"A man with a megaphone tells people to clear
the road. A police car, siren screaming, rolls into
town. Behind it, a large green truck grinds to a
halt in front of the crowd. Men in overalls climb
the tall wooden poles. Everyone cheers."
The calendar on the kitchen wall says it's January 1952. The children are excited as they eat Mama's warm fried apples for breakfast. It's going to be an eventful day in their hometown; Britt, Ontario is finally going to have electricity. Men have been working for months, and now they are ready to light up the town.
Their Metis family has lived happily without electricity. They get together on Sundays with relatives to listen to homegrown music and dance jigs. After supper they listen to a battery-operated radio in a living room lit by the glow of oil lamps, The children sleep in one bedroom where the only light at night comes from the moon. They play outside in all seasons. What changes might having electricityt bring? Will those changes make life better?
Finally, it's time to go into town and watch as the electricity is hooked up for all.
The author explains in a note at the end of the book that her story is based on her own experiences growing up on the Magnetavan River. Electricity brought immense change to everyone in their town: electric stoves, no oil lamps, running water, no outhouses, a record player, and a black-and-white televsion. She also mentions that stories now often came from watching the television rather than their own storytelling traditions. Digital artwork offers a realistic setting that is sure to spark conversations about life in rural areas in the 1950s.
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