An Englishman roused by a Scot’s scorn of his race, protested that he was born an Englishman and hoped to die an Englishman.
“Man,” scoffed the Scot, “hiv ye nae ambeetion?”

A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagonload of wheat on the road.  The farmer that lived nearby came to investigate.  “Hey, Willie,” he called out, “forget your troubles for a while and come have dinner with us.  Then I’ll help you with your wagon.”
“That’s very nice of you,” Willie answered, “But I don’t think Dad would like me to.”
“Aw, come on son!” the farmer insisted.
“Well, OK,” the boy finally agreed, “but Dad won’t like it.”
After a hearty dinner, Willie thanked the host, “I feel a lot better now, but I know Dad’s going to be real upset.”
“Don’t be silly!” said the neighbour, “By the way, where is he?”
“Under the wagon,” replied Willie.

Candles to Februs - The ancient Romans burned candles to Februs, mother of Mars, on Candlemas Day, hoping for a fertile year.  French-American folklore holds that pancakes eaten on Candlemas Day will prevent hemorrhoids all year.  (Candlemas or Groundhog Day)

In days of old when knights were bold and castles stood dark and cold, Valentine’s Day warmed the cockles of people’s hearts:
* Sweethearts exchanged amorous kisses and wrote each other loving verses.  Gentlemen gave their lady loves new gloves to wear at Valentine’s galas.
* The name Valentine’s was sometimes bestowed on babies born on Feb. 14.  Times change, and so do names.  But while few people call their child Valentine anymore, some of yesteryear’s most romantic Valentine’s Day traditions endure.
One of the most lasting is the exchange of Valentine verses, a practice that some historians trace to the early 1400s when Frenchman Charles Duc d’Orleans, imprisoned in the Tower of London, sent love poems to his wife.
Nineteenth century and early 20th century Valentine’s Day verses ranged from the romantic to the silly.  Sending this poem to a man today might scare the daylights out of him.
Valentine’s Day has its earliest roots in ancient Rome.  On Feb. 14^th the Romans honoured Juno, the goddess of women and marriage.  On Feb. 15^th they celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia to honour Febra, the goddess of marriage, childbirth and sexuality.  During the feast, young men drew names of young women from an urn.  The men then spent the remainder of the festival coupled, socially and sexually, with the woman whose name they had selected.  The spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire ended that pagan custom.  The name of Lupercalia festival was changed to St. Valentine’s Day in honour of a Christian martyr who was stoned to death in 269 A.D.
“My love is like a cabbage
“Divided in two,
“The leaves I give to others
“But the heart belongs to you.”

From the First Old Farmers Almanac 1793
February is a short month and you must improve your time.  Get your tools in order for spring work; such as carts, ploughs, plough-shares, harrows, etc.
Are all your tools ready?
Cowboys spend a lot of time on the range, whatever a range may be, whiling away their hours moseying and giddyuping.  But mostly moseying, they often come up with gems of wisdom we could all do well to heed.
If you are riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.
Never drop your gun to hug a grizzly.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don’t be surprised if they learn their lesson.
Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.
It don’t take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
There are more horses asses than horses.
Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.
Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat.  It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s good to know what it was.
Go after life as if it’s something that’s got to be roped in a hurry before it gets away.
The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.
Never get up before breakfast.  If you have to get up before breakfast, eat breakfast first.
Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Did You Know?
Co-ops and Credit Unions provide consumers with a distinct value based and community owned and controlled alternative.  Unlike the private, public or voluntary sectors, all co-operatives around the world are guided by the same seven principles.
1. Voluntary and open membership.
2. Democratic member control
3. Member economic participation
4. Autonomy and independence
5. Education, training and information
6. Co-operation among co-operatives
7. Concern for the community
Collectively there are over 10,000 co-operatives and Credit Unions in Canada providing products and services to over 10 million Canadians.

