Ursula Zimmerman
My mother was born in 1900 was imprinted by the hungry times during and after the First World War.
Self-sufficiency and survival skills were most important to her. She wanted me to learn all the skills she had. These included: making a fertile and large garden, followed by preserving the harvest for winter; identifying and collecting mushrooms and berries in the woods learning to avoid poisonous varieties; making hay; milking cows, making quark and cooking soft cheese from the milk.
We made bread every two weeks when we had our turn to use the village stone oven. We had to clean and pluck fish, fowl and all sorts of game.
My father was the local forest warden and on my high school graduation he gave me a heavy old rifle that I could hardly lift and taught me how to shoot wild boar.
Quite a few of my mother’s teachings came in good use during hungry times and after the Second World War.
I was born 1929. I tried to teach my children that loving, forgiving and being here for others are the most important skills of life.
-Imke Zimmerman
Ruth Miller
My mom had late onset Alzheimer's disease at the time of her death at age 90 years young! Throughout her life she had been a caring, thoughtful, affirming and service-oriented person. Even though she did not recognize any of us and had lost almost all of her words in those last months, our mom retained her ability to say one phrase:
"I love you dear, and you are a good person."
She said it to us all — family member and friend and stranger alike.
What better legacy! She never forgot who she was! We loved her back fiercely, and thought she was a most wonderful human being.
-Jane Miller
Patricia Broughton
My mother always said, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." My mom died in 2005 at 85 after having huge health issues for at least half her life.
-Gord Broughton
Alva (Al) Russell
Like many great loving and caring mothers of our era, when she did not have a good size stick in her hand that was soon to meet my brother's or my backside, she imparted great wisdom and manners on all of us.
In addition to giving us good character-building advice, she not only talked the talk, but could walk the walk. Bowen has been our second, recreational home since the early 1930s, a few years ahead of my time. As family cottages are considered by many to be "the biggest job-jar in the world," our mother led by example doing hard, physical labour that would make most grown men cry, and you can be sure we were right behind, if not beside her.
She came by that hard work ethic honestly, both because of her own Depression-era upbringing, and being married to my father, who was the poster boy for hard work, always passing it off as good for our health, fun and having long term benefits. He convinced his dear wife and us children, "Nobody dies from a good days work"! I wish they both played golf!”
-Bruce Russell
Sharon Dunbar
My Mom always told me to wear clean underwear “Because you never know when you might get in an accident and emergency personnel will see them when trying to save your life!”
-Jennifer Konyha
Phil Kemp remembers sayings from both his mother and his grandmother:
Grandmother: “It’s a great life, if you don’t weaken.”
Mother: “If you don’t have any good to say about someone, just don’t say it.”
From Pixham Infant School in England (my mother also taught me at this school): “Courtesy is the demonstration to others the respect you have for yourself.”
