Commentary – Page 14 – A Family History in Letters

Christmas 1952

There were two events to be celebrated. The first was the birth of the baby, and a son at that, so that now they had one of each. Congratulations-such as ‘Clever girl’ on the telegram from her 5 Newcastle friends; best wishes; plants; and chocolates arrived at the hospital for Cyn.

When she and Charlie came home from hospital, and Cec and Linda returned from their stay at the Ganders, the Costains celebrated Christmas a bit late, and Cyn later sent her mother the usual list of the loot!

Cec, Cyn, & Lindy’s Christmas Presents 1952

From:

Grannie. You know!

Gunborg. Blanket holders– they are green plastic ducks & their beaks open on a spring & hold the blanket & then there are ribbons attached to tie it to the top of the crib. (We don’t need these now- she keeps under the covers nicely)

Coloured wooden toy shaped like this [see above] There are coloured wooden rings to fit over the post & she loves putting them on and off.

Dan. “Stripey to the Rescue”-a nice little book but a bit old for her, so I have put it away.

Wooden Build – a -Train – this is a dear little train which takes apart & puts together very simply & with big pieces. Linda quite can’t quite manage the building yet, so she can “unbuild” it very successfully! She pushes it along and says “Woo-hoo” like trains here do!

Amy etc. 3 woolie jackets for Charlie- all the same pattern as the ones she sent before – two little blue ones & one bigger white one with a blue edging. A white lamb for Lindy. She is quite fond of it but prefers her old pink bunny & the Teddy Dottie sent her – but on the whole she doesn’t bother with that kind of toy much.

Connie & Leonard– A scarf for Lindy – very nice & soft & warm – camel hair coloured. Illustrated for us – a year’s subscription I presume & am I embarrassed as we only sent a card!

Mrs. Allan – Hankies for Lindy- they are done up so cutely to look like a little folded umbrella.

Jessie & Norman – Panties for me – very pretty white ones with frills!

Diary for Cec.

Dress, cardigan & toys for Linda! The dress is a sweet little white silk one & fits her nicely now. It is quite plain except for a little embroidery on the skirt & has a little round colour & buttons down the front. The cardigan is just lovely – the prettiest one I’ve seen.

It is white with pale pastel pink, blue & green knitted in every few rows like those jumpers Anne made for me ages ago. It is a bit big which is nice too. The toys are really a little young for her but will come in nicely for Charlie- a rattle like a bird in a cage & a pink plastic phone which is a rattle two & a comb & ring in pink to match.

Miss Lefroy – “Animal ABC” for Lindy & a little book for me.

Irene – Diary for me.

Tie for Cec– dark red & gold – a bit startling I think but not too bad & Cec is wearing it!

Bib for Charlie.

Blue sandals for Lindy. These are rather sweet little things made of kind of plastic material but unfortunately are too small for her. She got so mad when we couldn’t get them on & tried to take them away – she howled & demanded them back & kept trying to put them on, so we had to make them disappear! Hope she will have forgotten them by the time Charlie gets them!

Nan. Play Balls– this is a clever toy to0- a stick on a stand & hollow coloured plastic balls which thread on it. This is a bit like Gunborg’s but more difficult so I put it away for a rainy day! Nan said in the letter that my present was coming with a little one for Charlie, but they haven’t arrived yet.

Granny & Grandpa Costain – Socks for Cec- nylon.

Gloves for me – very pretty white wool ones with a tiny bit of red embroidery with pearls! Writing paper for me too.

Panties for Linda – very sweet little pink ones with embroidery! Did I tell you Granny C. had also sent her a pair of white overalls to match her white corduroy coat & a sweet little lace trimmed bonnet? Two little bonnets really- a tiny one for the baby.

Margie, Cy etc. – Cigarettes for Cec.

Chocolates for me (in hospital)

Blocks for Linda – these are hollow square ones with pictures on, that fit inside each other.

Rattle for Charlie.

Mrs. Burrough– Plant for me (in hospital)-pretty African violet.

Dottie – Magazines for me- Vogue- Ladies Home Journal etc.

“One Upmanship” for Cec- a funny book

“Peter Rabbit” Hankie, Toothbrush Apron for Linda. Lindy just loves “Peter Rabbit”- she calls him “Petey” & he & “Baa-Baa” are her two favourites & I’m afraid are getting a little worn looking!! The apron is a little big, but sweet.

Auntie Muriel– Calendar for us all.

Bar– Brooch for me- pretty & small

Golliwog for Lindy- just tiny (about 4”) and made of pipe cleaners- has a red & yellow coat.

Til & Lois– Petticoat for Linda – so sweet & grown-up – white silk with lace edge & shoulder straps!!

Tile & ashtray for us a greeny-yellow pottery. Cec & I think they are rather horrid, but apparently C’Zelma does them & sells them.

