Uncle Sam

My Uncle Sam died last month. 

Eric Samuel Fullerton

1928-2015

     Sam was a generous human being.  Although he was not wealthy, he was generous with what he did have.  He cared about people and practiced his kindness in the most unassuming ways.  His gift to you may be day-old donuts, browning bananas or past-due pies, but he gave them with the kindest of intentions.  As my sister put it, “He would literally give you the shirt off his back.”  

Day-Old Donuts

Browning Bananas

Past-Due Pies

     

Sam could find you an affordable car to buy,

Affordable Car

and then line you up with someone to help keep it on the road.

He might even bring you a pair of Italian leather shoes that he had picked up in his travels as he did for my husband Tom.  Tom wore them with pride to Sam’s memorial event. 

Italian Leather Shoes

     Although many of us have been recipients of his day-old donuts, browning bananas,past-due pies, affordable vehicles and Italian leather shoes, what is more significant are the gifts he gave to people more needy than many of us. When his daughters were cleaning out his apartment, in his freezer they found a “reduced-price” turkey with someone’s name written on the plastic wrapping.  Although the girls did not recognize the name, they knew he must have picked it up for someone who needed it. 

Sam was quiet about his benevolence.

 Bargain Turkey

     Sam was also generous with his time.  He has probably driven every back road in New Brunswick and made stops in most cities, towns, villages, communities, and crossroads.  You never knew when he might drop in, but you always welcomed him when he did.  He might take a cup of tea, 

 A Cup of King Cole Tea

or stay for a meal if it was the right time of day----and it often was the right time of day!  

High Noon

      Sam was a great visitor and an accomplished conversationalist---he knew how to talk AND listen!!  As his daughter Sandra mentioned, he was the original FaceBook, keeping up connections with everyone in New Brunswick through face-to-face visits.  He was aware of current events, both local and international, and was able to discuss them with interest and intelligence.  He loved his newspaper, paying particular attention to the obituaries.  His son-in-law Kevin quotes him as saying when he perused the obituaries, "I always like to check to see who left without asking.”  

The Daily Newspaper

      A memorial event, hosted by Sam's children Gail, Eric, Brian, Sandra and Susan, was held in his honour at Armstrong Funeral Home in Petitcodiac.  Pictures were displayed, artifacts were exhibited and stories were shared.  The box of Ganong’s Red Wrap found unopened in Sam’s apartment was enjoyed by all.  This was not a religious service but, as our Long Reach minister, Elizabeth would say, God was there in many ways. 

 Pictures and Artifacts

Daughter Sandra and friend Louis

      Common themes were repeated in the story-telling----the love of food and drink, visiting, traveling, generosity, humour, bargains, parties, fun, even the ability of steering the car with his belly.  

      Aunt Carol, one of Sam's younger sisters, told of being playmate to her older brother.  She was often the horse, harnessed up and responding to Sam's commands of "Gee" and "Haw."

    Carol at the Podium

     Aunt Muriel, Sam’s older sister, unable to be attendance, sent stories that gave insight into Sam as a young child and young adult---a Sam most of us present at the memorial did not know. 

Sam and the Name Change

     One summer afternoon, Great Uncle Sam dropped in at the farm on a one-day visit to his New Brunswick relations. On meeting his six young relatives, running in age from one to eleven years, he was prepared to instantly congratulate his nephew, George, on such an accomplishment and further to direct him to have two more children to even up the family, assuring him, that they would be girls, thus celebrating four boys and four girls. Our mother was enraged at his boldness.

      “And who is this beautiful little boy?” Uncle inquired. 

     “That is Eric,” said father. 

      “Eric!” exclaimed the tall overbearing uncle.  “Whoever heard of a Fullerton named Eric when there are so many good names in our family? What else is he named?”

      “Eric Samuel,” replied Father.

      “Well, there it is! Now he will be Samuel -- Sammy. There’s always been a Sam Fullerton in every generation.”

       Our mother relaxed, for indeed the name change solved one of her problems. Our little brother suffered frequent bouts of infected ears. Mother would heat oil and gently pour it into a sore ear for some relief but he cried greatly. We older children called him “Earache” no matter how often we were forbidden, by our mother, and ordered to stop teasing the suffering one. (Written by Muriel Fullerton Anderson:January, 2015)

"Earache" and Mother 

Sam and his Horses

     Sam had two tree branches which he had skinned and they always stood undisturbed by the corner in the back porch. They were the correct length to reach from his hands to the ground. These were his horses. During his day of moving around the farm, he drove his horses with the proper commands and appropriate noises.  We the older, more serious and more responsible members of the family observed this strange behaviour but dismissed the thought of taking any action, just remarking, “He’s little”.

