Tag: Children

August 29 1960

As this first letter in three years shows, the Costains’ address has changed. This was not because they had moved- they hadn’t, though it is possible they had bought their half of the duplex (if not, they were thinking of it)- but because the community had grown, become a bit more part of Ottawa, and was no longer on a Rural Route for mail, but had a street address with the post delivered directly to their door. The children’s area for playing had expanded over the 3 years, and now included the hollow down the hill behind the house, and the field beyond that- complete with an old log fence where chokecherry bushes grew, handy for playhouses and mouth-puckering sustenance in season.
The letter was written just after they had come home after their visit to New York and to the Moors on their way home. Carol is still there, visiting her nieces and other family members for a month or two. Cyn has written her bread-and-butter letters to their hostesses, and can have fun telling her mother all the details of the rest of their holidays. She and her mother had seen the Niagara Falls on their American trip back in 1939, and she alludes to that fleetingly- 21 years makes a difference!

2043 Montreal Road,
Ottawa, Ontario.

Monday, 29th. Aug.

Dearest Mummy,
I wrote to Mill and Merle yesterday, so thought that I would have a little type today for a change, and I didn’t think that you would mind. Charlie had the typewriter out to write a poem as he has seen in their magazine ‘Jack and Jill’ that boys and girls send in poems etc. and have them printed, so he is fired with ambition! When it is done I will send you a copy.


Thank you so much for both your letters, and the letter to Lindy and the cards. The last just arrived a few minutes ago, and the children were very pleased with the pictures of the lake. We have been having sweltering weather since we came home – particularly the last day or so, and wouldn’t we have loved to just pop down to the dock for a swim! I only hope that we don’t suddenly get a deluge on Wednesday as that is the day we are having Lindy’s party, and I have decided to make it a Picnic Lunch in the garden. There are to be 8 little girls, and they will come at 12:45 and have hot dogs etc. straight away. If it is really nice I will set up the little grill and table out in the back and we will have it out there – if not I think that I will have it in ‘your room’. After eating we will play games outside – charades, sardines etc. – and then about 3:00 I will bring out the birthday cake and cool drinks and ice cream cones before they go home. They are to come in play-clothes not party dresses, so they will be able to play treasure-hunts etc. up in the field, so I hope that they have fun and that I don’t find it soo wearing. Last year we had a dreadful day – hot, humid and exhausting, and the children got tired of game after game, and really we were all fair wore out. Hope this year the time whizzes by! Charlie is to be my helper!
We were so glad to hear in your letter that the Sat. after we left was a nice day for the wedding. We heard that there was a hurricane somewhere off the coast that caused the bad weather on the Friday morning, so we wondered if it would ever get finished by the next day. We got out of the bad weather after about an hour, although it continued raining for quite a while afterwards, but it wasn’t the tremendous downpour. It was dull and drizzly all day really, but very nice for driving as it was cool and we didn’t have to bother with sun in our eyes or anything. It was a long drive but quite nice and uneventful, all along the Thruway, and we stopped every hour or so for drinks and changed over drivers. We got into Buffalo between 5 and 6 and had a bit of trouble finding our way as the Thruway was marked as finished right to Niagara Falls on the map, but we discovered that it wasn’t. However, we eventually found a motel on the U.S. side without too much trouble and got settled before we went out to dinner. After dinner we went to the Falls and saw all around the U.S. side – they have roads and bridges to all the islands above the Falls now, and we took a ride in a funny little train thing which took us around. We were on one of the islands when the lights came on and it was really quite disappointing as the spray was blowing towards us and the lights seem to just disappear into the mist, so it wasn’t a bit like the pictures we’d seen. We realized afterwards that it would have been much better from the Canadian side, but it couldn’t be helped. Next morning of course we did cross over to the Canadian side, and saw the Falls from there, but we didn’t bother with the boat trip or going under the Falls or anything.
We arrived in Brantford during the afternoon, after a lovely drive through the Niagara Peninsula – all orchards and vineyards and lovely roadside fruit markets, so of course Cec couldn’t resist this and we arrived at Merle’s laden with peaches, greengages, plums, and gladioliis! They have a lovely big house on a very pleasant, exclusive older residential street, with big old trees lining the road, and a beautiful green terraced garden behind, full of flowers, and behind that more trees and a sort of shrubbery. I had forgotten that their rented house in Brantford was furnished, so they had only had part of their furniture down, and as they had only been in their new house 2 weeks, they hadn’t got their other things from Port Arthur yet. Because of this we were a bit of a squash, but two of the boys slept in sleeping bags on air mattresses on the sleeping porch and we managed fine – particularly Cec and I, as Merle and Dix gave up their bed to us!
The first evening we set off after dinner to an Indian pageant! The Six Nations Reservation is very close to Brantford, and Merle and Dixon have lots of Indian boys and girls in their classes, and it was in this Reservation that the pageant was, in what they called the Forest Theater. It was very interesting seeing all the Indians dressed up and some of the dances – it was representing some of the history of the Iroquois Indians – but we didn’t stay till the end – we were tired and the benches were hard, and then to crown it all one of the Indian Chiefs went to see George Washington, and they recited his speech, first in Iroquois and then in English for half an hour and it was still going on when we left! As we went out they had stalls of Indian handwork, so we looked at these, and I thought I would buy a feather for the 3 children – not a big headdress, but single feathers which they had for sale, and when I asked the price I nearly fell in a heap when they said 3 dollars each! Instead we found a few more modestly priced mementos!
Next day – Sunday – Merle had planned that we would pack a picnic dinner and go to London which is about 60 or 70 miles away, where they have a lovely park with what are called ‘Storybook Gardens’ for the children. It was quite a long drive, particularly as we were all in one car – Dixon’s obviously! – but it was a lovely park, and we all enjoyed the Gardens. There were animals too, all very tame, and very nicely arranged and set out so it was a lot of fun. Afterwards we had our picnic in a lovely place just by the river, and then the children went for a sail in the Pirate Ship!
Monday was Lindy’s birthday and she had a lovely day. Unfortunately Merle hadn’t been able to carry out our original plan, because for one thing ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ finished at the end of July, and she had a very hard time getting any seats at all, it was so booked up. ‘King John’ wasn’t so popular, so there were seats for it but it wasn’t nice for the children, nor ‘Romeo and Juliet’, but eventually she managed to get us three seats for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on the Tuesday and that was the best she could do. Fortunately the Film Festival was on at the same time and they said that they would go to that while we were at the theatre, and they said that they were sure we could take Charlie in and hold him on our knees, as when they had Bruce there last year, he couldn’t see and so sat on his dad’s knee all the time. Anyway, on Monday we just stayed at home and Lindy enjoyed her presents – the dress fit perfectly and she was in raptures over it so I was pleased! Merle and family gave her a dear little china family of deer, and a pretty cottonknit sweater, and she and Brucie spent most of the afternoon cutting out ‘Sleeping Beauty’ – Lindy in charge of the ladies, and Brucie in charge of the gentleman! I took Lindy down town in the morning and bought her a pair of new shoes, which blistered her heel before the day was through! Auntie Merle made her a lovely big chocolate birthday cake with favours in, so we had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the cake enormously– both Linda and Charlie had two huge pieces (3 layers high) and I was amazed! After the children were in bed Merle and Dixon and Cec and I played bridge, and Cec and I had wonderful cards and could do nothing wrong – even bid and made little slams and piled up a colossal score – we felt it was so nice and hospitable of Merle and Dixon to provide us with such good luck!


