintry. Marjorie could see the lake from the manor house. She and Lavinia had been able to run down the path to have a quick dip and cool off almost whenever they wanted to. It had a beautiful sandy beach that reminded Marjorie of the Whitley Bay sands. It was wonderful, and there were even a few seagulls at the lake.

  Marjorie had settled in over the past three weeks and felt she was an important member of the Fintry team. She looked up from her chores in the kitchen. The farm school principal and his wife, Harry and Mrs. Logan, had arrived at the manor house. They had a boy with them, but not one from this year’s group of Fintry boys; it was one of the boys from back at the farm school.

  As they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Howard greeted them. “How nice to see you. I’ve put on a pot of tea. Well, Kenny, I hear you’re going to take Pat’s place. What a shame that he broke his arm. How is he doing? Is he still in the hospital in Vernon?”

  “Yes, he is,” Harry Logan replied. “He’s doing very well. He should be out of the hospital tomorrow.”

  “Oh, that’s good. It really is too bad about his arm. I hear he was working quite well.” Mrs. Howard had a soft spot for all the children.

  “Yes, yes, he was. It’s a shame all right. However, we’ll let him stay on here and do whatever he can to help. He will be limited with his arm in a cast, but I’m sure we can find him things to keep him busy.

  “Well, how are these two girls doing? Are they good helpers?” Harry Logan walked over in time to watch the girls take a rather large pudding out of the oven.

  “As you can see, they are grand workers.” Mrs. Howard was rather proud of her two girls. With the pudding cooling, they set to peeling potatoes for the evening meal.

  “Marjorie and Lavinia, I’m going to go with the Logans down to the orchard. Are you two okay peeling the potatoes and carrots until I get back?” Mrs. Howard walked toward the door.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Lavinia answered for both of them.

  The door shut and Lavinia turned to Marjorie. “Isn’t she the best? I wish I had her for my cottage mum.”

  “I do, too. She is the best. She is so nice to us all the time. I think she cares about us. She never yells at us or hits us.” Marjorie grabbed some carrots. “I know it’s a long time away,
but already I’m not looking forward to going back. I hate that old battleaxe of a cottage mother. I think she hates me. She never talks nicely to me. I kept thinking that I must really be a horrible, dumb jerk, and so I deserve all the crap she gives me. Here, Mrs. Howard seems to think that we are okay and not stupid. I feel smarter being here. Is that weird?”

  “No, I know what you mean.”

  “I’m not so jumpy and worried. And I don’t think I’ve had any nightmares here. I guess I feel more relaxed. Mrs. Howard has a different way of talking about mistakes; she says that’s how we learn. Where D. Bitch — ”

  “Marjorie, you’ll get into trouble!” Lavinia dropped her potato and laughed.

  “Well, she is one. She rubs your face in your mistakes and makes you feel really stupid and that you’re garbage. She’s such an old hag. I wish I never had to see her again. I wish I could stay here. I miss Bunny, though, and I like to think I can keep track of how Kenny is doing. I wish they could come up here, too. Wouldn’t it be lovely to just stay up here all winter and not go back to the farm school?” Marjorie sighed. It was so peaceful here.

  The girls set the three long, narrow tables in the dining room. Then they had an inspiration. Because they had special guests, they ran out to gather flowers for the tables. They wanted to surprise Mrs. Howard. Marjorie picked some lavender from around the sundial, and Lavinia clipped some of the honeysuckle that was growing up the walls of the manor house. Marjorie spotted some colour on the edge of the lawn. It was Indian paintbrush. She picked a few of those, too. Before long, they had three beautiful bouquets. When Mrs. Howard returned, the girls had the kitchen chores done, including the three tables set.

  “The tables look wonderful, girls. Look at your bouquets! How lovely! Dinner will take a bit to finish cooking, so you have time to run down for a swim if you like.” Mrs. Howard smiled after them as they ran off. They were such wonderful girls, so helpful and thoughtful.

  The girls quickly changed into their swimsuits. It had been warm working in the kitchen with the stoves going. A swim before dinner would be perfect.

  Later that evening, Marjorie curled up with a book in the corner of one of the built-in seats in the trophy room. The bookshelves had dozens of books for the kids to read. She liked this room. Two of the boys were playing a game of ping-pong in the far corner. A couple more were standing by, waiting for their turn. Lavinia, curled up comfortably in the opposite seat, looked up and smiled at Marjorie as she turned a page of her book. The huge fireplace was between them. This room would be cozy in the winter. It would be better than the living room because this room was smaller. The living-room fireplace was huge, but so was the room, so the cozy trophy room would be her first choice on a cold winter evening.

  As the sun set, its light shone through the window above Marjorie like a golden fan and touched the wall opposite her, splashing a little on Lavinia’s hair. She looked across at the massive Kodiak bear in the man-made cave built into a wall of the room. She’d heard that when Captain Dun-Waters lived here, he had a real stream running through the cave. They said the trickling of the water made it seem very authentic. Marjorie thought the sight of the huge bear peering out at her was almost too realistic. The bear looked like it could jump out at any moment. She realized how huge it was when she was sitting up on it to have her picture taken when she first arrived. Her head had almost touched the ceiling of the cave. The thought of meeting a bear like this walking down the pathway terrified her.

