Posts Tagged ‘relics’
rural relics (day 10 to 12)
On my virtual bike trip along the north coast of New Brunswick, I am seeing many aspects of rural New Brunswick that are almost relics in our modern world.
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distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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8-11 January 31, 2014 45 minutes 3.0 km (Eel River Bar to Charlo)
8-12 January 28, 2014 30 minutes 7.0 km (Charlo to Blackland)
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relic:
- object that is interesting because of its age or association
- surviving custom, belief or object from a past age
(Oxford dictionary)
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One of these relics is the rural mailbox. Amid controversy, the single mailbox at the end of a driveway is gradually being replaced, so there are very few end-of-drive mailboxes along the route I am travelling.
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We had a mailbox for many years and it was always fun going to the end of the drive to get our mail. Once when I was at my grandfather’s farm for a vacation, my Aunt Anna sent me a parcel so I would have the fun of getting a box in the mail. I remember well reaching up to get the parcel and I remember what was inside – a snow globe!
getting a parcel at my grandfather’s mailbox
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About ten years ago, we were shifted to a community mail box. We have a key and an assigned box. It is still fun to get the mail, but less convenient …
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mailboxes near New Mills (image from Street View)
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Another relic of a more self-sufficient way of life is the remnant apple orchard. In some cases, the apples are still used by thrifty families, but often the fallen fruit is left for the deer …
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orchard near Blackland (image from Street View)
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I also see derelict barns and sheds along the road, abandoned as people give up farming and a more rural way of life …
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February 11. 2014 ‘old shed near Charlo’ Jane Tims
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Do you encounter remnant bits of our past in your travels? Do they bring back memories?
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
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