On the Tuesday I washed and ironed and we had an early dinner and set out for Stratford about 6 as it is quite a long way away – 60 miles or so. We got there in nice time, and as Merle had said they made no difficulty about our taking Charlie in. Merle and Dixon and Bruce were with us and they went to see if there were any turned in seats, but there was a great lineup waiting for those even, so they went off to the Film Festival. Our seats weren’t together, so Lindy and I sat together for the first two acts, then we changed and Charlie and Cec had our seats and she sat on my knee on the other one. Lindy had on her new dress and felt very elegant, and really looked sweet – it is just her style. The play of course was fascinating – I just loved it all and seeing the theatre and stage after hearing and reading so much about it. However, I wondered how much the children would understand, and if they would like it, but I needn’t have worried – they loved every minute of it and have been acting Puck and Titania ever since! It was beautifully staged and the costumes were lovely, so even if they hadn’t understood it all it would have been fun to watch, but they really seemed to love it and Linda has had the book of Shakespeare’s plays out since she got home, reading bits of it over.

We didn’t get home till after 1:00, so we didn’t get such an early start next morning as we had hoped, but we were off by 10:30 and had quite a good day’s drive, although it was very sunny, which made it a bit more trying. We got home about 9 o’clock, and were so glad to see our home again even though we had a lovely holiday. As I told Mill the place is completely dried up, and you never saw such a dreary miserable garden – all the flowers withered, and the grass quite brown and crunchy. The only nice part is the back with the patience all in bloom, and down the hill we do have some tomatoes. The house seemed full of spiders, so I have been spraying around and don’t meet so many livestock now. Not long after we arrived home we were out calling and looking for Nicki, but didn’t see a sign, and then in a little while we heard a little meow, and there she was, so pretty and clean and so happy to see us – full of purrs and rolling over to have her tummy scratched! We were delighted to find her all safe and sound, and she has been eating ‘like sixty’ as Charlie says, ever since. The little black cat is still around, and Jimmy says that he had to keep chasing her away from Nicki’s dish, but I think she must have got the lion’s share, judging by Nicki’s appetite now.
Since we got home the children have had a nice time playing with Jimmy, and Cec has been at work and I have been trying to catch up on myself. We were all very tired so slept quite late on Thursday, but even after Cec went to work I didn’t seem to get much done – unpacked, sorted out etc. and that was all. On Friday we drove Cec to work, and then went to Steinberg’s to do our shopping and then to the butcher’s in the afternoon. I vacuumed and dusted, and then on Saturday I did a huge wash – I don’t know how people like Fanni manage to tour Europe with 3 children for weeks on end, because we were away 3 weeks, and I made 2 trips to Laundromats and did odd washings in between, and still when I got home I had a mountain of dirty clothes! Yesterday I went to Church in the morning and saw a few of the girls and saw that they have begun the foundation of the church, but I didn’t go close to examine the progress. Tomorrow I have been invited to a Bathing Party at the house of one of our more affluent residents who has a swimming pool which is to raise money for the church. I don’t think I shall bother to swim – particularly as we have just had a big storm and it is much cooler, but I shall be curious to see the swimming pool etc. The entrance is 1 dollar, and we get refreshments (I am to bake some cookies!) but no children are invited, so I must see what to do with L. and C. School begins a week tomorrow, so this is their last full week – I am always sorry to see them go back, and of course they are moaning, and it is hard to think that the summer is practically over.
I must stop now and do some housework and try to get some ironing done – I can see that what with making B’day cakes and cookies etc. and then the party I shall be busy till Thursday, so I had better get Cec some shirts to wear. I am looking forward to hearing all about the wedding when we see you again, and I am so glad that you had the blood test done and hope that it is fine. We enjoyed hearing about the babies and Monie – I had a nice little note from her when I got back. By the way, Cec and I were so tickled on the way home – the children had a lovely new play in the back of the car – acting Ford and Millie! Charlie would be Ford showing pictures, and Linda would be Millie and it was really uproariously funny – mostly because they were so serious! – They were most affectionate to each other, and Millie would say “Did you get enough to eat, hon?” And Ford would answer “Yes darling, that was a lovely dinner.” So you can see what a happy impression Mill and Ford made on them!
It will be fun seeing Marie’s home, but I can’t say I really envy you the visit – she is very kind and really hospitable, but I feel that it will be very wearing too! I know that you will love being with Mona Carol and Owen and look forward to hearing all their news when you see them.
Lindy and Charlie and Jimmy are all dressed up and acting Titania and Puck and Oberon, so I won’t suggest that they stop to write just now. They send hugs and kisses and thank you for the cards.
Lots of love from us all,
Cyn.

I remember the birthday party only because of the mishaps! The 8 girls at the party were set to play some sort of Hide and Seek or Sardines in pairs, and so scattered to hide in the sloping field behind our house. It was quite wild and untended, at the end of a hot summer, with a clump of elms, a huge boulder, dry tall weeds, and a length of log fence stretching away up the field, lined with bushes. Of course I was the only one who knew the terrain, and I took Joanne up the fence to hide in the bushes where we played house. Other pairs headed for the trees or boulder which could be climbed or dodged around to hide. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones playing house- Joanne and I came across a pair of snakes, screamed at the top of our lungs, and abandoned all hope of hiding by racing for the house. The other pairs headed for ‘home’ by the most direct route and when my mother enquired of us all, panting, what the emergency was, it was discovered that Pamela’s lovely blonde braids were covered with burrs. I hope the birthday cake made up for the pain removing them must have cost her!

1960

The New Year of 1960 started with the children back to school with no effects from their German Measles bout. Besides school and Sunday School, we were involved in other activities: Charlie was a Cub and Linda a Brownie, and Linda took beginner ballet lessons. As for Cyn and Cec, when entertainers such as Tom Lehrer or Joyce Grenfell toured through Ottawa, they went with enthusiasm but Ottawa had no theatre before the National Arts Centre was built, so shows were held in the auditorium of one of the older high schools.


Easter came along, and Cyn’s birthday, as well as the news that our second cousin, Little Monie who had married the year before and was now Mona Beatty, had had twin girls, Stephanie and Suzanne. As a trip to the States was being contemplated for the summer, I’m sure this was an added inducement.



In May, there was Mother’s Day to celebrate, and both children involved in music- Charlie’s class performing a small operetta “Peter Rabbit” and Linda in the Music Festival choir competition for Grade 4 Chorus. But the great excitement was the arrival of Carol Ewing from St. Vincent- Grannie came to stay! By this time, Cec had ‘finished’ the basement, dividing the cavernous concrete-floored space that we had once driven our tricycles and wagons around in circles into two, creating a recreation room that could double as a spare bedroom now the children had a room each.



Grannie was always interested in the children’s activities and fitted happily into family life. Cec had work travel- the usual Spectroscopy Conference in Columbus, and then a longer trip that started with a conference where his brother Carman Costain’s work, the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, was opened and continued on to Seattle and San Fransisco, where work mingled with tourism!

As the school year ended, plans were made for the summer. Because we were spending most of the summer in Ottawa but had Grannie as a tourist, Cyn made a Chore Chart, where she and the children could check off duties when completed, and each week as a reward, do a tourist activity in the nation’s capital- a cruise on the Rideau Canal, a visit to the Royal Mint, or see the film of ‘Pollyanna’ with Hayley Mills. (Linda had the book of course.)

And as Carol was always involved with the Church, it must have been a satisfaction to witness the service with the Bishop ‘Breaking the Ground’ to start the building of a Church Hall and Chapel on a lot north of the school playground.

We got a new car in July 1960, which was So Modern compared to the 1946 Chrysler that it remained in my mind that way, and it was quite a shock to see the pictures of it now!

This meant that when Grannie’s visit was over in August, we could take our summer trip, and all drive her to New York to visit her nieces, and admire the next generation. Milly and Ford, the Pembletons, who had visited us in Ottawa a few years earlier, had a summer ‘camp’ that the family was used to visiting so we took Grannie there and met the other sisters and their grown-up children, our second cousins- and maybe even the 2nd cousins once removed, the twins. We went to New York City and were tourists! Then we said goodbye to Grannie and the New York families and drove north.

