We had a number of families in and around Brisco that we were friendly with and visited. Unfortunately many of these families I have only vague memories of. For example there was the Berry family who lived across the road from the school at the top of a hill. I used to play with Teddy Berry who was just one year older than me. Then there was the family who were Swedish and lived very near Blair’s Store. The Mitchell family lived somewhere between our house and Grandpa’s farm. They were related to Auntie Beth, Uncle Lloyd’s wife. I vaguely remember going to their place, which was some distance off the Main road and riding a horse bareback around the barnyard. I have vague memories of other families coming to visit us. But that is all that I have. Following are two families who I do remember very well.
The Danikens
Visiting wasn’t always confined to relatives. we’d often visit family friends in the valley. One of these were the Danikens who lived to the south in a narrow draw very near Radium Junction. At that time there was a large sweeping vermilion running down one side, across the bottom and up the other side to Radium Junction. The Danikens lived just off the main road at the bend in the vermilion. They had a beautiful log bungalow that looked like a Swiss chalet. This was very appropriate since they had immigrated from Switzerland. Neither outside nor inside was painted but they was beautifully varnished. This kept the natural colour of the wood. They’re beautifully handmade wooden furniture was also beautifully varnished and polished. It wasn’t very bright and cheerful home. As a child what really impressed me was the bear skin rugs that were everywhere. I loved to sit on them, grab hold of the head and pretend I was riding them.
The other thing I remember was they always fed us delicious food that so different then what we were used to. One instance that I remember concerned my Dad. We had just finished our main course when our host brought out plates of homemade pumpkin pie. Mom thought, “Oh, Joe claims he doesn’t like pumpkin pie, even though he’s never eaten it. Well, I won’t say anything and just see what he does.” Dad not only ate his pumpkin pie but had a second piece. The topper was that he complimented the host on how delicious the pie was. Mom was astounded but from then on was able to serve her own homemade pumpkin pie to Dad. This is so typical of the Watkins family who were very set in their ways. This story became a family legend.
We always had a good time at the Danikens. But mostly I think I remember them because they were such friendly and genuinely nice people.
The Atchison’s
At the other end of the scale of friends was the Atchison family. We would often visit the them. They were something else. Mom was a good friend of Myrtle who was a ereally nice person. But she was one of the very few Atchison’s that we considered normal. Her parents were nice enough in their own way but strange. Her brothers ranged from simpleminded and outright weird. There was only one brother who would be considered normal.
Mom, Phyll and I would often stop by and visit with Myrtle. She would often show us around her garden. It always seemed to have a luxurious growth of vegetables along with a berry patch. After a tour of the garden we would go inside where Myrtle served tea to the adults and milk to Phyll and I. These visits were always very pleasant interludes. This was mainly because the home and Garden were so nice and immaculate. And Myrtle was such a friendly and lovely person.
Fortunately for Myrtle but unfortunately for us Myrtle moved away. She was smart enough to get away from her estranged family. I believe she moved to Alberta where she married and had a family. She never came back to the Valley.
After a Myrtle left everything, as the saying goes, “went to the dogs.”
Myrtle’s father was as lazy as you could get; and not too bright either. They had beef cattle. When Mr. Atchison he wanted to slaughter a steer he would get one of the sons to herd the cattle into corral across the road from the house. Then he would sit in his chair on the front porch with his rifle in hand. He’d pick out the one that he wanted, take aim and shoot it. All the while he sitting comfortably in his chair. The scary part was that he was shooting across the main highway, which was right by a blind corner.
Steve was also smart enough to established a farm of his own and really disassociated himself from the rest of the family. He married a very nice local lady and had a number of children, all of them quite normal.
Another brother, Ang worked for Grandpa for years as a farmhand. He was a hard worker and well-liked. He had a great sense of humor and at times could be very funny. He was also a very generous and caring person. He just wasn’t very well educated or particularly smart. But I certainly liked him and at the time was unaware of any shortcomings he may have had.
Pat was my favorite. Pat was the nicest guy. One of the gentlest and kindest men I’ve ever met. But he was a bit thick in the head. What we would call mentally challenged, which is a term that wasn’t coined yet. For some reason Pat and I just seemed to hit it off. He gave me my first watch. It was a pocket watch. It was a rather odd design. Although it was a full-sized pocket watch it had a small face about the size of a large wrist watch. The case was enameled in a tan color with silver trim. I had it for many years and really treasured it, even after it had stopped working.
Pat would come by our house or we would meet him at the Blair’s Store. I’d often spend the day with him. One of our favorite things to do was to go to the movies at the Brisco Community Hall, which was very near the store. They would have a table set up in the middle of the room with a single 16 millimeter projector perched on it. Probably there would be a dozen people sitting around on wooden chairs in no particular plan or pattern. They would thread the film into the projector, turn off the lights and begin to project the movie onto a bed sheet hung on the wall. When a very few amenities that this hall enjoyed was electricity. Thank goodness.
In about twenty minutes the movie would come to a halt. The screen would suddenly be glaring white light and there would be a great flapping sound as the end of the film whirled around on the full reel. Then the process would start all over again with the finished reel removed and replaced with the next reel. Most movies were three or four reels. And of course there was no sound as they were all silent movies with subtitles. Tom Mix and Buck Jones movies were among our favorites. It was long before my Rogers, Gene Autrey or Hopalong Cassidy. They all starred in cowboy movies exclusively. Most of the action took place on horseback or in saloons. It’s centered around cattle rustling as well as stagecoach and bank robberies. Frequent fist fights or shootouts occurred throughout the movie. Hardly anyone was ever fatally shot. The good guys and their white hats always won. The guys in their black hats always lost. But it was great fun.
My Story The Brisco Years 