Lately while watching an old rerun of The Waltons I realized that I and many of our neighbours had grown up in a home situation very similar to the one portrayed on The Waltons set.
We lived three generations in the same home. There were no retirement homes in our community but kids learned lessons from parents and grandparents like: respect your elders, old people are very smart, compassionate and forgiving.
Grandparents lit up when kids got up for breakfast at the morning table and every time that they accomplished something at school.
Grandma taught me how to make tea biscuits, roll out dough for bread and make jam and pickles. Grandpa taught me what makes a great cow. I never had a babysitter but grandpa taught me how to play checkers as well as most men could. Grandma showed me how to play canasta so I could play as her partner and help her beat most of her friends.
Today many retirement homes and daycare centres work together to bring children and retirement home residents together at least once a week to interact and help each other. Many children either don’t have or seldom see grandparents and many elders don’t get much time with their own grandkids.

There was no Medicare before Tommy Douglas introduced it but we had our own garden, milk, beef, chicken, eggs, pickles, preserves, bread, biscuits, cake, and cookies that you just cannot buy in any store.
For some reason we didn’t need many pills and didn’t get sick much. We didn’t shout good night to each and everyone after we went to bed like the Waltons did but stoked up the wood furnace with dry maple before wishing everyone good night and going to bed.
To my knowledge, we never had a financial adviser but sat around the kitchen table and talked over every large purchase before making a deal.
We usually went to church Sunday morning and went for a picnic or a Sunday drive after. The Sunday drive always went past some of the best farms and my parents and grandparents marveled at fields of pure, lush alfalfa. I later learned that these fields were where the Champlain sea bed used to be thousands of years ago and there was a rich sprinkling of sea shells mixed into the earth in these fields. These shells slowly dissolved and left the fields rich in calcium which is extremely necessary for a good alfalfa stand. I didn’t learn that in college either.
Just like The Waltons we were taught the importance of being and having good neighbours. When someone was in trouble or distress like when a neighbour had a fire or a death in the family all the neighbours were expected to help.
From an early age children were taught the importance of education and good work ethics. Young people were taught and trusted to take the reins long before they had to. Today we sure have more technology and work shorter days but I often wonder if our lives have improved much?

Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon
on land that hasbeen in his family
for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com