      One day our father became aware that a small boy was moving back and forth along the driveway walking rhythmically with two upright sticks while talking to himself and concentrating on his task.

       “What is it that you’re doing? Don’t you have any work to do? Why are you wasting time?’’

       “But, Daddy, I’ve finished my work and, Daddy, I have to play.”

        This radical statement of a small boy changed forever the position he held in the family.(Written by Muriel Fullerton Anderson: January 2015)

Branches as Horses

Sam and the Opera

       During the time Sam was attending The Boys Academy at Mount Allison, he became familiar with the operas which were performed by the music students and to which all members on campus were invited as audiences.

      Our father purchased a battery-powered radio during the Second World War in order to listen to the daily news, especially the reports of Matthew Halton. In order to preserve the battery, no other use of the radio was allowed.

     One rainy Saturday afternoon, Sam was assigned a job in the house-cellar which was to his mind an excellent opportunity to hear an opera.  He asked me (Muriel), on cooking assignment in the kitchen, to listen carefully and if Dad’s foot hit the outside step, to slip into the den and turn off the radio. Our father never appeared, Sam extended his task to match the opera and I thought it was a very noisy afternoon. (Written by Muriel Fullerton Anderson: January 2015)

Sam as Student at Mount Allison

Of course, I have my own special memories of Sam.  

Sam and the Picnic

     One fond memory I have of Uncle Sam involves a picnic.  One summer in my 20s I attended a French Immersion summer school at l’Universite de Moncton.  During my 6 week stint at summer school, I frequently visited Sam and his family at their home on Gordon Street.  One weekend, Sam and Vi and some of the kids took me on a tour of the outlying regions including Dorchester and Memramcook.  Sam was a great tour guide having travelled extensively in the area.  There was to be a picnic included in that day and sure enough, we stopped at a picnic site and Sam commenced to prepare the repast.  I was expecting the regular fare of sandwiches, cookies and lemonade.  I was surprised when Sam pulled the Coleman stove and pots and pans out of the trunk, then cooked and served a full-course meal which included steak, potatoes, and beet-greens.  It is the beet-greens that stand out in my memory.  Neither before nor since have I been on a picnic that included beet-greens.  Everything was delicious!  It was a great day all in all.  

Beet Greens

Sam’s Haircut

     I remember as a rather cheeky child being quite fascinated with Sam’s hairdo which was a short crewcut, buzzed fairly cross to the scalp.  I recall Kathy and me standing behind the chair where he was sitting and laying our hands on top of his head to feel that bristly “do” which you could move slightly back and forth under the palm of your hand.  He would just look up and smile at our interest in his coiffure.  

 Sam's Crewcut

My Mentor

     I have shared some significant interests with Sam over the years.  Sam spent several years picking and pedaling the rhubarb which has grown on our land for several decades.  Since my retirement, I have taken over that enterprise and hope one day to reach the volume of sales that Sam achieved.  Certain people, such as Cousin Terry, even call me Sam when I am seen in the rhubarb patch. 

Rhubarb For Sale

     When I told my daughter Emma that Sam had passed away, she said, “Oh, he was the original RFR guy, right?”  In our house, RFR refers to Rotten Food Rack, and I am a frequent scrounger of the RFRs in Fredericton.  Sam had Moncton covered.  

RFR

    Do you have any stories about Sam?  His children would love to hear them.  Please forward to blacquiere@rogers.com.  

     

     

My Uncle Sam, Barb, Joel and a cup of tea

      In the introduction to this post, I referred to Sam as my uncle Sam.  But he was more than my uncle Sam. 

He was a son to George and Vesta,

George and Vesta (Downing) Fullerton

a brother to Ken, Raymond, Shirley, Muriel, Carol, Audrey and Frances.

 Eight Fullerton Siblings

a husband to  Vi, 

Sam and Vi

a father to Gail, Eric, Brian, Sandra and Susan,

Sam's Children

a father-in-law to Kevin,

Susan and Kevin

a grandfather to Rebecca, Meagan, Kaitlin, and Sarah,

Grand Girls

An uncle to many, a cousin to more, a friend to all…

Sam has been a great uncle throughout my life and I will miss him.

Until Next Time.....