Lu, Pete,etc. Panties for Lindy – just like Granny C’s but white!

Notepaper for me.

Crackles for Charlie.

Phyl Douglas– Notes for me (in hospital)

A Trix– White baby jacket for Charlie – very nice – a bit big & in fact Linda has been wearing it although the sleeves are short!

Lea, Wendy etc.- “Mother Goose”– a nice little nursery rhyme book with pretty pictures.

Mary & Bill Stuart– Dress & panties for Linda. These are really lovely- handmade by Mary of pale blue, white-dotted Dayella with white smocking – just right in size- maybe a little big.

Daddy & Lindy to Mummy.

Sweater – long sleeved, buttoned down the front- dark red with tiny white pearl buttons & very nice.

Nylons– goody-goody!

Slippers– I got these early to go into hospital. They are black quilted satin & are both elegant & lovely & comfy.

Cutting out scissors– a lovely pair from Singer’s.

Pulley Cec made for me in the basement. Did I tell you about it? He made it & fixed it up all as a surprise for me while I was in the hospital – wasn’t it perfectly sweet of him?

Mummy & Linda to Daddy–

Cigarettes box of 50

“Murder Must Advertise”

Wool scarf (grey) These were surprises!

2 Shirts- u.shorts & 3 prs socks he had to have & we got together!

Daddy & Mummy to Lindy –

Cleaning Set – Cec got this while I was in H. It is just cute- a little mop, carpet sweeper, broom, dustpan, hand mop & duster – also a tiny apron – so that she can help me clean! She loves them & carpet sweeps with great energy!

Rubber car with Donald Duck in.

Blocks made of wood with alphabet & pictures on.

Doggie playing a little xylophone which pulls along on a string and goes “plink-plonk”! She gets a lot of fun out of this & is just beginning to get the idea of pulling – she much preferred to push things at first but will do both now.

Dolly – a cloth doll with a rubber head about 1 1/2 feet long – it is a boy doll in blue pyjamas & she has him in bed with her. Before Christmas she seemed crazy for “babies” but now she seems to like her wooden toys more. [I always thought, after I started reading Dr. Spock at the age of 8 or so, that this doll, Tommy, was psychological genius on my parents’ part. Tommy was about the size of my brother, so not only did I now have cleaning tools to help my mother, I also had a baby to dress and cuddle and put to bed.]

Musical book – this is a musical box in the form of a book with the story & pictures in the front. We chose “Mary had a little lamb” & think it is lovely- Lindy is a bit doubtful! she can’t quite turn the handle yet.

Lee, Jim, & Barry– Wooden toy to pull – it has a little bell & tinkles as she pulls it.

I think that is all! Aren’t we all lucky? Particularly our little daughter! Poor little Charlie didn’t get anything from Mummy and Daddy you’ll notice, but we’ll make up for it later!

Still with a King George VI stamp, although he’d died in February.

October 3 1952

3rd Oct. 1952

Dearest Mummy,

Thank you so much for 2 letters- postmarked 24th & 30th- the latter just came today. I’m afraid my last letter must’ve missed you at A. Trixie’s – I was all confused with the days & dates & thought it might catch you, but I was wrong. By the time you get this you’ll be all settled at Noyack again & I am sure that it will feel good to get unpacked and out of suitcases again. I hope that all the new dresses are a success & A. Moo likes them- I am sure that she will be so glad to have you back. Cec & I were most intrigued to know all the details on Jack & Jean from your letter & glad that the mystery is cleared up! I am very happy that they will be getting married at Christmas & hope all will go well. Cec nearly died laughing at your remarks re. Owen being paralyzed “somewhere else”& we hope that Jacko will eventually prove that he’s not and produce a couple of grand-daughters for A. Trix! I was glad to hear that Marion is recovering, despite the terrible time she has had- how thankful they must be to the Polish Dr. after the callousness & carelessness of the other.

Before I go on to our doings, I have a confession to make- your box of clothes hasn’t gone yet, & that isn’t all – I have also lost or thrown away the list of things you wanted me to get & include in the parcel, so will you send me another list quickly & I will get the things & send it as soon as I can. Now that Lindy is all over & into things my corner of recipe books & writing things in the nook is great fun for her & I’m always finding them strewn around, so my letters get somewhat mixed up!

I don’t think I had room to tell you in my last letter that Pete & Lu Forsyth & little Leslie had arrived in Ottawa. They were staying in a hotel until their apt. was ready on Oct. 1 & Lou was thoroughly enjoying the rest. The polio had been very bad in Saskatoon, so Lu decided to keep Leslie away from children for a week to make sure she wasn’t carrying infection, so Cec & I went down on the Wed. evening & had a drink with them in the hotel. Then last Sunday, when the week was up, they came to tea & brought Leslie. I had invited Jim & Lee & Barry as they are going to be close neighbours in the same apts. but Jim was ill (tummy flu) & they couldn’t come. However Pete & Lu asked if they could bring an old Sask. friend & her son-in-law who was staying in the hotel so we had quite a lot anyway. Leslie was very shy & didn’t play with Linda much but as usual Lindy was full of fun & mischief!

