By the late 1950's, Dora had passed away. John who was known to have "passed the bottle" on more than the odd occasion, had sold off the majority of inherited lands and was about to sell the farm. In the summer of 1957, my father (#130) bought the homestead and we moved to Rollingdam.

By this time, my older brother and sister (Robert#146 and Anne#147) had already left home. The rest of us moved to Rollingdam. Most buildings on the property, including the main house, were in poor shape. My father made a number of changes both structurally and otherwise. Some of the out-buildings also had to be removed. By 1963, only the "old house" and the main house remained. When we first moved in, there was running water but washroom facilities were of the outhouse variety. Although my father did no commercial farming, we always had a large vegetable garden, and on occasion pigs and chickens.

During those years I lived on the farm, I recall helping my father cut pulp wood and my uncle John(#132) cut hardwood. We used chain saws, peeled pulp, yarded logs with horses and sometimes used horse drawn sleighs to haul out wood in winter. We even mowed, raked and hauled hay all by horse power, the old fashion way. I drove the horses while my father and uncle pitched the hay into the wagon and my younger brothers and sisters "tramped". Swamping out trails suitable for a farm tractor and trailer to haul out wood, is something to which I became much accustomed.

The work was hard and I recall my father, then in his 50's, being completely soaked with sweat from working in the woods. Lighting a fire to boil tea, eating cold sandwiches and relaxing at lunch time in the woods in the winter at -10F are memorable experiences.

In 1963, I finished high school and left home. All my other siblings also left home, Susan(#155) being the last. Since then my mother Pauline(#145) has lived alone on the homestead. She frequently visits her children in different parts of Canada from time to time and some winters the house is closed up until she returns.

With McKinney descendants and Scullin descendants still living on either side, close neighbourly relationships go a long way back.

Across the road, the church still stands. Some covered bridges are gone but many remain. Woodland is plentiful and blueberries are still raked in August. McKinneys, McCanns, Logans, Lords, Murphys and others are still there. My mother is still there and the house looks pretty good. There are a few old gravel pits on the property left from when my father sold gravel in the 1960's and many of the fields have grown into trees. Otherwise, little has changed.

Rollingdam is a place where the people are friendly and although they are seldom in a hurry, things always seem to get done. It is a long way from the "rat race" and lots of things are still done the old fashion way. And for those who have lived there, no matter how many years ago, it is a place that is always called "home".