Everything old is new again
The children of Paul and Lucy Morel of Deep River, Ontario, sent this loving tribute to their Dad:
Our father was always conscious of the world around him and its limited resources and he attempted to instill this in his four children. Here are the top ten things which seemed quite odd (and embarrassing, if truth be told) to us as children and teenagers in the 70s and 80s, but which we now realize were wise and conscious choices. Many of these carry memories which now bring us to tears of laughter.
1. We had a well-used wood stove in our basement to cut down on furnace use
2. The heat was turned down to about 55° Fahrenheit at night in the winter - we loaded on blankets and wore warm pajamas (we swear we could at times see our breath in the mornings)
3. Our laundry was dried on a clothes line and the dryer used only in limited circumstances (frozen stiff jeans were quite normal in our house)
4. We have always had a "compost heap" in our back yard which nourished our vegetable garden (our early chore as children was to carry the potato peelings and vegetable scraps to the compost each night)
5. Reduce/reuse/recycle was second nature to our dad - he recycled when recycling wasn’t cool (a milk jug would be refashioned into a scoop for the water barrel which in turn was fashioned out of an old garbage can)
6. We naturally had no air conditioning in the summer - windows were opened at night, and closed with drapes pulled in the mid-morning to capture and maintain the cool air of the nights
7. Our father never used Kleenex - he has always had handkerchiefs (and still does to this day!)8. Our dad was the first person we knew who replaced all lightbulbs in his house with compact fluorescent
9. We actually always shared bath water to limit electricity and water use!
10. Our washing machine had a "suds saver" such that on laundry day multiple loads of laundry were washed in the same water
We will always recall as teenagers our Dad’s observation on the changing world when he would shake his head and say "We are becoming a throw-away society". But our Dad certainly did his part and now we find ourselves following his example as best we can: using our own clotheslines instead of our dryers, using our own water barrels to water our gardens, getting our own composters, installing programmable thermostats to ensure our air-conditioning and heating is used at its minimal – and of course reminding our own children to turn off the lights when they leave the room!. We are grateful to our wonderful father for his example.
In honour of his eightieth birthday, we have made a donation to the David Suzuki Foundation. Here is our Dad’s mantra from our childhood- words to live by:
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.
Margot Morel (Guelph, Ontario)
Mark Morel (Ajax, Ontario)
Catherine Morel-Lopez (Toronto, Ontario)
Lisa Morel-Misener (Ottawa, Ontario)
Lots of green living ideas are recycled! Maybe that’s why what seems ‘new’ to a lot of people is second nature to others. Readers - what green wisdom was passed down to you from parents and grandparents?