Harrison’s Trapeze

June 06, 2023 – Millarville, Alberta

The most fun our kids ever had was initiated by a double amputee they never met. 

Harrison Elwood was a pioneer.  He and his wife Nellie immigrated to Canada in the early part of the 20^th century.  They settled on land south of Arcola, Saskatchewan where, over many years, they established a prosperous farm.  The couple built a house, an enormous barn with outbuildings, and surrounded their estate with Manitoba Maple Trees and Caragana bushes.  The Elwoods lived happily on the farm for forty-five years.  

For reasons unknown, the pioneer couple never had children, so there was no one to pass the land on to when the time came.  With retirement approaching, the Elwoods went looking for a young couple ready to buy a farm.  Mom and Dad fit the category.  The two families found one another and in 1959, Mom and Dad bought the property.  Nellie and Harrison moved to a house they had built in the nearby town of Arcola, and we Paton’s settled into life at Elwood Farm.

Harrison wasn’t entirely prepared for retirement.  He would occasionally return to the farm to help with endless work in the fields and garden.

Harrison’s health deteriorated soon after he retired.  He developed blood clots in both his legs which critically threatened his general health.  First one leg, then the other had to be amputated above the knee. Mom and Dad visited regularly and tried to help out in any way they could. 

After the second leg had been removed, Harrison was having difficulty manoeuvring in and out of bed from a wheelchair.  Dad built a trapeze with a chain and a piece of pipe, which he suspended from a rafter in the ceiling over the bed. Harrison was able to grab the device and pull himself upright.  It worked wonderfully well. I remember watching in awe as the barrel-chested farmer with no legs, using still powerful arms, pulled himself up to have a visit.

Unfortunately, Harrison’s illness continued to spread.  He died a few months later leaving Nellie alone for the first time in 50+ years.  Mom and Dad continued to look in on Nellie.  One of Dad’s first chores to help her out was to remove the trapeze from the bedroom.

This is where the story takes a happy turn.

Dad mounted the chain trapeze to a joist in the basement ceiling where the Paton kids (there were four of us now), played with it for years.  The swing was so popular squabbles would break out about who’s turn it was to use it.

When I moved away from home and started a family of my own, the first toy I built was a basement trapeze swing.  In fact, to avoid squabbles I installed two swings.  Mine were made of colourful nylon rope with wooden bars, but the design was the same as the one Dad built for Harrison.  I bought gym mats to place under the swings to avoid head trauma and turned the kids loose.

Not a day went by when the swings weren’t in use.  When we built the cabin, another set of basement swings was installed there so our kids could do their acrobatics wherever we were.

Marshall Harrison Paton, on … 

…Harrison’s Trapeze.

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