The Bull-etin Board

Our old farmhouse has been empty of humans for about 45 years but still contained much of the Junque the folks left behind when they moved across the yard to the "new" house.  Last week, my three siblings set about cleaning it out, mostly to see what they could find.

 The kitchen table was 3 ft wide by 4 ft long and the six of us crowded around three sides of it.  Dad got one end all to himself.  Mom and the two "little kids" sat along the side and Ross and I along the other end.

 Ev's doll cradle made by Grandpa Johnson.  Not sure which year it was her Christmas gift.

 The old toy crane of mine was expensive and complicated as it imitated the real cable run McCoy.  Metal construction with rubber wheels and tracks and run by hand crank.  Broken and unfixable.

 Mom and Dad's love letters.  My sister took them home, planning to read them to learn about family life back in the 30's and early 40's.  If there is even a hint of erotica in them she will curl up in a ball and die but I think she is likely safe.  Mom said what she liked about Dad, and this was in their early teens, was that he didn't write mushy but talked about his rabbits and real things.

 When I started university in 1965, Dad and my brothers made me this bull-etin board for Christmas.  Plywood backed with 1/2" tintest glued onto it.  I had forgotten about it until Stan sent me this picture.

 This was the pattern they cut the bull-etin board from; a Hereford bull in a beet pulp ad from Canadian Cattlemen magazine January 1965.  They blew up the picture using Ross's Magnajector and traced around the outline.

Magnajectors were a wonderful invention.  A 60w bulb and you could project onto a wall, anything you could set the projector on top of.  You can still buy the old ones - eBay has a few and, joy of joys, new ones are available from Amazon here. If you got kids, it is a great investment.