Through
Prairie Windows
Author:
Susan Halliday Conly
Publisher:
Turner-Warwick Publications
Inc.
161
pages, paperback
Reviewed
by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Susan
Halliday Conly, at the time of writing this book, was living on a
family farm near Macklin, Saskatchewan. She is an award-winning
author of other books about the Canadian prairies in addition to this
one.
This
volume contains both short stories and essays, and
is divided into three parts. Part 1: we look at some of our
lamplighters, the pioneers. Part 2: we look at our faith, rooted in
their faith and in the Spirit that rides on the wings of the prairie
wind. Part 3: side-glances at some of the landscapers of the prairie.
The span of the volume then dates from the early 1900s through to the
late 1980s.
In
Part 1, Conly tells stories of the Saskatchewan homesteaders who
faced many a hardship, roughing it through freezing cold blizzards,
welcoming a North West Mounted Police officer riding in the area
looking for ‘his man,’ a
Cree prophecy of evil sweeping over the land when the European
pioneers settled the prairies and the indigenous peoples losing their
language and culture, a Grandmother relaxing under an Old Maple and
remembering how life has changed since the early pioneer days.
In
Part 2, the author marvels at the joy and wonder of celebrating the
Christmas King, “God with us,” as well as the joy in God’s
creation—the ducks splashing in a spring pond, the yip of a distant
coyote, hoar frost, a moon-lit evening walk, the starlight, the moons
of Jupiter, sitting beside a
murderer at a World Day of Prayer Service who asked to be prayed for,
the determination of Michael who went blind and became a computer
programmer, remembering that
God is not mocked and our need of repentance, and that: “God’s
unmistakable hallmark is joy, and joy is a promise. It is our promise
to be His hands and His feet and His voice every day, not just when
it is appropriate.” (p. 111)
In
Part 3, Conly tells of getting a swimming pool, a husband-wife debate
over whether to buy a ride-on lawn mower or a larger farm tractor,
looking for the illusive
peace and quiet in a city hotel room, taking correspondence courses in
rural Saskatchewan, lamenting how prime agricultural land is being
converted into urban development.
Amidst
these prairie stories and
essays, Conly employs her
wit and humour along
with historical tidbits to make this volume an entertaining read.
