Once Upon a Country Lane
Once Upon a Country Lane
Garfield Thomas Ogilvie
IN THE WESTERN SECTION OF Carleton County lies a region of hospitality once known as West or Upper Huntley Township. An Irish community has lived among its ridges and valleys for the past 170 years. Once Upon a Country Lane is the story of the land and of its people.
The author's fifty-five year friendship with this Celtic settlement began as a child. During summer, Christmas, and Easter vacations, from 1937 to 1946, he lived with his grandmother at O'Keefe's Corners, West Huntley. Here, oblivious to the hardships of the Depression and the turbulence of war, Garfield Ogilvie basked in West Huntley's pastoral splendour, a comfort he never again experienced in his lifetime.
In this book the author reflects on those carefree days. Supporting personal memories with extensive research gathered here and in Ireland, the author presents an intimate picture of the Irish of West Huntley. With folklore, history, humour, pathos, and romance — all offered in a simple, chatty, down-home style — Once Upon a Country Lane gives pleasure to readers of all kinds.
About the Second Edition:
"The reprint of Once Upon a Country Lane has been made possible by the many readers who enjoyed the original.
Although its subject material centres on a particular Irish settlement in Ontario, its broader scope of Irish history and the Gaelic mystique is enticing to many." - Garfield Ogilvie