This was our second home in Ear Falls. The first was much more modest, an uninsulated "shack" that was one room with a wood burning stove and a sink. Dad had to dig and build an outhouse. The "house" itself was about 12'x20', if that.

Notice the upper story window over the sunroom. After one blizzard I remember Dad having to open this window and dig his way out as the snow was up to about 12" higher than the windowsill! It was an adventure...lol... Dad built the flower boxes under the windows of the sunroom and Mom kept them full of blooming flowers. Dad also replaced the steps as the originals were a wee bit shaky. A clothesline strung between 2 posts was added after this photo was taken. Dad did everything he could to make Mom's life a wee bit easier. Our first vegetable garden failed as the growing season was too short. I thoroughly enjoyed the fishing at the portage just before the dam. It really was an adventure living in Ear Falls.

The building to the right in the background was our 1-room schoolhouse, grades 1-13. Adjacent to the back of the schoolground was the English River. It was down an embankment which we used as a ski hill. We had to be careful to stop before going onto or even into the river as sometimes it was frozen, and other times it was not.

On the left side of the photograph if you look carefully, you can see a lighter horizontal line. This is the side of the raised roadbed into Ear Falls which was too small to be called a town or village. It was known as a colony. The woods (bush) across the road were alongside the English River. We had a dog, Skippy. He was a cross between a water spaniel and a St. Bernard (male) as these were the only two dogs in the area. My brother, Frank, was probably about 3 years old at the time. Skippy used to take Frank's left hand in his mouth, and together they would cross the road, take a path across the roadside clearing and walk down a path into the bush. After some distance there was a shallow creek, 2" at its deepest and 3-4' across, mostly just crystal-clear water flowing through a bed of smooth rounded colorful pebbles. It flowed into the English River after a short distance. Where the path crossed the stream there was a small clearing that let in a patch of sunlight, perhaps about 8' square in size, not much in the dense bush, but a welcomed playground for an adventuresome child and his dog. The stream was about 2" at its deepest and was lined with small water-rounded stones. There Frank would sit in the water and play with the small rocks. He was in his glory. The first time that this happened, my mother panicked. Frank had been playing with Skippy at the side of the house, and they had disappeared. Mom was crying and calling for Frank and Skippy. As luck would have it, in the past I had gone with Skippy to the stream in the bush on the other side of the road. lol...I had to sneak over there as I was not allowed to cross the road, even though it was rarely used by cars - Ear Falls was the end of the road. It was deemed a hardship workplace. It was the end of the "civilized world" as the city snobs called it. We loved it. We made friends with the Ojibwa, and the fishing was fantastic which is another story. Anyway, I found Frank sitting in the middle of the stream, wet, playing with the pebbles and laughing as Skippy kept a close eye on him. I took them home, much to Mom's relief.