Back in Canada, we headed for Brantford, where the Moors had gone to teach that school year. We arrived just as they moved from a furnished rental into their house on Lorne Crescent, and had a lovely time with our favourite cousins. Linda had her birthday there and Merle got us tickets for the new Festival Theatre in Stratford, Ontario, for Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which was fabulous. Bruno Gerussi was Oberon, we all enjoyed it, and returned to Stratford often as a summer treat. (Linda got to teach Shakespeare in Nigeria, the Northwest Territories, andBritish Columbia over 30 years, and took her own next generation to Stratford in the summer when possible.)



And when they got home in Ottawa, Cyn had a belated birthday party to organize and a letter to write to Carol in New York- which she kept! All the details to follow…

1959

The winter of 1959 was obviously a good one for snow. Charlie’s Big Birthday present in December 1958 had been a toboggan that we could share to coast down the hill behind our house into and across the hollow. The ride was worth the toil back up. As well as tobogganing, we could build forts- although that sort of snow wasn’t that good for making snowballs to defend them so we played something more peaceful.

As the report card shows, in February Linda’s class finished Grade 2 and started Grade 3, and Charlie moved on in Grade 1.

There were birth announcements and wedding invitations from friends and Fellows, and the spring brought Easter celebrations, Cyn’s birthday, and Mother’s Day. Carman and Leona Costain finished in Cambridge and returned to Canada to show off their son David and move to Penticton, British Columbia, where the astrophysicist Dr. C. H. Costain joined in setting up the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory which opened in 1960.

C

In the spring, Charlie moved into Grade 2 and was in the Gym Display at school, and Linda advanced in Grade 3. (Note somersault.)

In June, Cec, as a member of the Canadian Association of Physicists, went to a conference in Saskatoon that allowed him to gather with old friends and fellow scientists, and also enjoy seeing his parents and brother Russell, who with Errol now had 5 children.

Cec came home needing to manage his own family, because Cyn had to go into hospital for a hysterectomy. There are Get Well cards, notes, and flowers were sent by friends, as well as a lovely Thank You letter from the Head Nurse of the ward she’d been on. They bought a comfortable chaise for the garden so she could take it easy outside that summer.

In July, Cyn and Cec celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, Linda’s Grade 2/3 teacher got married, and in August Linda turned 8 and was given her own room, with new pink rosebud curtains. Presents arrived from England, and Cyn was sent pictures from her friend Nan, showing Barbara and Sandy in Cheshire.

When the 1959/60 school year started, Charlie’s Grade 2 accelerated class had a new teacher, and Linda’s class was a 3/4 split- half the accelerated bunch who would be in Grade 4 by November, and half Grade 3 beginners. The Principal of Fairfield was Mrs. Tufts (unusual at that time to have a woman in that position) whose daughter was in Linda’s class, and she came in each week to teach us English Grammar. There was also a separate teacher coming in for Music- choral singing- and for French classes.

For Hallowe’en, Cyn made us the best costumes which lived on in the dress-up box for years! We had a book from Cyn’s childhood about Robin Hood and Charlie had a bow with arrows tipped with suckers. Cyn made Linda a green dress that reached her ankles and braided red ribbons into her hair. Charlie had a green tunic and red tights, with a green cap and quiver to sling on his back. A neighbour took a picture of us on our Trick-or-Treating round on Hallowe’en- our pails of loot and Jack-o-Lantern battery lamps just visible.

As Christmas approached, the school was putting on Dickens’ “Christmas Carol”, friends were sending cards featuring their babies, and … the children went down with German Measles.

It wasn’t to be the last time that Christmas plans were scuppered but as I remember, we weren’t that sick this time and Charlie’s birthday and then Christmas was celebrated. Over the holiday, Cyn and Cec had prepared for an Open House party for friends on the 27th, only to have to call it all off, but there would be other opportunities in 1960.

1958 Climbing the Volcano

La Soufrière, St. Vincent’s volcano, erupted April 9th 2021 as it had twice in my grandmother’s lifetime, and now twice in mine. The island suffered a devastating physical, psychological, and economic blow, because of the evacuations, the air quality, the volcanic destruction, and the blow to whatever remained of the tourist trade during the pandemic. But St. Vincent is resilient. Five years after the devastating eruption in 1902, the volcano was deemed inactive and life went on. By the 1950s, locals knew it as a green mountain with a lake in the middle, although they were aware of the tragic past. Cyn explains her interest in the volcano, and regarded the climb as the pinnacle (!) of her holiday in her birthplace. We hope for healing for all St.Vincentians and hope this glimpse of the past isn’t upsetting.

