In the Woodland by Earl Vanatter
April 8, 2022

Emily and Earl Van Atter with Jack, 1932
Earl and Emily Vanatter opened Van’s Meat Market on Colborne Street, Fenelon Falls in 1932. It grew into a popular grocery store, Van’s Groceteria, operated by their son, Jack, and his wife, Ina (York). When they retired, Carl Quaranto and Ralph Sackett rechristened the shop at Sunshine Food Market. Earl and Emily enjoyed travelling together, while he composed verse and created wonderful sculptures from roots.
In the Woodland (1965)
Flowers lift their dewey heads
To greet the dawn,
A bluejays scolds a saucy squirrel
And all day the woodland is alive.
And at night when everything is still
The woodland echoes to the tread
Of strange phantastic shapes
That move among the shadows.
Go gently then… as you
Go through the wooded dell;
Go silently… lest footsteps break
The magic of the woodland spell.