When I was a little kid and up until I was 10 years old; we use to go up north to Warren, Ontario to visit my Great Grandfather Isreal Noel Ouellette & Great Grandma Aldea (nee Gervais) almost every summer. We live in Windsor, Ontario across the river from Detroit, Michigan. Warren is about an 8-9 hour drive north past North Bay but before Sudbury. My mom & dad would load up the car and off we would go to Grandpa Wilfrid Lafleur & Grandma Desneige (nee Ouellette)'s house in Windsor to meet up with them and get on the road. Sometimes we would have other aunts and uncles join us too. So our little caravan of family would head up the highway 401 and then over to the 400 and finally the 11. Now we would visit other relatives up there including my other great grandparents (GGranpa Eugene Lafleur and GGrandma Marie Louise (nee Trudel), but we spent the most time at the Ouellette's and that is were most of the big get togethers would be. We would go to a hotel and get up early to do some visiting and when we were headed to dinner before going to Great Grandma's I never understood why. I mean even at the age of 6 I knew not to fill up before going there. No matter if you did just eat or not, she would take out food. AND let me tell you Great Grandma Ouellette could cook. I loved her food. Besides the food everyone would get together around the table and play cards and talk and visit into the wee hours of the night. During the day it was always fun to go blueberry and raspberry picking behind their home. They had a large piece of land with a hill behind it, and on top of the hill was one of those giant red and white Radio broadcasting poles. Great Grandpa rented his property out to them. Of course being northern Ontario the land is part of the Canadian Shield of bedrock so it is great for a young boy to go climbing and exploring with his dad. I use to love those excursions every summer. The Ouellette homestead wasn't much more then a little shack of a home, but it was a mansion of family love and togetherness, where all were welcome. I miss those times and my great grandparents and grandparents too; however it is always great to "Remember When....."