We Climbed the Volcano
by
Cynthia Costain

When I was young I remember boasting proudly to my friends “My mother has been through a hurricane, a volcanic eruption and an earthquake.” I don’t recall whether they were greatly impressed as none of these phenomena were familiar to schoolgirls in the north of England, but my mother’s recollections of these events were vivid and thrilling to me. I loved to hear of her running out of the house with the earth shaking under her feet, and of the crowds in the dark hurricane cellar of my grandfather’s big house listening to the crash as the wind blew in the shutters and windows above, but most of all I liked the story of the eruption of the Soufrière with the darkness coming over the sun and the dust sifting down over everything.
Perhaps this was why when I visited St. Vincent with my husband and family last year, I was determined to climb the volcano. I had never been back to the island after leaving it at four years of age, but I had heard so many tales that it all seemed quite familiar. I knew that it was possible to climb the volcano and I had even heard of people who swam in the lake which had formed in the crater. However, it was very pleasant lazing and swimming and enjoying the lovely island, and whenever I mentioned the Soufrière no one was very enthusiastic. My mother was frankly scornful of my chances of reaching the top, as my exercise is usually limited to a stroll to the local store or getting in and out of the car. When my uncle began to talk of getting horses for the initial stages of the climb I was quite horrified as I had never been on a horse in my life. Fortunately, also vacationing in the island was a cousin of mine, Jack, and his wife, Joan and Jack having grown up on the island had climbed the volcano many times and volunteered to take my husband and me with himself and Joan.
We made all our plans for an early start, and chose the day with due consideration for the banana boat. This is very necessary in island life, as the days the boats are in the harbour all private cars stay off the roads while the banana trucks pour in from the estates in a reckless stream. The boats are only in for a limited time and the more loads of bananas that can be brought in, the more money for everyone. As Mr. Harry Belafonte says “Come Mr. Tallyman, tally me bananas” while along the winding, twisting, mountainous roads the trucks run a bi-weekly Grand Prix with their carefully packed green cargoes.
On the morning of our expedition we got up at 4 o’clock to drive to the other end of the island and make our ascent while it was still cool. Jack and Joan arrived from the adjoining small island where they were staying, and we set off in a canvas topped jeep, leaving my mother to look after the children. The drive in the early morning was beautiful, and we saw the sunrise over the Caribbean and make the water sparkle and gleam. Already the little villages along the way were stirring, and women were walking along the road towards town and the market with their vegetables and other produce on their heads. They bowed gravely to us, without upsetting the balance of their loads, and continued quietly along, while we followed the narrow road up the windward coast of the island. Being volcanic, the island is extremely mountainous and there are only three main roads, one which goes up the windward coast, one up the leeward coast, and a shorter one partly up a central valley – all these beginning at the main town of Kingstown, and none of them meeting. The coastline is very sharply indented, and in places the hills come down to the sea, so the roads turn and bend, climb and dip, follow ledges along the hillside and all along the way give one the most spectacular views of sugar-cane, coconut palms, arrowroot, sea- island cotton, nutmeg and mango trees all growing in small precipitous, terraced fields. After driving about an hour and a half we passed through a slightly larger village, Georgetown, and came to the Dry River. This is a ‘river’ composed entirely of rocks, stones and lava which has poured down from the volcano at various times. During the rainy season there is some water in it, but we were able to drive across with only a few bumps, and we came to the beginning of the biggest coconut estate in the island. The trees grow in the soft gray lava dust, which seems to deaden all sounds, and makes this whole part seem rather sinister and eerie. The dust sifts through the air continually, and as we drove through the rows and rows of palms along the dusty track, with no signs of people or houses, it felt as if we were far away from the rest of the world. As we drove we climbed higher, and I was relieved to hear that the jeep would take us up to the foothills and we would not have horses, as they could not take us much further.
At last we came to a high field, where the track became a path along a stony ridge, so we left the jeep and set out. Almost immediately the path became very steep, as we climbed on up into the range of hills, and then we crossed a narrow ridge, just wide enough for one person to walk, and below on either side we could look down on sugar-cane growing on slopes so steep that the men would not need to bend to cut the cane but would find the roots at the level of their shoulders.
I had always imagined the Soufrière as being like volcanos I had seen in pictures – Parícutin and Vesuvius – but to my surprise it was quite different. It is one of many mountains, and unless you are far away on the Leeward side of the island, it is very hard to see. The morning we set out to climb it, the whole range was covered with thick cloud, and as we climbed we were surrounded with mist, and began to think of all the pessimists who had warned us of the many people who climb the Soufriere and don’t see anything because of the cloud. All the early part of the climb was up the foothills, gradually working our way towards the main mountain itself and after about an hour we came to a river bed which marked the beginning of the real climb. The river was dry now, as the island was having a very dry season, but Jack told us tales of coming down the mountain and picnicking and swimming after the long hot climb.
After a short rest, we set off again, along a small path, always mounting between walls of tropical trees and creepers. The vegetation was luxuriant, with lovely begonias growing waist high and flowered vines trailing from the trees. On the way down Joan found an orchid, which she dug up and carefully took home for my Aunt’s garden, as it was quite a rare variety. I also found some beautiful little flowers and took them home too, but my aunt kindly told me that they were a common weed which no gardener would allow in his garden.
I have been writing calmly and cooly about the vegetation along the way, but believe me, there was nothing cool or calm about me at the time. Never in all my life had I been so hot. The air was humid and still, with the clinging mist all around and over us. A mixture of sweat and vapour drops continually dripped from every lank strand of hair, and I had long ago given up mopping my face. My husband and Jack were just the same, but Joan, born and raised in Trinidad, wandered happily along with no obvious discomfort, and looked as if the temperature was as pleasant as one could wish. I was quite pleased with my progress though, and found after the first 20 minutes, during which I thought I would either die quietly by the path or have apoplexy, that I could keep up with the others with very little trouble, and although I was always glad for the few minutes rest we took every now and then, I didn’t have to call a halt at any time. The climb is actually not hard, and anyone normally active can climb it if they persevere.
As we got higher the trees, which had been tall and completely hiding all the light so that we were climbing through a green dim tunnel, gradually became shorter, and slowly we found that all the vegetation was getting less and less tropical and becoming more of the hardy brush type. Even this, as we got higher, thinned out, so that there were only low shrubs growing knee-high along the path. As we got out onto the shale and cinders it was more troublesome, as one tended to slide back at every step, but it was never dangerous. We were thankful to have Jack as guide because the path which was at first clearly marked, gradually grew fainter, and in places disappeared. Even Jack found it difficult to trace at times, particularly as it was 25 years since he had last climbed the volcano, and during that time, he found the whole appearance of parts of the mountain had changed as the vegetation had grown. The volcano last erupted in 1902 and even in the 1930s when Jack was last climbing it, the whole area was arid with very few signs of growth, but by now this has completely changed on the lower slopes, and even halfway up there is a low shrub like growth.
We climbed on slowly through these low bushes, but still because of the cloud we could not see the summit, and it was not until we came to the dry cinders and sliding gritty dust that we knew we were beginning to get close to the top. The ground in places was deeply eroded, with great fissures, and the ascent was very steep. The cinders were of a dark red colour in places with a kind of lichen growing on the rocks, so that the whole visible landscape was dreary and depressing with the shreds of clouds drifting by, a very slight acrid sulphur smell in the air, and a dank chill wind blowing through our damp clothes. Suddenly walking along a ledge of cinders we topped a rise, and in front of us was no more path to climb but deep down below us – the crater! We had reached the top.

It was an incredible sight to stand in that burnt up wasteland, and look down – down into that still green lake with low bushes growing around with everything so quiet and peaceful and try to imagine what it had been like to cause the destruction around. The crater is a mile across and the lake 1500 feet down, the water in the lake having gradually seeped in during the years. There is a path down inside the crater on the opposite side, but the slope is very sheer, and when one gets down the water is said to be very cold.
As we could still see little because of the mist, we decided to rest and have our second breakfast, with the hope that the sun would break through, and we huddled down behind some rocks, thankful for the sweaters which had seem so superfluous earlier. By this time it was after 10 o’clock and we had been climbing since seven, so the hard boiled eggs and rum punch had an added flavour at that altitude. Just as we finished it began to get brighter and as we dashed quickly to try to take some pictures, the sun broke through the clouds and in a few minutes the whole landscape was clear and we were standing in brilliant tropical sunshine.

The Otways with Cyn.

It was a beautiful sight with the crater below us, and all around the mountains and valleys of the island with far on either side the glorious blue sea. The Soufrière is only 4100 feet high, but because it rises so steeply from the sea coast the elevation seems more, and the view of the surrounding country is spectacular. Beyond the crater on the far side is the ‘old crater’, which is even higher still, but it is difficult to reach, and during the last eruption it was entirely filled in with the debris from the first immense explosion. This eruption in 1902 was unusual in that the volcano literally ‘blew its top’, and the whole top was hurled off in a terrific explosion of rocks and cinders. It was accompanied by the deadly gas, which crept for miles around, and was the cause of the high number of deaths. The Soufrière is in a sparsely populated part of the island, but standing there I could see down to the small coves and bays on the leeward coast, and it was in one of these that the entire population of a small Carib village was wiped out, killing nearly all the last remaining Caribs in the island. Over on the windward side we could just see some of the estates, and it was on one of these that my grandfather’s friend, Mr. Fraser and his wife, were found sitting quietly on the verandah when rescuers came from Kingstown, killed by the gas from the volcano.


We wanted to get down the mountain before the sun became too hot, so at 11 o’clock we began the downward trek which seem to go so much more quickly than the upward climb. We were back to the jeep by 1 o’clock, finding a patient donkey beside it being loaded with sugar cane from the fields nearby. His master gave us each a piece of cane which I had always imagined quite soft and succulent, but I could not find much refreshment in the hard pithy dryness. We drove back through the coconut groves, and hot, damp and dirty as we were, we became even dirtier as the lava dust blew through the open jeep and settled blackly into every crease. The owner of the estate and his wife had very kindly invited us to have lunch at their estate house, although they were away, and we were very glad of this before setting out on our drive home. After an excited welcome by 13 dogs headed by 2 enormous Great Danes we were ushered into beautiful modern bathrooms with showers, and afterwards on the tiled verandah had the most delicious meal.
It was a tired, but satisfied, and – yes – rather smug group which returned home that afternoon, and proudly told our children and friends ‘Well, we did climb the volcano!’
For those of you who are interested in exotic and out-of-the-way places, and would like to visit St. Vincent, it is one of the Windward Islands in the West Indies. It can be reached by air from either Barbados or Trinidad – when we went there was no airfield on the island as the island is so mountainous, so we flew in an amphibian ‘Goose’ which lands on the sea. The Goose only takes 6 passengers, so the island never had many visitors, but since then an airfield has been made on one of the level valleys, and a regular air service is being started with a larger plane which will carry 25 passengers. There is a good hotel in Kingstown, and two delightful guest houses or inns in the country near the sea and the airport. The people are courteous and friendly, the prices are low and all authorities agree that St. Vincent is one of the loveliest islands in the Caribbean.

