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Miss Canada

It’s interesting how small and narrow my world was when I was a kid. Anything different than the world or the people I knew, gnawed at my brain. I did grow up on a farm near a small town, or several small towns so I suppose, I was pretty sheltered.

I was thinking just now about a teacher I recall from elementary school whose last name was Canada. Miss Canada. I remember thinking how strange to have that name as a surname.

What you grow up with is what you think is normal and I grew up with Hrycyks and Blazenkos, baby-sat for Kolbelkas and rode the bus with Yakylasheks yet there I was questioning a name so simple as Canada. I just didn’t understand HOW you would end up with a name that’s exactly the same as the name of our country.

I remember wondering if she was somebody famous or fancy, was the country named after her family? How could she be an ordinary person with a name like that?

It’s crazy what little brains think. I now know several people with the last name Canada and it’s no biggie. They blend right in with the Beavers, the Redheads and the Fudges.

Sometimes I wish Antichow was a little less distinct and a lot more…Canadian.

My paternal Gramma is the tall, self described “big boned” lady ๐Ÿ˜€

21 responses to “Miss Canada”

  1. I like that picture with pops on the left holding the baby while smoking a Player’s Light.
    .
    I thought you were going to tell me a story about how the beauty pageant winner came to be your grade 4 teacher!

    There she is… Miss Canada…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lol yes I love how different things were back then, so simple. He probably never even got a lecture in his life on how bad smoking is for you.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. i’ll tell you, Canada is a rather jarring break from the usual litany of names. we had a football coach here named Matt Canada and it always stopped me for a minute hearing that name! Mike

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    1. Right?!

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  3. How odd to have Canada for a last name. Interesting.

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    1. It is hey?!

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  4. I’m guessing it is a great conversation starter

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    1. Lol yes I bet!

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  5. I never met any Canadas, but Iโ€™ve met a few Americas (first name). Cool vintage pic. She was big-boned! How tall was she?

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    1. America as a first name is super cute but imagine Canada as a first name lol?!
      She was probably about the same as I am, 5โ€™7 or 5โ€™8!

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      1. Oh! Iโ€™m 5.8 too. She looks like a giant, but people were shorter back then. I canโ€™t figure out how I ended up tall, not one of my grandparents was over 5.5.

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      2. So interesting isnโ€™t it?! Youโ€™d think there had to be at least one tall person for you to get those genes!

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      3. Right! Makes you start questioning whether maybe there was an affair with a tall milkman along the generations! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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      4. Lol ๐Ÿ˜‚

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  6. Itโ€™s fascinating, but itโ€™s probably better than naming a dog โ€œCindy,โ€ the same name as your neighbor. ๐Ÿ˜† My goodness, big bones indeed. Iโ€™ll be doing everything she tells me without complaining. Thank you for sharing that great photo.

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    1. Dogs with human names really crack me up ๐Ÿ˜‚
      I think Gramma looks extra big there (tall lol) because the others are pretty small. ๐Ÿ˜Œ
      Thanks Edward!

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      1. I know, so funny. And your Gramma looks pretty powerful in that picture, if you ask me.

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      2. She prided herself on being just one of the boys lol and doing anything they could do โ˜บ๏ธ

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      3. Thatโ€™s awesome.

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  7. What a great last name! I met someone with the last name Countryman yesterday, and a few weeks ago Manbun. ๐Ÿ™‚

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    1. Lol wow! So interesting!!

      Like

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