The American Pony Express came to mind the other day when the storm was blowing from all directions around us, leaving drifts in the driveway and icy patches hidden from sight under the snow.
It was a perfect day to hunker down inside at home, staying out of the elements and away from the possibility of dangerous pre-winter snowy driving conditions.
But would the Pony Express riders of olden days be stopped by a mere snowstorm? Of course not, especially with the slogan attributed to them that “neither rain or snow nor death of night can keep us from our duty.”
In our case, we weren’t thinking of the mail delivery, but something equally near and dear to our hearts: a fowl supper.
Yes indeed, there was a fowl supper to attend and how could we possibly miss turkey and gravy and stuffing and homemade desserts. This was a particularly interesting meal as we in this household have a history with a forerunner of the 2022 edition.
It was some years ago that we added the supper at the Rowletta Civic Centre to our list of suppers to attend. The day of the supper was cloudy with a heavy rain that had started the day before and continued. City streets were drenched so one can imagine what a grid road and then a shorter dirt road would be like.
Despite knowing what might await us, we scurried to the car out of the rain, turned the windshield wipers to high speed and headed to the site of the supper.
As soon as we turned onto the grid road, we anticipated we might be in trouble but the Sundance I was driving plowed through and then slid and slid some more on the non-grid leading to the building. It was clear some vehicles had gone this way before us and their ruts were much wider than I should have tried to navigate. But we came to a muddy stop, got out and went indoors.
At the door we were greeted by a grinning area resident who gave us the news that the supper had been cancelled because of the rain and road conditions. The notice was put out over the radio. We, and at least 100 other people, had not heard the announcement.
We did not go home hungry. The organizers had cooked the turkeys, made salads and had all the trimmings ready to serve the volunteers who lived close to the hall. We were invited to join them for turkey.
We ate, enjoyed the company and then hurried to our cars to travel in a convoy of sorts to slide through the mud and grit to reach the pavement.
Turn the calendar a few years to 2022. Tickets were purchased for this year’s supper on Oct. 23. That was the day of the heavy snowfall with downed trees and the power going off for hours and hours. Because of those circumstances, the supper was postponed to Nov. 6.
I was convinced the reports of freezing rain turning into snow on Nov. 5 and continuing into Nov. 6 were baloney. I would have lost the bet but despite the weather I was able to eat turkey instead of crow.
The dinner organizers vowed to have a supper that Sunday evening and graciously encouraged pre-paid guests to attend if able, but safely.
The nephew was scheduled to drive and we left the decision to him. The niece offered to bring us take-out, but with the family’s record of determination, we decided if they were attending, we would be in the backseat (I with my eyes closed.)
We encountered some drifts, a fair bit of icy pavement, wind and ruts but nothing to stop us. We arrived safely, ate our large dinner, picked out favourite desserts, visited with some folks and headed home. There was ice-rink worthy ice on return side of the highway, but the ditches were avoided as were collisions with less attentive drivers.
“Neither rain nor snow nor hunger pangs nor fear of nighttime ditches can keep us from our duty to attend and enjoy local Prairie fowl suppers.”
As long as someone else is driving.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
