Going To Town – Part 1

Going to town was a pretty big event when I was a kid living on a mixed farm close to Streamstown. Mom and Dad were married in 1949 and started having children in 1951. They would have 10 children by 1966 (5 boys and 5 girls). 7 of us were born while living at our Streamstown farm. Mom and Dad went to Marwayne often; they had a meat locker at Swanson’s Meat Market, bought farm implements and repairs from C.H. Hancock Garage, as well as J.R.Quist McCormick-Deering, and Wirtz Garage. They bought their lumber at Crown Lumber Company and did their banking in Marwayne as well. Occasionally, they would take us to the restaurant (I’m guessing the Home Café) and us kids would get to have a treat. We got to sit on the stools that swivelled at the counter. Mostly we got to sit in a booth with our parents and siblings.

I remember Dad enjoyed a visit to the beer parlor in the Marwayne hotel as did many of his friends. Remember the signage back in the day? Most hotels had two entrances one said, “Men Only” and one said “Ladies and Escorts”. Really? Did ladies need an escort to go into the bar? Yes, they did. Prior to 1959, it was men only who could enter those beer parlors but in 1959 ladies were allowed to enter a separate “beverage room” only if they were accompanied by a man. I read several different reasons but mostly to keep women from “disturbing” men and men from “disturbing” women. The interpretation will be yours to decide.

Other days, we would sometimes get to go with Dad to Streamstown to pick up the mail and go to Curtis’s store. When I was very young, I remember standing on the seat of the truck beside him for short distances with my arm resting on his shoulder. Many times my brothers and I would sit between Mom and Dad on the seat. No seatbelts or child seats in those days.

One time we had to pick up a parcel at the train station in Streamstown. It was a large, galvanized bathtub, and my Dad helped the station attendant load it in our truck off the dock. Mom was so excited because we only had a small round bathtub before that time. She heated the water for baths on the wood-burning cook stove so instead of one boiler full of water, that one was going to take two.

We moved to a ranch west of Paradise Valley in 1961. My first baby sister was only 2 months old when we moved. I was so excited to finally have a sister. Some grocery trips could be made to Paradise Valley only 16 miles east of our ranch. There were two General Stores, Mr. Gunn’s and Mr. Henry’s General Stores. Dad would dig in his pocket and give us a quarter and for 25¢ we could buy a bottle of pop, a bag of chips, and a chocolate bar! I bought my first ball glove at PV Lumber and Hardware owned by Ben Lievers. Also on main street were the bank, Post Office and a restaurant. There was a garage on the corner of main street called Len’s BA Service and Dad often had tire repairs and oil changes done there. That service station changed hands a few times over the years; Paradise Automotive, PV Automotive, and Dad continued service with all of them. Dad hauled grain to the Alberta Wheat Pool elevators in Paradise and had his grain cleaned at the Battle River Seed Cleaning Plant. We got to go with him a few times. Movies would be played at the PV hall occasionally and I remember the first one I saw there, called “the Sundowners” with Hollywood star, Robert Mitchum. The projector booth was up the stairs in the balcony seating area. The Climb Thru Time Museum has many displays of Paradise Valley history, and one of my favorites is the movie theatre display.

To be continued...