Fond Memories

by Hattie Dyck

From: Lawrence Nason, Upper Stewiacke

Those of us who remember Lawrence Nason's father, the late Harold Nason

usually remember for his quick wit and good humour. Lawrence recalls when his father was Nova Scotia's Deputy Minister of Education and was attending a meeting in Inverness County.

At that time the government was trying to convince the electorate that there

were great benefits in school consolidation. The chairman of the meeting was the late Walter Moore who liked Dr. Nason and wanted the meeting to go smoothly.

To his horror, a man at the back stood up and said in a voice loud enough

that he didn't need a microphone "Nason, you're full of shit.” Mr. Moore quickly responded by telling the man he was definitely out of order and must apologize.

With his usual wit in tow, Dr. Nason didn't miss a beat. "It's alright, Walter," he said, "Don't worry about it, he's probably right." This caused the people to break out in laughter and set the tone to what turned out to be a good meeting.

At another meeting on the same topic and somewhere in Cape Breton, Dr. Nason was explaining how much better services would be provided under school consolidation. One senior gentleman stood up and said he has always been wary of that word - service.

When Dr. Nason asked him why, he explained when he was young his father took the cow next door to be serviced by the only bull in the neighborhood. They also put the sow on the dump cart and took her to a neighbor who had a boar. There, she too was serviced.

"This causes me to be very cautious," he explained. "When I hear that word service, I'm sure somebody's going to get screwed."

This story is in my book Potpourri of Folk Lore published in 2008.