When my grandmother Muriel Lloyd was alive I was always interested in her stories about our family. On car drives into Young's Point, or into Burleigh Falls or Apsley Ontario, she would tell me of who lived where and how we were connected. It didn't need to be in the car or at a table, we could be at a local fall fair and we would inevitably run into a farmer showing their livestock, who was a cousin living in some remote part of Peterborough County.
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| Eleanor (Lloyd) Best on ice sleigh, Harvey Farm, Smith Township, Peterborough |
Mum as I called her, would fondly tell of cutting massive ice blocks from the frozen lakes, and moving them back to the farm by horse drawn sleighs and ringing bells. The ice blocks would be covered with sawdust in the icehouse to keep meat frozen into the early fall. The special ice blocks would be set aside for homemade ice cream on those hot summer days in July. She would mention about cousins coming to visit for Sunday meals, and of several pie trees on the counters filled to the top with every flavor imaginable. My mouth watered as I listened.
I guess it was through Mum that I learned a simple appreciation for family, and the need to keep the connections. It was her stories in the summer kitchen and along the back lane, and my mother and my uncle Doug's love to share their memories that helped me value our pioneer roots in northern Peterborough County.
The rocks, trees, fields and lakes of Smith, Burleigh, Douro and Dummer Townships were groomed and shared by families like the Harvey's, Northey's, Lloyd's and Matthews. Each time I travel Highway 28, Lakefield Rd., Young's Point Rd., County Rd. 6, or Country Rd. 8, I follow a path travelled for more than 160 years by my family. It's because of these connections that I have grown to appreciate the rich heritage we share in a country we are proud to call home.