On the Sat. morning I went to town (1st shopping trip since you left!) & bought a lamp & rug for the bed-sit. room & some material. The lamp is cream, the rug a delphinium blue twisted loop (cotton) & the material is a sort of Indian pattern – a tan background with blue on it. Bill’s blanket doesn’t cover the whole bed to the floor, so I have made a pleated frill to cover the box spring part in the coloured material, then put the navy cover over the mattress. I have made a cover for the pillow of the material too, & it looks very nice I think.

Cec has fixed the desk beautifully & has the ch. of. dr. all sanded down to bare wood & the old nursery chair all taken apart & partly scraped. We have put one one of our ch. of. drs. in, in the meanwhile & the room looks really lovely – fresh & bright & cozy. An English fellow from Oxford at the Lab. for a year came to see it tonight & is coming in sometime- has to give notice at his present digs. He seems quite nice & harmless – just wants breakfasts.

I went to the Dr. on Monday & everything is fine – must watch my weight though – woe is me! Phyl Douglas had a boy (8 1/2 lbs) on 1st Oct. so maybe we will follow suit!! Lindy is sweet & good as ever – the hour (summertime) came on last Sun. so she is waking earlier this week, but is good & plays till I get up. Will tell you more of her in my next. She is wearing Winnie & Denis’ white boots now!! They fit nicely, & looked so huge before!

xxx from Lindy & lots of love from us all- Cyn

As I said in my very first post, it was wondering about the polio scares of the 1950s that started me reading my mother’s letters to my grandmother. This letter contains the first mention of polio that I’ve come across, and it is posted while we are quarantining in the year 2020, hoping for a vaccine…

August 28 1952

28th Aug. 1952.

Dearest Mummy,

I have been meaning to write all week but as usual we have been in a tizzy, & last night which was to be devoted to letter writing I only managed to write to Ruth & Amy I thought I had better get that done as the wedding is a week today – isn’t it incredible? Did you hear that the parcels had arrived safely except for one “porridge plate”? So I can replace that easily & Ruth seems delighted with them.

Ruth Stainthorpe had been Cyn’s bridesmaid, and her father, Dr. Stainthorpe, had given her away.

Thank you so much for your letter & also Lindy’s present, cards & cable. She had a lovely birthday – actually spread out onto Sat. too, as we hadn’t time to shop on the weekend Mill & Ford were here, so we decided to just give her a card & book on the day & take her shopping on Sat. a.m. We gave her all her cards at breakfast time & she thoroughly enjoyed looking at them all & so did we & laughed & laughed over the “potty” one, as that was to be one of our presents to her. We had talked about a “party” & decided against it, as we hadn’t seen Karen & Jennifer for ages & anyway thought Lindy would be really happier & less confused just alone with her presents. I made her a cake with pink icing, but I’m damned if I could find Amy’s candle & holder! I searched high & low & turned out all the drawers, but in the end I stuck some toothpicks in the middle & hope they look like a candle in the snap! We didn’t either eat the cake or take pictures till Sunday as the end of last week was so cold & we couldn’t sit outside. I got quite worried as Lindy had no winter clothes yet, but this week it is broiling- over 90° today & the mosquitoes are worse or as bad as they ever were. We can’t go on the grass at all & Lindy is smeared with 6.12 & still gets bitten. To return to her birthday – Cec came home early & we had great fun & opened all her presents. She loves her red shoes and after a struggle to get them on she was most intrigued! Of course she likes to play with them & chew them more than wear them, but on those cold days I was very glad to have them for her to wear as the floor was cold. She didn’t walk or do anything extraordinary on her birthday, but was a sweet happy baby all the time. As far as I can tell she seems just about the same as when you left & does nothing new, but probably you would see a change.

On Sat. after her nap we took her downtown & went to Frieman’s toy department. We got her some “Building Beakers” made by the same people who made the “Crackles”. They are bright plastic cups (12) which fit into each other & then turned upside down have a rim & can build on each other too. We went & looked at feeding dishes & they were $8- we nearly collapsed! So we went to that Baby Shop on Dalhousie St. where we got her harness & got a wooden toidy seat, a blue pot, a pr. of plastic pants, & a lovely little dish there. The dish is china with three compartments & in each compartment are pictures of pretty little coloured dogs, cats, bunnies etc.! The outside is chromium & holds the hot water & it is very nice we think. Linda likes it too & has been eating well. I am just thrilled with my daughter because on Mon. I cut out her early bottle (she never wakes till after 7 now & never seems to really need it) & after breakfast took her to the bathroom & put her on her little seat. She was slightly alarmed but very amused at my grunts & then amazed at the results when she grunted too!! She has performed each morning since, so see! – no trouble if you leave it long enough!!