And a final note from Linda in the 21st century. I am so grateful to my brother for having unearthed the slides my father took of our holiday. Of course I remembered that they took slides in our childhood- and showed them boringly in the dark- but I had forgotten the mechanics of it. Obviously for the St. Vincent visit, they started off with a black-and-white film in the camera, and then switched to a film for slides. That is why the scrapbook has clear pictures without colour, but the slides were used for their adventure and the colour, though perhaps faded a bit, is better preserved than colour snaps are. However moments immortalized in slides tended to disappear into the dark that one needed to see them by. Anyone can look at photos again and again, although sticking them in an album does make it easier. Slides needed a projector, a screen, an audience, preparation- and Cec loved technology and so enjoyed this- but how much better is it now, when phones give us instant access and gorgeous colour? (And witness testimony when operated by an intelligent woman?)

My brother remembers different things about our trip, of course, including the fact that we had not been warned of our parents’ defection and were baffled by their disappearance when we got up that morning. We were placated by new toys: a plastic sink with a pump that pumped real water into the sink- Charlie liked technology too- and Linda got red plastic beads that popped together to make crowns, necklaces, or bracelets.
Cyn’s speech is a period piece, showing an agricultural St. Vincent so soon to be changed by the economic forces of the second half of the 20th century, the tourist trade, and the political drive for independence in colonial states around the world. It was her birthplace too, and she and Cec loved visiting it and my grandmother, once we were off their hands. She wrote a sadder piece in her old age, about the changes she had noticed over the years, which I will publish once the letters are finished. Meanwhile, back to 1958…

In the Botanical Gardens?

1958 Trip to St. Vincent

In the spring of 1957 Cyn had told her mother about their finances and a plan they had for saving- but by Christmas, Cyn and Cec decided obviously decided to spurge and to fulfill a long-time promise to her mother Carol by visiting St Vincent for 7 weeks over Easter! I am so sad I have no letters that explain their decision, but some of it must have been based on the children’s schooling and age. I also miss details about the preparation, because I have memories of the clothes my mother made for me for Easter! But there is a copy of a speech my mother must have made to a women’s group after their trip- a thing she was good at after her experiences with American clubs during her exchange year teaching after the war- so I will be able to post Cyn’s St. Vincent experience.

Travelling with children involves a lot of preparation. After the explanations about visiting Grannie in St. Vincent where it would be warm- snowsuit weather in Ottawa of course- Charlie and I asked our teachers for school work for March. I distinctly remember us driving across Ottawa to buy my school books! By the time we got through the traffic home, Linda in the back seat had finally been able to read to the end of her ‘Dick and Jane’ reader- a thing we were not allowed to do in class! (There wasn’t much plot development.) My mother took the other reader and saved it for the actual trip…


Charlie’s teacher answered with a note to Cyn explaining that when Charlie came back, she would have moved and there would be a new teacher, which might be upsetting. As it turned out, however, his second Kindergarten teacher was a lovely woman, Mrs. Verna Steele, who lived in our neighbourhood and was always fond of Charlie.
The New York cousins, who had visited Moo and Carol for a winter holiday in previous years, sent Bon Voyage cards; the itinerary had to be arranged so that as many West Indian Hazells as possible could be visited, the tickets bought, hotels booked, and cat boarded.

What do I remember of the trip? Charlie and I were flying in airplanes for the first time, and we landed in Trinidad for a few days first, staying at the hotel owned by a Hazell cousin, but the only thing I remember is the final leg to St. Vincent in a Grummond Goose which landed on the sea with a splash that sparkled through the windows of the little plane as it motored up to the landing ramp!

The Goose!
Linda helping with the wash.

We stayed with Grannie and Auntie Moo in their house in Kingstown and then in a rented bungalow out by the sea, close to where the seaplane landed so we could watch it. As children do, we accepted their servants Doris and Luenda, Hilda and Amelia, but now can’t think they had 4, so maybe one pair worked in the bungalow. Mr. Cox drove us around, and local relatives connected with Cyn, some of whom she hadn’t seen since before the war. We visited, Cyn met their spouses and showed off her husband and children.

Cyn, Grannie and cousins!

When we napped or went to bed in the evening, white mosquito netting was draped over the bed and tucked in, so that we had to be extracted on waking, and sometimes a little lizard would be sitting on the netting a foot above my eyes when I woke up. (They were very fast though, so I never got to pet one.) There were beautiful flowers in Grannie’s garden, and chickens running around, and one day I decided I wanted to see the cook make dinner- from the beheading of the chicken to the final product. Apparently I did witness the execution and then, having put two and two together, was not willing to eat her, but what my brother remembers is that the chicken was tough and didn’t taste nice!

Cyn went shopping!

Out at Villa the fresh fish was wonderful and appreciated by the whole family, and we loved the tiny bananas. The coconuts were an entertainment although I didn’t like eating them- a man climbed up the tree with his cutlass and knocked them down to the ground, then cut them open expertly so we could drink the coconut water and scoop out the soft jelly-like coconut. The sea was warm and I loved swimming- although there was a feeling of betrayal at my only swimming lesson when my father took his hands away from supporting my tummy and I sank instead of floating, coming up with burning eyes, tears and salty coughing- and Charlie became more used to the water and no longer played by himself in the sand while others paddled.

One beach we visited had black sand from the lava which looked wonderfully muddy when plastered on, and I remember intriguing rock pools with tiny fish and plants trapped in them by the receding tide. One day our parents got up very early in the morning and went to climb the volcano, La Soufrière, with Hazell cousins, and once we went out in a glass-bottomed boat so we could see the coral and the fish our father had been telling us about when snorkelling. We collected tiny shells and I acquired three dolls for my collection- Hilda and Amelia in brightly coloured prints, head-ties, and earrings, and Mr. Cox with overalls and his cutlass in hand.


Easter was a festival in St. Vincent. Of course all the ladies, Black and white, wore beautiful hats (and still did in the 90s), and I had new Best Clothes for the occasion. My mother had made me a white dress with frills for sleeves out of a stiffish material, and it had a turquoise pinafore of the same kind of material over it, that could be a sundress on its own. I had a choice of two hats- crescent moon-shaped hat forms covered to match my dress- one white, one turquoise. And no one took a picture! Cyn’s work was appreciated at the time, but not immortalized- we ate the beautifully decorated cakes, wore and then outgrew the clothes- without her art being recorded- such a pity, I now feel.
We ended our visit in St. Vincent and said good-bye, knowing that Grannie would come and stay with us in a few years, and took the Goose to Barbados where we stayed before climbing on a Trans Canada plane home, arriving back to a chilly Ottawa spring. There were apparently no repercussions from missing so much school, and ordinary life resumed.

Not very much to declare. Suspect that Cec’s had rum.

1957-1958…

As I have explained before, I organized all my mother’s letters to my grandmother into binders a dozen years ago, and only stated posting them a year and a half ago. I knew there were gaps in the continuity, but it was a shock yesterday to discover, when I finished the binder in August 1957, that the next one opens in 1960! I don’t know what happened to the letters from the missing years- Carol and Muriel were robbed several times over the years, losing family silver, so why not a shoebox of letters? Or they may have been lost, displaced by a move, suffered from a West Indian hurricane- we have no details about those lost years, but the broad strokes are preserved in Cyn’s scrapbooks. I will attempt to cover those years with pictures and my memory before we get down to the minutia of Ottawa in the 1960s!

In August 1957, there were 2 Occasions that Cyn was getting ready for- Linda’s sixth birthday and the new school year in September. First was Linda’s birthday and party, when she was given the doll’s stroller as planned, and the new pink and white sundress her mother had been cutting out August 11th. Following the Baby Boomer pattern, Linda and Charlie’s school was new, and was built on and expanded as they grew too- the same would be true of their high school in the 60s- so Charlie’s Kindergarten start was delayed until the summer build was finished.

