Shaun Newman Podcast - SNP Archives #30 - Vernon Marlatt

Episode Date: September 29, 2021

Born in 1922 Vernon is 99 years old. He was stationed in Halifax during WWII, was married for 65 years & talks about his life.  He’s a family man, volunteer & community pillar.   Let me know what you think Text me 587-217-8500

This is Glenn Healy. Hi, this is Braden Holby. This is Daryl Sutterin. Hi, this is Brian Burke. This is Jordan Tutu. This is Keith Morrison. This is Kelly Rudy. Hi, this is Scott Hartnell.

Hey, everybody. My name is Steele-F of Sportsnet. This is Tim McAuliffe of Sportsnet, and you're listening to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the podcast, folks. Happy Wednesday. Hope everybody's having a great week here. This is the oldest guy I've ever sat down with. So pretty cool experience.

for me, 99 years of life of history. It's, you're going to get to hear first-hand, Vernon, and a little bit about his life and some stories and everything else. But before we get there, let's get to today's episode sponsors. Jen Gilbert and the team for over 45 years since 1976, the dedicated realtors of Coldwell Banker, Cityside Realty, have served Lloyd Minster and surrounding area. They offer star power to their clients.

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And finally, Gartner management is a Lloydminster-based company specializing all types of rental properties to help meet your needs, whether we're looking at a small office or a 6,000 square foot commercial space. Give Wade Gertner a call 780808, 5025. And if you're heading into any of these businesses, let them know you heard about from the podcast, right? Now, let's get on to that T-Barr-1, Tale of the tape. Born in 1922, he's 99 years old, went to school at Tyrone Country School, was stationed in Halifax during World War II.

He was married for 65 plus years until he lost his wife. He's a family man, volunteer, and community pillar. I'm talking about Vernon Marlatt. So buckle up, here we go. Okay, it's January 24th, 2021. I'm sitting with Vernon Marlatt. So first off, Vernon, thanks for sitting down and allowing me to do this. Now, you're 98 years old two weeks ago.

Close as to nine months ago. Nine months ago? August. Oh, it's August. Oh, I guess I read the report wrong. August. So you're closing in on 99. Yeah.

How does 98 feel? No, definitely. Any other age. No. It hadn't bothered me too much. Still, I'll be gone. Well, you were born in 1922. That's an awful long time ago.

What's the first thing when you look back that you can remember about growing up in the 20s? Well, it wasn't much money in circulation. I didn't know what money was. I thought I was about 18. Did the chores and helped on the farm. Got my boardroom and clothes. I couldn't wish there any more before there was.

There's a few men on the road looking for jobs. And no work? No work. And then a box car's going through, Pellin was loaded with them, traveling from one in the country to the other hand, looking for work. I would get off and go out and see if they had to get a job. Get a job and do anything.

Get something to eat. Yeah. What do you think right now of COVID? Like I say, you've lived a lot of years. You've seen, you know, when people talk about the different outbreaks that have come through, the different hard times that have come through, you're a man who's lived through a majority of them. Well, it's something.

We meant never get over, but, you know, because it's going to change a lot of things. There's a lot of shops and people out of work. No, this is just about bad, maybe worse in the war. There's all kinds of money, but there's here too many going to lose their livelihood, because people have to be isolated. And I think maybe that's the biggest mistake, but that got everybody in a group That's what that, get the, catch it and get it over with. I think it's just prolonging it, why it is it,

for how many, about six thousand came down today, and can't, and that there's, and I think there's no end to it for quite a while. The vaccine or the shots, shots, I'm going to help too much, but they're coming too late. Going back to the war, you mentioned it's maybe worse than the war. Could you maybe walk us through some of what you remember about the war years? I joined up, the war was going on for a year or barrier, and I joined up and got into there.

