The Legend of Gladee's Canteen by David Mossman

Author:David Mossman [Mossman, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Kids, Teen, Action/Adventure, Social Issues, Fiction
ISBN: 9781554539215
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Published: 2009-01-09T05:00:00+00:00

Gladee’s Canteen on Hirtles Beach – the Sea Breeze, 1951 (top left), Gladee’s Canteen and Restaurant, 1962 (right) and 1983 (bottom left). (Sketch by Kevin Creaser.)

Lorne was a thoroughly likeable individual, and generally considered talented and somewhat crafty where money was concerned. He was always planning one scheme or other. Born in the Myrtle Hotel (the home of his mother Jeanette Romkey) in Riverport, he again took up residence there after World War II with his Belgian wife Nini. Nini was said to be an excellent cook and homemaker. While attending Riverport School in grade nine, I was treated to occasional lunches prepared by Nini at the hotel. Almost inevitably fish was the main course. What kind of fish, I was never able to establish, though it would have helped had I discovered some method of subtracting the thick coating of white sauce. It must have been a special Belgian recipe because I’ve (fortunately) never encountered anything like it since.

The first time I went in search of a washroom at the Myrtle Hotel I found myself in a small room of some sort, with a toilet seat – a dirty brown wooden one – hung on the wall in front of me. Framed dead centre was a photograph of an old guy with whiskers, presumably someone not particularly beloved of either proprietor. That’s all I know. His identity may remain a mystery, along with the reason for the white fish sauce.

On some days there was a small compensation for having lunch prepared by Nini. She could make a pretty reasonable pastry – apple crisp, I recall, was her concession to local custom – and I have always liked apple crisp. Reportedly she was renowned for her cinnamon rolls and pies and calla lilies, too, but none of these ever showed up on my lunch plate. Ever hear tell of calla lilies? I hadn’t either, but there they are, pictured on page 299 of Lunenburg County’s own Dutch Oven cookbook.

Calla lilies, according to that venerable old book, are cookies shaped like the flowers of the same name and filled with whipped cream, sugar, a touch of vanilla, and a strip of orange jello. Gladee called them calorie lilies. And although Lorne claimed he couldn’t live without them, he spent an inordinate amount of time during the 1960s at Gladee’s Canteen, eating for free, while at the same time doing his utmost to do a deal with Flossie. Lorne knew a good thing when he saw one, and Flossie’s vigorous work ethic was the stuff of legend. From his perspective, the timing was good, because Gladee was increasingly suffering from ill health. In brief, Lorne’s idea was that he and Flossie take over the operation of the canteen. Although Gladee turned the canteen over to Flossie in 1967, his wish was never granted.

At the canteen, on Sunday afternoons especially, the personal traffic at close quarters got to be a bit much. So much space was taken up by bodies in the working

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