On Sat p.m. we began to shop around for furniture for a spare room & went to a few places with ads. in the paper. We ended at a bachelor’s flat- he was selling everything & going into a furnished place & also worked at the Council & – hold your breath- we bought a desk, armchair, chesterfield, chest of drawers & daybed!! He is in no hurry for the money so we are paying him on time! The desk (oak – old, but nice), ch. of dr. (old & we will refinish) are for the front room – the daybed is just a small metal frame with thin cotton mattress & cover, will go in “your” room, & sleeps 2 people in an emergency- the ch’field & chair (about 1 yr. old- dark red-) are for the sitting room & the other chair will go upstairs. It all came this morning & we feel very pleased with ourselves & just full of furniture!! We hope to let the room early next month, so will get it fixed this weekend – it should look very nice, I think. Have all sorts of other things to tell you- Lindy’s other presents & cards- what we’ve been doing & answering your letter, but have no room & it is time for lunch anyway, so will write later in the week. My love to everyone & a hug from Lindy- please thank Auntie Trix for her share of the cable.

Lots & lots of love from

Cyn.

The spate of weddings that suddenly appeared in the Costains’ lives in the summer of 1952 is a subtle reminder that now they are part of the older generation- been there, done that, have a baby with another on the way. Cyn had worked as a teacher for ten years, throughout the war and after, and although Cec had just finished with university, he had been an older student at Cambridge and Michigan, with his war years as a naval officer behind him. Now they are established with a permanent job, and the younger ones are getting married- Cyn’s bridesmaid, Ruth Stainthorpe, Keith Innes from the NRC, and then Al McNamara, Cec’s friend from university at home. Cec and Cyn are becoming part of the stable community at the NRC, staying there, looking for a permanent house, nurturing their growing families, entertaining and helping each other, as the younger post-doctorate fellows come- for 2 years- and go. So this summer, as well as preparing for weddings, they are getting ready for a lodger to help with expenses from among the new arrivals.

July 21 1952

31 Acacia Ave.

Monday morning.

Dearest Mummy,

I have just put Lindy to sleep in the garage & not having a thing to do thought I would write to you! Actually, I meant to write yesterday of course, but we asked Angie & Paul Routley to tea & it was a very hot humid day & their apartment was stifling so we persuaded them to stay to dinner & they ended at leaving around 11, having washed all the dishes for me.

I have been so busy lately- no one to sit around & gossip with or have cups of tea with! – and Lindy has been wonderful about sleeping in the morning- till 11 and after each day, so I have had a nice long time without interruptions. On Wed. afternoon we went down to see Phyl Douglas as I told you & we had a nice obstetrical chat! She is full of praise for my Dr. Smith – she has her old family Dr. but says she has heard so many good reports of Dr. S. & that if ever she changed she would go to him. She has offered to give us a piece of linoleum for the kitchen floor which they had in the other house & don’t use, so I may yet keep the kitchen floor reasonably clean!!

On Thursday I did a good old clean of all the rooms, & it was another really hot stuffy day. Lindy & I sat on the grass in the afternoon & Mrs. Graham entertained us with light chatter!

On Friday we had our shopping expedition & it turned out very well. Lindy & I went with Cec in the car to work & got back here at 8:45, so I just bathed her & gave her breakfast as usual. Then she slept till 11 & I washed and tidied etc. and then off we went in the car, picked up Margie & the boys & went to the Dominion. The boys were thrilled at Linda coming shopping & behaved beautifully! Lindy sat off in the little chair in a nonchalant fashion & surveyed one & all in a lofty way, but really seem to enjoy it. She chewed a box of cereal & squeaked & everyone said “Oh look at the little baby!” We drove Margie home & then went straight to pick up Daddy & it all fitted in very well- especially as he carried all my parcels in for me!

It has been so hot & sticky ever since Thursday – no breeze or air at all, & today it is dull & cloudy & looks drizzly – just when I have diapers to dry too- I washed them yesterday but only got about 1/4 hung out, so have the rest still sitting here.

On Sat. Cec had his morning sleep & I got up & then I did a big old cooking. It was so hot that I didn’t know how well the meat would keep, so I made a meatloaf; cooked two little tongues; made a chicken casserole (saved some for fried chicken that night or Cec would have been so sad!); baked a cake (mix!); and made some little tart cases. I felt it was a noble effort! Cec finished weeding the front path & it looks very nice & neat & on Sat. afternoon he went & helped Cy paint the outside woodwork of his house. Cy can’t go up ladders or stand heights at all, so Cec is going to help him & Cy will help us paint our rooms. I forgot to tell you that we put an ad in the paper for our rangette & sold it to a young French couple for $35.00 – we asked $40.00 but they were humming & hawing & we wanted to get rid of it, so when they offered $35 we accepted. Now the prune room is doomed! Lindy & I walked over to Cy & Margie’s on Sat. about 5 & saw the painting & had a little gossip. Margie has just had the most wonderful present from her Father – a lovely big new refrigerator with a big freezer compartment. They just had an ice box before so she is thrilled to bits & it really is lovely. A few weeks ago Cec told me that they had bought a vacuum cleaner & it turns out to be a Kirby, one of the super jobs the man demonstrated to me, so they are well set up!