Air Force was 42 and took an air engine mechanic course. I was in it to 45 when I got this charge. As far as that more, I didn't, I was calm because I went to Saskatoon and took a basic course, then I went to Brandon and took the physical course. typical course and then I went to St Thomas to truck the mechanic course in the winter of 42 for two months and then I was stationed at Lathbridge I was at Lathbridge there was a good got me in Palmer training school and I worked on I think what the engine.

I mean, place that dropped bombs. Are you talking about Lancaster bombers? No, Lancasterers were all overseas. They were overseas. Yeah.

We just trained in small to both. Two. But ancient place. Okay. And they had nine-cylinder, big, big a track motors in it. And I worked on those motors.

There was grilled by four of us in a group, and we worked on an engine, checked the motor every time they came back in and did that for, I don't know, about three years of them. I told last break out and I was shipped to North Baleford. I worked on a smaller plane. I was towards then in the Gidtruz.

I was there about maybe here at North Balaford. We could isolate in Pocene's foreseys. We just got to Halifax back when the war here. And we quit, but I got to Halifax and then moved up to Greenwood, Nova Scotia for about six months and then the Lancaster's came in to train for the Jack War. As soon as they came in, we moved over to move to Bridge, to Pitch Hill Ridge, or called it cold storage. They got a chance to work on a, what they call a mosquito aircraft.

I think of that. Tall cylinders, took me up, tested out. So you got to fly it? I just went through the right. How was that? It could really go? Yeah, about three, four, hard. Take, turn up, fly upside down, everything.

What did you think of that? Oh, okay. I said they looked down there, there's the border between the states and the Canada. We can't go that any further. South. That's where I ended up in there. I came home and

for all, during the years, allowed to come home for harvest to leave. You used to leave the war effort to come home to help for harvest. Really? Well, we're just in there training pilots

that We had so much need, a month to leave, a month to leave, come to us every year anyway. So we had, and there were four neighbors. All the guys are off fighting. So you'd come back home and lend a hand. Would it just be on your farm, your parents' farm, or would you be helping all the neighbors and everything?

Well, Pat had his own outtet fashion machine. And we need to have a dozen neighbors. Not every fall. And I helped there. Stook. You know what's stilker is? Is it tie up? Yeah.

The binders, went ahead with binders, cut the grain, and elevated it and rocked it and tie it makes what they call cheese. There was a carry on the binder

left and then five, six seeds in a dump a candy machine. to go so far and they we come along and still come up my how farming has changed over your time

what's the best piece of machinery the farm ever got well I don't I suppose the tract would be number one we had we had a track that which run the trash machine and that's how it didn't

But didn't have a fieldwork at all. It's all horses. Like I brought up with horses. How young would you have been when you started working with a team of horses? I must have been, I ever since I was 10 years old, maybe. 85 years. Well, I went to school. We had them.

Ed and Pony we got from the neighbors when we started school and they pretty well seen it still at school days. Horse and horses from that used to when my brother's sister level enough put the horse in the buggy and we go to school and the winter time put shaz on and put shaz on put a horse up on the cutter and go to school in the cutter. When you talk about in the 20s or your earliest memories is you didn't know what money was, you had no idea. Could you maybe talk a little bit about that?

I don't know if even I fully understand what you mean by that. There was just everything was trading goods. Is that what you mean? You'd trade some milk for, or money was hard to come by, so you only had 25 cents here. and there? Yeah. We milk cows,

separate milk milk, salt cream and mother used to make butter and that put it in pound packages. And we take that to town trade it for a starkeeper would take

for grocery money. We never paid more groceries other than through eggs and cream. But there was very little money changed hands. I guess dad did all the money work for he said one of the bought the big stuff. I think the whole time they saved money when I went to Bramian school of agriculture and 38, 39, and 40, two years.

