The Bognor Chronicles: There Are Two Kinds of People in This World . . .

By Ray Johnson

My earliest memories are of crawling on the kitchen floor. The floor was hardwood boards, and there was a large crack along one board, and the cold air used to come up through the crack. It was nice and warm over near the cookstove, which was our only source of heat. We had a five-legged oak table, but the fifth leg didnt quite reach the floor. We had an oak sideboard, a daybed, a rocking chair, and several pressed- back chairs. The floor had a hump in it, and I used to roll marbles down the grade. One of my first toys was the foot from an organ stool complete with glass ball and iron claw. I used to pretend it was a gun. My mother was always there. In the winter, all rooms were blocked off from the kitchen to keep us warm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493101610

Book preview

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1

The Sawmill

Chapter 2

A Bird In Bognor

Chapter 3

The Gristmill In Bognor

Chapter 4

The Old Community Centre In Bognor

Chapter 5

The New Community Centre In Bognor

Chapter 6

The Blacksmith Shop In Bognor

Chapter 7

Churches In Bognor

Chapter 8

The Public School In Bognor S.S. No.9 Sydenham And St Vincent

Chapter 9

Mcphatter’s Store In Bognor

Chapter 10

Owls And Jays At Bognor

Chapter 11

Bognorisms

Chapter 12

Characters In Bognor

Chapter 13

Cats And Dogs At Bognor

Chapter 14

Romance In Bognor

Chapter 15

The Wars In Bognor

Chapter 16

Grampy’s Tales

Chapter 17

The Big Head River In Bognor

Chapter 18

The Mail Route In Bognor

Chapter 19

Food And Drink In Bognor

Chapter 20

Christmas In Bognor

Chapter 21

The Pond In Bognor

Chapter 22

Bognor Miscellaneous

Chapter 23

Bognor Regis, U.k.—Bognor, Canada

Chapter 24

Who Lived Where In Bognor Inside Town Limits—See Map A

About The Author

Epilogue

Picture Gallery

Acknowledgements

There are two kinds of people

in this world…

those who come from Bognor and those who wish they did.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the memory of

John Norman Waterton.

Scan0001-1.jpg

Bill McPhatter and Ray Johnson playing

‘Hide and Seek’ at the pump house.

Circa 1943.

PROLOGUE

M Y EARLIEST MEMORIES are of crawling on the kitchen floor. The floor was hardwood boards. There was a large crack along one board, and the cold air used to come up through the crack. It was nice and warm over near the cookstove, which was our only source of heat. We had a five-legged oak table, but the fifth leg didn’t quite reach the floor. We had an oak sideboard, a daybed, a rocking chair, and several pressed back chairs. The floor had a hump in it, and I used to roll marbles down the grade. One of my first toys was the foot from an organ stool complete with glass ball and iron claw. I used to pretend it was a gun. My mother was always there. In the winter, all rooms were blocked off from the kitchen to keep us warm.

Scan0001-2.jpg

Vernon, Ray and June Johnson.

Circa 1947.

CHAPTER 1

The Sawmill

S CREECH-WHINE . WHAT IS that? Don’t worry, it’s only the sawmill converting trees into lumber. The sound could be heard for miles around the village. Picture 109 shows the location of the sawmill and the diving board. At the extreme left can be seen the flume that carries water to the gristmill. Next to the flume can be seen the boom that contains the logs to be brought up the gangway and onto the carriage to be cut. Farther up can be seen the diving board that was made up by Earl Dewar and myself. It sure didn’t look fancy, but it served the purpose. Many hours were spent there during the summer.

When a log was ready to be cut, it was pushed over to the gangway, and a cable was used to pull the log onto the carriage. The whole operation was eerily quiet as everything was run by water power. The log was fastened to the carriage, and the whole assembly was slowly moved toward the saw. The saw would bite into the wood, and when the cut was finished, one side of the log would now be flat. The piece of wood that was removed from the log was called a slab. The slabs were cut into approximately one-foot pieces and dumped into a large hopper where they lay until a truck would maneuver into position and pull the trip handle on the hopper. This would allow the truck to fill with slabs. People in the village would buy the slabs for fuel over the winter. Many a load of slabs was stored in our woodshed by my brother Vern and my sisters June and Leona and myself.

Scan0001-3.jpg

Bill McPhatter and Ray Johnson.

Circa 1947.

Back to the saw. On the carriage, the log would be rotated another ninety degrees, and another slab would be formed. In two more cuts, the log would be squared, and the business of manufacturing two-by-fours, two-by-eights, etc., would begin. The lumber would be loaded onto the dolly and moved across the ravine to a truck. The lumber would either be shipped right away or stockpiled for the future. Basket bottoms were made here at one time, but that was before my time.

The business was sold several times, and the following owners are those that I can remember: Simon Johnson, Russell and Herman Johnson, Howard Weaver, Carl Walker, the Edgeworths, the Morrisons, and Bill Dewar.

Scan0001-4.jpg

Ray, Vern and Myrtle Johnson.

Circa 1943.

CHAPTER 2

A Bird in Bognor

A T THE AGE of three or four, I was playing in the sandpile at the side of the house when a baby bird stumbled into the sand. I ran into the house where my mom was working. Quick, quick, there’s a baby bird outside without its mother. How can we help it? My mother put it in a basket and placed it on top of a fence post for the mother bird to come and get. But I don’t think she ever did.

Scan0002-5.jpg

Facing—L-R—Charlie and Ken McPhatter, Vern Johnson and

Lloyd Carmichael. Young boy on left is Neil Carmichael’s son.

CHAPTER 3

The Gristmill in Bognor

W INTER AND SUMMER, on wheels or sleighs, the farmers in the vicinity would bring in bags of grain to be ground for livestock feed. The mill itself was a very well-constructed three-story building. The bottom two floors had to do with grinding the grain and bagging and loading the wagons or sleighs. I learned how to tie a bag there and how to use the dolly