On the Sat. evening at about 9:30 Phyl arrived with the raspberries I told you she was getting for me & they were really gorgeous. In the whole 6 qts. there weren’t more than 3 squashed berries & not one bad or horrid at all. Cec & I set to then & there & a bottled 9 jars full while they were fresh. We thought at first we’d just pack them in the jars, but with two of us working it didn’t take long & we found that they fitted beautifully in the big roaster to boil, so we did them straight away & they look very nice.

Sunday was my turn to sleep in, so Cec looked after Lindy & bathed her & I just lay back & didn’t get up till 10:45! Lovely! I just got through my chores before Angie & Paul came at 3 (made sandwiches, iced cake & made raspberry tarts) & then we had such a nice chatty time that we were both glad they stayed to supper. They were both delighted with Lindy & you would have been so pleased with Paul after George, Mummy- he just loved her & played with her & made such a fuss over her. He kept saying “She’s a lovely little girl – let’s have a baby right away, Angie!” We had chicken casserole, beans & corn, salad, hot rolls, raspberry & coffee for supper & they both thought everything was wonderful – such nice guests!

It is 10:30 now & not a dish washed, so I think I had better get cracking. Thank you so much for your note – we were so glad that you arrived all right despite a bumpy storm & that the girls & A. Ettie were waiting for you. Just what I thought- gossiping & drinking tea till all hours! Give them all my love & a hug from Lindy- tell me all about them & particularly what you think of Alan & Milly’s family! I hope it is still nice & cool with you & that you have fun shopping – don’t forget to buy some nice dresses. Did the girls think you looked purty when you arrived?

Must stop- hugs & love from us or & a big, big wet kiss from Lindy- With lots of love from Cyn.

(P. T.O.)

P. S. Just had a call from your bank & you have been giving your friend Mr. Pridham of the Hearing Aid people heart failure! Apparently the last cheque you wrote him for the extra cord etc. ($13.30) wasn’t presented before you closed your account & it bounced!! He, apparently, didn’t know where you were, & didn’t remember my name, so looked up the City Directory for the address & found it listed for Lt. Cdr. Roberts & on making inquiries about him found he had gone to Florida, so the poor man was in a tizzy!! However, he embraced me verbally when I phoned him & told him we would send him a cheque & you could pay us, so everything is under control. We will send it off today & you can send us a Money Order or something. It is now 1:30 & it is still raining & has done so ever since I hung the diapers out! I shall now proceed to take some in and drape them around the place as we are reduced to 5!

Lots of love

Cyn

This letter is going to take a while, because one niece has re-directed it to her sister up-state!

A few notes of explanation to add: both Carol Ewing and the sister she lived with in St Vincent, Auntie Moo, were hard of hearing, and had little access to technology or specialist medical care on the island. When they visited relatives in New York or, now, Ottawa, they could get help, and the relatives would keep the help coming. Both wore Hearing Aids a bit smaller than a pack of cards tucked in their décolletage, with a cord running up to the earpiece. Cyn sent Carol her special batteries (which she had to cross Ottawa to get from Mr. Pridham, presumably) for decades!

Now that Cyn’s live-in baby-sitter has gone off to New York, she is adjusting to life without her: to get the car for errands, she and the baby have to drive Cec in to the NRC building on Sussex Drive and pick him up later at the end of the work day. Then she was free, within the confines of the baby’s schedule, to organize her grocery shopping at the Dominion and give another NRC wife and her boys a ride too. Clearly, Margie and Cy Garret and their 2 boys were within walking distance of Acacia Ave., and Alec and Phyl Douglas, who had 2 children a bit older, lived close by too. Cyn and Cec found good friends among the NRC community, as the letters will show.

July 16 1952

This first letter after a year’s gap is written the day after Carol left Ottawa, travelling to a series of visits on her way home. After almost a year of living with Cec and Cyn and helping look after her beloved grandchild, it must have been a wrench leaving, even if she was going to other loving relatives.

And note about air travel 70 years ago: security wasn’t much of an issue then, although safety kept onlookers away from the planes. Ottawa had two small airports, one military, Rockcliff, and one civil, Uplands, and anyone could come in, mingle with the departing passengers, hug them, and watch them trail out to the plane, and wave goodbye. They could watch the planes take off from inside or outside, although Cec, Cyn and Linda seem to have missed this. The NRC had research facilities out at the airport, which would grow even as the airport did over the decades.