National Training in credit union practices
                Thirteen women divided their time between training in Ottawa and Calgary and a program of on-site learning in one of 13 host credit unions in five provinces recently.  The women were part of a mentoring program titled Giving Credit Where Credit is Due.  This training and exposure program, designed by the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), provides women staff of financial co-operatives with a unique opportunity for professional development.  As well as placements in credit unions, the participants attended the World Council of Credit Union Annual General Meeting, taking place in late July.  The program receives funding from the Canadian International Development Agency’s Partnership Branch.  Participants will work closely with credit union women like themselves receiving general leadership training and learning the ins-and-outs of managing a loans program.  Staff members at participating credit unions help the women achieve their learning objectives by sharing knowledge and skills and connecting them to credit union staff, policies and best practices.  They also make their guests feel at home by greeting them on arrival, billeting them in private homes and introducing them to people, places and events in their community.
The above idea I believe could be worked out for other avenues of the Co-operative system, and a training program could be come up with if heads were put together.

YOUR COMMUNITY BUILDER

Vanderhoof & Districts Co-op invests in the communities it serves and the returns those investments yield stay within those communities, which in turn generate more economic activity.  Vanderhoof Co-op is also a supporter of local community groups, over $35,000 in financial and in-kind donations, two students to Co-op Rainbow Camp and $500 in scholarships for Senior Secondary Students in each of the nine communities we operate in from Terrace to McBride and of course we will be adding one more this year with Quesnel coming on board.  Our success is measured in the success of the people we employ, in services we offer to our members, and in the equitable way our earnings are distributed to the membership.  ONLY CO-OP returns its profits to local member-owners.

A woman got lost while driving in a New England snowstorm.  However, she knew that if she waited for a snowplow, she could follow it and get to safety.  Before too long, a snowplow came by, and she followed it.  In fact she continued to drive behind the plow for nearly an hour.  Finally, the driver got out and asked her what she was doing.  Upon her reply, the driver nodded and said, “Well, I’m done with Wal*Mart now.  You can follow me over to Sears if you want to!”

I heard recently about a fellow back in the Midwest who was upset because of the weatherman’s inability to predict what was going on.  So he wrote a letter to the weatherman and said this: “Dear Sir, I am extremely exasperated with your reports.  I have just shoveled four inches of partly cloudy out of my driveway.”

It only rained twice last week: first for three days and then for four days.

The Book of Smith

THE CLAN SMITH

From Scotland and from Ireland to our golden shore
America is mighty proud of her adopted sons galore
There is the clan D’Shaghnessy, also the clan of Moore,
Who love the land of sunshine, but love the old sod more;
There are the Tooles, the Hannigans, and the Bradys, too,
And of the clan O’Hara there are quite a few,
And not a single family we are acquainted with
Can compare a minute with the good old clan of Smith!

They do be saying there are those who want to make a change,
And to one who never knew them this sounds a wee bit strange,-
For the name that one is born with is an early heritage
And often it’s the only thing that’s left in one’s old age;
The Irish and the Scotch are known in family clan,
And the name they are known by is the pride of every man;
But the finest clan among us which we are acquainted with
Is the clan that’s known to every one as the clan of Smith!

They do be telling of a tale reaching back a million years-
The world was in its infancy, the people had no cares;
They do be after saying that then the name of Smith
Was the only one that any one was then acquainted with;
The judge of the recorder’s court was jealous of the name,
As the judge’s patronymic also was the honoured same,
And every single culprit who before the judge came
Was sentenced, besides dire punishment, forthwith to change his name!

-Earle E. Griggs

An editorial writer in the Atlanta Constitution of March 19, 1905, wrote: “The man who carries the melodious cognomen of Smith may flatter himself that his ancestors bore an excellent reputation in the society of their time.  They were not drones or laggards.  They were workers.  They ‘MADE’ something.”

And so much for the name of Smith at this time, until we cross paths at a later date.

Doug Smith, Member at Large