They gave me a few dollars for spending money. They paid for the college, but it gave me money, well. What was your college days like? What was it like moving to Vermillion? While I was different, I had to go to the million on the train and stay there because there's no trouble back in the forest today. Maybe here, go there, back at the forest. I had to get on the train and go to the train.

of them in, because it was October, December, we got home for Christmas for a week. Then I had to go back to April, first of April, and they got back. I was there for five months. I remember in the dorm. All I took were 75 boys. And there were 75 girls on that, like two dorms. And that was bunk. It was two of them in a room.

My partner was from Banff. He was from Banff? Bampera. Yeah. He's one of the sons that ran the tour. Horses that took people on tour on horseback. Okay. Through the mountains.

He was the subject of that. Then it was Brent. He took the two years of course, too. But as soon as he got out, he joined up. And I don't think he got overseas for two months and that was. I never seen any more of them. He was killed. In going to Lakeland, what were you hoping to do after you graduated?

Well, I was thinking agriculture course. So you're just trying to learn more about farming? No. I got my diploma in agriculture. Then more broke out, and dad said, well, you better join up. So I did, so from 38 to 45. I was home for a four years. the rest of the time you're in vermillion or lethbridge or saskatoon or halifax all over the place

yeah when war broke out do you remember can you can you remember a was it just you read about it in the newspaper did you hear it on the radio how big a news was it and was it like oh my goodness we're in no war or was everybody excited about it well we heard about on radio radio was the means back then and then out that as far as myself

I didn't know too much about it I never lesson that were busy stick trying to get my education and chasing girls I bet

no I'm too bad because Could if you want to, but they're pretty stick. Well, I was the youngest one, I was just about 18. Raston about maybe got a little more education or some of them were in their 20s or that. And they knew more about out. about life outside than I did,

because I was just as far-boiled and went to town maybe once a week, maybe not that. But the ice room was there, but I said no too much going on in town because we were near Seatown. As a family, I don't think we hurt. We're better off with a lot of people. We had our own, about six, seven cows,

had pigs, had their own beef, red cows. Self-sufficient. And then about 20 head of horses for work. Or we had two six horse outfits. I run a six or ten. As soon as I got out of school, or I was, oh, 15, 16. I had six horses.

I had to take care of my harness and feed. I hooked a bunch of two bottom plow, pump, went 32 miles a day, 11 in the morning and 11 that night. afternoon. A lot of hard work. Well, it's just working. But compared to today. Oh yeah. Today, but they don't know what work is. Well, they get in a tractor and pretty runs this. All I had to do is press button and sit there. It's a different world we live in now. Oh, yeah. I've worked. I got, I got tractor.

one-way dish to farm credit after the war. My dad and brother, rather than the tracks and I run the horses. They did the seed with the one-way dish. I don't know if you... No one-way dish is nine and a half. They didn't see with that. I might have some seed with it.

The drill, six horses are drilled. I forget now. I run the horses, six horses on six sections of harrows. We had a cart. Some farm farmers did a cart. The hired man had to walk behind him by the six horses. Some rode horseback. We had a cart.

So six horses to send our cart. about six horses on the plow was three ahead and stay behind. To move the plow. How long a day would you go doing this? Oh, some days. Some mornings were out at 6 o'clock in the morning. Days run for horses because they had to be. We worked the left training, got the milk, fed them like I had to get it.

Four o'clock, round the horses up, put them in the barn, feed them, throw harness on them. We would have breakfast and have a bout and the pit hooked up around six o'clock and laughter. Horses were shorter days in them. They do with tractors. You think? Well, some of the work, some of the work, 12, 15 hours on a tractor. On a horse, you couldn't do that.

No. Some of these farmers sit on a tractor and 10, 12 hours a day. They do much at two hours. We could, and a week. Yeah, it's pretty incredible how much land you can farm now. with the technology. Well, some of these guys with 20,000 acres

were I think of small farmers could be 600 acres now. How many acres did you guys have back when you were on your parents' farm? I think we had three quarters. Okay.

