Bill Morgan Remembers the Myron Culbert Family

Charles William "Bill" Morgan (1924-2018) recalls trips to Poplar Farm near Lucan, Ontario to visit the Culbert family. At Poplar Farm, Bill would spend time with his mother's first cousin, Effie (Taylor) Culbert; Effie's husband, Myron Culbert; and Effie & Myron's six sons: Cliff, Ken, Ivan, Mel, Mert, and Earl. 

The following excerpt from Bill Morgan's memoirs is courtesy of his daughter, Pam Morgan.

Charles William "Bill" Morgan. Bill's mother, Zeta Pearl (Cook) Morgan was the first cousin of Myron Culbert's wife, Effie Pearl (Taylor) Culbert. Photo courtesy of Pam Morgan.

Our visits to Exeter with Aunt Lizzie Taylor were just for a weekend, but it would include a visit to Mother’s cousin, Mary (Taylor) Kerslake. She and her husband, Charlie Kerslake and their children, Howard and Josie lived on the south edge of town on a farm. 

We often went to Lucan to visit another of Mother’s cousins, Effie (Taylor) Culbert; her husband, Myron Culbert; and their six sons. They lived on a farm [Poplar Farm] just west of the town about 2 to 3 miles from highway #4. 

Poplar Farm near Lucan, Ontario on the Coursey Line. Photo courtesy of Marilyn (Culbert) Harrison.

After the deaths of Uncle Charlie Brooks and Aunt Lizzie Taylor, we used to spend weekends with the Culberts. Our visits were similar to those in Exeter because their house did not have plumbing or electricity. 

Some of the sons were still at home when we visited. Merton, the 2nd youngest, was about my age and Earl was 2 years younger. 

The three of us would often go back into the fields to bring in the cows for milking. Their dog did most of the work rounding up the strays. However, Earl used to grab hold of the tail of a cow and make it run while he swung along behind. His father would be upset with him because the cow would not give as much milk as usual. 

Myron and Effie were members of the local United Church in Lucan and we were expected to join them at Church. Merton and Earl would try to stay home on some pretense but did not often succeed. 

Mert Culbert (left) and his brother Earl in their church clothes. Photo from the collection of Mert & Muriel Culbert.

After Church and lunch, the three of us would wander around the farm. They had a small bush at the rear and there was a small river close by. 

The Little Ausable River, near Poplar Farm.
Postcard courtesy of Wendy (Gowland) Boole from the collection of Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen.

We went swimming in one of the deeper sections. Earl found a blood sucker [leech] on his arm or leg. He decided to leave it on until he got back to the house. When he got home, his mother saw it and was upset with him for not taking it off earlier. He had a good laugh over it.

The two oldest sons, Cliff and Ken, were about the same age as [my brother] Fred, and they used to visit us in Windsor quite often. Howard Kerslake joined them on a few occasions.

When the extras arrived, we used to line up the mattresses on the front porch and there would be six or more sleeping there. 

The middle two, Ivan and Mel, were about [my brother] George’s age and they too visited us. Both Ivan and Mel joined the army during the WW II and Ivan married a Welsh girl. They came back and lived in Lucan. Mel, too, returned to live in Lucan and both he and Ivan operated small stores in town.

I cannot remember where Cliff lived after he left the farm. 

Ken became a salesman for an insurance company and would often stop in to see us when he was in Windsor. 

Merton was an adventurer and travelled to British Columbia and worked as a lumberjack for a while. When he returned from the west, he took over the farm. 

Earl was the black sheep of the family after he grew up. He did marry but left her for another woman. I haven’t heard of him since. 

Bill Morgan's second cousins, the Culbert brothers with their parents, Myron & Effie. Back row, left to right: Ken, Mel, Mert, and Earl. Front row, left to right: Cliff, Myron, Effie, and Ivan.