Bud has always loved the outdoors whether he was gardening or working, relaxing on the patio, or enjoying a picnic, preferably somewhere along the water. His love of picnicking started at a very young age. One of my earliest memories on the farm, is of us having a “picnic” in the side field, in a gully of rocks. Nothing fancy. We packed a few sandwiches—Cheese Whiz, or Sandwich Spread, jam or bologna— and some of Mom’s homemade cookies. No fancy basket or cooler, just our tin school lunch pails. Bud could usually find a few garter snakes, sunning themselves on the warm rocks. We designed our own picnic spot, as the three of us spent many hours in the fields, picking up rocks, that were thrown onto the pile in that gully.
Bud’s love of fishing also goes back to our childhood. On Sundays, we quite often visited our grandparents about 10 miles away. On the Saturday night before, Dad sent us outside after dark to catch dew worms in a can. The next day, about half-way to our grandparents’ farm, we stopped along the gravel road, near a little stream. While our mother sat in the car, reading the Saturday paper, Dad set the three of us up with fishing poles, cut from the willow tree growing along the bank. Not that we ever caught more than a sunfish, and certainly nothing we could eat or that our mother would cook, but it sure was fun!
I think giving kids candy was also a treat for Bud as much as it was for the little recipients. Money was tight when we were children, and penny candy was always a treat. We had older cousins who used to come to the farm to visit, and when they came, they always brought little brown paper bags of candies—one for each of us! We didn’t even have to share. And we always looked forward to the Stelco Christmas concert when each of us received a lovely gift AND a BIG BAG! of candy and nuts, and an apple or an orange. If we were very careful, we could usually make that bag of candy last long after Christmas, bartering with each other for our favourites. On special occasions, Mom night put a nickel in our lunch box, and on the way home from school, we could buy a popsicle or an ice cream bar, or spend a few pennies on candy, and save the remaining change for another day.
Bud’s kindness to others, and especially seniors and widows, also stems from our childhood. Our Grandmother Cheevers was widowed young with six children, and, at age 11 or 12, our dad went to work as a hired boy on a farm—one less mouth to feed. Dad worked for room and board and sent what little money he earned home to help the others. As we were growing up, Dad always made sure to help a special widow in the village, taking her vegetables from the farm and helping out where he could.
The world needs more “Buds”, more people who demonstrate kindness and care for others, whether they are family, friends, or strangers. And the world needs them now, more than ever.
Rest in peace, dear brother.
Love, Brenda
