Acting their ages never got these four people anywhere
The Mendel Art Gallery has a Van Gogh.
The picture is on a sheet of paper the size of a toaster. Done in coloured chalk, the scene shows sunlight reflected in sea, a mist of yellow and blues. A two-masted ship without sails is on the beach in the foreground.
Amelia Dease did the picture. It’s no Van Gogh, but the piece has touch. It’s part of the Mendel’s annual school art exhibit. A room in the gallery is wall to wall with paintings, photos and sculptures done by elementary and high school students.
Dease is in Grade 5 at Greystone Heights School. Her art feels older. Her Van Gogh leaves an impression.
That’s the thing about age. Age labels us — it doesn’t define us. Age is not a statute of our limitations. Consider Jack Powell. Powell started a veterinary practice in 1947 in Nenagh, a rural town in central Ireland, his homeland. He was a vet for 75 years. Although he retired three years ago, people still ask him for advice.
His knowledge of horses is blue-ribbon material. That’s fitting. Powell has been around animals since he was a pup. He grew up on a farm, the youngest of five children.
He graduated from Dublin’s veterinary college in 1936. Two weeks after being married, he and his wife Sheila came to Canada on the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner in the Second World War, both of them serving in the Royal Air Force. Jack travelled to southern Saskatchewan. He lived in wooden barracks at the Elementary Flight Training School near Assiniboia. He flew Tiger Moths and Cornells on the Prairies. He became a pilot instructor.
Powell is soon to turn 101. In spirit and substance, he is 41.
When Powell trained in Saskatchewan, he could fly west and buzz over Shaunavon or go east over Weyburn. Straight south of Assiniboia is Rockglen. This is ranching country.
Rockglen is where homesteaders such as the Linthicum clan settled a hundred years ago, coming to Saskatchewan from North Dakota. The Linthicums lived in sod houses. They shoed horses and fixed wagons. Linthicums are still in the neighbourhood. Murray Linthicum is a cattle rancher in Glentworth, west of Rockglen. He is one heckuva roper.
Murray’s son is a musician. Clayton Linthicum plays piano and banjo and guitar. Clayton and his cousin Kacy Anderson, a singer, are as folksy as burlap. They perform at festivals. They’ve released a vinyl record.
Clayton and Kacy — young and younger — have more soul than a pan of roasted baby potatoes.
Then there is Bruce Gordon in Saskatoon. He has another story.
He has competed in triathlons that take 12 hours. He has coached minor hockey and major midget hockey. He helps out at a bike repair and parts shop.
After working as a detective in the police service for almost 30 years, he retired a year ago. He went back to school at age 50 last fall. He is studying law in university.
Gordon hasn’t decided what kind of law he plans to practise. He just enjoys going to class. He welcomes a chance to learn.
Bruce Gordon is Amelia Dease. Jack Powell is Clayton Linthicum.
Let’s hope they never act their age.