Rare Family Photos: “The Cattons celebrate their fiftieth”

Coincidence? Good luck? Money changed hands?

Last week I shared the above old photo of my great-uncle Arthur from Norwich, Ontario. During tough times his garden helped to feed close relatives who lived close-at-hand. One of the relatives was my mother and she later wrote a story about Arthur’s generosity.

And on Monday I was given the photo below. Amazing. It is great-uncle Arthur Catton and his wife, and it is the only original photo I possess of this kind-hearted couple. 

I learned that great uncle Arthur and his wife are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary in their backyard. ("1894 - 1944" is written on the back of the picture and several flower baskets fill the foreground). I was also told which house on Main St. was theirs by someone who had known them.

I asked if I shared a family resemblance and was told I look more like another uncle who still lives in Norwich, my hometown. I’ll check on that after I grow out my moustache.

Photos by GH

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Fun and Fitness: “I stay motivated”

One down, six to go... for now.

I read while pedalling my exercise bike and the other evening I finished one thick book and quickly reached for another one in a short pile containing at least six more books. 

After reading 40 pages I’d say I made a good choice. Miles will pass, pedalling, while I turn pages. 

E.g., after supper tonight I’ll head downstairs to the exercise bike, and book, motivated to travel another 30 miles.

Some want to lose weight. Good motivation. I lose weight while turning pages, thinking about more important things. Better motivation, I say, though paperbacks get a bit wet in the process. 

Hey, things ain’t perfect but I’m working on it.

[Photo by G.Harrison]

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How do you keep yourself motivated re fitness?

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doodle 8: shar linn

doodling. it's something to do when I have spare time and a few curved lines on my hands.

do you doodle in the phone book?

[doodle by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to see doodle 7

Ollie stole my new motorcycle boots

10:45 p.m. Sept. 18. My birthday. And I feel all of 45 - 50 tops - though my birth certificate says otherwise.

You can’t argue with the birth certificate. Especially the ones laminated with quarter inch plastic in the late 1940s.

All guests were assembled by 5:30, comfortably seated in my small living room, enjoying grandson Ollie’s antics.

My brother-in-law, Dave T., asked if I had any pearls of wisdom to share after living as long as I have.

Oh, I had a quick answer! (All I needed was a soap box).

“Live small,” I said. “Love your neighbour. Pursue a simple life. Blaze a new trail. And maintain a sense of humour at all times.”

“Slow down,” he said. “Sounds like I should be taking notes.”

Presents were presented and I asked Ollie to help me unwrap them. He eagerly obliged.

In fact, he walked off with the biggest package, which later turned out to be new motorcycle boots. We all had a great laugh watching him trundle around the room as he talked about Christmas.


["Bird boxes need a coat of primer. Beauts on the way": GAH]

New boots will be a gift that keeps on giving. They may even get a workout tomorrow if I get my next column typed up by 3 p.m. and the sun is shining, and I don’t get the bug to work in The Shed on my next batch of birdhouses and chairs.

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What’s the weather look like tomorrow?

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Live Small and Prosper: “If civilization is to survive...”

I flipped through ‘A Short History of Progress’ last night looking for a quote, possibly for an upcoming article.

[Summer will end (actually, has it even started?), my series re ‘unique local neighbourhoods’ will end as well, and I’ll strike a new course, likely a brilliant one.]

I think a few articles could spring from this quote by Ronald Wright:

“If civilization is to survive, it must live on the interest, not the capital, of nature.”

“Ecological markers suggest that in the early 1960s, humans were using about 70 per cent of nature’s yearly output: by the early 1980s we’d reached 100 per cent; and in 1999, we were at 125 per cent. Such numbers may be imprecise but their trend is clear - they mark the road to bankruptcy.”

From that one quote several titles for articles come to mind:

“We’re eating too much of our planet too quickly”

“The bright side of the recession from Mother Earth’s point of view”


“Should we schedule another recession for the sake of future generations?”

“Can we dial back our lifestyle by even 10 per cent?”

“What happens when North America applies for bankruptcy?”

The book might be called A Short History of Progress for good reason.

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Can you see evidence that we’re eating too much of our planet too quickly?

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