The legend of Tom Scarrow

This spring I saw a posting on Facebook from Charlotte, one of Laura daughter about Tom, she was mentioning she was loving him every day, and was missing his presence.
The picture brought back lot of memory of a past time , I could remember 2004 when I received a call from Shurly, informing me that Tom had past away in a Horse accident in Manitoba.
The next night I was on a plane to Regina. This happen all in a week after I heard that my friend from Katimavick Geraldine from Cape Breton had past away a year before from breast cancer.
I made it late in the night after the plane ride and a 2 hours car ride to Arcola at Shurly place.
The next day I assisted at the funeral in the Arcola rodeo park, with a large audience , we heard the eulogy from Jack Mackenzie a long time friend of Tom, a poem read by his first granddaughter Marie , also by Bud Fenix, witch I had not seen in the past 25 years, a cowboy poem, it was emotional as song and memory mix together. Tear came to my eyes many time remembering this great man that had influence me at the same level as my own father, also as I saw Florence accepting with the greatest of difficulty the immensity of the pain of a lost one and to see the emptiness left by her partner.

After the Funeral I went to the Prairies hall for the lunch reception where I had the chance to see Liz my former Katimavik coordinator, Jack from Saskarie foundation and Bud Fenix a former rodeo man one of many good friend of Tom , also the Christenson family had give me a ride to the cemetery, remembering there involvement in the Saskarie project as it was totals in those days. I also had the chance to meet several person that I had not seen for a long time, it was very pleasant to reconnect with them .
At the end of the lunch Shurly invited me to go to the farm for the evening, but I felt it would be better to leave them among family, so I promise I would meet them in the morning at the farm, I was also so tired from the trip in the night as I had arrived only at 4,00 Am New brunswick time, so I when to Shurly house to try to sleep but couldn’t, it seem that I could not but remember and relived as history seem to play itself in my memory constantly, with all the people I had met that day made me remember so mush as many of the greatest moment of my life were coming back in the front of my eyes , but finally after a long time I finally when to sleep for a large part of that night.

The next day I woke up bright and early and drove to the Saskarie gate in the mist of the morning, I left the rental car at the gate that had seen me for the first time on that summer night of 78.
As I walk back to this camp every point seem to bring back so mush memory of this summer and the different encounter. When I arrived at the lodge I when to tour the camp and as it was a bit different from the last time I had seen it in the late fall of 97, the last time I saw Tom alive.I could easily recognized my sleeping place in the far corner on the right side. Shortly after I took the small path and walked down to the well by the lake, as I was walking down my step seem like a repetition of a time past , I could sense and clearly remember going down this very path in July with Heidi going to the well and suddenly I fell a hand on mine and as it had happen one evening in July long time ago. The presence of Heidi accompanying me down this path as she had in 78, holding my hand and kissing me for my first time was as clear as if it had been a few moment before. I was living for a second time those same moment as they had happening more then 25 year before.

From there I retrace many of the track I had made in 78, visiting the old saw mill where I had learn from Tom how to operate this simple machine that held the secret of how to building a home , as this was the first time I was in Sakarie in the summer since that famous summer of 78. Saskarie was very important as it was so mush link to Tom and his family that had welcome me in that year.

That year was a very important year in my life as I had a new group of friend in that summer, but above all my reason for this summer to be part of the legend of life, was clearly the encounter with the Scarrow legend.

Walking in that morning was as if we were back then, even if it all happen in the profoundness and the immensity of the solitude of that early august morning in the hill of saskarie , I felt the presence of legend hovering all over and all around me. As I walk back to the car I had left at the gate in front of the saskary field I decided to leave it there and walk on the trail cross country to Tom farm as I had done so many time before, instead of driving around and then back to Scarrow place.
The walk back was as many place were, a memorable place that brought back so many memory of that summer as the view of the prairie was lit by a beautiful morning. When I arrived on the top of the brake your neck hill, I when to sit on the rock that had saw me many time when I was felling a bit sad, failing to understand love or perhaps the world or society around me .
Even If the panoramic view of the prairie was profoundly different from the one of 78, as the gold of the wheat that spread itself from left to right as far as the eyes could see, had profoundly change to a variety of color ranging from that golden color of wheat to the yellow of canola to the blue violet of flax, and many other. The feeling of Love had not move one iota, the unconditional acceptance without question, the encounter of that night of july 78, from this big man and his family was all over me, on that day of 2004. As I was there sitting on the rock all kind of memory was passing true my head as It was him that had ask my groupe coordinator if participants would help load some bale in the field close to the tool shed, and then asking me if I would cut some hay for him in the evening. On that day of 04 he was there right in front of me, and all that was missing was the touch. That day had all the ingredient for a very sad day but there was something in the air that prevented that from happening. The presence or the aura of Tom in these hill was everywhere I felt surround by him, his joy for living his and his need for encounter and sharing was filling my life with so mush love as the summer of 78 was playing in front of me, on that incredible I Max screen that was the prairie scenery that stood in that magnificent sunny morning of August 04 . The smiling face of Tom was everywhere filling the air with all the think we had done together, I cold see the teaching of cutting with the saw mill in Saskarie, the starting of the grader, the sharing of knowledge about wheat, the handling of calf to tag them, the riding of horse, the incredible teaching about roping with lasso, the stories of riding, getting an escaped horse at Harold in the august morning, the drinking of tea by Tom sitting at the table, the incredible meal with potato, oignon tops in cream, the pie , doughnut with glace,prepare by Florence and all this sharing of food and ideas was flowing in front of my eyes, as life was unfolding with the presence of the Scarrow patriarch. Of all those think that Tom thought me one remain so memorable even if it was fill with so mush simplicity for Tom.
On the second night that I when to cut hay at the farm there were a knife missing on the sickle bar and so Tom brought 4 or 5 with him and a handful of rivet to secure them to the bar, but they were way to long and in my experience it was impossible to rivet them on, as they were going to bend before riveting, so I thought we will have to go and get some other rivet and come back but Tom took one of the rivet and set it on the back of the mower and set a knife on it and hammer it and cut it to the right length on one blow. I was flabbergasted and so impress with that action, that, form then on this young farmer from the maritime told himself that he had a lot to learn from this big fellow, listening needed to be part of the agenda a lot more land to cultivated friendship became a must.
From then on my life was never the same as I always saw this as a very pivotal moment. I made sure to tell Tom the last day when we were setting at the bus station in Carlyle in late September as it had so mush importance for me.

