After the holiday at the cottage, the next exciting event was Linda’s birthday. Grannie had been in Ann Arbour for the actual birth, but never for a birthday celebration, so that made it special, and so did the prospect of a party. The November before, Janek’s 3rd birthday party had overwhelmed the children at their first party with 16 guests, but Cyn had told her mother that she thought they would try something smaller and get the two children used to such celebrations.
They sent invitations to the Ramsay girls, Barry, Janek, and Joanne Tomlinson who lived in the area, none of whom really knew each other at that point although Linda, Joanne and Janek would be in the same class from Kindergarten through to Grade 13!
So besides the birthday girl, there were 3 girls and 3 boys and they posed in party clothes on a nice August day.
Front Row: in shadow Wendy Ramsay, Janek Blachut, Shirley Ramsay. Standing: Joanne, Cyn holding Charlie, the birthday girl Linda, and Barry Gander.
I am sorry that there is no letter telling what happened at the party, but there were cards, probably little presents, and a very girly cake!
Since Cyn recorded all this in her scrapbook, I assume it was successful as all her well-planned events were. However, the family celebration was probably more fun for Linda and Charlie. Since Linda had a summer birthday and Charlie a winter one, they usually got a big present that both could enjoy- such as a sandbox or a sleigh.
The big present. Since they already had a tiny tricycle, and a wagon, they had lots of wheels!
In August, Cec and Cyn rented a cottage so that Grannie could enjoy the Canadian cottage experience- primitive facilities, ancient stoves and fridges, bedrooms with walls that stopped before the roof so that noise and mosquitoes could circulate, but outside peace and quiet with lovely views, sand, shallow to deep water, August heat, and a dock jutting into a big lake.
Linda liked the water.
Water Play!
Grannie must have found the Canadian lake a bit chillier than the Carribbean!
Budding scientist.
These toys were made of tin, which worked well in a sheltered sandbox, but rusted at the cottage. Can’t think why.
My nicest swimsuit.
Everyone enjoyed the cottage, but it was never much of a holiday for Cyn who had to cook under difficult circumstances, so we only did it every 3 years or so.
In July, Carol Ewing arrived in Ottawa, three years after her last trip, to visit her daughter Cyn, Cec, Linda, and meet her grandson for the first time. But hers was not the only visit. Cec got his camera out to record the meeting of the in-laws: his Aunt Lily came up from Toronto- she hadn’t seen them since Linda was 6 weeks old- and Cec’s sister Merle and her husband Dix came from Port Arthur, and they met Carol and the children for the first time. As they were all lovely people, they got on well!
Charlie and Uncle Dix
Carol Ewing is standing, with Lily Costain seated, at the back of the house on Montreal Road.
Lea, Cec’s second sister, had been staying with Merle and Dix with her son because of her health, but has returned to her husband Wendell who was working in Ottawa. So in these family photographs the only one missing is Cec, who is behind the camera.
Adults: Wendell & Lea Atchison, Dixon & Merle Moor, Cyn, Aunt Lily, and Grannie! Children: Daryl, Charlie and Linda.
Both Merle and Dix had university degrees, but at some point decided to get teacher’s qualifications by going to Teacher’s College in the summer in Toronto for a couple of summers. I assume their three sons went to their grandparents in Saskatoon while their parents took courses. We would meet those cousins a few years later. Meanwhile, Cyn took the camera.
As Cyn and Cec prepared for their visitors in the summer by buying a dining table and chairs and writing letters about the arrangements to Carol in St. Vincent, they heard from family in the west, where Cec’s sister Merle and her husband Dix planned to come to Toronto, visiting Uncle Milton and Aunt Lily, returning Lea and Daryl who had been staying with them to Ottawa, and meeting Linda and Charlie for the first time. It was going to be a summer full of visitors!
However, ordinary family life went on, celebrations over Mother’s Day in May, and Cec’s attendance at the Spectroscopy Conference in Columbus, Ohio in June, which was, as it had been the previous year, the week of his birthday on June 16th.
The Spectroscopy Section had their photograph taken on the steps of the N.R.C. on Sussex Drive, with Dr. Herzberg in the front row wearing glasses, and Cec the tallest in the back row left.
April was the birthday month for the Ewings- Cyn at the beginning of the month and Carol at the end. This letter is the only one from the spring of 1955 surviving, but luckily it deals, not only with the birthdays, but also with arrangements for Carol’s summer visit, and Cec’s business trip to New York, so there is some indication of what’s going on.
17th April. 1955. Dearest Mummy, I certainly hope that my birthday parcel reaches you in time, as I know for sure this will be late! I can’t think how things crept up on me so, except that so much seems to have been happening. Anyway, we all send our dearest love & best wishes for the 22nd even if we are very late about it. One reason I am late is that all last week I was sure your birthday parcel to me would arrive as your Bequia P.C.s to the children came just before Easter, (they loved them by the way & each knew their own & had me read them over & over & show them your window etc.), so each day I put off, thinking it would surely come tomorrow, but no, the Customs must be having a little sit on it.
Thank you so much for all your letters – particularly the last one giving definite details of your visit! We are all so delighted & think it sounds perfect. I intend to write & answer your letters properly later this week, but one thing- Cec & I were talking over your plan of A. Ettie coming & we would just love to have her, but we both think it would perhaps be better for you to come by yourself first. The reason being that the children are looking forward to & expecting you & if you come by yourself I think that in a day they would just be as used to you & have accepted you as if you’d always been here, but if there are 2 strange ladies I think they will be more inclined to be shy & take much longer to get over it. Don’t you think that A. Ettie & Monie might come up together after you’ve been with us a few weeks? They could drive up if they liked & the three of you could go a few longer jaunts than we could do with the children & it would be fun. Anyway we’d love to have both Monie & A.Ettie – together or singly – but we just thought that you coming by yourself at first would be nicer for the children.
