Usually when we went on road trips it was to Springhill or Canterbury,to visit either one set of relatives,or the other.If we went to see my mothers family in Canterrbury,the trip would be longer than a day most times.But you could drive to Springhill in just over an hour,so that was usually a day trip.Most time we went to Springhill by car.But one time,my father and I went as far as Amherst on the train.There was no need to go by train,other than that my father wanted me to know what it was like to ride on the train. Moncton was such a small place that there were no trains in the transit system,so there was no real opportunity to ride a train in day to day life.So the trip to Amherst was just a means of opening up the world to me a bit.
Early on a Saturday morning,we all got into the car and drove into downtown Moncton,by the Canadian National Railroad Building,which seemed like the tallest building in town,with about eight or nine floors.Behind the building,there was a small depot,where the train came in.My father and I got onto the train and found our seats.Riding the train was,of course a really big deal to me,even though the trip was only about forty five minutes long.But I'd never been on a train before.
It was a splendid day outside,not a cloud and quite warm.Late spring,just coming into summer.After we'd been on the train a few minutes,it started to pull out of the station.I could see the old Eaton's building.It was one of the very first buildings we passed,looking dingy and old on the right side of the train,when compared to the shiny black and silver railway building out the left side windows.We crept out over the subway,which ,of course is not really a subway,but just a cement overpass.In those days,and on that day in particular,the overpass was just gray,or some such dull color.Nobody had yet decided that it should be beautiful,so it was an eyesore that you passed under on you way into the main part of downtown.But on the train,you passed over it,and were up higher than the cars on the road,and about halfway up the side of some of the lower buildings.A bit farther up,the tracks crossed St.George Street,and I was impressed that all of the cars had to stop for it.I looked for our car.My mother and sister were going to Amherst by car,then they would meet us at the station,and we would drive the rest of the way to Springhill. But I couldn't our car when I looked out the window.
After it crossed St.George Street,the tracks cut at an angle up towards Mountain Road,past the high school,and down into the flats by Hall's Creek,where all of the car dealerships were located.The tracks were built up at that point,so we were up higher than the road.It wasn't long until we were in some part of town I didn't know at all,then,we were out in the country where there were trees and marshes all around.All along the tracks there were people picking things,maybe fiddle heads or maybe even strawberries.Many of them stopped the things they were doing to wave at us on the train.
Before long we were gliding along flat land with a lot of little creeks cutting through if.There were cat tails everywhere,and I saw some young boys with fishing rods walking through the marsh.This was the Tantramar Marsh,which makes up a big part of Southeast New Brunswick,and seems like about the flattest part of all Atlantic Canada.We crossed a road as we were coming into Amherst,and I looked again for our car,but wasn't able to see it.It wasn't there when we got to the station either,and we had to wait for a few minutes.My father was saying something about"your mother drives so slow."
Once we were all together again in the car,we started off in the direction of Springhill. It was kind of a rough piece of road,very hilly with a lot of turns,and like most roads in Atlantic Canada,rather rough.There were trees on all sides,so there really wasn't a lot to see.Maybe about half way to Springhill,there was a big yard where the circus stored all of their rides in a warehouse.By the time we got there,my sister and I would be bored,and would most likely asked "Are we there yet.".a hundred or so times.So my mother would encourage us to watch to see if we could spot anything like the carousel or the Farris wheel.Most times we never did,but once in a while we would see one of the trucks they used to haul equipment with.These trucks were most often red,and they would have circus scenes painted of the sides.It wasn't a circus in the sense of animals or clowns,or that sort of thing.It was just a carnival,but we all called it a circus.
Before you come into Springhill,you come into a lower area called The Junction,or Springhill Junction.Sometimes when we were on road trips my father would stop there ,at the liquor store to buy beer.On the day we took the train,I guess he had it in his mind to have a bit of a picnic,so he got some beer,and,instead of driving right into town,he took a side road right by where the road crosses over all the tracks at The Junction.It was a really rough looking area,all dirty and smelling of creosote,with blackened coal cars parked off tho the sides.There were tiny house nearby too,and it must have been poor people who lived there,as they really were just shacks,some of them unpainted.
The train trip was my first train trip.But it was not to be the end of first things on this particular day.As we sat there,outside of the car,we ate some sandwiches and were looking down onto the tracks.On the far side of the tracks,there was a line of trees,and,as we watched,we noticed a dog walking along the trees,going in and out of the woods,but walking roughly parallel to the tracks.It was a big,bulky and well muscled sort of creature,with rough fur,some of which was missing in big clumps.I recall my father saying"There's a dog." to my mother.And we watched it for a short time,before my mother said"we should leave." What was clear to me at the time was that my parents seemed a bit concerned about the dog.So we got back into the car and drove off.It took me a few years to realize that the dog was actually a wolf,and it was the first time I'd ever seen one.My parents really didn't want to tell us that it was a wolf,because to us,wolves were not a good thing.The only wolf I knew anything about was supposed to be big and bad,and I'm sure my parents though that one,or maybe even the both of us children would freak out if they said the word "wolf." That first wolf I'd ever seen turned out to be the last one until I moved out west years later.
