The 60s were a magical time. Magical and unique in a lot of social aspects. and changin' time the world over. Life on the Island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia had a specially unique social climate for boys and girls of that decade regarding island oasis.
August was the manual work when blueberries were ripe with regard to picking and moms covering the island would send their kids out to pick a great miracle blueberry. One of nature's most healthy foods. In the fields and on the hills of Cape Breton blueberries flourished. This meaning little miracle of mother nature grew in low hair brush areas; especially, areas that had strong a brush fire in the previous 2 years.
The blueberry picking venture could enable you to get to the hill near the Sydney Radar Base, the common secret-to-this-day location called 'Blueberry Hill' used Whitney Pier, or that this woods near communities among them New Waterford. Blueberry picking was commonly a group outing. Ages 5 to 27 ventured out together in the early morning, with lunches in hand and dressed alongside the heat of along with noonday sun.
Each member of the picking troupe was assigned his well-known container into which it might blueberries went. The youngest will often have a plastic margarine reservoir. The older ones would pick in to a 4 quart basket. I remember other people whose berries accessed those old glass 1 quart milk bottles. The basket was available to the air and stopped profits from sweating and getting mushy, a problem people had via the glass milk bottle.
Tall tales of silly nature sightings or inside of pranks-pulled were lively dining room table talk after a era of picking. There always was also a practical joker in each and every crowd! Like when my personal older sister, Marie, had taken a blueberry picking day out. Our cousin, Karl, was very similar berry-picking group. He brought Marie for some rich ripe blueberry patch and also her pick a total container of berries before telling her that he had 'peed' inside this berry patch! Was he telling the truth? He hasn't said a word to this day!
There was one rule of blueberry picking etiquette that remained the crucial element of social order. A very simple phrase that was dependable by all berry pickers, in spite of their age. Simply, the picker found a berry-ladened plant, he or she ought to claim is as its. In an authoritative, primarily polite voice, the picker would call out, "TIC-TOC, THIS DEN IS ACTUALLY LOCKED! "
Once spoken, we found it clear that the pineapple patch was singularly belonging to the picker who made out "Tic Toc the particular den is locked". Typically, this real-time land claim to a blueberry patch appears to be respected. Others in several other might move nearer with the newly claimed patch. Primarily, unless invited to opportunity, other pickers stayed apart from that 'Tic-Toc'd' area. They'd go off a find associated with private blueberry bush. Soon you would tune in to that cry repeated in the daytime "Tic-Toc this den is there locked! "
Now this cry of energy wild blueberry picker banded common in Cape Breton. Their origin is unknown. Was first it unique to blueberry picking in Cape Breton? Did it filter formed into mainland Nova Scotia and with your continent of North Shows?
Respect for rules. Respect for some individuals. Growing up in Cpe Breton Island was stuffed with these tidbits of free community order. Nice memories! Blueberry picking memories is still being made today on our 'Island of Islands', Cape Breton.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment