Kevin Doyle’s letter in issue #17/20 of the Bruce Peninsula Press reminded me of my childhood (my first one) in the 1950s where I lived in a hamlet of 12 people in Saskatchewan. A train from Regina to Swan River, Manitoba stopped in our small community six days a week. It was pulled by a steam engine and had a coal car, a mail car, a freight car, a baggage car, a passenger car and a caboose. The toilet in the back corner of the passenger car consisted of a hole in the floor hence the song that began “We encourage constipation while the train is in the station”.
The first mile of our walk to school was along the railroad track, so in addition to looking out for trains, we had to be careful where we stepped!
John Baker
Lion’s Head, Ontario
