age, but he became self-educated by reading farm magazines and other literature. He valued an education and showed this by sending his daughters to Tryon Consolidated School to complete their schooling for entry to Prince of Wales College. This was mainly in depression times when little money was available, but somehow he managed through self-sacriﬁce and the good, thrifty, home management of his remarkable English born wife, Ellen.

But, who was to carry on the Leard tradition at Centerbrook? The only boy, Edward Lawson, had died with diphtheria at the age of eleven months. Fred A.’s only living brother, Frank W., farming outside the city of Regina, was by now a westerner with love for wheat lands and western soil. So it was that it came into the Craig name when Fred A. reached the point of retirement.

Centerbrook continued to be farmed by a lover of the soil, a man whose greatest loves were his family, his ﬁelds, and his animals. Eric Craig enjoyed nothing more than to sit on a white birch in the grove at a high point of the farm on the verge of the woods and look out over his lands and home and know that all was right with the world. His pride in his farmlands and farm life was and continues to be shared by his children. Together they shared the ease and relaxation of driving over grazing ﬁelds to inspect the fences for the stock’s protection in summer, long hikes through woodland trails laden with sweet spruce and ﬁr- scented air, the delight of spotting an old, black beech tree and trying to guess its age, the rush to get hazel nuts in competition with the crafty squirrels, stopping by the limpid waters of the brook to listen to its endless rippling— all this and more- a priceless heritage.

Beef cattle roam the meadows now instead of dairy cattle; huge tractors have replaced the span of horses formerly used to cultivate its broad acres. There are not only stock barns but also potato warehouses.

Although Fred A. loved to romance about his driving horses, he was surpassed in this instance by Eric who really could romance about the success of his racing horses- Yankee Blaze who won one dash of the now famous Gold Cup and Saucer in 1968, and Champ Wayvue who held the record for Maritime—bred two year olds in 1971-72.

Eric and Jessie, Fred A.’s fourth daughter, continued the tradition of hospitality that had been an integral part of Centerbook ’3 heritage. The table was always set to include anyone who might be visiting or stranded during a snowstorm. Summer brought the return of cousins and other relatives who were home from away. It was just simply understood that they would come toJessie and Eric’s. Here they would be afforded great meals- lots of strawberriesl- lovely lodging in the comfortable ﬁve bedroom house, and wonderful companionship and conversation. Christmas was a very special time in the Craig household and again hospitality was the key. The most special Christmas tradition was the return to the fold of Jessie’s four sisters and their families, a tradition which is approaching the half century mark.