Eddy, Gus, Renee and Grandmother Caroline attended this picnic in August of 1954. They are one of the few guests that did not add their Swiss home, listing only Sicamous. The guests site a range of locations from all over Switzerland, encompassing both the French and Swiss Standard German speaking regions. There does not appear to be anyone from the Italian and Romansh regions, the other two official languages in Switzerland. Swiss Standard German, referred to as Schriftdeutsch by the Swiss, is the official written lauguage of the German speaking Swiss. The spoken language is Swiss German, the Alemannic dialects that are the normal everyday language of the German-speaking part of Switzerland (credits to Wikipedia).
Swiss German is not easily understood by German speakers and many French speaking Swiss do not understand Swiss German nor do Swiss German necessarily speak French. In all my years of travel to Switzerland I am still caught by surprise at the distinct cultural and linguistic regions of a country that is only slightly larger than Vancouver Island. Understanding this I wonder how people got along at the picnic. I have detected some rather negative judgements between linguistic groups in Switzerland and can only hope that torn from all that was familiar brought a greater civility and even curiosity between people. Perhaps they discovered that they actually have more in common in this foreign land then they would of ever imagined possible back in their home country.
Cultural groups use language as the main anchoring feature for their communities. Canada is compromised of so many different cultural entities that continue to practice their traditions in their newly adopted country, including a strong desire to retain their language of origin. Given the small amount of Swiss immigrants to the Shuswap and the added challenge of the large geographical area it is doubtful that the picnic was repeated as was urged in the notice to come to the next Swiss picnic in August of 1955 "preferably with Swiss costume and musical instruments". In 1954 the attendees ranged from Anglemont to New Westminister.
I thought about this Swiss Picnic when I started to organize a large party on our property this past August. I like parties to have a theme and our family party was to "celebrate what we were, what we are, and what we can become". I felt the theme reflected a realization I developed over the years of studying my family's immigration history; the desire to retain your identity from the past yet embrace who you are in your new country and to have hope for your future. There is no real reason other than hope to immigrate. The hope that your future or your children's future will be better in a new country or for those fleeing persecution, the hope that you will live a longer life free from harm. I started with the name "Free Edmond's Bastion Farm" for our party to reflect this transition we are all on, the desire to live with ease and grace. I had thought of this name as I was reading one of Nelson Mandela's autobiographies and came across one of his many famous quotations;
"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires".
Nelson Mandela while in prison.
As it was a family party I eventually lost my name choice to "In Good Company", the title preferred by my son, Mico. Regardless of the name of the party it was great fun with well over a 100 people attending. It was wonderful to share our home with so many, some of them seeing our place for the first time. It was good to be reminded of the beauty of our home and have others feel the unique magic of the place and to share it's rich history.
We all enjoyed a potluck dinner at our "In Good Company" party.
It is interesting to bring so many people together in one place. We have never had such a large event on the Ranch before although we have had four weddings on the property as well as some large birthday parties and my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. However never has there been well over a 100 with a great number of the guests being under the age of 19. My husband stayed up well past his bedtime insuring all the young guests were safely installed in their various sleeping accommodations; tents, cars, and hammock.
Inspired by the orignal party's theme of freedom I had done some research on Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canada's Charter has come under some harsh criticism of late, brought to light by the student protests in Montreal. The UN High Commissioner voiced her concern at the recent events in Quebec;
"Moves to restrict freedom of assembly in many parts of the world are alarming. In the context of student protests, I am disappointed by the new legislation passed in Quebec that restricts their rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly.”
Canada does not have Freedom of Assembly, but only Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, which leaves the government and the police to interpret what is peaceful. There is a lack of definition of what constitutes "peaceful" and much is left to the police force's discretion.
None of the gatherings on the Ranch, nor the First Swiss picnic for that matter, have ever given any cause for concern, being completely peaceful in nature. I felt infused with good fortune that I could bring such a large number of people together, some who stayed the entire weekend, and house them in comfort with so many things to do. Over the weekend people went out in the variety of non-motorized watercraft that we have on our shores, busied themselves in the machine and wood shops, cooked on our huge industrial stove, played games, went cliff jumping, read books, slept, and visited.
Mico and his friend Travis decided it was better to face each other during their canoe trip as it was easier to talk.
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