I had my farm 50-50. Half, Somerville, half. Great. And I was at three quarters of the 400,000 acres. We made it part, I don't know, probably 400 acres, maybe 350. So we put it 175 acres in. Some of the horses. Do you remember?

remember Lloyd Minster back then? No. Was it even... When you talk about going to town, where did you go to town, too? Lashburn. Lashburn. Never ever to Lloyd. Maybe once a year.

There was there, but I thought. Wasn't anything to go to Lloyd for? No. That you couldn't get in Lashburn. Oh, it was too far away. Had to go travel with horses. Take them up poor. horses.

Come. Four hours one way to get to Lloyd. Well, horses. Yeah. Well, and no double-lane highway? No. Gravel road. My granddad,

he used to come. Granddad had two families. Say, the older boys, my dad, My two uncles were trained from Ontario in four, 1904. Yeah.

And Graham had a whole older once in a minute. Then I lived three or six years and they were raised in last year. And so they get to high school, they had to come to Lloyd. Grandpa, they have to bring the kids up and stay in Lloyd here, tried to keep them. And Grandpa had a pacer, a horse that they hooked to the cutter, they called a pacer, and used to come the Lloyd. They said he'd make going to 20 minutes.

Then it's Oh, there's no fences, not just, yeah. For a horse could really move. You mentioned no fences. Do you remember then when all the fences were going up? Fences? Yeah.

Oh, we must have fences because we had cattle. Yeah. Horses. Pigs. So. it all, I'm highly dope with pigs and everything, it was barbed wire, but around where you had the cattle, did you have barbed wire fences back then? Yeah. And would you have to by hand, string out all the barbed wire?

I suppose you would. Yeah. Yeah. Take the same as a dead thing. But, but, well, what did, feds off the sectionary? Like towards then, all kinds that passes up, quarter sections of that. Because people got more livestock.

Some of them could get along so that put the fence up and you stay off. Stay out of my land. So. How about communication? You know, now we have. devices that go with us everywhere, i.e. this little thing. Back then you would not have had anything remotely close to them. What do you remember about, you know, in the seven years of your way from home, I assume you wrote letters back and forth to your parents

maybe. No. Train. Train was a big one? Yeah. Or anyway. Only way? Yeah. So if you wanted to get from here to Lethbridge, you were on the train. Yeah. And was that like they had passenger trains going everywhere, any which way you wanted to go, kind of like the bus system? Well, it had one will go east. I would. East and six o'clock in the morning go east.

12 o'clock at night we go west. Every day, there's two trains. One west, one east. if you want to go to Ballapur you have to catch the 6 o'clock go to Balafur

but then stay there until 10 o'clock at night and come back on the train at Traveler Did you like traveling by trade? I had no choice but did you look forward to getting on the train and being like man we're cruising

compared to trying to walk this or ride a horse through this or are you like, man, this train sucks and I can't wait to get off of it. Well, we didn't have any fast seats like they had the day. We didn't have any stapers. Like I traveled back at the forest from East Coast three times for harvest. worked like

all on the train all on the train how long of a train would that be oh five or six cars how many days on the train from the east coast oh

36 hours you know it's interesting that's one thing that I mean people still take the train it's not like there isn't passenger trains there certainly are but they have disappeared Oh, I

Almost no need for him anymore When was the first time you took a plane Like a passenger plane? First time? Yeah I said I went down to Nevada

When you were 91 That was the first time you got on a passenger plane There was no Back when you were in Halifax Stationed in the Air Force They didn't think to throw you guys in some sort of plane and fly across the country to get you home?

No. They didn't have such a thing. Didn't have such a thing. What did you think at 91 when you got on your first plane? Where you're going, geez, that's pretty good. Oh, yeah. No. That didn't have any choice.

If you wanted to go, you had to go. On that plane. That's fair. I read too when you were 91 along that trip was the first time you ever stood in the ocean Is that true? Yeah

But at Halifax you would have saw the ocean, though Well, no, all the ocean I've seen this What is the Atlantic or Pacific? The Pacific is on the West Coast And the Atlantic is on the East Coast I said the Atlantic Norris Coast But you'd never seen the Pacific before.