Before I use up all the space, I must tell you our doings, as we have been busy! The Appleyards came as I told you & it was very nice. They arrived Mon. 5:30 p.m., Ray left at 11p.m. & came back 8 a.m. Thurs. & they all left at 4:30 p.m. Thurs. The house seemed very full of small children! But we got on fine & on Wed. Cec came home at noon & Joan & I went down town & shopped (a new hat for her etc.!) On the Thurs. Claire came for the last time (you can imagine with all of us there!) & I am now saving up for my sewing machine! On Friday Teddy Blachut babysat for us & we went & had dinner with June & George – leaving to live in Montreal at the end of this month.
Easter was lovely- our first spring weather. I went to early Church & we had the Douglasses & children to tea. On Tues. I did a huge wash & tried to catch up on my chores & on Thursday had a phone call from Montreal – Millie Shapiro who worked with me in A. A. & had a baby boy 2 mths before Linda. She was in M’al with her parents & she & Jerry & Eric drove through for the day leaving baby boy with Grannie! They arrived about 2 & left at 8 & I tried to show them Ottawa in pouring rain & fog!! Fun seeing her. That night Linda sicked up all over the bathroom floor at 1:30 a.m. but is fine again now!
Yesterday we bought a new dining table & chairs for the important guests we expect this summer & feel v. thrilled! This evening at 7 Cec left for New York & tomorrow I’ll begin spring cleaning. Whoops!! Busy did I say? Will really write properly in a few days. xxx & hugs from Linda & Charlie & lots of love from us all – Cyn.
The big event in my grandmother Carol’s life in February 1955 was the Royal Visit. Princess Margaret, sister of the young queen, was to make an official visit to St. Vincent, and the public would be allowed to ‘meet’ her at a Garden Party. Carol and her sister received invitations to this, and instructions on how to dress and behave (!), attended, I hope enjoyed themselves, and sent the ephemera to Cyn (probably because there was a 3 year old Linda interested in princesses.)
Possibly a new hat would not be considered an unnecessary expense by the Hazell sisters!I wish I could have read Carol’s letter to Cyn that accompanied these instructions. The final paragraph suggests a backstory!
Princess Margaret must have liked St Vincent, because later she made a home on the island of Mustique, the Hazell’s holiday island that Carol’s brother Fred would sell in 1958!
From the summer of 1952 when Carol went back to St. Vincent before Charlie was born, up to this point, she kept Cyn’s letters, so there is a record of the Costains’ lives in detail, once or twice a month, as the babies grew, and Cyn and Cec put down roots in Ottawa. Now that Carol is planning to visit in 1955, the letters surviving become more infrequent- this long letter is the only one from January, although there are references to others, presumably Air Letters, that are missing. After this one, there is one letter from April, then Carol- Grannie- arrived and mother and daughter could catch up on all the years of things missing from letters, and the children could get to know Grannie instead of having imaginary picnics with her picture! I will be able to illustrate those months because of Cyn’s scrapbook, but the letters in 1955 do not resume until after Thanksgiving in the fall, when Carol left for New York to visit her sister and nieces on her way home.
Sat. 25th Jan. 1955. Dearest Mummy, I was busy in the kitchen this afternoon & Charlie marched in, so I said “Hi, boy!” & he gave a great grin & said “Hi, Hyn!” As I was giggling over it I thought I hadn’t told you much about your remarkabable grandchildren lately & that I better get to it while I remember a few of their doings & sayings because they seem to grow & change so quickly. They really play together very nicely now – of course with various fights & squabbles in between! – but they play Mummy & Daddy to Linda’s dollies & will walk around solemnly together pushing the pram. Charlie will look after a baby very carefully when Linda gives him one to hold, & says “My itta (little) baby!” They will walk hand in hand now sometimes, & look so sweet & Linda will help Charlie take his shoes etc. off. Charlie talks about everything now, but still not nearly as distinctly as Linda always did. She spoke so clearly right from the beginning, but he still needs an interpreter! He can’t say “L”s & says “ ‘inda” & even “Hewo” for Hello etc. He has such a sense of humour though & a real chuckley laugh – it makes you just laugh to hear him. One evening he got up on the kitchen chair & was looking out at the lights of the cars coming up the road in the darkness & suddenly he saw his own reflection in the glass & said “ ‘ook! There’s me!” then waved violently “Hi, me!” Charlie still eats very well – particularly his dinner – & he loves potatoes & gravy! When I am getting dinner ready he’ll come into the kitchen & say “Davy tonight, Mummy? Any Davy tonight?” & if I say yes, he gets so excited and rushes to tell his Daddy! Linda is still terribly conservative in her eating & won’t try new things, but she eats a good breakfast & fairly good lunch, although varies over her dinner. They both still drink lots of milk & love fruit & fruit juice. Like Peggy’s little girl, Charlie still has his bottle of milk! He will drink everything else out of a glass & has for ages, but he won’t drink milk, so I haven’t bothered – the Drs. say “what does it matter – give it to him if he wants it” so I don’t mind! We still have Banney and Jonaclo with us – I was most amused to hear that it was quite a Hazell “trait” & that you & Monie both had little friends. I knew it was quite common with children, but don’t you think 2 1/2 years old was pretty young to begin? It usually seems to be children of 7 & 8, so I thought Lindy was pretty clever!! I also think her vocabulary is amazing for 3 years old – of course she picks up a lot of words from books & doesn’t always know quite what they mean, but she uses them quite correctly. For instance one of her favourite remarks at the moment is “What is your problem?” & another “I’m so confused!” Both of these she actually gets from Alice in Wonderland & she loves them! One day Cec was talking & said something was “really _ ” & then he hesitated & Linda said “extraordinary!” & that was just the word he wanted! Last week I promised Mrs. Blachut I would look after Janek & little Daniel (the baby) one afternoon while she went to see a friend with a new baby in hospital. Linda was very thrilled over this & kept asking when they were coming & said “Mummy & Daddy have guests & visitors & I have guests & visitors too!” We made some cookies & she was helping they collect the things for them & when we were ready to begin she settled herself & said “Now we’ll get down to work”! Afterwards I was telling her that she & Janek & Charlie could have a little party with juice & cookies at her table & she was very pleased & said “Oh yes! I want my party to be gay!” Don’t you think that she has an amazing choice of words? I may say that when we came in from a walk this morning she said “Take off your scarf, Mummy – you look just like a little carrot stick!” But she certainly can make me laugh with her bright remarks. One day a few weeks ago I was ironing & Charlie & Linda were playing around in my bedroom (that’s where I iron). I had made the bed, but hadn’t put the coverlet on, & the first thing I knew they had it off the chair & spread comfortably in a corner of the room & Lindy informed me they were having a picnic on it (grass with flowers I presume!) They trotted off to the kitchen & there were all sorts of preparations & finally they came back & settled down with your picture from the dressing table on the coverlet beside them & a little jar with some little bits of bread in & they sat & ate this with great enjoyment & said you were at the picnic with them! Another thing that Lindy said one time which made me laugh was when I had put them to bed for their afternoon nap & said “Night! Night!” just as I was leaving “But Mummy” said Linda “It isn’t Night Night! It should be Lunch! Lunch!”