Cyn had told her mother that there would have to be two Grade 1 classes, and this was true with over 50 students, but Linda’s Grade 1 class was experimental, in that they were trying an accelerated model. The curriculum was divided into 3 modules per grade and the idea was that the accelerated class would complete 4 modules a year, thus starting Grade 2 in their first year, doing Grades 2 and part of 3 in the 2nd, and completing 3 and 4 in the 3rd- essentially, doing Grades 1- 4 in three years instead of four. This eliminated the problems that accompany bright children skipping a year, and just meant that the whole class would be a year younger than their contemporaries when in Grade 5. (Which is what happened, and where we pick up in 1960!) So the scrapbook shows Linda advancing as planned through Grade 1 without any problems- along with her local friends from birthday parties: Janek, Joanne, Pamela from Sunday School, and Mark and Mara from Kindergarten… Many of us were children of immigrants- Janek could speak 3 languages, Polish, Swiss-German, and English- and I apparently had quite an English accent when I started school. Lots of us also had fathers working at the National Research Council, and I remember my teacher confessing ignorance when I asked for help in answering the question of what my Daddy did- how did one spell Microwave Spectroscopist?- we settled on ‘Scientist’.

I’m pretty sure that on Hallowe’en in 1957, I was Little Red Riding Hood, since Cyn had made me a costume for a party, and Charlie was a clown again, but the scrapbook only records a picture of the Royal Visit.

As Christmas approached, I was involved in the Christmas pageant- as well as our class singing “O Tannenbaum”, perhaps because I was in the choir, Janek and I had to leave the class and go and rehearse with the big kids- and when the pageant occurred, we were little Swiss children- Janek in his lederhosen and I dressed like Heidi with a laced belt my mother made, over a wide skirt and apron.

Charlie’s Calendar, Linda’s Card!

Of course, Charlie had a birthday just before Christmas, increasing his collecion of Dinky cars and larger vehicles, Cyn sent off her parcels and Christmas cards, and interestingly enough, the children got travelling cases for Christmas, while Cyn received a fitted travelling wash bag…

In February, the expertise of our music teacher, Mrs. England, was proven when our 2-year-old rural school, won first place in our category. I am sure I was in the Grade 1-4 choir, but I remember nothing about it beyond my father mocking the vowel sounds she insisted we use- apparently we sang at length about “a H-o-o-o-o-o-o-p-py New Year” and “Little Lombkins”.

August 11 1957

Box 330 R.R.1
Ottawa
Sunday 11h Aug.

Dearest Mummy,
No letter from you last week, so for once I’m not having to start with “thank you for your letter”– so unusual that I feel quite amazed! Of course I usually have lots of apologies too & without my two constant beginnings it really is astonishing! Of course I will probably hear from you tomorrow because if we don’t get your Post & the Saturday Evening Post on Fri. or Sat. they always come on Mon!!
I had a nice long letter from Nan this week and one from Dottie too. Nan was telling me a little bit more about her Mother & about the children & so on. They made no plans for summer holidays, but afterwords managed to book at Whitby & are off this month. This was the first letter I’ve had from Dottie since the baby & we heard his name – Timothy. Lindy is greatly amused because Dottie calls him “Timmy Willie” & in one of her Beatrix Potter books there is a little country mouse called Timmy Willie! She says he is a very good little fellow – and what do you think? They now have a Rolls Royce no less!! Second hand, but still – the swank m’dear, as Dottie would say! She says Ken has always longed for one & got this chance at a bargain & couldn’t resist although they don’t know whether they’ll keep it. They are very tickled with themselves & Dottie says they went over to York for Peter’s 1/2 term & had a great success with Peter carrying off the whole thing with nonchalance!
Talking of letters I’ve always meant to say thank you for the ones you sent me – Jean’s, Bren’s & Pamela’s – & to tell you how interested I was in them. The more I hear about other couples with children to educate in England the more thankful I am for Canada! Bren & Pamela were both talking about school fees & Nan in her letter was telling about Sandy trying to get into the Grammar School & how hard it was & I feel so thankful that we have none of that to go through. In England to get your children the best education you just have to pay for it or have a brilliant child, whereas here unless you’re a millionaire your child does the same as all the rest & the public education is the best. The thought of school fees hanging over you for 20 years or so – it makes me shudder! Here, we can begin saving now for universities! As a matter of fact Cec & I were just talking a little while ago about beginning to save the Monthly Family Allowance cheques ($10) for a nest egg when the children reach university age. Either to help them through University or to go a trip to Europe with or whatever their little hearts desire! Of course I shall miss that nice little cheque – it helps me out when housekeeping runs low & I always look forward to a little squandering! However – for the Sake of our Children! – and considering it’s theirs!!
All this talk of the children at university age makes me think of Little Mona & you & Moo having such fits over her occupation! I had to giggle, but I do agree that it isn’t a job I’d like myself or like to have my daughter doing. I suppose it must pay well & if she is to be married in less than a year it will only be a temporary thing, but still one would think Millie & Ford would try to get her to look around for a more congenial job. I had a letter from Mill & she tells me that they plan to get married next spring so I suppose Mill and Ford feel that if she is old enough to make such major decisions she is old enough to make minor ones also. In a way I admire Millie & Ford very much for the ability to stand back and let Mona be independent and to see that she has grown up, but I don’t know if I could do it myself – I suppose it must depend a lot on your child also. Certainly I think most American youngsters are much more mature in many ways than English boys & girls & a million times more mature than I was. Also Monie seems to be a very domesticated girl & everyone says how much help she is around the house, so perhaps she really is best suited to being married young and having a house and family. Mill must know well from her sisters (& her cousin Cyn!) that it’s fun having a gay time before you were married, but not all fun & that the dream man doesn’t always turn up, so perhaps she feels Monie’ll be happier this way. What I do feel is a pity is that Monie isn’t going to be trained to do anything. Even if she didn’t go to University if she were trained as a typist or a florist or a dressmaker or something I think it would be so much better. As it is, the only thing she can do is work in a store & that can’t be a very paying job – particularly as you get older. Not that I mean to be gloomy but sometime it might be such a help if they needed extra cash & she could earn some, & I don’t think any mother with young children can help but wonder sometimes what she would do if the responsibility for their upbringing were all hers. You hear of so many tragedies – a husband killed in a car crash & a wife left with a baby boy & a girl of 3 (Lea & Jim’s friends) – Margie Garrett’s neighbour whose husband died of a heart attack at 35 & left her with 2 little girls – one must feel a bit braver and more able to carry on if there is something on can do oneself to support a family. However, I have all these problems to come to & probably when Linda & Charlie are that age I’ll have all the decisions taken out of my hands too. Prof. Katz from Saskatoon was talking about the same type of thing & saying it was useless to wait until the child is leaving school or even a teenager to try to see where his future lies, but that you could see from the time the child is in school a few years what type of mind he has & be able to help him to live so that he is expressing himself in the things he does best & will continue to make his career through those things. So I must have an eagle eye on Linda & Charlie! Certainly with their Daddy’s academic record I feel they should have some bias towards the University & already Lindy is quite interested in the fact that I was a teacher & went to College too, so I think it must make a bit of difference. What a long dissertation this has been! I had better stop & get to bed! Last night was such a hot stuffy night that I felt I was tossing & turning all the time & even got up & wandered around a couple of times – most unusual for me!