Well, yeah. I seen the Pacific because one that's two kids or one of the two or three, two or three, when they took my car out to my car, pet, granddad, But that's up there. We had it go cross it to the island. Across the ferry to the island. Vancouver Island is a very, very beautiful place.

Wasn't it too bad then? I died. And up in Victoria. Crossed the municipal hat. Halfway down. You're talking on Vancouver Island? Like to Nimo? Was it a big or a small place?

Just a small place. North or south of Victoria? North. Well, we got technology. Let's see if we can't just find it. Talk right back, Victoria. See, Duncan. Duncan? Duncan. Duncan, B.C.

I must be in the fifties. I'm tight. Yeah, north along the main. main road. Anyways. That must have been quite the sight as a kid. Oh yeah. You know, talking about your parents, even your grandparents, because your parents would have been born in the 1800s then.

Yeah. What was some of the lessons maybe they passed along to you or tried to instilling you? What was that again? What were some of the lessons? Like, what was some of the advice? your parents gave to you? Oh, I don't know.

Which is the day by day. I don't think they tell us what to do not to do. Did you have growing up an influential person on your life, though? Like, was there somebody who you admired how they carried themselves or the things they said, the way they treated people?

No, not really. I had two uncles that worked pretty good. Both ended up in jail. Put the time in, but definitely things did steal and gas and stuff. Otherwise, I think we've been pretty good as a family as a whole. Four uncles, his prime was bad. He worked around last a while. Then he ended up, BC was working for the...

I think he'd have to put the power lines in the mountains. Gordon. He was a banked worker. He ended up in BC, I think it was 12 years old when he's sat you advice to him. Then I had one, Sasha Tune and... One of New York, the States, I just asked where Transdivate from the States, then he farmed from Bury, Ontario before he moved up here.

He was in New York, then he went to Barry, Ontario, and then he moved over here? They came here. He fired and buried. Right on it's harshest that out of my tell you. Yeah. That's something tricky. How about winter back then?

You know, we've been having a very mild winter. It has been rather enjoyable. But currently, it dipped down to minus, I don't know, 35 last night. Well, that's still warm. So what was cold back then? Oh, 40, 45 below. Not south is. You're talking Fahrenheit?

Yeah. Why are you talking to Fahrenheit? Did you used to go by Fahrenheit back then? No, how? Just, I don't know, what, last 15 years or so, they changed over. We never had two temperatures. It was always Fahrenheit or it was always Celsius?

Always Fahrenheit? When I've been doing these interviews, I always bring up the cold because I didn't realize your houses back in the day were cold. We're just cold. Yeah. Is that something that just, you can just remember that instantly and remember, yeah, on a minus 45 night, you had to have the wood fire just to howling. They had to go out, one would go out and get up in the morning, water on the snow.

I farmed ice. So inside your house, you'd have, when the fire went out, the next morning you'd wake up, and there'd be ice on the stove, on the water pot. Yeah. We had to go to school and went because of horse, horse and cut her, snow. As high as the table. Lots of wonders you can see the fence. Now, and it stayed that way for days on time.

How to get up, had to go over to the, used to flash, stop piles out in the field, and then in the wintertime, go out with a team and hayratch, they call it. get a load of stock to feed the animals. So you'd have to go out into the field and dig up where you'd left hay stashed up. And that's how you'd feed cattle in the winter.

Did you ever run out a hay to feed the cattle in the winter? Did you ever run out of feed? Yeah, one or two years. That had a hall, stall for five miles away. But old sonnage used to farm out here, Ar marshal.

They had that, there's a big lake, it's a big clue, and used to go dry. He'd get that two oats, get wet on the crop, then he sells the straw, going by, going by a straw pilot, star, and hot, 20 miles, 10 miles,

because maybe we got two or eight bush with the anchor. We didn't know what 10 bush of the acre crop was. You would have had no power, no running water? No. No. When the telephone come in, it used to fire, barbed wire fences for wire. They used the barbed wire fences

for wire? On the telephone lines. Yeah. For one of the first. Well, they didn't have the craft to put the post in. So how did they get the posts in? How did they get the posts in?

