On the sloped hills beyond Kenosee Lake lies the home of John Raynard, an unassuming man who has lived a life that constantly gave him new experiences. I met with Raynard mid-afternoon on a -25c day. The sun was out and beamed off the hardened snow as I drove along the roads in the quiet community. Pulling up to his house, there were remnants of his life nestled across inconspicuous spots at the front of the house. A vintage Esso gas pump stood at the entrance of the walkway like a type guide pointing to the right direction. As I pulled the gate I noticed the sign that read "Raynard's Rustic Roost" which seemingly brought everything together.I rang the door bell and then introduced myself. His sweater read "Canada" another clue into his life and the stories that would follow. We shook hands, it was firm and inviting. The hardwood maple walls were captivating as they were laced with antique ornaments, decorative ceramic plates and pictures of his family.
There were balloons with the number 95 printed on them on the couch, which served as a reminder that Raynard celebrated his 95th birthday some weeks before.
He was born in Benson, SK on Jan. 8, 1919 and grew up in a farming family, nothing new to Saskatchewan born boy. But it was in 1942 when he joined the Canadian army that his life began to veer in a different direction. He received basic training in Prince Albert and then moved to Ontario for motorcycle and dispatcher training.
The world was at war for a second time and it was a period of great controversy. John Raynard took arms, boarded the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary and left for England. He was stationed in Whitley but was shipped to Italy shortly after, spending 28 days at sea.
"I never rode motorcycles again, I was put into driving trucks, and I was put in the tank corp. I was driving a petrol truck," he said.
"I spent a year in Italy, walking around in the mud and everything, filling the tanks with gas."
He said he dropped off five gallon cans of fuel from the three ton truck he drove that was loaded with fuel.
"We went by the tanks and they'd say if they wanted five cans or 10 cans, and then you'd just throw them off. You didn't care what they'd do with them, wheather it went in the tank or the drums gas was rationed back here but it sure wasn't over there," he said while laughing.
"This is how they did a lot of their heating and cooking. They would dig little holes in the ground and poor out gas in it and light it and cook over it," he said.
He spoke of his time during the war and said he was one of the luckier ones and remembered seeing the devastation in Italy.
"Towns were completely destroyed; there wouldn't be a building left in them. When we landed in Italy at Ortona, there was nothing left of the town or anything else, Florence was the same way," he said. But the one memory that stands out for Raynard was his arrival in Rome. He said the troops battled from Naples to Rome but when they arrived in Rome, the Nazis pulled back.
"We never threw a shell into Rome, the Nazis pulled back far enough that we just moved around Rome and started fighting them," he said.
"I don't know if it was on account of the Pope or who it was butthey had never done that for any other town."
But that's when Raynard's time in Italy ended as he fell ill with jaundice and went back to England. He said not many people know of that occurrence in Rome and he himself has never heard the story anywhere else.
But after finishing his duty in England as a driver he returned to Canada in 1945 and said his return home was a joyous one.
"I was so happy we were back in Canada, I could have done what the Pope does and kiss the ground. I didn't do it but I was so happy to be home," he said.
"You go over there and then go through all that, but we weren't up in the front lines like the infantrybut there were shells flying around us all the time, big artillery and all."
His life made several turns when he returned home. He met his wife in Regina and then started a family. He went back into farming and grew oats, wheat and barley for 20 years. He then sold the farm and then thought to become a business man, moving to Kenosee Lake after spending a short time in Stoughton.
He built a car wash in Carlyle and ran a laundromat in Melville and then sold both opting to take an auctioneers course and go into the business of selling. He had an auction every week and started travelling across Canada selling antique items.
"I thought it was easy work and it wasn't easy really; if somebody phoned you, you had to go to their farm, list everything, put up all the bills around that there was an auction. Some auctions took two days, you had to haul away for a two day stay." he said.
He also ran an antique shop for his love for antiques grew and that coupled with his auctioneering travels, he amassed 20 years of experience in the field. And for a short period of time he flew a snow plane transporting people from Benson and Stoughton.
Raynard said his life after that, involved traveling and spending time with his family. His wife passed away in 2011 but said having two nice daughters is one of the main highlights of his life.
Southeast Saskatchewan can be quiet and its people, humble but this is just one of the many treasures that are buried in towns across the province. From a farmer to a soldier, to a farmer again, John Raynard ventured in various realms of life. He became a business man and then from auctioneer to an antique aficionado, his life was centered on taking bold steps. A life lesson that we too often under value.