The letter is only dated Wednesday, but was postmarked July 16. Canadian air letter forms cost her 10¢, and I like the design better although there is less space than the American 10¢ forms.

Wednesday.

Dearest Mummy,

I thought I would send your A.M. letter back to you & now having begun it I realize I could have sent you an ordinary A.M. letter for 7¢, but after all what is 3¢ to rich people like ourselves!

I hope that you had a nice flight to New York with no bumps & a prompt arrival. I am sure that Auntie Ettie & the girls would be waiting for you & although I expect you would be fair wore out, I imagined you all sitting drinking cups of tea & gossiping for hours! Cec got quite worried because he didn’t see your plane go up, & we drove around the airfield to see if you were still sitting in some corner of it, but no signs, so we decided you must have sneaked off into the clouds when our backs were turned! Jim & Lee were off to see a house, so they dashed away but Connie & Len were in no hurry. Christopher had cried at the big noise the plane made but Linda didn’t although we thought she might & Cec carried her away from the doorway when it roared. Connie & Len asked us back for a cold drink with them, which was nice of them, but Lindy was so sleepy we said no. Connie was really very sweet & seemed most upset at your going- it was nice of them all to come, wasn’t it? On the way home Lindy sat on my knee & we sang (!) to her & before we were 1/2 way back she was fast asleep. She roused when we got home & Cec put her to bed & I warmed her milk & she drank it & fell straight to sleep again, the little pet. We were all pretty tired, so Cec helped me wash up & we had a glass of ginger ale & then I had a bath & went to bed & I don’t think Cec was much later.

It is lovely & sunny but cool today & so much nicer than that awful close heat. I hope it is the same with you & that you & Auntie E. are having a “dunk” in the canal! Lindy woke at 7, but was sleepy, so had a sleep in the garage this morning & is asleep again now (2.0 p.m.). I did a big wash (always is!) & you will be amazed to hear that I was shamed into bleaching your sheets, pillowcases & the kitchen towels etc.! Linda was so good & played in her pen at the back after she woke up this morning & never murmured until she heard me talking to Mrs. Hughes & then she began yelling “Ma-Ma-Ma” at the top of her voice! Phil Douglas rang up to ask if I would like some cheap raspberries at the weekend (I said “oh yes” & “yummy”) & I am to go down with Linda for a chat later this afternoon. Already today seems a week long, so it’s a good job I’m busy. I thought of you this morning over my cuppa – I have decided to have tomato juice instead in future- better for Algy & less trouble!! Linda sends a big, big hug & says “I miss you Granny.” We all do. Lots & lots of love- Cyn.

Getting Started in Ottawa

The Costains arrived in Ottawa at the end of September 1951 and found a temporary home in an apartment in Eastview (now Vanier), a working class neighbourhood with a mix of Francophones and Anglophones. And, to the excitement of Cynthia and Carol, almost immediately Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip came to Ottawa at the start of their Royal Visit and were photographed waving (as they had on their wedding day) to Cyn in the crowd.

And the baby was fine. Arrayed in the lace trimmed nighties and the double breasted cardigan her loving relatives had made her, Linda continued to flourish. ( And I remember that chair, red and white.)

Other babies were arriving, both in Ottawa and Ann Arbor…

Christopher Bovey arrived 5 days after I did, and Mary Jo & Pete and Lee & Bob Mills had boys too.

Cec and Cyn also met the people who worked in the NRC with Dr. Herzberg in the Pure Physics Division, people who were to become close friends: Luise Herzberg, Alec Douglas, Jack Shoosmith are the first 3 in the top photo, Cyn on the sofa in the second, and Dr Herzberg in the third.

As with the Sutherlands in Ann Arbor, efforts were made to be friendly and helpful to newcomers. With the system of post-doctorate fellows coming to the NRC for two year stints, young couples were always coming and going, and the Costains were made to feel welcome. Later, Cyn and Cec, as permanent residents, would entertain new arrivals and help integrate them into their Ottawa life. (I started my baby-sitting career with a post-doc couple’s baby!)

The baby kept growing.

Money had been tight for the beginning months, but the December accounts show a luxury they had not had in Michigan- a telephone.

At Christmas, the gifts sent to England were mostly candy, as described in Cyn’s present list, but the loot that arrived for Linda was amazing. Among the cards which arrived were pictures showing the growth of their friend’s children: they did call us the Baby Boomer Generation.

In January, photos show Linda alert and happy, and she had a new cousin: Terry, another Costain boy, born to Cec’s brother Russel and wife Errol in Saskatoon.