Well, after a while they dug up in. By hand? Dug each post hole by hand? Do you remember the first phone call that your parents got? or that you got, like, can you remember? No.

No. First radio, I forget. It's just a battery operator for one. Then they had to take it to town and get charged them. The guy that had a bit of a power plant in life for the town off. You wanted a battery charge, so you had to stay it there. How long did it take for battery to recharge? Was that a day trip?

in, hand it off. I forget now. Did you listen, were you, did you grow up listening to Foster Hewitt on the radio? The NHL? The original six of the NHL were on the radio on Saturday nights. Did you listen to Foster Hewitt? Okay, yes, we did, but I forget now.

Well, I went home for four winters. I was in the Air Force. I didn't have a radio I didn't know what the hell we didn't have any radio in the barracks or anything so we didn't know what was going on and in the college

we didn't have a outside so what did you do for fun in the Air Force I mean when you're not working on planes and whatever else you were doing in the Air Force what did you guys do you must have had some days where you have you know

a Sunday offer, did you have leave days to go into Halifax? Things are too much. Watch as well as, I would go into the last bridge and something to do, but there was no other place they'd go. There's nothing else doing, for we can't have any. No ball or no other. Nothing. During the war years, there wasn't a whole lot of anything going on.

No, no. Is it similar to this, where there's not a whole lot of anything going on? I have no idea. Well, there's no hockey, no restaurants are closed down. During the war, they could be open. Their products, all that was open. They weren't closed down like the hour today. That's what I say.

This is pretty important more than the war. Because we aren't allowed to go here, there. But they're doing it, and that's what's going to prolong this. Longer. Longer. Some people are satisfied to sit here. Or some of them, they don't know what, sit still. Do you know what sit still is?

I just find that statement right there very interesting because you're right for probably 20, maybe even longer than that, maybe 30 years. We are not a, Canada is not a group of people that sit still. We're constantly doing things. Yeah. Do you remember a time where you had to sit still? No, not very.

and myself. I'm not sitting still. Yeah, you just got your driver's license. You still got your driver's license. Yeah. So where do you go tour into? I got my test here the other day. I've got it to 22. I got it for two years. You're breaking. You're just a rebel. You're going to drive around and go wherever you want. You've earned it. Yeah. If I want to go to the farm. I went to the farm, actually.

I had to get the paper site. Bringing up the company I had for him. Martin is on the farm. I went out there yesterday morning. At the paper site, co-edered. See day painting off the long mountain. He lost his license because he can't see.

one I so he likes company so no by looks of your story golfing

has played a huge part of it or something that you've really enjoyed doing well last a few years

before this I know what the group I forget I go every surgery they have a

bee or at different points. Yeah. Like Coal Lake and Barneyville and Thurtee the town's up there, Romanian, right, right?

Asper, every surgery we go. As far as school, they pick me up where we go. Have you ever heard? Have you ever heard? hit the elusive hole in one?

Have you ever gotten a hole in one? No. Still searching for it. Yeah, something I'll never do because I can't hit that far. I got a price for the longest foot, about 20 feet, but more luck in your advantage. You helped build the Lashburn golf course, is that true? Well, although we started, then. Last through golf, a bunch of us got together and said we're going to make a course.

So there was patch, the line and bush and stuff. They got some engineer that knew something about taking out, some, stuck out through the bush. We had a cat, cleaned the bush out. Then they burned bush and picked roots. And then all cleared away. There was, oh, about 40 acres broke on it already. Then we had the guy from Saskatoon and plot the, where to put the greens, got that, done. Remember, one year we, I think, applied 4,000 trees outwork on the Colorado land.

