Eston resident shares Christmas memories

By Joan Janzen

Vern Hewlitt took a trip down memory lane, recalling his life spent in Eston and area. He was born in 1934 in Eston, and grew up on the family farm. “It’s thirteen miles from Eston and eleven miles from Madison,” he explained. Vern has one sister, and attended a country school in the RM of Snipe Lake and another school in the RM of Newcombe.

“It was usually pretty cold with lots of weather at Christmas,” he recalled. He remembered going to see his grandparents in Glidden one Christmas. It was storming and the roads were treacherous, so they stayed for Christmas dinner and then went right back home. “Back in those days there were no cell phones so you took your chances being out there in the cold,” he said.

Vern Hewlitt from Eston enjoys going for coffee with his friends and watching his grandkids skate at the rink. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Attending his school’s Christmas concert was a yearly tradition, as well as concerts held in schools in other districts. “The school was packed to the rafters with people,” he said.

Turkey was usually served for Christmas dinner; sometimes it was a turkey that had been raised on their farm, and gifts were often homemade. “When people didn’t have much money, you appreciated homemade stuff more than bought things,” he said. “It was more personal.” He also admitted he has never skated on an ice rink, only on a dugout.

Although Vern was only five years old in 1939, he has vivid memories of the first rain storm that the area received after the years of drought. “Two neighbours and my dad were travelling north of the river. The sun was shining, but it was a dim orange ball in the sky because there was so much dust,” he recalled. The dust was so thick that it completely concealed the thunder clouds that rolled across the sky, so his dad was taken by surprise when the downpour came.

“It just poured. It came down so fast that everything was white with water when we got out of the hills. It came down so fast the water didn’t have a chance to soak in,” he recalled. The steady rain continued for days, ending the lengthy period of drought. “Things turned around after that. That was one of the highlights in the 30s.”

Vern eventually married and the couple had a daughter and a son. His son operates the family farm and his daughter lives on a farm near Kindersley. “We have six grandkids, all under six years of age. Two of them are twins,” Vern said. “It’s just a riot when they’re all together.”

You’ll often find Vern having coffee with his friends, watching his grandkids skate at the rink or spending time at the family farm. “I go there everyday to make sure everybody else is doing something,” he chuckled.