! I always tell her now when we are going out & Anne the babysitter coming & although they both like Anne we have the occasional fuss when I tell them & then in 5 mins. it’s over & they don’t care. Anyway the last week or so Linda keeps asking each day “Are you going out tonight? Or staying at home with the children?”! I think I must have told you about Anne- she is a Dutch woman who lives just down the road & has a little girl & boy just about Linda & Charlie’s ages. She is young & round faced & jolly & so good with the children, so I never feel a qualm at leaving them with her, but she is expecting another baby this summer so I don’t know how long she will feel like babysitting. When we have guests in Lindy & Charlie know all about it of course, which is one of the disadvantages of having all on one floor, but Lindy is very fond of waking up just as they are going & demanding to get up & wave to them. One night she informed me “I like to see my friends go!” I was telling you about Janek and Daniel coming one afternoon – last Thursday it was. Actually it turned out to be a terrible cold day – it dropped from about 15° to 5° below zero during the day & there was a fierce wind blowing the snow into great drifts.
By afternoon our driveway was practically drifted across with snow & I wondered how the Blachuts was, so I wasn’t surprised when at last she phoned me and said “Oh Cynthia – I am stuck in the driveway!” She said both the children were crying & she couldn’t get the car to budge, so I said “well come round & have tea with us instead” & they did & we had a nice time! After they left I flung some dinner on & told the children to watch out of the window & went out to shovel the driveway a bit so that Cec could get the car in. Besides the drift across the middle of the driveway there was another huge one just by the highway & Cec could never have even got off the road, so I shovelled & shovelled for 3/4 of an hour & got a space cleared & it was COLD! I blew my nose on my hankie & put it in my pocket & in a few minutes when I went to blow again it was frozen hard! When Cec came home he had some soup & then went out & shovelled the rest before he could get in – it went down to 20° below that night, but it was -40° at Chalk River where Joan & Ray are! It has continued so cold since then & of course we still have these huge piles of snow as it never melts, but out here it is really beautiful – it never gets dirty & messy as in town & you look out for miles around at beautiful white fields without a footmark or a trace & it is lovely.
Telling you about Fanny getting stuck reminds me of a dreadful day I had last week. I had the car & decided to get a lot of things done, so I dressed the children & we planned to go quite early in the morning. However the people in the apartment below Mrs. Rothwell’s house (Mrs. R was away) phoned to ask if I would let their dog in – they let him out before they went to work and he hadn’t come back when they left. So I put the children in the car & seeing Prince sitting out in the snow I went to let him in. Talk about wild goose chases! That darn dog would not either come near me or the house! He would trot off across the snow on a little path & I would career after him only to find of course that my weight was more than his & plonk! I would sink through up to my waist practically! After about 15 minutes of this I left him to it & returned to the car with snow in my boots, my sleeves & even down my neck! We drove to Orleans to the butchers & then drove to town as I wanted to go to the Customs Office. I got 2 shirts from Harrods for Cec at Christmas, both 16 collar, but one is about 2” smaller on the shoulders, chest, sleeve etc. than the other & doesn’t fit him at all. If I take it to the Customs I get my duty (I paid to get it in) refunded before I send it back. We got downtown & I was parking the car when a helpful man informed me I had a flat tire! I didn’t know what to do as it was getting late, so I abandoned the Customs & as the flat wasn’t quite flat drove to the nearest service station & got them to change the tire. It was cold & windy, so I took the children to a supermarket nearby & we bought a few things, then I decided I’d better just come home as the children’s lunch was due & they were getting fed up, so as soon as the car was ready I just turned & drove home. We have to back into the garage now as the driveway is so steep & slippery we can’t back out, so I was trying to do this & the children were yakking & of course I got agitated & drove into the side of the drive & got the car stuck in the snow! You can imagine! However, I took the children in & later in the afternoon when they were asleep had another go at both the car & that wretched dog & had no success with either! In fact the car got worse as it was on a slope & the only way it would go was the wrong way! Cec & Mr. Blachut finally jacked it up & pushed it over a couple of times when they got home that evening & then sees could yes it in the garage, but I was so frustrated! I don’t seem to have told you much of our doings this year – in fact my letters have been very scrappy I know. Well we have really been out quite a bit – we all went over to Jim & Lee’s on New Year’s Day & had a lovely turkey dinner with them – we tried to make the children go to bed & have a sleep in Jim & Lee’s bed afterwards so we could have some peace but they just chattered & called out so in the end we gave up & came home. Lee is well – very large of course, & fed up with waiting – but feeling pretty good. The baby is due sometime the beginning of Feb. but Dr. Smith thought it might be early – however no news yet. The phone rang this afternoon & I was sure it was Jim with news, but instead it was Ray between trains – had been to New York to a meeting. We had a chat but he had no time to come out – they are all well. Then another night we went to Margie & Cy’s for a Buffet Supper – there were supposed to be others there but no one else could come because of colds or some other reason, so there were just the 4 of us & we had a nice time. The boys had got a “hockey game” for Christmas with balls and little levers etc. & it was a great fun & Margie & I as well as Cec & Cy got quite hilarious over it! Another night we went to the Ramsay’s – Nan & Don, remember them? They had their 3rd daughter in September & have just recently sold their little house & are now in a nice big one but plan to build in the spring I think. They had quite a crowd, 12 or 15 I think, & we played some games & had a very nice time – to my surprise I may say, as I hadn’t particularly wanted to go!! Did I tell you that the 3 new Fellows to the Spectroscopy Dept. came before Christmas? They are all married, one from Sweden, one Australia & one S. Africa. The latter I haven’t met, the Australians are so-so but the Swedish man & his wife are very nice. They have an apt. on Putman St. – just below Acacia – so are near the Douglasses – they have two little boys, 20 mths & 5 yrs, so the older one goes to school with Donnie Douglas. Poor little fellow he could speak no English to begin with so it was very difficult for him, but Mrs. Clayman says he is very happy now. I took the children one morning to Phyl Douglas’ for coffee & Mrs. Clayman & her youngest boy were there & we had a nice little party. Cec & I thought we would be really foresighted one night & we booked Anne a week ahead to come one evening so that we could go to a show as we haven’t been to town for ages. Then of course when the evening came there was nothing that we particularly wanted to see! However we went to see Walt Disney’s “Vanishing Prairie” & ended by enjoying it very much – it is all about animals so I liked it much more than the desert one which was a lot about snakes & creepy- crawlies!