Then we made sand greens. We had to haul manure and sand and everything to make a green. Manure? Perfertilizer? No, we all. Those of manure mixed in with the dirt or whatever? I'm sad. Yeah.

You must be very proud of that course, Sam. Oh, it should be because all volunteer labor. All volunteer labor to make the Lashburn Golf Course. Do you remember how much it cost initially to make? Was the land donated? Was the land cost. Part of the price, I think, probably $4,000. $4,000.

for the land. He's a tough old brother. Then he could go around. I get in the golf course, this lad, and that. They get it's all right. We had to

find money to pay for the land, but the rest of us. All free labor. All guys donating their time. Something special about small communities when they come together and build projects like that.

Yeah. And a few years we had just tag grains and then put it in the water. And then all come to give us the fights and pull out of wells. So all the companies were good to us. We had to buy the sprinklers and that. But grass, after we got, grass, we had to buy moors. But once you got the boys, that was all involved. Their labor to cut the grass and keep it down.

When did you meet your wife? When did you meet Bernice? Oh, but it in the 40. Do you remember what it was about her? Well, we used to go have school dances of that. used to go to different schools for different dues. Yeah. I guess that's one of those, I guess.

Do you remember if there was something special about her? Why she was the one? No, not really. She tolerated you? So, I was just one of those things that happens. You were married for 65 years, is that correct, right? 69. 69 years?

got married at 44. What could you tell people, whoever stumbled across this conversation about 69 years of marriage? Is there any advice you could pass along? No, just have to, I had some hard times and good times and not all, more roses.

You had to take the good ones. the bag stick together. How about having kids? I have three little ones. Well, the oldest is closing in on five now, I guess. He turns five in April. I know I certainly worry about things now. You're a guy who has grown kids now.

What was parented like for you and still like for you for you for that matter? Because now you're what, a grandparent, great-grandparent? Yeah. Great-grandparent? So you've got to see a lot of generations come through, which must be a pretty surreal experience. I feel sorry for those that haven't got any, or can't have any.

Once they get growing up, they have somebody to fall back on, like, care of them. She, she's telling me now. She got me here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to you. Yeah. Now, that's that, pick the good with the band.

We lost a boy when he's 19 years old. And I tried to miss up. Just finished his high school. I don't think he's seen as diploma. We're both working out, as a peti plant out, both the last room had chores to do it with some stones in the ditch down the road and had a probably a load of tractor, brand new one.

We took the truck and the tractor and moved each stones. There's two big ones that, not, we loaded the truck, and I had a truck, I unloaded them. There was a couple of stones up the road and the ditch. I said, he's going to get them. I unload the stones, what she did. And then coming home, I unrolled him.

Dinner time. I stayed in the common, so I just went up. He never got home. Ended up in the ditch. We don't know what happened. had a heart attacker. So holiday day we could get any help for her. It's just one of those things.

He stayed with his mother. I worked at the sea of his plant for, I don't know, 15, 16 years, a night. So he's company for mother. but he was working to go to college and he didn't see but that was one of the hard points of like his mother because he was so close to her.

I don't think any parent wants that. Well, actually, I know no parent wants that's the worst nightmare. Yeah. Well, just like that. Yeah. How quickly the world can turn. Yeah. It's easy to be big.

He was about six foot tall and pretty strong. Good athlete. We're driving the saw that I think up at Stacey's plant or the pesticide plant. My house 2. So, no. It's kind of a shocker. What's one of the happiest days you can remember? Happiest.

Happy day? Yeah. Oh, I don't know. Can't pick any one day out. It's been a pretty good life then. Oh, yeah, we had. I had to work against me. There's no, maybe about,

for, nights at the chasing plant, I watch at the peddine plant, five or six cows all the time and pigs. I really haven't had an 80 life. I'd hurt me. Well, you've had longevity. Let me tell you, 98 years is,

I hope you get another 98 years and can become one of those guys. Like I say, I've been sitting here talking to people right around your generation, right around that. 90 to 95 and the stories just never cease to amaze me. I appreciate you coming in and doing this.