Although I don’t think Cec ordered them, the Tailors and Robemakers’ price for a PhD. Gown and Hood from Cambridge confirms that Cec’s degree had been granted. Dr. C.C.Costain certainly looks delighted, holding his daughter. The February accounts show that Cyn’s money from England finally had been transferred, and they were able to get ‘Cec’s Insurance’ $95.35 (Canada did not have medical care then), splurge on Cec’s clothes, make several withdrawals of ‘Cash’ and pay Carol back $200 for loans made in Ann Arbor and during the move.

In March a Get Well card in the scrapbook suggests that Cyn had German measles, fortunately a month before she became pregnant again. Her birthday in April was celebrated and then they MOVED- two sets of rent in the accounts, and the mover’s fee- to Acacia Avenue, still in the same area of Ottawa, but closer to the wealthy houses in Rockcliff, with a conclave of NRC families close by. It was half a duplex, and the photos show the baby, now crawling, with grass with trees and swings available, something I’m sure Cec and Cyn had been looking for.

Now that they were settled in a more satisfactory home, preparations were made for Carol to return to the West Indies after the summer. First she would visit her sister and nieces in New York State- they had visited her in St.Vincent during the past couple of years, but she had not seen their homes or their families. Then she would visit other family members in Trinidad before returning home.

Unfortunately as summer approached, the Costains indulged in a colour film, so the photographs in the scrapbook are not as clear. Linda at 10 1/2 months says goodbye to Grannie standing rather precariously, and I’m sure Carol was very sad to leave. But the letters to her resume, so we get a clearer picture of life in a growing family in the 1950s.

My First Journey

My first journey

On Thursday Daddy & Mummy & Grannie & I drove from Ann Arbor to Ottawa in MacTavish. We left late on Thursday evening & arrived there on Sunday morning. I was 5 weeks old & slept in my little car bed most of the way or on Grannie’s knee, & at night we lived in cabins. We stopped in Toronto to see Auntie Lily & Uncle Milton. It was 600 miles altogether and Mummy & Daddy said I was very good all the way.

Except for when I woke them all up pulling my hair.

It is funny to read about car travel almost 70 years ago- seat belts unknown, so the baby travels unrestrained in her car bed or on her grandmother’s knee. And I’m sure Cec was smoking throughout, totally discouraged around babies today- I can remember as a little girl MacTavish’s cigarette lighter which popped out when glowing, and the lovely smell of the newly lit tobacco, before the less pleasant smell of actual smoking took over.

They drove on Highway 2 all the way to Prescott, and Cyn’s markings show them stopping at Chatham, Hamilton, Toronto, Belleville, and Kingston before turning north to Ottawa at Prescott. In those pre-Hwy. 401 days it took much longer than it would now- the road goes through the towns rather than bypassing them- and there were no fast food rest stops then, so trips were more leisurely, with stops in towns for food and fuel. And the proud parents wanted to show off the first girl in the new Costain generation to Cec’s aunt and uncle so there was a social visit too.

The September account book shows details of the tidying up needed before leaving the States- the mundane housekeeping bills to Dairy, Detroit Edison, and the Trojan Laundry mingling with one-of-a-kind expenses such as a sum to the Michigan Department of Revenue, and the rather expensive cost of binding and mailing the thesis. However, there is no October entry dealing with the cost of the journey. Normal life resumes in November when they are settled enough to be getting a salary and paying rent in Ottawa.

My First Letter

In her teens, my grandmother Carol was sent from St Vincent in the West Indies to boarding school in England. As earlier posts have shown, her headmistress, Miss Lefroy, not only ran the school, but found families for Carol to stay with during holidays, met Carol’s brother and brother-in-law, and gradually became her friend. When Carol returned to England as a young mother, she and her 4-year-old daughter Cynthia stayed with Miss Lefroy in London before going north to live in Newcastle. When Cynthia went to boarding school in York as a teen, Miss Lefroy, visiting her headmistress, took the girl out to lunch, and remained involved in her life. Carol and Cynthia stayed with Miss Lefroy in London- on holidays, during the war, in times of crisis. Even though both left England, the exchange of letters continued, and at the beginning of September 1951, the third generation gets her first letter.

September 1951.

Dear little Linda Carol.

We are very glad to hear that you have arrived safely & we hope that you are well & happy & will like being here, & have a very happy useful life, making your Mummy & Daddy & Grannie very happy & proud of you.

Chris & I both send love to your Mummy & Daddy & Grannie- and we hope soon to hear that you are all safely now in Canada – in a very nice comfy home for you all, with flowers & pet animals near to amuse you.

We are not having a bit nice weather here – it is cold & wet, raining & blowing like winter not summer – & we see in the papers that USA has a heatwave, so we hope that you all will like it we would not.

Very much love to you all four from two loving friends,

Amy Lefroy & Chris Hall

Cynthia dear,

Very hearty congratulations on managing it all so well & happily, & I hope that having your mother with you will make things easier for you especially facing a move soon.

I wonder if Linda will be tall like her Daddy or petite like her dear little Mama – or midway!!