A week ago Sunday we took the children & had tea with Mr. & Mrs. Shoosmith – they have a new house they moved into not long before we moved here & it was the first time we’d seen it – it is very nice. Last week I went out 2 nights running, by myself – such goings-on! On Tues. I drove over to Lu’s & had supper with her about 8:30. Pete is away & Lu phoned & asked me & although it is a long way I thought it would be fun. We had a nice chit-chat just by ourselves, but it is 10 or 12 miles across the city & it was snowing so I didn’t really relish the drive. The next night I went to visit Mrs. Rothwell who had in the lady who lives in the house opposite, Mrs. Cardinal, & her sister, & we all played bridge. Mrs. R. & Mrs. C. are of an age & have known each other since school days I think, so there is great chattering! Our sole venture in entertaining was a Buffet Supper we gave on the 7th. We had Lila (the girl from Cec’s work I’ve talked about); a fellow from Belgium who has been here more than a year but we’ve never had him out before – his name is Dr. Charles Courtois & he is also a Jesuit priest!- ; Phyl & Alex Douglas; Mr. & Mrs. Clayman (the Swedish couple); & Fanni & Teddy Blachut. Cec brought Lila & Charles home with him from work & we had a cup of tea then the rest came at 8, but it meant I had to be all organized by 5:30 – however, I was! With Charles coming & I knew Teddy was a Catholic too & it being a Friday I had to have a fish dish, so in the end this was my menu.
Danish Fish Pudding with Lobster & Mushroom Sauce Spanish Rice Chicken Livers in Bacon Green Tossed Salad Pickles – Hot Rolls Peach Spanish Cream and Pineapple Bavarian Cream Christmas Cake Coffee.
We gave them Marsala wine to drink before dinner & then afterwards played Rumoli & a few had high balls & beer, but mostly ginger ale – a very temperate crowd! Everyone raved about the dinner & I think it was nice too! The fish pudding was a great success – I made 2 & put them on to steam about 6 & had the sauce all made ready to heat up. The Spanish Rice and rolls were ready to heat up to & the chicken livers on toothpicks just take about 10 mins. in the oven, so I really had very little to do at the end. Everyone ate everything & seemed to enjoy themselves – it was just about the end of my Christmas cake which you can see didn’t last long. I was amused at you wondering that I should make one when you didn’t think the children would eat it – what about us!!
Mon. 31st Jan. News! News! Lee had her baby sometime early this morning – another boy – & both doing well. Jim phoned about 10 a.m. & told me – he took Lee into Hospital about 1 a.m. & the baby was born about 7, so that wasn’t too bad – especially as there were no signs till about 9 yesterday evening. Jim says that they didn’t mind which it was so neither are disappointed at a little boy, but of course Cec & I had a giggle & thought they weren’t as clever as us!!! Jim is staying home a few days to look after Barry & then going to work a few afternoons while other friends in the apartments look after him. We talked about it with them before, but with our being so far the side of town it makes Jim’s work very far away so it seemed more of a hindrance than a help to have Jim & Barry here, but I suggested that if Lee doesn’t come out of H’pital until a week today that perhaps they could spend the weekend with us, but we will wait & see. It is still so cold – hardly gets above zero each day, so we are staying in – the children & me, that is! I am sure that Monie & A. Ettie will feel so tickled when they hear of all this winter weather – if it is anything like this in N.Y. they are really missing a hard time. Do you know- Lindy & Charlie have been in bed an hour or so now & Lindy is calling out in a kind of chant- “Mum – mee – I am a little bit lonely – Char – lie is asleep – I am a little bit lonely”! Today she was wailing & whining before dinner & I told her she must be tired, she had better go to bed, whereupon she wailed “I’m not sleepy- I’m worried!” & then later she said she was “missaluble”! I was so pleased to get your last A.M. & hear that A. Ettie & Monie had arrived safely & that you were all having a wonderful time talking your heads off. And such lovely presents too – how nice of them & how exciting! What fun that they are with you in time to see Princess Margaret too – which reminds me I was dreaming all about Cec & I apparently being in St. V. too & getting a gold printed invitation! I have just been reading about Princess M. leaving London today – I hope she has a nice flight across the Atlantic this cold & stormy night – I wonder if she gets agitated too, just like we do when we are off on a journey?! I got Jeanie’s letter last week, but haven’t been to town since so haven’t got her patterns yet. Will probably go on Sat. as I want a few odd things & it’s so much easier to go by myself. If I take the children down it’s all right to go to one place & do one thing but more than that is too much for me! I went downtown about a week ago & got Linda a new snowsuit – actually hers was still all right but Charlie has been wearing Lindy’s first little snowsuit handed down & it was really too small for him & not very warm, so the poor little fellow got her present one handed down again & she got a new one! Actually you can hardly tell as I got dark green again, but there is such a limited choice of colors. Scarlet is a favorite, but Linda doesn’t look nice in it, navy blue is another, but it is so dark for her & makes her look pale & wan. I had thought of brown but saw none in that colour but instead got this one for $14.95 reduced to $8.00 so got a bargain I thought. It is nylon, windproof & waterproof & a lovely thick quilted lining – the little cap is separate & is unfortunately too small so I want to see if I can change it – if not I’ll get a little woollen hood. Your new glamour hair-do sounds most intriguing – my hair is a mess at the moment – you know how it goes straight with the dry air in the house in the winter & the last time I had a cut it seem to make it look worse. Lindy’s & Charlie’s are both quite straight now – but both will wave quite nicely I think when they are a little older. Charlie