The Life and Times of Frank & Marjorie Greenfield By Doug Greenfield My dog Buster and me at
our first cabin in the Peace Country. Father purchased this home for $1000 dollars from a fellow Cat-skinner on the Lassiter crew. It was moved to Eaglesham by tractor and wagon and then to the farm by Cat. The little cabin was supported by logs called skids. My friend Elmer: Back
in about 1954 the Greenfield farm was a thriving, mixed farming
endeavour. The grain and hay crops were growing and there were cattle
mooing in the pasture. Chickens were ranging and nine little piglets
were growing in the pigpen. One of these little piglets was not,
however, growing as fast as his siblings and was often pushed to the
back of the pen by his larger, more aggressive brothers and sisters.
The “runt,” though small, had personality, and despite the hunger in
his tummy he was always willing to scramble toward us when we went out
to feed and check on the animals. Noticing that he was not growing
much, father sent me (his son the gopher) to the house to fetch an old
baby bottle to feed the little runt. Mother filled the bottle up with
fresh, warm, whole cow’s milk. I hurried to bring the bottle to the pen
and only minutes later the happy little pig mastered the strange nipple
and began to suck merrily away. Father said, “Warren, I think this
little pig likes you, so, he is yours!” The little fellow had such a
comical demeanour that he was named Elmer after Elmer Fudd from the
comic books. Soon, it was apparent that Elmer was in danger, living in
the pigpen, so we took him to live in the house with us for a while.
![]() Our first Combine, a welcome advancement from the threshing machine. When
Elmer was old enough to keep warm on his own, he graduated to the
pigpen again but preferred human company to that of his own kind. Elmer
used to follow the dog, the cat and us people around whenever he was
allowed out of the pen. This little creature became a favourite
playmate for me, and we played hours together in the farmyard. By the
end of summer, Elmer was filling out and becoming quite “marketable.”
Father and Mother sold him to a hog farmer who lived west of us and
explained to Mr. Gaboury that this was no ordinary pig and could even
do tricks. Elmer would come when called and even jump up and roll over
upon request. A few months later, when we were travelling past the hog farm, we decided to stop in and see how Elmer was making out. Ben had a hundred pigs in the field, but all he had to do was call, “Elmer! Here, Elmer!” and suddenly, there was a stir in the crowd and Elmer came running. When the gate was opened, my friend Elmer came right out and jumped up on us much the way our dog might do. When we left Mr. Gaboury, father used this moment to explain economics to his little son who was upset that the pig had been taken from home and sold to a hog farmer. Here is a picture of peaceful harmony found only in the quietness of the farm. 1971 Frank’s last harvest We
tried so hard to convince Father to tape his best stories so that they
could be written down for others to enjoy. Each time we did this he
closed his eyes and broke into a new story, never with the the tape
recorder on of course. I have recorded as many of Father’s stories as I could remember in my autobiography “Child of the Land”. |