After sitting for what seem like a very long time on this rock and reliving strong moment shared with Tom in that summer of 78. I got up after I saw what seem to be the back of a brown horse in the distance.
I started to walk down the hill and making my way back to the farm . A few moment later I arrived to the place that I had plow in that early fall to prepare the new land, I had never seen how it look like, since as I had never been there in the summer of that initial time.
The land was nice and seem like it had been farm several year after. Again in the distance at the end of the curve , I could again see the brown back of this horse with rider in front of me , and I accelerate the paste to try to reach the rider, but it seem to have vanish in the distance. When I got close to the barn I could hear the crack of some branch in front, so I when by the way of the field to make it to the house where all the family were, but when I reach the field that very place that I had cut the hay and thereafter plow with Tom, I could see far at the end this silhouette on the top of the small hill going to Coyote slue , agains this brown horse with a big man riding and he turn toward me for a few second I could see his rope, hanging on the horn, the 30 30 in the pouch on the side, for just a minute Snort rose on his rear legs, as he did some time. Tom wave at me with his hat then slowly vanish in the light and mist of this August morning of 2004.

It came clear that even If I was sure I had seen this horse it probably was the reflection of light and morning mist on the ground, or perhaps it was the beginning of the legend of Tom saluting me in the distance for a last time. He had been my first teacher in riding horse and so many other think in that so memorable summer that made the individual that I have become. In so many way Tom had not been so different from my family he had just been a confirmation of the values put forward by my mother and father all true my existence.

Of all the encounter that seem so important in that summer of 78 , the beauty and niceness of Heidi and her beautiful mind and body, the discovery of a new world in the prairies , the friendship with many new friend , none were ever part of a lasting bond like the one with Tom, Florence and there offspring.

The need for Tom to connect with others was so great , perhaps because of his triple ethnic origine , french, native and anglophone,created his incredible need for being love, and to give love to so many other.
That summer was and will remain so memorable in my life, as it was in so many aspect of my life a first. First time that I had find some older adults outside of my life that really like me, first time that many women were interesting in me , first time to kiss a women and to have intimate relation. To find a new coarse of friends outside of my community,first time to see truly Saskacthawn it’s immensity how it was welcoming, it was also the first time that I had had the thought that it could have been possible for me to live somewhere outside of Rogersville.
My rapport with the legend of the Scarrow clan arrises more often then one in the years but it is impossible for me not to be reminded of this legend, as spring arise and it is calfing time, how many time have I repeated to a cow, the phrase : if Tom would be here you would have been ring in a second.
It it also impossible for me to forger Florence and her immense magnetism and the perfect soulmate that she was for Tom and the Scarrow clan . Every years in the fall I feel I must make choke cherry jam to reminded my taste bud how good life was on that summer and I let it, transport my memory in and eternal youth, nearly 40 year ago. I have no dough that what Tom was and his existence was in so many way a tribute to Florence her love and her immense need to shared and to love. If there are so many great memory of Florence the one that constantly come to mind, is the last day before we left , she had made sandwich for all group and more then a 100 donut for the going away of the Katimavick in the fall of 78 it was so mush her giving constantly.

I have realized long time ago that I represented just a small segment of Tom life, as he has magnetized so many people in his life, and inspired lot with his philosophie of sharing and believing in simple but sure values.

Over the past 35 years I have been to Saskarie several time but only once since Tom past away. For the several time that I when to Saskatoon for NFU meeting in the past 8 years in the cold wether of the end of November, it had been to demanding to make it to Saskarie but often I dream of being back on a 06 of July one of these years, certainly to see Florence and the family , also the young one that are perpetuating the legend of the moose mountain, but beyond this, I want to feel the magic as I felt it in that summer long time ago. I want to see the moose mountain as I saw them in that first summer, to walk in the trail around Saskarie, around the farm,to sit on the top of the break your neck hill,to have this overview of the prairie and the moose mountains and to bring me back to some sort of eternal youth. Beyond all of this I know I will feel this presence that will surround me as it did back then and still live inside me, and that I will cherish for the rests of my live, this mythical presence of the greatest legend of my time. So much love for one man.