     

The $5.00 Homemade Gift Challenge

The $5.00 Homemade Gift Challenge

 

      I know you are all waiting impatiently to read about the results of the $5.00 Homemade Christmas Gift Challenge.  Now that it is the last day of January, it's time to share the details. 

  Jody, Barb, Cheryl, Dawn

(a year or two ago...)

      The challenge, proposed by Jody last Christmas, was that our group of four would exchange Christmas gifts that were homemade and cost no more than 5 dollars. 

Gifts I Received

Alpaca Hat and Pumpkin Spice Soap

       Cheryl knit us each a hat from the finest alpaca which she bought in the western USA.  She knit the hats while motoring across North America with her daughter Kathryn last summer.  Every stitch tells a story!  She assures us there was no “knitting while driving.” Cheryl also added a bar of locally-made soap purchased at Gagetown’s Christmas in the Village.  Mine was Pumpkin Spice and smells good enough to eat.

 

Early Winter Forest Bouquet and Christmas Tin of Home-Made Oatcakes

 

      Dawn had plans to make us “chemically-adjusted” pine cones which would provide a fireworks display when ignited.  However, on her trip to the woods, she was unable to find the necessary pine cones.  So she made Early Winter Forest Bouquets to attach to the Christmas Tin of Homemade Oatcakes.  Yummy!

 

Sweet Bread and Seasonally-Themed Dishtowels and Cookie Cutter

 

     Jody made us each a sweet bread,  lovingly baked, and wrapped in blue ribbon.  She included seasonally-themed dishtowels and a cookie cutter in her package.  Jody assures us that she bought those items post-Christmas last year and that they fall within the $5.00 budget.

Gifts I Gave

     Stepping outside of my knitting comfort zone, I drew on my card-making enterprise to create my $5.00 homemade gifts for my friends.  Each package was designed to represent my personal relationship with each of my “soul sisters.”

Cheryl:

"Drink A Cup of Concrete" Card Collection

 

      In September 2013, Cheryl and I walked the Camino El Santiago in Spain together, along with 4 other friends.  So the cards I made for Cheryl were based on pictures and significant moments from that trip.  I call Cheryl’s card collection “Drink a Cup of Concrete…”, the beginning of a famous quotation and certain attitude we adopted on the Camino. 

 Dawn:

"Lit Mitts" Card Collection

 

      My connection with Dawn has a lot to do with books we have read, or want to read, or should read.  Inevitably, whenever we meet, the discussion gets around to books.    So the cards I made for Dawn feature some of our favourite titles with matching mittens, of course!  I call Dawn’s card collection “LitMitts.”

 Jody:

"The View from Above" Card Collection

 

     My connection with Jody goes back years before we were even born!  Both our family roots are firmly planted in the soil of Long Reach.  Through the help of my brother and Jody’s sister, I was able to get photos of Long Reach taken by Jody’s father in the 1940s from the steeple of St. James Anglican Church.  So Jody’s card collection is called “The View From Above.”

 

 

 Life Philosophy

     As you know from my previous blogs, I am cheap and I like the challenge of making something from nothing.  So, of course, I kept below the $5.00 budget.  I had my eye on a piece of homemade paper which my daughter Julia has had tacked to her bedroom wall since high school.  She has been out of the nest for 7 years now so I knew the paper would not be missed.  I made the packaging for the card collections from that paper.

I cut the paper into 3 equal sizes.

 Homemade Paper from Julia's Wall

 

 

Folded it.   Sewed it with leftover alpaca yarn from the Titus farm in Gorham’s Bluff...

Titus Alpaca Yarn

 

 

Attached buttons from my mother’s button box, part of my inheritance.....

 Buttons from my Mother's Button Box

Labelled it with my father's turnip tags, another precious item of inheritance…

 

 My Father's Turnip Tags

And, voila, a package for homemade cards and/or an earthy evening clutch to be worn with gown and tiara. 

Package for Cards or Evening Clutch

 

 

I wrapped the packages in an old Friends poster (significant) torn from Julia's wall.

Friends Poster

 

 Tied them with yarn. 

 

Wrapping Yarn

 

And tagged them with my new line of Mitten Gift Tags. 

Mitten Gift Tags

 

 

      The $5.00 Homemade Challenge has been reinstated for next year.  I'm thinking along the lines of Doll Dish Cupboards or Milkstools. 

 

Doll Dish Cupboard

 

Milk Stool

 

 

 

 

Until Next Time.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doll Dishes and Milkstools

Doll Dishes and Milkstools

Last December at a get-together with one of my social groups, a friend proposed a challenge to the 4 of us for next Christmas.  She proposed that instead of buying each other Christmas gifts, we should make them and spend no more than $5.00 on each gift.  Now here we are at the next year.  The annual  gift exchange is tomorrow and I am excited to see how we all did with that challenge.

