Growing up in Riverton was a happy time; we never had anything or anyone to fear and felt totally safe. Being in such a safe environment, my parents would often leave me alone as they went to work. I was free to wander the town, stopping at the neighbours and playing with whomever was available. I would visit my dad at Paul Lupyrypa’s garage or my mom at Lupyrypa’s store. At the store, I could not understand why the candy bars were not for my taking.
A trip to the CPR station was a must to see who and what was arriving. The newspapers would arrive and the mail would be taken to the post office for sorting. Joining us on the bench would be the widow of a former CPR employee. She would have jugs of water from the station’s artesian well. She said it was the best water she ever had. Like us, her coming to the station was something for her to do.
After, we would travel down the tracks and check the passenger cars for anything of value, usually finding nothing. I would then head to Borgfjords’ and play war games with the boys around the storage sheds along the tracks. This seemed to take the whole morning; traveling the village took a long time as it was bigger then – or perhaps I was just smaller.
Since there was little crime, the homes were left unlocked. Once I went to Gudmundson’s home and the paper boy arrived for collection. With nobody home, I paid him from a jar of coins. It was then I received my first lecture about entering homes without permission. I would go to school to see if I could get in, but, being four at the time, they said I was too young.
As a teenager, one was very busy in the winter months. We played hockey on the river or on the frozen pond in front of the railway station. We moved to the rink once the ice was ready. During school lunch hour we played football in the snow-covered grounds (quarterbacked on one side by Ron Hurdal, and the other side by Ivan Johannson). We never did know who won the game. Then there was curling. Winning the annual bonspiel was the goal we all aspired to reach. The number of players was huge as there were up to 100 rinks taking part. The large draw meant the skating rink was used as well as the curling rink. The first few nights, the curling would be
played well into the early morning hours.
Social life meant cruising the magic mile. You would start on the west side across the small bridge, across to the east side, then the big bridge, and back to the west side. The cruising could go on for hours, as gas was 25 cents a gallon (or 6 cents a litre). The cost of a weekend would be five to ten dollars, which included the Saturday dance at Geysir or Vidir halls. The music provided by Johnny and His Musical Mates. There was a code at the dances: girls on one side of the hall and boys on the other; of course, the dating couples were in another group.
This was a simpler and worry-free time. There were lots of physical activities, because there was no TV and very few phones. Most homes did not get indoor plumbing until the 1950s.
I remember Riverton in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s as a fun and a safe place.