Memorial Day for Walt
Waking up at the Chilanko Rosa Ranch, in the little cabin out back just before 5:00 am, listening to the birds having a morning chirp outside the window. Clothes on and outside for a smoke, Stephen is already walking around with coffee cup in hand and there’s more in the pot, w00t! Lazy type morning with the event not until two in the afternoon and lots of time to get ready, breakfast is porridge, mmm.
Did the chores with Lorraine and we had a nice talk, everyone mentions Nives losing her husband and seems sometimes they forget that he had a sister that was close too. She has lost her husband, my Uncle Vernon, a few years back and also survives both parents and her sister Hattie, my Mom. She asked me if I ever thought moving up to the Chilcotin, and couldn’t really give a definitive answer making up excuses like the lack of high speed internet (dial up is slowwwly available). Never much cared for the idea of raising cows with all the calving and branding that goes along with the job, did like the feeding and herding around to different pastures as the seasons roll by though. Having just a haying operation and selling the hay to other people that raised the animals would be a good gig for me, work hard part of the year and during the long winter months have time to play on the internet etc.
Chores that had to be taken care of every day are feeding the chickens in the morning, putting the milk cows and their calves together for breakfast, getting the sheep and lambs out of the barn and into an outside pen, and throwing some hay over the fence into the bull pen. Doesn’t take that long, a little less than an hour and back up to the house where the production line for the sandwiches and other goodies for the Memorial are ramping up. There aren’t any caterers in the Chilcotin, food is handmade and mostly locally grown so the cream that was served with the coffee was freshly skimmed off the milk in the morning from the milking yesterday.
The service was at the Alexis Creek Community Centre, and when we arrived shortly before 2:00 the parking lot was already almost full and the mosquitos were thick in the air. We waited and swatted and talked outside while cousin Rainy got everyone seated inside, and then made our entrance, filling the entire front row of seats.
The priest at Alexis Creek is of the Christian bent, and is known for not having long drawn out sermons while speaking the language of the ranchers he communes with, zeroing in on the crux of a subject. This time was no exception with an eulogy focused on Walt’s tenacity and genuineness of the land and animals he tended. Mr. Bayliff also got up to talk, a few songs were sung and the formal part of the service was over. Everyone stood to sing one last psalm, and then the greetings and talk of days past began. Managed to find a few people that I recognised and had a couple chats, but for the most part felt like an outsider there and unable to speak the language. Did a little better going outside for a smoke, at least a little in common there other than knowing Walt but time outside is limited to how long you can stand the mosquitos.
Around 4:00 the event started breaking up and people going home, there was still a spreading of the ashes to go through back at the Willow Springs ranch and dinner with the family. Hopefully I didn’t insult anyone by not attending that part, earlier in the day was asked if I was going to be there for the ceremony and had surmised that by that time, my limit for this sort of event would have been reached and and said no, and having guessed correctly and started saying my goodbyes as well. Made the mistake of saying goodbye to Lorraine and Nives first and after those two people the tears were welling up, so made my exit and jumped in the car.