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Sander’s Parachute, Unimog, Combine, Spy Plane, and Guest
by
Jan Stevenson
Though he might look at his shoes when he talks and has a bit of a stutter, Sander is one of the biggest characters you’ll ever meet. Sander’s Parachute, Unimog, Combine, Spy Plane, and Guest is a collection of delightful stories centered on Sander, short for Aleksander, the narrator’s northerly neighbor. Whether he’s establishing a quasi-greenhouse for the locals, or building a bi-plane spy plane by hand using auction and thrift store finds, Sander has no shortage of agricultural and mechanical knowledge, like any hardworking Northern farmer worth his salt, and it always comes in handy. As the landscape of the Canadian North—literally and metaphorically—changes before him, Sander finds himself faced with a sense of loss as farms grow larger and families move away, and the hard-won homesteads of the past become homes to wild animal tenants. But the spirit of the rough-and-tumble North lives on in Sander, he remains a pilgrim from another time, baffling and charming and devoted to the betterment of anyone in his orbit. Though he might not, strictly speaking, have a way with women, he will brush shoulders with romance more than once. And though he is not, strictly speaking, the most forthcoming, he is one of the most cherished and best-loved neighbors any of the locals could have asked for.
Jan Stevenson is a retired teacher and school administrator from northern Alberta. She was involved with farming and livestock but was a little afraid of cows, so she returned to the classroom when her children went to school. She came to the area many years ago, when a number of the original homesteads remained, standing as testament to years of hard work. Inspired by this and her experience serving a delightful mix of Mennonite and English students, she authored this, her first book, inspired in equal measure by the northern landscape and the power of storytelling. She based this collection on stories her real-life neighbour told her many years ago, an adventurer, master storyteller, and real character whose tales begged to be written into a saga of just this sort. She continues to live on her farm bordering the Peace River with her husband, who is part philosopher, part theologian, but mostly a farmer. The livestock are dogs and cats now, and the farmwork involves lawnmowers, his and hers. Their children, now grown, live nearby, along with their grandchildren.
Contributors
- Author
- Jan Stevenson