Possible Resource

The $5.00 challenge got me thinking about making things.  As you can see by my knitting obsession, I do make quite a few things, and I made many gifts this year.  My reflections took me back to the first thing I remember making….a cupboard for my sister’s doll dishes.  I still have that Doll Dish Cupboard and I have dragged it around throughout my life for about 50 years.  It must hold meaning for me.  In the house where we now live, it has gone from basement to garage, to inner basement, to garage, to camp, to garage, to basement.  You get the picture.  Well, since I have been having these nostalgic flashbacks, I have gone to the basement, dug it out and washed it off.  It deserves a place of honour in my Knitting Studio, obviously.  I must have hung on to it for some reason?  I will be able to use it to hold yarn, or doll dishes, or turnip tags, or expired flashlight batteries, or something.    It already holds memories.

 The Doll Dishes Cupboard

       When my room-mate Tom walked into the kitchen, he looked at the cupboard mournfully and said, "It seems so sad.  And lonely."  How can a cupboard be sad and lonely, I thought.  Decrepit, for sure, but it is 50 years old. 



 This Doll Dish Cupboard started out as a crate that held grapes.  My father would have dragged it home from Atlantic Wholesalers or Willett Fruits upon making delivery of our rhubarb or turnips or cabbage or squash or potatoes.  He would have seen some use for that wooden crate, although I bet doll dishes was not his first thought.  He would have seen it as useful to hold tools or ropes or chains or a motor or something.  He may have even brought home some half-rotten grapes in the crate. 

Wooden Grape Crate

     I can imagine the conversation between my father and me about that crate.

                “Barb, that crate would make a great little cupboard for doll dishes.”

                  “Yeah,” I would answer, assessing it with my 6 or 7 or 8 year-old eyes.

                “You should make one for your little sister.” 

     

       Kathy, my little Doll Dish Sister, was about 4 or 5 or 6 years old, and the definite favourite.   Did I buy into the cupboard idea because I wanted to make something, or because I was a nice big sister???  You can guess the answer.

Doll Dishes

      My father would have gone into a brief description as to how a cedar shingle was exactly the right size to work as shelves and that I could paint it afterward with some left-over turquoise paint.  And then, he helped me build it.  Or should I say assemble it.  A real cabinet-maker would not use the word build. 

Cedar Shingles

 Leftover Turquoise Paint

     As I look at it now, the assembly of the cupboard would have been pretty simple.  A wooden crate, 2 cedar shingles and turquoise paint.  I don’t remember every detail about building that little gem with my father, but I remember parts of it.  I do remember being in the garage with hammer and nails and my father.  A saw would have been required to cut the guides that held the cedar shingles that became removable shelves in that cupboard. 

Cedar Shingle Shelf Removed

I remember building one other item with my father in the garage….a 2-legged milkstool.  In my early years as milkmaid, I was too little (or awkward) to balance on a one-legged milkstool which was standard issue, so, rather than be excused from milking duties, my father helped me to build my own little milkstool.  I remember my Great Uncle Frank being in the garage when I was trying to nail the 3 pieces of board together.  “Hit the nail on the head, Barb. The wood’s all right.” 

The One-Legged Milkstool

                My little milkstool was so crude and so cute, built with dirty old used lumber, and lots of bent nails where I missed with the hammer.  After I graduated to the one-legged milkstool, my rustic little artefact hung around the barn, wedged into a corner awaiting repurposing.  I wish I still had that milkstool;  I could use it in my knitting studio as a footstool.  Alas, it went up in flames when our barn burned when I was 12.

Did building that cupboard and milkstool start me on the road to making things? I still get the best charge out of making something from nothing---repurposing.  Like my mitten tree.....

The Mitten Tree

or using scraps of yarn.... 

Bottled Scraps of Yarn

to make mittens. 

Mittens Made from Scraps of Yarn

      I know part of my inspiration is simply genetic cheapness but I wonder if part of it is genetic creativity or innovation.  My father built things out of necessity and cheapness.  There is some satisfaction in both. 

No one would ever call my father a doting parent, but building that cupboard and milkstool with him nurtured creativity and confidence in a 6 or 7 or 8 year-old child.  The best thing a child should be allowed to make is mistakes. 

In the Knitting Studio

Until Next Time....