Love & congratulations from Chris & me & greetings to Cecil. I expect he is a very proud papa!

Yours always

A.G.Lefroy

I’m pretty sure my parents were happy and proud of me at that stage of my life, and I’m sure Miss Lefroy would have been pleased that I followed her example and became a teacher. (Although not a headmistress!)

Leaving Ann Arbor

It is rather nauseating, but “The Book of Baby Mine” entitled all the events as ‘My First _______’ so Cyn wrote all the entries in the voice of baby Linda. These vignettes are interspersed with Family Tree charts; space for lists of Visitors, Gifts, Photos; a Horoscope chart (!); Average Weight Chart; Teeth diagram: Immunization Record; and a Checklist for baby development. At the end are helpful instructions on holding, bathing, feeding the baby and, of course, ads- baby food, furniture, photographers, drugs, shoes, and a Beauty Shop for mom, all specific to Ann Arbor.

My First Home.

1022 Forest Ave. Ann Arbor, Michigan

Mummy & Daddy haven’t got a picture of my first home. It was just a small apartment & we only lived there 3 weeks after Mummy & I came home from hospital. This little squirrel used to visit us there & her name was Mrs. Molly Coddle. She used to eat peanuts & ginger cookies & took them from Mummy’s & Daddy’s hands. She climbed on Daddy’s knee & sat & ate peanuts there.

This is the charge for Cyn’s 9 day stay in hospital.

The Business of Leaving Ann Arbor.

Along with coping with a new baby, Cec and Cyn had to deal with the difficulties of moving- first to their temporary apartment, then with the trip to Ottawa. The congratulatory telegrams and baby presents went to the old address-

the hospital bills had to be paid,

Costain account book for August, note largest expense- U. Hospital.

and goodbyes had to be made to friends.

My First Outing

Went to see the Peters family. I was 2 1/2 weeks old, & Daddy & Mummy took me in the car to see Helen & Jody. They were having their afternoon nap & we waited for them to wake up until it was past my feeding time, but I was a good girl.

The Baby Arrives

When I first read the letters from spring 1951 a decade ago, containing the Costains’ plans to move to Ottawa in the summer, find a house, meet Carol off the plane August 6^th, show off Cyn’s size, then find a doctor and hospital to have the baby in, I wondered whether I would ever know what had happened- because I knew that the baby beat the thesis and that I had been born in Ann Arbor! But the last airform explains: Cec’s experiments were not complete, his professor Gordon advised he stay at the Ann Arbor lab until the end of September, and so Cyn and Cec decided to put off the Ottawa move for two months, finish the thesis, and have the baby in the University of Michigan hospital. Relieved, they sent a telegram to Carol telling her not to book an air ticket to Ottawa, and followed up with the airmail letter explaining their decision. And presumably she came to Michigan at the beginning of August, because there are no more letters.

They had to find a temporary furnished apartment big enough to accommodate Carol and baby (Forest Ave.), and get their goods packed and shipped to Ottawa, while Cec continued working in his lab and writing his thesis until 4 in the morning, and Cyn typed his latest pages during the day. But it all worked out- the baby was born and called Linda Carol; the thesis was finished, typed, and sent off to Cambridge; and at the age of six weeks, I accompanied my parents and grandmother in MacTavish over the border to Canada on the way to Ottawa.

The story that I was told suggests the journey was not all joy. They stayed overnight in a motel on the way, and in the middle of the night were awakened by SCREAMING from the baby. Fumbling round in the dark to find out why, they discovered that she had wound her fingers in her shock of dark hair, yelled in pain, pulled harder, and screamed louder for rescue! Untwining the fingers and settling the baby ensured that all were wide awake- possibly the schedule of 4-hourly feedings was disturbed.

Eventually they arrived in Ottawa, Cec started his job in Dr. Herzberg’s Pure Physics Division of the National Research Council, the paychecks started, and they eventually settled in a duplex on Acacia Avenue in Ottawa. Grannie stayed for months and we were all very happy.

The first baby gets the gorgeous baby clothes from friends and relatives; lots of snaps in the scrapbook of baby staring, yawning and sleeping; and a detailed account of their progress in a baby book! There may not be letters to Carol (known mostly as Mummy, but now entitled Grannie as well) but there is documentation: bills from the hospital, telegrams from England, and stories in Cyn’s handwriting of the baby’s ‘First’s’- My First Outing, Christmas, and lists of presents, shots, teeth, and so on. I’ll include some of these thrilling vignettes from my first year. However, since the second baby arrived 16 months later, only the first third of the baby book is filled in! Carol returned to the West Indies before my first birthday, and the letters to Dearest Mummy started up after a year’s gap, in the 2nd trimester of Cyn’s second pregnancy. She might have been too busy for baby books, but not for the letters, so our story continues.

Cec’s Thesis: or, as Harry Kroto, the future Nobel Laureate, once called it- the bible.