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MEMORIES OF THE OLDEN DAYS IN WELLAND COUNTY
Dances and Sleighride Parties of Sixty Years Ago
[The Welland Tribune and Telegraph, 16 January 1923]
Back about sixty or sixty-five years ago before the advent of automobiles, there used to be good sleighing nearly all winter with plenty of snow.
There used to be a fine friendly community spirit among the people of those days both in the towns, and in the country. It was not necessary to belong to “our church” to be a “Daughter of Rebecca” or “Son of a Gunn,” in order to get an invitation to attend those gatherings.
The people of those days in this part of the country were all respectable Canadian farmers and business men. There was among us also a few Americans about the same class of people as our own, nice congenial jolly folks.
Winter was a season of enjoyment and pleasure. It was not an unusual thing for the young folks to drive off as far as sixteen or eighteen miles to attend a party at some private house where they were always welcomed and on departure were told “hope you have had a good time, and be sure and come again whenever you feel inclined to, only let us know just a few days ahead.”
Blind Oliver Clark and Jimmison (Jamieson) generally furnished the music on such occasions around here and Wooliver and Laribee and sometimes Uncle John Hardison in Bertie.
At larger parties held in halls and hall rooms, Mr. Weeks orchestra from Thorold or musicians from the cities furnished the music and the following is what we used to dance. (Round dances, the Waltz, Polka, Danish Polka, Polk Redowna, Polka Mazourka, the Gallop, Rochester Schottische, Highland Schottische and Varsourivenne, (Contra dances), Money Musk, Sailor’s Hornpipe, Spanish Dance, Opera Reel, Sir Roger de Coverly, Sicilian Circle, and Virginia Reel, Square Dances, Quadrilles, Lancers, the Kenbal Lancers, Saratoga Lancers, Basket Cotillion, Pop goes the Weasel, Scotch Reel and the Jig, “Hands-All –Round,: eight bars and you know the rest.
With a spanking good team or road horses, lots of sleigh bells, a good big sleigh load of young people with plenty Buffalo robes, and several sleigh loads following, those were cheery times and with cheery sons and laughter on our road home after a good night of innocent amusement we were a happy lot of young people.
The good sleighing at present reminds me of those days but the people now are different and they do not appear to have that kindly jolly community spirit that they had in them days.
These thoughts just remind me of a piece of poetry that appeared in a paper published in Fonthill about sixty years ago by Hosmer L. Stone, I think the paper was called The Acorn, it contained a number of verses only a few lines of which I remember and it struck me when I read them as being very amusing. Should any of your readers recognize the verses which I quote perhaps they might give you the whole of the poem which is as follows as near as I can remember.
Sweet Susie Brown, my pretty one
I suppose you must remember
If not for love, at least for fun, the sleigh rides of December.
When all the belles and all the beaux
In spite of frost would go forth
And squeeze beneath the Buffaloes, each other’s hands etc.
And don’t you mind the village inn, the supper and the revel,
And how Cupid all at once shot his arrow level,
And don’t forget how Harry Kidd embraced you in the buttry
You kissed his lips I know you did and he kissed yours, etc.
And don’t you mind the forfeit game how one old maid resisted
Until the others all cried out a prude they all detested.
“Desist!” she cried this ancient Ann,
Her modesty to show forth
“I’ll never yield to any man my virgin lips, etc.”
An Old Port Robinson Boy
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