Early on a Saturday morning,we all got into the car and drove into downtown Moncton,by the Canadian National Railroad Building,which seemed like the tallest building in town,with about eight or nine floors.Behind the building,there was a small depot,where the train came in.My father and I got onto the train and found our seats.Riding the train was,of course a really big deal to me,even though the trip was only about forty five minutes long.But I'd never been on a train before.
It was a splendid day outside,not a cloud and quite warm.Late spring,just coming into summer.After we'd been on the train a few minutes,it started to pull out of the station.I could see the old Eaton's building.It was one of the very first buildings we passed,looking dingy and old on the right side of the train,when compared to the shiny black and silver railway building out the left side windows.We crept out over the subway,which ,of course is not really a subway,but just a cement overpass.In those days,and on that day in particular,the overpass was just gray,or some such dull color.Nobody had yet decided that it should be beautiful,so it was an eyesore that you passed under on you way into the main part of downtown.But on the train,you passed over it,and were up higher than the cars on the road,and about halfway up the side of some of the lower buildings.A bit farther up,the tracks crossed St.George Street,and I was impressed that all of the cars had to stop for it.I looked for our car.My mother and sister were going to Amherst by car,then they would meet us at the station,and we would drive the rest of the way to Springhill. But I couldn't our car when I looked out the window.
After it crossed St.George Street,the tracks cut at an angle up towards Mountain Road,past the high school,and down into the flats by Hall's Creek,where all of the car dealerships were located.The tracks were built up at that point,so we were up higher than the road.It wasn't long until we were in some part of town I didn't know at all,then,we were out in the country where there were trees and marshes all around.All along the tracks there were people picking things,maybe fiddle heads or maybe even strawberries.Many of them stopped the things they were doing to wave at us on the train.
Before long we were gliding along flat land with a lot of little creeks cutting through if.There were cat tails everywhere,and I saw some young boys with fishing rods walking through the marsh.This was the Tantramar Marsh,which makes up a big part of Southeast New Brunswick,and seems like about the flattest part of all Atlantic Canada.We crossed a road as we were coming into Amherst,and I looked again for our car,but wasn't able to see it.It wasn't there when we got to the station either,and we had to wait for a few minutes.My father was saying something about"your mother drives so slow."
Once we were all together again in the car,we started off in the direction of Springhill. It was kind of a rough piece of road,very hilly with a lot of turns,and like most roads in Atlantic Canada,rather rough.There were trees on all sides,so there really wasn't a lot to see.Maybe about half way to Springhill,there was a big yard where the circus stored all of their rides in a warehouse.By the time we got there,my sister and I would be bored,and would most likely asked "Are we there yet.".a hundred or so times.So my mother would encourage us to watch to see if we could spot anything like the carousel or the Farris wheel.Most times we never did,but once in a while we would see one of the trucks they used to haul equipment with.These trucks were most often red,and they would have circus scenes painted of the sides.It wasn't a circus in the sense of animals or clowns,or that sort of thing.It was just a carnival,but we all called it a circus.
Before you come into Springhill,you come into a lower area called The Junction,or Springhill Junction.Sometimes when we were on road trips my father would stop there ,at the liquor store to buy beer.On the day we took the train,I guess he had it in his mind to have a bit of a picnic,so he got some beer,and,instead of driving right into town,he took a side road right by where the road crosses over all the tracks at The Junction.It was a really rough looking area,all dirty and smelling of creosote,with blackened coal cars parked off tho the sides.There were tiny house nearby too,and it must have been poor people who lived there,as they really were just shacks,some of them unpainted.
The train trip was my first train trip.But it was not to be the end of first things on this particular day.As we sat there,outside of the car,we ate some sandwiches and were looking down onto the tracks.On the far side of the tracks,there was a line of trees,and,as we watched,we noticed a dog walking along the trees,going in and out of the woods,but walking roughly parallel to the tracks.It was a big,bulky and well muscled sort of creature,with rough fur,some of which was missing in big clumps.I recall my father saying"There's a dog." to my mother.And we watched it for a short time,before my mother said"we should leave." What was clear to me at the time was that my parents seemed a bit concerned about the dog.So we got back into the car and drove off.It took me a few years to realize that the dog was actually a wolf,and it was the first time I'd ever seen one.My parents really didn't want to tell us that it was a wolf,because to us,wolves were not a good thing.The only wolf I knew anything about was supposed to be big and bad,and I'm sure my parents though that one,or maybe even the both of us children would freak out if they said the word "wolf." That first wolf I'd ever seen turned out to be the last one until I moved out west years later.
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