Capturing History: Orange Memories resident Doris Clark

Meet Orange Memories resident Doris Clark. Doris was born in Rosetown Hospital on May 4th, 1928, the second of two daughters born to Anson and Bella Horne. She was raised on the family farm near Glamis and attended the one-room Idaleen School along with approximately twenty other Grade 1–10 students. In the winter, they travelled to school in a "one-horse open sleigh.” Doris recalls a scary runaway when their horse was spooked by a broken hitch. They survived. She graduated in 1946, then attended Normal School in Saskatoon. It was there that she first met Ron Clark. She taught in Madock, Anglia, Macklin, Saskatoon, and Major. Ron seemed to "accidentally" follow her wherever she taught. They were married in Glamis in 1951. They raised three sons on their farm near Rosetown—Grant (deceased), Rodney, and Brent.

Doris fondly remembers the much-anticipated Christmas concerts of her childhood. Christmas concerts seemed to be almost written into the curriculum. The expectation of every community was that the local school would have a Christmas concert. Teachers, Doris recalls, were judged by the quality of their Christmas concerts.

Desks were pushed aside in early December, and the rest of the school month was dedicated to preparing for the much-anticipated event. There were drills, musical numbers, plays (acting was Doris's favourite part), solos, recitations, and always the required Nativity scene to end the concert. She remembers a reluctant George Wickett, who nevertheless came through with a stellar performance for the concert.

On the night of the event, horse-drawn sleighs pulled into the schoolyard. While Dad tethered the team, Mom and kids, all in their best attire, scurried into the school. A large, beautifully decorated tree graced a corner of the room near the improvised stage. At the given hour, the temporary curtains were pulled back, and the magic began.

At the end of the concert, Santa Claus appeared with a big "Ho! Ho! Ho!" He handed each child a gift* and the expected little brown paper bag that contained a "Japanese" orange, nuts, a chocolate or two, and hard candy.

*An aside: Doris noted that the all-male school board was assigned the job of buying the gifts, but she is sure their wives did the purchasing by the usual method—the Eatons or Sears catalogue.

One year, Doris recalls, the best gift of all was there when they arrived home from the concert. Under their tree was a beautifully dressed doll. The doll had a composition head, arms, and legs, and a little stuffed body. Doris fell in love with her doll. There would be other small gifts to come on Christmas Eve, tucked into one of her Dad's clean work socks that would be hung at the foot of her bed—again with the expected orange and candies, maybe a colouring book or other simple gifts.

Indeed, Christmasses were much simpler "way back then" but equally as memorable as the bountiful Christmas of today.