Monday.
Today is now as cold as can be & I have on a sweater & am sitting on the bed with a blanket over my knees to keep warm! Although it is cold & windy & dull there is no sign of rain & it is as dry as a bone. We haven’t had a drop for ages & the poor garden is a wreck. The grass has an odd green patch where we have emptied the paddling pool, but otherwise it is brown & like wire to walk on. We have tried to water the roses a bit & they are looking very pretty & have done well, but everything else is wilting. Our tomatoes down the hill are just lovely however & for the last 10 days or so we’ve had a wonderful crop – big & red & smooth – with no rain they haven’t cracked at the top & they really look beauties. We have quite a few baby melons growing too & are watching them eagerly. Did I tell you a baby groundhog appeared not long ago? But what with Nicki & the dog next door & Cec all chasing it, the poor thing gave up & seems to have left for a quieter neighbourhood!
Relations between us & our new neighbours are again sort of strained! At least between the children – I don’t know about the adults! But they are so queer – a week or 10 days ago the children asked if they could have Jimmy to dinner one evening which we did & everything was fine. Then a few days later Jimmy & Pauline etc. wouldn’t come & play with the children & wouldn’t let them come over. Next day they let Charlie come, but not Linda! (You can imagine the tears.) Next day not at all – until the poor kids spent their time drooping around miserably with either one or the other of them left out, so I said “all right – both of you go or neither of you go”! Since then they have played by themselves & communications have ceased! Which I really prefer if we aren’t able to have Jimmy without his gang of cousins – Linda already picked up “My God!” from Pauline so I can do without more! Did I ever tell you about the birthday party Lindy & Charlie went to? Well all I need say is they had dozens of children of all ages & Charlie did not enjoy it! Lindy’s birthday party is the next big excitement – less than 2 weeks now.
We have just had a nice quiet weekend doing nothing & it has been very pleasant! Last weekend was a long weekend with the Monday holiday & we were on the hop so much & it was hot, so it was nice to have a rest & a change. On the busy weekend we had Mr. & Mrs. Hunka in for drinks & coffee etc. on Fri. evening. I think I have mentioned her before – she is English & he is Canadian & they have a teenager Vicky & a little girl Nicola of Linda’s age who was in K’garten too but in the afternoon class. He works at NRC but on the Administration & was in the London office before they came over last year. She is dark & very nice looking & I like her very much – he seems quite nice but Friday was the first time I met him. On the Saturday we took Lila out for a picnic with us to the place we were at with the Blachuts. It wasn’t quite so nice as the river was much shallower with no rain & Cec couldn’t get wet even to his waist! However Lindy had a lovely time in the water & with Lila playing but old silly Charlie wouldn’t even put a toe in! We set off home about midafternoon as I didn’t want to repeat the peeling process, & we had got there quite early in the morning, but oh, it was so hot driving home! We were all exhausted & cross & longing for a nice cup of tea! On the Sunday we had the Dresslers to tea. They are the young Swiss couple with twin baby boys – now 4 months old & they are so cute & good. Susie keeps them so nicely & they look sweet, but you would hardly know they were brothers let alone twins, they are so unlike each other. One has dark brown hair, brown eyes & a little face with a pointed chin & is quiet & placid & the other has a big round face, just a fuzz of fair hair, blue eyes & is excitable & lively!! They were as good as gold & lay on our bed & let us stand around & play with them & then just fell asleep when we left them. When it was time to go home one was still asleep & one was just lying cooing! Lindy was enchanted of course!
You asked about Boris’ baby once – he is a year old now & a very lively little fellow but no beauty! He has a funny little receding chin with a dimple & is rather dribbly, but of course Boris is the proudest father in the world!
Who do you think we had a phone call from last week? Ray Appleyard! He was just in Ottawa between trains having arrived from Switzerland & going up to Chalk River where Joan & the family were for a holiday. Cec went down to the Château Laurier and had a drink & chat with him & he says the family is fine and the baby boy doing well. They are staying another year in New York.
Talking about living in different places makes me think of Jean & I wonder how they will all get on in England. It always seems as if Jeanie is longing to be where she isn’t, & you can’t help but think St. Vincent will be shrouded in a rosy cloud when she has left it! I am sure that she will miss her multiple servants anyway – from what I gather even people with money don’t have much help nowadays – Dottie has a daily help from the village to clean & Gunborg has an untrained girl from Sweden – so they both still do a lot of cooking etc. themselves. Poor little Charles – even Mill & Monie said Jean was so un-maternal to him. It seems very cruel to send him straight off to boarding school when he is going to be even more lost & lonely in a strange country. Peter doesn’t seem to say much about what the children are to do – does he just let Jean go her own way? I wonder what kind of a job he will get. When Cec was talking to Bob Spellar when he was here he was saying £1000 or £2000 a year is not considered a big salary now the way prices have gone up. Of course I know Peter has his own money but taxes are high too.
I was very amused at the story of Peggy & Patsy inciting Alex to trespass on Royal Ground! They must have been very thrilled to see them all so close even if they were expecting to be hauled off to a dungeon at any moment!


I just phoned & got Mrs. Martin to sit for us tonight so that Cec & I can go to a movie – we haven’t been in an age and the last one we saw wasn’t much. This is “Love in the Afternoon” with Maurice Chevalier & Audrey Hepburn & Gary Cooper & is in Paris & is supposed to be very amusing. Hope it is. It’s such a chilly day it feels like going to a movie somehow! You mentioned a long time ago seeing “Desirée” – we liked the book very much & would like to see the film. One we are looking forward to is “80 Days Around the World” which is supposed to be coming soon.
I often meant to ask you how A. Trixie’s toe was after her operation & if it was very painful or if the results were worth it. You mentioned being interested because of yours, but as you said no more I wondered. I hope you are feeling all right now & that A. Muriel is keeping well too. Charlie’s awful poxy scabs have all gone now & we are all fine – I made bread & butter pickles on Fri. evening & poured some boiling water on my fingers but that is our biggest mishap & by the next morning they were better! As you can tell Ken is still giving us garden produce & we do very well. Mrs. Scott just had an op. to remove an internal tumour but is very relieved as they found it was not malignant, but she is having to take things easily.
You asked one time about Lindy’s class at school – there were 30 in her class in the morning & 25 in the afternoon I believe. I don’t know how the Grade 1 will be arranged, but I think there will have to be 2 classes. Lindy in a way is quite sad about school all day next term – she says “I’ll have no time to play”!
Well, I seem to have just about dried up! I haven’t been sewing anything lately but cut out the pink & white material you sent Lindy to make her a little sundress for her birthday. It is a sweet pattern Phil Douglas gave me & I just had enough material but will have to get a little plain white for a sash.
We were over at Phyl’s on Friday (another hot day) & all went down to the Rockcliffe Lake just near them & had a swim. Lindy wasn’t used to bathing with dozens of bigger children around & objected strongly to the splashing! Need I say what Charlie did?!! We went back & had tea at Phyl’s with a nice English girl who lives near her & has a little girl of Charlie’s age & a baby boy. She had a very sweet, very English voice & Charlie said “I like her talk”! When he likes people he also says “I like their look”!
Lindy & Nicki are both sitting on the bed with me & being distracting! Nikki still has sunburnt peeling ears poor little thing – they never seem to tan! How are the little kitties? I hope these ones survive! We have had Nick just a year now & she is a pet- Lindy particularly loves her dearly & she loves the children too- she always cries if they go out to play without her & when they go to Ken’s she trots after them..
Must stop – p-r-r-r-from Nikki, X from Lindy & a little snore from Charlie (still asleep) & lots of love from us all – Love to A. Moo too –
from
Cyn.

August 1 1957

This August letter refers to others in a way that makes it clear that July ones are missing. I’m sure she told her mother about her sewing projects leading up to the Governor General’s Garden Party, but the main event of late June/early July must have been that Linda had chicken pox- a mild case, but there is no indication of whether she missed the end of the school year, or just spent the beginning of the summer holiday in July in bed. This letter, however, fills in the details of the end of July, although nothing momentous happened!.

P.S. Think the T-shirts will be lovely for the children – they always need them. No sign of the B. Coat – perhaps they will all come together! We are having an absolute plague of mosquitoes this summer – even worse than that first summer in Acacia – remember? Even at midday they swarm around you outside & we are always chasing them in the house. The children seem to be getting immune! Not me though!
Box 330 R.R.1
Ottawa
1st August 1957.