still creates when he goes to the barber & the last time the barber made quite a hash of it & you know how little boy’s hair grows straight down their little heads & they have a kind of little fringe? – well his is all lopsided & he was really shorn too – not enough left to curl anyway! It is getting a bit darker too – will be Cec’s colour I think, not very fair. About the debate on “to come or not to come” of you & A. Moo I can quite imagine all the discussions! Really I think it would be so nice if you both came – even though you wouldn’t have much money – if you visited all your friends, relations, daughters, nieces, sons-in-laws, nephews etc. etc. you wouldn’t “sit-down” on anyone very hard & as Cec says if we ever can save enough money to visit St.V. we will certainly sit down on you! I think it would probably be much more fun if you came together as you would probably do so much more & visit around more if you have each other for company. In N.Y. for instance A. Moo likes to sightsee (& I know A. Ettie isn’t too keen) & you & she could probably have a good time just going to places together. While you’re here too, I am still so tied with the children it would be nice because you & A. Moo could go quite a few little trips together – a day or so in Montreal – & a boat trip & so on which I couldn’t do & which you probably would never bother to do alone. Tell A. Moo she’ll probably be glad she’s deaf & able to turn off her earphones sometimes when both my children begin yelling!! I do think it would be lovely if you could come though – for one thing the children are really so much sweeter now than they ever will be again. Once they get older & go to school they aren’t nearly so cute & it’s a pity you shouldn’t see them when they are such fun – particularly little old lover-boy Charlie! He is so loving & cuddly & when he gets older he probably will be too boyish to show it whereas now he’s just a real smoocher! (Ask Monie for interpretation!!) This is really turning out to be some letter, isn’t it? I really should have ended on the last page, but as I didn’t here I am with 2 more sides to fill! I haven’t mentioned Lea & Darryl in my last few letters – well, as far as we know they have left Ottawa & gone to stay with Merle & family at Port Arthur. Lea phoned one day saying that’s what she planned to do & we’ve heard nothing else. What precipitated this, was that a week before Christmas & a week or so after Lea got a nursing job at the Civic Hospital & 2 or 3 times had attacks of “hypercardia” I think it’s called. Anyway it is a sudden attack of very rapid pulse & heartbeat which leaves the person quite exhausted & is caused by strain, tension etc. She’s been leaving having them for the last 6 months & told to rest etc. but this time the Dr. told her she just have to get away or she would be in for a really serious illness & breakdown. The whole business is still incredible – all the time Wendell has been in Ottawa working at this book salesman job (house-to-house sale of encyclopaedias) every penny he has made has gone on payments, gas & repairs for the car he insisted on buying. He’s never paid his mother anything for lodging, never paid for any food, never even bought Darryl Christmas presents – & yet he & Lea just about chain-smoke & neither of them have given that up. Cec & I just can’t understand them & goodness knows what will happen – we feel kind of sorry for poor Merle who has enough bothers of her own. I haven’t heard from Dottie or Nan or anyone since Christmas – I must also write to Mrs. Scott. Thank you for telling me all about poor Mary Egan – what a terrible time she has had. I wonder if Michael & little Anne are paralyzed or what – or if there is hope that Anne with treatment will be all right. [Mary’s husband and daughter seem to have caught the polio virus, which was affecting people around the world in the early 50s. In Canada the Salk vaccine was available in 1955 and on.] I haven’t heard any more from poor Anne in Cambridge, I must write to her again. I felt so mad at Jessie – really she is the limit! I sent her & the children a birthday parcel in Oct. No reply. I sent them all a Christmas parcel. Two days after Christmas a card from her – air mail – posted about Christmas Eve! Then last week a thank you letter from Zinnia & a P.S. Your parcel is on the way! I said to Cec I thought I’d stop sending them presents because Jessie is such a one – I sometimes think the parcels I send are the big attraction! Certainly little Zinnia is very good about writing thank you’s, but I wonder what sort of education & up-bringing she is getting – one letter she wrote about “somethink” & this one is full of film stars & going to the pictures every week etc. A far cry from the Eton & the Upper Ten I feel! Must stop – this will cost a fortune! Love from Us All to You All – A. Moo, A. Ettie, Monie & You – Kisses from the children – Lots of love from Cyn.
P.S. Remember Frank from Australia in Cambridge? Heard from him – marrying a N. Zealand girl next month.
In this letter, we finally hear something about this Bazaar that my grandmother has been preparing for! Both Carol and her sister Muriel (A.Moo) were very involved with the affairs of the church in St Vincent, not only attending services, but doing the flowers for the services, and helping enthusiastically with fundraisers such as the Bazaar. (Cyn will follow their example in the community she has now moved to, but needs to join in creating an Anglican Church in their area first!) All ages must be catered for, so besides Baking Stalls, Jams and Pickles, White Elephant, Handicrafts and Clothing, and, best of all, the Afternoon Tea, it seems that Carol’s task for the Bazaar was setting up some sort of Lucky Dip where children got a mystery prize for their pennies. Cyn’s little cars and doll’s bottles were probably wrapped in pink or blue paper and carefully handed out to the correct gender, or perhaps picked off a tree by the child in person while their mother shopped. A note of explanation about Sea Island Cotton- this was an export of St. Vincent’s that Carol’s father, J.G.W. Hazell, had started in the 19th century and it was obviously considered a high-end product!
