off the branches of the maples, oaks, and elms. The sun caught the crystals. It was quiet and very peaceful. The snow on the ground took the crunch of leaves and twigs out of Jake’s step. The sun started to climb, making it hot. Jake realized that the extra sweat shirt was just too much clothing. His NDHS sweat top was white with blue and gold lettering. He opened the front of his overalls to cool down. Jake did not realize that the front of his overalls formed a perfect white V-shape. All would have been well, but just as he was getting close to camp, he saw two coyotes slink off to one side of the hill. SSS, shoot, shovel, and shut-up, was the rule and he decided to move over a bit to the east to take a shot and drop one of the predators.
Meanwhile, just over the rise, Manley spotted a buck drifting north. He had his gun up with its sight aimed just below the rack. He saw the buck turn and flash its white tail. He was sure it would be a clean shot. He controlled his breath and slowly pulled the trigger.
The bullet hole entered just above the crossbar in the H of NDHS. Jake never felt a thing, falling backwards, as a lead mushroom bullet drilled through his heart and tore out his back.
Manley was in shock when he walked over to the kill site. No buck, just Jake lying on his back. Manley, a sniper in the Second World War, had made a practice of never looking at his completed work. This was the first time he had killed a human and seen the result.
The word of Jake’s death spread through the hunting camps. Hunters from miles around decided that they should pay their respects and attend the funeral. Not everyone knew Jake and his family, but everyone had met or heard of Reeve Manley. Every hunter who picks up a rifle or a bow fears the day that he will pull the trigger and not hit the target that he expects.
The hunt was over for this year.
The Funeral
Saturday, November 7th, 1960.
News of the tragedy spread quickly through town and all the hunting camps. High school students were informed by an announcement on the PA system at 3:14 p.m., one minute before the end of the last class. Jake’s older brother, Harvey, had been part of last year’s hunt, but decided not to go this year, as he needed every last mark on June’s departmental exams, so he could go to university. The vice-principal took Harvey and Rose aside and tried to tell them the news without breaking down. He wanted the brother and sister to hear the news before the principal made the PA announcement to the student body. Everyone was in shock. No one wanted to believe the news.
On the southeast corner on the main street in Norwood stood a hydro pole bristling with tacks and staples. This was where death cards were posted for public viewing. The Norwood Register was the town’s only paper and it published weekly. It told you what had happened and what was going to happen, but it could not deliver immediate news. That news was posted on the hydro pole. Obituaries were found in the back section of the Peterborough Examiner and that is why that paper was read back to front by subscribers who would say,“Good. My name is not there. Now, who has died and what is going on?”
In Norwood, the church and the funeral home were both possible places to hold the service. Jake’s body would be embalmed and the three-day mourning period would begin. The question was where would the final service be held? At that time, the United Church, like many Protestant churches was trying to cut costs. Realizing that funerals added costs not revenues, churches hoped to get funeral homes to pick up the cost of a service. The minister would gladly go to the funeral home to conduct the service as this did not require heating up the church and cleaning after people had left. Churches were only interested in providing a paid luncheon in the basement after the graveyard service. The funeral home, a business-for-profit, saw the opportunity to provide the complete service, justifying a hefty fee.
The funeral director and the minister, a new recruit after the retirement of Reverend Wright, realized that Jake’s funeral was going to be too large for the funeral home to conduct. A church would have to provide the service. Then, a form would be filled out to explain to the authorities in the head office why the funeral was held in church. The United Church Minister was expecting one to two-hundred people to attend the funeral, which, he estimated would require four or five hours of extra caretaking time and added expenses for cleanup after the casket was gone.
However, over one thousand people attended and the church, front steps, and lawn were filled with mourners and spectators. The procession to the graveyard was a continuous line of cars and trucks stretching from the church to the gravesite.
The traditional pallbearers were cousins and friends of Jake’s. Many students from NDHS attended, as well as all the kids who had gone to elementary school with Jake. This community tragedy touched the heart of a wide range of people in and around Norwood.
The United Church Minister was new to town, new to the ministry, and was grasping to find a meaningful sermon. He took out a funeral eulogy template provided by head office and was busy talking to friends and relatives to find key words to fill in the blanks, so the sermon would sound as if he knew Jake, the family, and the town’s feelings. The Reverend also realized that this was an opportunity to establish his reputation, not only with the church members but also with the community at large. He worked hard. This is where a good partner comes in. His wife watched her husband working and suggested, “Why not call the retired Reverend Wright to help conduct the service?” Reverend Wright was very pleased to get the call and he led the proceedings and coached the new minister on how this funeral should flow.
Norwood cemetery, mainly full of Protestants, is on the north side of the esker that divides the town in two. In November the ground has not frozen and a site can be strobed and dug, so the body does not have to go into the crypt to wait for a spring burial. The men who dig graves always push a thin metal pole or strobe into the ground to find out what is below.
At the grave site, the front row was given to Jake’s parents and the other five members of the hunting camp. Manley stood in the center of the group. As the casket was lowered into the grave, the minister drew a white sand cross onto the head of the casket with his aluminum push-button cylinder. The creaking of the straps while the casket was lowered, reminded all that their turn would come sometime in the future.
What most mourners did not notice was Jake’s twin sister, Rose moving over beside Manley and quietly slipping her hand into his. Rose worshiped her older brother, older by a mere fifteen minutes. Everyone in and outside the family expected sisters and brothers not to get along, but Jake and Rose had a special relationship. They did everything together. They took on their small world as a formidable team. They had a pact.
The casket was being lowered and reality set in.
When people attend a funeral they do four things. One, they look around at all the headstones and realize that they are in a cemetery; two, they read names to see if they recognize someone buried there; three, they realize that some day they will be here or in another cemetery; and four, they think about why they are here today.
Jake’s family touched many people in Norwood and now, as they stood at the gravesite, they all thought about this family. Reverend Wright had a special talent in reaching one’s soul. During the service, after the Thirty-Second Psalm was read, the Reverend paused. He raised his voice and looked at the crowd in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. He said, “I served in the Second World War and Remembrance Day is soon approaching. I have found the minute of silence to be the most important part of my life. I want you to take two minutes now to think of the best time, the most important time, the toughest time, the time you should have spent with Jake. We will be silent. I don’t want you to close your eyes, as I invite you to look over at that hill to the south and see Jake and his twin sister Rose screaming with laughter and filling their faces with snow as they careen out of control down the hill.”
While