Is there anything else that, you know, we've talked for a little over an hour, an hour and closing on an hour and a half. Is there anything else that you think, I say this all the time, it's hard to encapsulate a life in even an hour and a half. But is there anything else, Vernon, that you'd like to talk about? went to Tyrone School for nine years.

Tyrone School? Yeah. So, of course, my grade nine correspondence, those days, as high school taught, had to go to Lashford, over-a-state correspondence to school. I got my grade nine, then dad said me, agriculture.

So instead of taking high school, you went to Lakeland College. Well, they called it for medical school of agriculture then. Okay. What do you remember about Tyrone the country school? Another one-room school host?

Yeah. How far did you have to travel to get to Tyrone? My life. Yeah. One year, there was. I think there's 32 of us from grade one up to grade nine, one teacher. One teacher, yeah. Poor old one teacher.

Now one teacher has 10 kids and complainant just one grade. They get $200 a day. Those days, they got $20 a month. Some of the teachers, hardly get left. I think some of, or some, they get four doors a year. I just had a funny thought come through my brain. Do you remember the first Coke you ever tried? Coca-Cola, pop.

Were you ever a pop drinker? Were you ever a sweets guy? What did you guys have for, uh, I don't know, not dessert? but something along that line. A donut. Nothing like that? You never went to ice cream, go to town for an ice cream cone?

Well, maybe one's town once a week or once a month and they got two bits or maybe we got against ourselves an ice cream corn or something. But a soft thing.

I don't remember any. Cokes. Don't remember any of that. Not during the 30s. Especially not during the 30s. So, no. I don't know there's such a thing or not. You mentioned way back at the start, going back to your time in Halifax and in the Air Force,

that after the war was done, you guys were preparing for the war with Japan. So was Canada planning on joining the U.S. in the fight against Japan? I'm not too sure. All I know is these big Lancaster's came. Yeah, the bombers came back. They came in the train for there. And how far they got, I don't know.

But shortly after that, they staged out those two bombs. Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Yeah. Do you remember? What was said back then when that happened? No, for a... I was out of the farm, but just another day. Just another day.

Another day. What is maybe a final one here in Canada, what is maybe one of the biggest changes you've seen in your lifetime? Bigger changes? Yeah. Oh, they big combines and big tractors. Enough to hurt the brain? I walked out in the field, that's office,

and there's $2 million worth of machines sitting in that field. Three combines, two big directors, a big wagon could catch the grain. I think there was three cities that catch up. Yeah, that are loading and unloading at all times. That's more than morning I've seen in my lifetime. I was pretty much. Here, my nephew was pretty two

million dollars worth of I was sitting in the field. Why he had a whole bake dryer to make augurs. Your final one then, before I let you go on, is if you have

advice for anyone, what over almost 99 years would you pass? pass along. What's something you would say has lived the test at time? Oh, he just, I have to day by day, take my cousin. You have to, you have not to say, I'm sitting here, have to go outside, take what's outside there. I had no control. He just had to take day by day and make, make plans. The bags can be broken.

So you plan something. A lot of people plan. It doesn't be paralyzed. Then they go all wacky. Go wacky when their plans don't come to fruition. No. Yeah. So I don't know.

I'm just lucky. That's all. I say in the good. I've seen the bags. That's life, isn't it? So. Well, I appreciate you coming in, Vernon, and sitting down and doing this with me. So I got lots of time.

I got more time than money. Well, thanks again for sitting in and sharing some of your life with me. Good. Hey, folks. Thanks for joining us today. If you just stumbled on the show, please click subscribe. Then scroll to the bottom and rate and leave a review. I promise it helps.

Remember, every Monday and Wednesday, we will have a new guest sitting down to share their story. The Sean Newman podcast is available for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you get your podcast fix. Until next time.