Mon. 22nd. Nov.
Please thank A. Moo for her letter.
Dearest Mummy, Thank you so much for both your last letters (9th & 15th). I was looking forward to hearing about the Bazaar & was delighted to know how well everything went & that your tree was such a huge success. You must feel very pleased with yourself after all your hard work & it is so nice that your efforts have been both appreciated & rewarded & makes it all well worth while. I am glad that the little things I sent went well & another time I will know better what to send. I have been busy with my Christmas presents & have them mostly “pretty” wrapped & just brown paper to put on. The last date is 27th, so I have a few days grace & should get them away in time. Like you I am sending you 2 parcels & hope neither gets too battered. Did I tell you we have a new store opened nearby, which we are all thrilled about? It is a super market on a small scale, but has all the necessities & in addition is to have a P.O. I have been longing for it to open so that I could mail my parcels there instead of taking them to Dube’s, but they have been held up – however I hear it is to open this week, so I still might manage it. I have been longing for your Mrs. Larriere this past week! I have been toiling over some alteration jobs & with no sewing machine & no fitter, I have thought of her longingly many times!! The first job was a nylon shirt of Cec’s – his best white one actually, which has been languishing in my cupboard since spring. Reason? In a hurry one morning I put a hot iron on the collar! I felt so badly as it is a good shirt & of course Cec never has enough & instead of getting scolded, he was just sorry for me! So at last I set to & made a new collar all by hand except the final machined edge to make it look professional (I did it on Mrs. Rothwell’s machine) & to my joy it looks fine & Cec was so surprised & pleased when I showed him his resurrected shirt! By the way I got him a new shirt from the catalogue the other day & it is called “Our Finest Shirt” & is made of Sea Island Cotton. It has a great long blurb about how wonderful it is, so I felt that I was supporting home industries by getting it! My other alteration job was for myself. My Gor-ray skirt was such a success & so reasonable that I sent for a brown Gorray pinafore skirt which came a week or so ago. Unfortunately it was too big all over, so I started in & took the top from bottom, ripped underarms, took out the zip & did a wholesale renovation. Took in each side, shortened the waist & the hem & now it looks very nice & I am pleased with it, but with no machine it is a slow job. That is to be our next big buy. I have got a new blouse to wear with it – white with a silky stripe & short sleeves.
My Harrods dress is still hanging fire. I was quite annoyed at Willa as she left it well over 2 weeks & when I phoned & asked her she said no, she’d decided it was a little too tight. There is one other girl who says she’d like to try it, but after my success with the pinafore dress I feel ready to rip it up & try my hand at it too. Since I last wrote nothing much has happened. Cec had an official holiday on the 11th but went back to work just the same. Lea phoned about 4 & asked if they could come out to dinner that evening so of course I said yes. I only had sausages but made scalloped potatoes & scalloped tomatoes & corn & then a coconut cream pie so it spread! Things continue awkward with them, but at least Cec & I feel that Lee & Wendy are happier together now than they have been. Cec is still working all the time- every week night, Sat. afternoon & even last night. I had the car last week during the days & one day the children & I went to Joannise (still like to go there) another day out to Orleans to the butcher ( a beef tongue .25¢!!) & another to town. The latter was fun but exhausting! Linda won’t go in a lift so we climbed 4 flights of stairs to Freiman’s Toys (me carrying Charlie) then down, then upstairs again 2 to the Ladies!! Had a fellow from Cec’s Lab. to dinner on Friday – Canadian Chinese, Hin Lew, very nice. On Sat. went to Pete and Lu’s for a late supper & had a lot of fun. They have all new furniture etc. in their sitting room – we gasped!! xxxx from Lindy & Charlie – Love from us all – Cyn
Dearest Mummy, I have been trying to settle down to write you a long letter for simply ages, but somehow I always seem to be on the hop. These evenings when Cec goes back to work I never seem to get anything done- by the time the children are in bed & dishes washed etc. it is about 8, then Cec goes into work anytime from 8:30 – 9:30 so I feel I can’t settle down to anything till then, & afterwards the evening seems just about done & I might as well crawl into bed & read a little & go to sleep! Lindy & I want to thank you so much for her perfectly beautiful pyjamas! They arrived yesterday & we are all so thrilled with them – they fit her very nicely indeed – not too big & floppy, but nice & loose & plenty of room for her to grow. She is so tickled with them & had a great time choosing which pair to wear first – the ones with the little animals won & she is wearing those now – I am so delighted to have them at it as it is cold, miserable, wet weather & she just had cotton ones. I had no idea you had got all 3 different materials – they are so sweet that I really can’t tell which I like the best – thank you very, very much for making them & sending them, Mummy dear – they are a real boon. By the way I mailed the batteries & cord last week – hope they don’t take too long – I still think I got the best of the bargain!!
Yellow crayon, perhaps?
