Martha’s Story

Season 2 Episode 52: Martha’s Story Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia! Thank you for listening in. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Manitoba Canada. That was my home growing up. If you look at a map of Canada, Manitoba is the in the centre of the country with its provincial neighbours, Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the East, and to the north, the territory of Nunavut. To the South, we share the US/Canadian Border with North Dakota and Minnesota. You may know of some others who came from Manitoba. Neil Young, Burton Cummings/The Guess Who, Randy Bachman/Bachman Turner Overdrive, Bif Naked and Fred Penner. In fact, Tom Cochrane lived for a time in my hometown of Lynn Lake. From literary authur, Carol Shields, to WWII spymaster Sir William Stephenson who was the inspiration for James Bond, to Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets, to the character of Winnie-the Pooh who was named after Manitoba’s capital city Winnipeg – Manitoba is a place of many stories. Today I want to go back to the past, and hear a story from the 1940’s. It all started when I left Lynn Lake to attend college. That was when I first met Martha. Students in residence at the college were given a task. Martha was a library helper, and I was given the task of vacuuming the library. Martha became a librarian, and I well, I still enjoy taking the vacuum out for a spin. This is Martha’s story to tell, but there are times when it is impossible to connect across the miles via technology. Thankfully, letter writing continues to thrive. While Martha cannot be present in the form of her actual voice, she has given me permission to share the story of her parents, Diedrich and Sarah, and of their life on the farm in the 1940’s. For those who have listened to my conversations with my mother, Frances, you will see the similarities of communities working together. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this vibrant discussion on Tea, Toast & Trivia.com.