I never miss your column in the North Bay Nugget or
 Community Voice.
I Love it. Reminds me of my Grandfather
 A gentle hard working orderly person who never
 wasted a thing in his
 life and could make me a whistle or a toy or a very useful
 item out of  something he knew the exact where-abouts-of.
 He went overseas during
 World War I, and the only stories I remember him telling
 were in relation to the kindly and appreciative people
 he met and the countryside.
 He raised a wonderful family of 5 after his wife died
 in child-birth.
 Mom was the oldest and had to quit school at the age of 13
 to stay home with her siblings. You are so right.
 It WAS a hard life, but those people will never be forgotten.
Thanks for keeping their memories alive.  Elva