Thank you so much too for your A.M. of the 4th Oct. which came on Sat. – so quick it seems. You were writing about being threatened with a hurricane, which fortunately had passed by, but I wondered if it was the same big one which came up through the U.S. & hit Ontario on Fri. We had terrific winds on Fri. night – trees & high tension wires blown down etc. but Toronto had a terrible time with the rains & floods – nearly 100 people dead. [Hurricane Hazel, October 15th 1954.] Our only damage was in the garden – in the spring Cec transplanted a lot of chrysanthemum cuttings along one side of the lawn & they have grown big & bushy & are just in flower – not particularly pretty (Cec is disgusted in fact!) – pucy-pink single daisy type – but they are so thick & covered with flowers they look very nice. Anyway the wind snapped whole bushes off by the root & we found them rolling around the garden, so the chrysanthemum border looks very moth-eaten now! You must be having such a busy time over the Bazaar – I have forgotten when it is, but you certainly deserve to have a big success after all your hard work. I sent some “Iron-on” Transfer Patterns by sea last week – I don’t know whether they will get to you in time to be of use or not. Did A. Ettie sent you some nice things for the Bazaar? The parcel postage is awfully high, but how nice that you have 2 new dresses!! What are they like? Talking of dresses makes me think of the “Print Bundle” I sent – I thought you might give a piece to Doris to help compensate for her burgled material, but maybe if A. Moo is buying a piece for her Christmas you think that will be enough. Charlie, the little pig, is howling his head off. They are having their afternoon nap & he woke & cried & I went & potted him & put cream on his eczema, but he will not shut up! He is really tired too as this morning I took him to get his haircut & he howled all the time of course & exhausted himself! His ex. has been so raw & irritable lately & someone told me a Dr. they knew advised taking children off homogenized milk & putting them on dried skim milk & 4 babies she knew had tried it & it cured the ex. so today I got some dried milk & a big shaker & have begun to give it to him. He gets plenty of fat now in the rest of his food so I don’t think it can hurt him & it is worth trying anything. I have cut out tomatoes & citrus fruits as they made his face blotchy, but it doesn’t seem to have made a bit of difference to his legs. I am glad you wrote to the C. of Justice about the Memorial & said I would agree. As you say it seems a pointless thing to spend so much money on, but there is no point in opposing him & giving him something else to get agitated about. I wondered if A. Annie would write to him about Uncle Field. I had a letter from her about 2 weeks ago – I must reply sometime. I am glad that he left the farm etc. to Arthur’s boy even if he won’t ever farm it himself – much better than to the Australian family & also to Leta & children as after all he knows the rest of his nephews & nieces very little on the whole. I never thought of him leaving me anything till you said he hadn’t & then of course I thought, “Well it would have been useful!” But poor old fellow, he certainly didn’t know me very well. You were asking about Lindy & Sunday school – well, I have attempted it, but when it came to the point she wouldn’t go! This girl down the road, Pat Tomlinson, is taking her little girl Joanne, & I thought “Oh goody” & was all enthusiasm – & so is Lindy if it is in the dim distant future!! But when it is “today” she gets all scared &, so I haven’t forced the issue. Actually she & Joanne don’t seem to cotton to each other at all, I don’t know why, but anyway I thought I would leave it for a little while & then try again as goodness knows she is shy enough without it getting any worse & I hope she will grow out of it naturally – & SOON! She still howls when even the shoe man comes with new shoes for her & I have to put them on etc. but one victory we’ve had is that she now doesn’t mind getting her hair washed & doesn’t cry over it! Since I last wrote not much has been going on. Cec of course is still going back most evenings & this past week was the first in ages that he hadn’t gone back some of the time. I don’t know if I told you in my last letter that we were having Chris, our Danish friend, to spend a last weekend with us. He is so nice that we were very sorry to see him go – particularly as he just loved being here & would really have liked to stay. We were sorry he didn’t find a nice girl as he is so easy & good in a house & sweet with children, but he didn’t have any dates, & no girl in Denmark as far as we know. He will be in England now I think – he is spending about 4 days there. The weekend here was kind of queer! To begin with it poured with rain & was wet & cold & miserable. Then on the Sunday just after we finished a late breakfast the entire electric power went off, which is just disastrous for us – no furnace, no oven, no fridge, no water (electric pump)! You can imagine! I couldn’t even wash the dishes & I wanted to make a cake, & I had a duck to roast & stuff for dinner & an apple pie to make! Well, by 1 p.m. it still wasn’t on, so Cec trotted out in the rain in the back & built up stones & made a little fire! We heated soup & milk for the children & I got them fed & to bed, then soup & coffee for our lunch & I made sandwiches, so at least we didn’t start! The wretched power didn’t come on till 3:30 & of course then I had to 1/2 kill myself to get everything done – at least, I never did get that cake made!! We were at Lee & Jim’s for bridge the Friday before & they are both looking very well now. Lee’s baby is due the end of Jan. or beginning of Feb. so she is showing now but she’s feeling fine – the first 3 – 4 mths she was miserably sick & nauseated & lost weight etc. but now she is all right. You know they are a funny couple!! For the past 2 years they have been talking of buying a house & they have money borrowed from relatives for a down payment. They have looked at houses uphill & downdale – one week they decide to build & look at lots & house plans & talk to builders etc. – then next week they decide to buy an older house & answer ads & go to estate agents & put names down on lists etc. Long before Pete & Lu began house hunting they were at it, & very busy too- going to see houses on weekends & in evenings, but always some little thing was wrong, till we all got just sick of hearing about it! The last thing was they thought they’d get the builder of Pete & Lu’s to build them one the same & they were looking at lots etc. & now it has all fallen through & they have signed a lease on the apt. for another year! It will be crowded with the baby I’m sure, & although it is not too much housework for Lee it is a 3rd-floor apartment which means stairs up and down & baby carriages to get up & down etc. I don’t know – people are queer, aren’t they?!! Lu was out here one evening with another Sask. girl called Willa Woods. They were on their way to a butcher in a little village called Orleans. (Remember my letter with the postmark? It is the place where we nearly bought that house in March) about 3 miles past us, so I invited them to come & have coffee afterwards. (Incidentally, I go to this butcher too– they are good & v. reasonable!) We had a good chat & I think Willa is going to buy my silk dress from England – she looks very nice in it & took it home for her husband to see! Al & Betty McNamara were here to dinner a week ago on Friday. Al has his PhD. from Sask. now & is finished there, but instead of working for Pete as expected has taken a job at N.R.C. which annoyed Pete as it was through him & for him that Al got a job at Sask. & could go there. However it doesn’t concern Cec & me so we keep out of it! The Dept. Al is in is at the N.R.C. on Montreal Rd. so it’s very close to us & they have been lucky enough to get an N.R.C. house close by at $40 a month- just for one year & a few disadvantages like no heat except for an oil stove in the living room, but for a young couple with no children it gives them a nice start. They will be quite close to us & were moving in last week so I expect we will see a bit of them. Al isn’t so shy & I like Betty so they will be a pleasant acquisition to our social life!! Last Monday was Thanksgiving here & we had a roast chicken & a delicious lemon chiffon pie. We had no guests which seemed seemed strange, as we usually have someone in to share the celebration, but it was quite fun to be just by ourselves & Charlie sat up at the table too & thoroughly enjoyed himself. Now he goes to each chair at the table & says “My place? My place?” & is quite crestfallen when we say “Your place” & lead him to his little table!