  Marjorie read her book for a bit, but soon her mind wandered off. She’d sent letters to both Bunny and Kenny shortly after she arrived at Fintry. She didn’t think Kenny was much of a letter writer, but Bunny should have answered her by now. She thought of the lake and what a great place it was for swimming. It was so much better than the Koksilah River. She wondered if Bunny had made it as far as the raft yet. She could do it if she tried. She wished Bunny and Kenny were up here with her. It would be perfect then. They would love the lake.

  Later that night, as Marjorie snuggled into her comfortable bed, she asked, “Lavinia, are you asleep?”

  “No, not yet,” a sleepy voice answered.

  “I’ve been thinking about this place. The Fairbridge Farm School seems like a huge old institution, even though we live in cottages, but this place seems more like a home. It’s the first time that I’ve felt at home since they took me away from my mum. We’re treated as if we belong. I remember feeling this way around my mum. You know, as if I was in the right place, as if I was part of a family. I didn’t have to think about not belonging. At Fairbridge, my cottage mum once told me to crawl back into the hole I came from. She makes me feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I’d rather be with my own family and go hungry than have all the food that the farm grows and live like we have to. It’s going to be hard leaving here, isn’t it, Lavinia?”

  “Yes, it sure will be. Where would you rather be — here or with your mum?” Lavinia propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Marjorie.

  “No contest! With my mum, of course. I can hardly remember what she looks like, but I know I would recognize her in a second. Do you ever dream of going home?”

  “Yes. Now I have to go to sleep. See you in the morning.” Lavinia pulled the covers up over herself.

  Marjorie lay quietly. She wanted to share something with Lavinia but she didn’t want to spoil how happy she felt. She hid her shock upon seeing the duty master when they first arrived. Kenny told her about him. She didn’t need to worry though, as he only liked to mess with the boys. She shuddered and instead, she tried to force a picture of her mother into her mind’s eye. The more she tried, the harder it was to see her. She could get little bits. She could see her standing there in the doorway, and she could see her clothes, but when she tried to focus on her face it was just a blur. As she fell asleep, Marjorie wondered if she really would recognize her mother. That was her worst nightmare, forgetting her mother, because then her mother could be forgetting her, too.

  Chapter 10

  Fintry or Fairbridge?

  More than ever the carrying on of our work has become a matter of Imperial concern, merged in the one great cause of Empire welfare.

  — Principal of the Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School, letter to Mr. Frederick Charles Blair, assistant deputy minister, Department of Immigration and Colonization, Ottawa, Ontario, August 23, 1940

  Everyone assembled in the manor house living room for evening prayer. They’d had a lot to be thankful for these past few weeks. It was the best summer the children could remember. The cherry crop was in and had yielded over nine tons again this year. Mrs. Howard, Marjorie, and Lavinia had a marvellous time in the kitchen preparing cherry pies and tarts, making cherry jam, and canning cherries. But best of all, they got to eat as many as they liked.

  The irrigation system had all its bugs worked out. There were other bugs (and other animals) that needed attention also. The children had to be taught to avoid black widow spiders, as they seemed to like the orchard, and it was important to avoid the rattlesnakes. Many of the boys had encountered black widow spiders, but only one had heard the unmistakable rattle of a snake nearby. Despite the presence of these potentially dangerous animals, the boys felt safe up the ladders as they thinned the apple trees. There was little to do now but watch the apples grow. The early Macs were almost ready to pick, and that meant they were ready to eat as well. But the very best for eating fresh from the trees were the peaches. Marjorie had never tasted anything like it before. The hot Okanagan sun seemed to lock in the sweetness and the juice. The apricots and the plums were good, too, but nothing compared to the peaches. She loved biting into them, fresh and warm from the tree, and feeling the sticky juice drip down her chin.

  Marjorie was thankful for how happy she was at Fintry. She loved the warm, beautiful weather; it was so amazingly hot and dry. She loved swimming in the lake and going for walks. Most of all she loved how relaxed s
he felt being away from the farm school. This contentment was a new feeling. Well, no, not entirely. It was new for her since she was taken from her family, but not totally new, as this unworried feeling about waking up in the morning was something she’d missed and didn’t know it until it returned. When she was with her family, she was always excited about getting up in the morning. In her family, she was an important part of a team, and they all worked together. She felt loved. She didn’t know then about worry. She had to be on guard all the time at the farm school, though, and it made her miss her family and that safe feeling all the more. At the farm school she never knew what was coming next or when she would get yelled at or for what, as it was always changing, keeping her constantly on edge. Mrs. Howard appreciated everything the girls did, so it made both her and Lavinia want to complete their chores to the very best of their ability. She did not miss the tension she had learned to live with while at the farm school; still, she was wary about letting her guard down entirely.

  The day had been absolutely wonderful. They’d hiked up to the high farm again. They went up by the roadway and came back down by the pathway along the Fintry Falls. On their way up, just across the road, they saw three deer: a mother and two fawns standing in the shade of the pine forest. It was as if they were letting the children have a good look before they turned and dashed off, disappearing right before their eyes. Mr. Thomas said it was called camouflage.

  “Nature designed the colour of their coats to protect them from predators,” he told them.

  “What’s a predator? Something that eats the deer? What eats deer?”

  “Yes, that’s right. Oh, I guess the mountain lions and wolves — and men, of course!”

  “Are there any mountain lions and wolves up here now?”

  “Probably not; they’ll be high up in the hills. They don’t like to come around people too much,” Mr. Thomas assured them.