Sympathy goes out to the Maxwell family of Edmonton, Alta. and the Brehon family of Maymont on the recent passing of Elaine Maxwell, wife of Robert Maxwell. Stanley Mills and Walter Mills of Battleford attended the funeral, held at the Park Memorial Chapel in Edmonton Oct. 17. Robert's sister Anna Brehon of Maymont, now residing in a North Battleford nursing home, was not able to attend. The Maxwell family once lived in the Baljennie area on the farm where Stanley and I now farm. Elaine was 76 years old. She will be sadly missed by all her family and many friends.
Our fall weather is slowly coming to an end. The leaves have all fallen, most of the birds are gone and crops are pretty well all gathered in. Now comes the last of the fall work in the fields and getting the bales hauled in before the snow flies.
We are seeing a lot of single digit temperatures and the days are so much shorter.
I would like to thank Battlefords Publishing for the invitation to the Celebrate the Harvest luncheon held at Pennydale Junction in Battleford. Due to a few health problems I was not able to attend. Many thanks to Becky Doig for all her help over the years. I have been reporting to the paper for more than 30 years and have enjoyed every bit of it. Also a big thank you to all those who have helped me out with their news items.
Our community has grown smaller and there is not as much to report on. Please continue to send me any local news. I will be happy to report it all. It is so important to try to keep our small community of Baljennie in the paper. So many are gone and forgotten.
Halloween is coming on fast and all the costumes are on sale. Lots of kinds of Halloween decorations are going. There seems to be more and more each year. Our night out in the country is very quiet with no one about. The old days of trick or treating have faded out. Most of the children are driven into town to go out for all the goodies they can get and to show off their new costumes. It’s not the same as in our childhood days.
Our costumes were pretty well all made up of clothes we had on hand. There seems to be far too much candy and sweets handed out, as the children don't need it all. It has to be carefully checked over as some strange things can be in it.
When we were younger and going to our old country school, the teacher put on a Halloween party for all and that took care of all our sweets. Our Halloween was black witches with black cats riding the broom with black bats about and a big full moon. Carved pumpkins made into jack-o-lanterns were lit up with a candle and don't forget the white ghosts and goblins about, not all of these scary things they have now. The weather can play some funny tricks on Halloween night. Some years it is nice and mild, while others can be more like winter weather with some snow about. Everyone has to bundle up to keep warm, and then you don't see their costumes. So, take care and have a happy Halloween, all, and a safe night of fun.