On Friday Cec & I got Anne our Dutch woman to babysit for us & went to see James Stewart in a thriller called “Rear Window”. It was very good & we enjoyed it & enjoyed having a little outing. In addition, on Sat afternoon Margie & I took off & went downtown for tea & a spree so I have really been stepping out!! We went just to look, but Margie saw a very nice dress & little jacket reduced from $15 to $10 & it was just what she wanted so she tried it on & it fitted her beautifully so she bought it & I had to lend her $5.00! If Willa buys my dress, I too will go shopping!!! On Sun. Lea Atchison phoned to see if we were doing anything & she & Darryl came over for dinner & Wendell came later. Lee seems a bit better but the situation is very difficult. Mrs. A. has always been a very possessive domineering mother & now her husband is gone she can hardly bear Wendell out of her sight. She has a very bad heart condition which she holds over him & I really feel sorry for the poor fellow. Lea is agitating of course for them to get a place of their own & the mother begins having heart attacks at the mention of it, so what’s to do? He has a job as salesman for some book company but it is on commission so that isn’t very steady, but he works very hard at it. Lea thinks she will nurse again & really I think it will be best as she sits there, doing nothing, bored stiff & she and Mrs. A. getting more & more on each other’s nerves. It is getting near midnight so I had better go to bed – Cec is at work & I don’t know when he’ll be in. I still have some letters of yours to answer so will try & write a long sea letter soon. Hugs & kisses from Lindy & Charlie (took him to get his haircut today – howled of course but looks very sweet). Lots & lots of love from us all – Cyn
P.T.O. A Charlie story- One day Bunny, our (big) pussy, was feeling playful & jumped at Charlie’s arm & nipped it- Charlie didn’t mind & just pushed her away, but Cec scolded Bunny who went & lay down on the floor. So over trots Charlie, lies down beside her & says to Bunny “Say ‘Sowwy!’ Say ‘Sowwy!’”!! A Linda story- yesterday morning I was getting Linda up & hugged her & said “Oh you’re sweet” so Lindy gives a big grin & says “I’m sweet as sour medicine!” We have such beautiful, clever, children!!!
Just a note about the Ewing family that Cyn mentions in this letter: Her father, Gordon Ewing, or J.M.G.E. as she sometimes refers to him, was institutionalized with dementia after her mother had left him and come to live with Cyn in Cambridge, and although both Cyn and Carol had since left England, they remain connected through lawyers and money matters. Apparently he wants to spend money on some sort of Memorial and they agree not to oppose it. A more serious matter is that one of Gordon’s older brothers, Field Ewing, who had run the family farm in Ireland, had died. Cyn had had a letter from her Aunt Annie, but is not sure her father will have been told about it. Cyn is happy that the farm will go to ‘Arthur’s boy’, a cousin who seems to live locally, rather than her cousin Leta who also lived in Northern Ireland but had married and had her own life, or the Australian cousins that they had lost touch with. And she acknowledges that she has had very little connexion with her Uncle Field since visits in her childhood, and letters! However, in the 1980s, the Australian cousins got in touch! A Mr. Ewing started exploring his family’s roots, and through the Irish descendants, got Cyn’s name and actually came and visited her and Cec in Ottawa, and, I think, Leta in Ireland. Cyn gave him her Ewing heirloom tea cup and saucer- the one I thought ugliest in her collection as a child, and was cavalier about breaking while dusting until I learned its Victorian history- she had it mended- and he gave her the Ewing genealogy he had worked out after he added her children to it. When Cec and Cyn visited Australia in 1990 or 91, they visited his family and enjoyed the connection to her distant cousins, but I was in Vancouver, Charlie in Ottawa, both of us working, and we did not keep up the connection, and sadly, I can’t find the Ewing genealogy either.
Dearest Mummy, This is a funny plan of our back “garden” – it is very nice for the children now as the sandbox Cec made is huge- room for all the family & I even put the paddling pool in it on hot days & they get all wet and sandy together! Cec made the swing too & hung it from the little porch jutting out from the kitchen door – they just love it & I am looking forward to the day when they can swing themselves & I don’t have to stand & push & push & push!! These last few days have been the hottest of the summer & then last night the temp. dropped to 42° & so I am sitting now with cold feet! Cec is in bed after working till 3 a.m. last night, the children are asleep & I must go & let our Bunny- cat in. She is big & beautiful now & very sweet – has a beautiful black glossy coat & a lovely bushy tail – I hope she doesn’t begin producing kittens too soon! I’ve just written letters to Amy & Ruth – Amy sent Lindy a cute “Mrs. Bear” of brown velvet all dressed in dress, apron etc. & carrying a little baby bear – got it at a Bring & Buy- Lindy is very intrigued! Must stop & crawl into bed & warm my feet on my husband – ha-ha! Lots of love from us all- Cyn
I’m sure this note/plan was included in a sea mail collection of ‘odds and bobs’.
The plan is not as my brother and I remember it, because things changed as we grew older. Over the 10 years that we lived there, the swing moved down the hill and was hung from the beautiful elms that grew there- remember when we had elm trees? The sandbox moved to shelter under the little porch leading off from the kitchen, and a flight of stairs was added to connect the top floor to the ground outside. The cold room, heavily insulated from the warm basement, with its built-in bins containing earth for storing potatoes etc through the winter, and lined with shelves for Cyn’s jars of pickles and fruit, seemed a link with a farming past. The bathroom, on the other hand, was updated over the years, and the laundry room with its tubs and (electric) washing machine with mangle were replaced by a more modern washer and dryer, while half of the basement was turned into a rec room. But these projects were in the future- in 1954, Cyn is very happy with her existing empire!
A Family History in Letters 