Dearest Mummy,
Thank you so much for your Wedding A. Air mail yesterday & also your last written on 22nd July – not forgetting Marg’s & Monie’s letters about the wedding which I enjoyed immensely. It was nice getting them so quickly before the wedding seemed all over & done with, & it sounded very pretty. I asked Mill if she could send me a snap for my scrapbook sometime or a newspaper cutting, but I hope that someday we will see the colour pictures too.


Hugh & Ginny will be settled in their home now & feeling very domesticated I expect! I hope that they did get our wedding present – the writing on the invitation was very squiggly & in the address it said “- – – – Seaman Mich. Rd” at least that is what it looked like, so I only hope it got there! Of course, I remember well that once you are married & a housewife it’s pretty hard to get down to those thankyou letters! I haven’t heard from any of the Sim. girls yet, but didn’t expect to as I took months to write to them. However I’m not so bad – I only owe 7 letters & 3 others to “only-at-Christmas-time” people! Did Amy tell you she had heard from me? Our letters crossed after Christmas & then she wrote again later & I just replied about a month ago so I thought I was due for a cutting remark!!
I have just been filling in a form to get Lindy a Library Card of her Very Own! I thought I would get it for her birthday as she is quite excited at the thought of it – she has always previously got a book on mine you know, but when she is 6 & in Grade 1 she can have her own. We still go down about once a week & all enjoy prowling around the shelves! Cec & I thought we would get her one of these little doll’s push chairs – you know the thing I mean?

A Stroller was the word she was looking for!

Her little pram is really very small for her now & as she is playing with her dollies quite a lot at the moment we thought she’d enjoy it. She’s a funny little girl – she saw a picture of one of these carriages in a catalogue last week & was thrilled, but it never enters her little head to ask for one for her birthday! Charlie now – he’s already made up his mind what he wants for Christmas!
Talking of Charlie – I haven’t told you our most Interesting bit of news!! Charlie had Chicken Pox!! The last time I wrote to you I was just saying it hadn’t appeared – that was the Friday. Next day, the Blachuts were going on a picnic & suggested we went too, so we got already (I baked on Fri. night & made the sandwiches & put them in the fridge) & set off about 9:15 in the morning as it was roasting hot weather & we wanted to get there before it was too hot. They took us to a lovely place on the other side of the river – about 25 miles above Ottawa – there was a bay with nice white sand & shallow water, with willow trees along the bank for shade & only about 2 or 3 other people. Quite the loveliest place we’ve ever found around here. We settled under a tree & bathed & played with the children in the water & it was really heavenly. All this time Charlie played under the tree with the sand & a truck & I decided just to let him be as all the other children were in the water but I didn’t want to force him. Then I went to play with him & here among the mosquito bites on his back (he had his trunks on) was a red spot with a blister on top! Janek had had C. P. but not Daniel or Peter, but fortunately they hadn’t been close to him! However, we ate lunch & had another bathe & then set off for home about 2, leaving the Blachuts still there. It was a good thing we did leave then anyway, because on the way home my shoulders began to burn & Lindy’s back got red & the two of us got a fine sunburn! Cec only got his face burnt but my back & shoulders were sore & are busy peeling away now! Lindy had been a bit tanned from the paddling pool, so she didn’t peel, but it was one of those hot slightly hazy days when you don’t notice getting burnt – till afterwards! Charlie only had a few spots that day, but on the Sunday he got more & felt a bit sorry for himself & on Monday he was spotty all over & had a little temp. & felt quite sorry for himself. His spots were horrid – much worse than Lindy’s – all big & blistered on top which turned yellow & crusty & then formed a black scab. You know how he likes to look “pretty” so he was quite upset at all those things on his face (round his eyelids quite badly & at the corners of his mouth) & kept coming to me & saying “I’m so worried about all these awful spots. Perhaps they’ll never go away”!! Fortunately it got much cooler & I put calamine lotion on the spots & he was very good about not scratching. While the black scabs were on he looked like a little Dalmatian puppy but most of them on his face have fallen off now, & although you can still see a slight discolouration there are no actual scars.
On the Sunday we’d invited Santiago & Jerry Swalen (Jerry & Mary – young American couple – he is Cec’s Fellow this year – Mary is down in Boston for the summer finishing her M.A.) to dinner, so we phoned & told them about Charlie & they said they thought they’d had C.P. & anyway didn’t care! So they came in the afternoon for tea & then I fed the children at 6 & we had our dinner later – I had my old friend Jo Mazotti, Salad & Melba Toast & a very nice new recipe for a Lemon Refrigerator Cake. They seem to enjoy it & ate lots which was pleasing to their hostess!
All that week I was kept on the hop with Charlie – particularly as Pauline from next door arrived the day after her mother called & the breach was healed! Of course Jimmy is still the favourite but he hadn’t had C.P. so Lindy used to dash off & play with him & poor little Charlie was quite heartbroken! Pauline had had C.P. & was very kind & used to come and play with him sometimes but he was so happy on Sat. when he could play with ‘Dimmy’ again!
We were invited to Dr. & Mrs. Herzberg’s on Sat. evening & our W.A . [Women’s Auxiliary, church organization] was on Friday so I decided I had better make me a new dress. I think I told you I had bought some pure silk black shantung a little while ago. Well I cut it out and made it exactly the same as the white & black one I made for the Garden Party. It is such a nice pattern – only takes 2 yards of 44” material. It has a shallow boat shaped neckline if you remember, & I got some black lace edging & made a frill & put it around the neck & I think it looks rather nice. I made a black sash to tie instead of a belt & on Friday I wore it with my pink hat & on Sat. I wore it with a pink chiffon scarf tied at the sash & pink earrings.

The earrings were old white flower ones – kind of crocheted – I’ve had a year or so & I dyed them! Think I’ll dye old white gloves to match!! This dress was a record I think – I had it cut out and begin sewing Thursday afternoon & had it all finished & ready to wear by Friday tea time!
Afternoon.
Myrtle popped in then “Just to see if I looked the same – she hadn’t seen me for so long!” So I said goodbye to catching the post at noon – however if I mail this tomorrow perhaps it will repeat the 4 day record of my last letter. By the way Myrtle sent her love!
I haven’t yet told you what we did on the 26th- well, we booked a babysitter and decided we would go out to dinner, but otherwise hadn’t got into details, then on the Thurs. Phyl phoned me (Phyl & Alex have their anniv. the same day you remember) & invited us around for a drink & suggested we go out together, so that is what we did. We went around there about 7:30 & had a couple of drinks & then we went to a place on Rideau St. – La Paloma – for dinner. Fanni & Teddy had told us it was very nice but maybe we were unlucky for Cec & I were very disappointed. It was quite pretentious you know, but I thought the food was poor – I had fried chicken & it was just dry & tasteless. However we didn’t really let it worry us & had a good time.
Dr. & Mrs. Herzberg’s party was quite a big one – all the Spectroscopy Dept. All the Fellows except one are leaving this summer & fall, so I think it was a kind of farewell gathering. Velasco (the Spaniard) has already gone of course; Dr. & Mrs. Narasimham are sailing for England today, en route to India. (They were coming to have dinner with us last week & we had to cancel because of C. Pox.); then later the Dresslers (Swiss); Dalbys, (Canadian); Moores (N. Zealand – going to California); Swalenes (U.S.) – leaving us only Dr. Liu (Chinese)! It means a big change in the group with 6 new Fellows all at once –Cec is having an Englishman.
This week I am catching up a bit on my entertaining. Last night I had Phyl & Bill Dalby here with Phyl’s mother who is visiting & Dr. & Mrs. McClay. Dr. McC. is a young fellow who is Assist. Prof. at the U. of New Brunswick but who had thought of trying for a Fellowship with Cec instead. He finished his Ph.D. a year ago (Cec was one of his examiners) & when he took the teaching job instead Cec suggested he spend the summer here. He is a queer duck – a terrific bore if he once gets going – but his wife is such a nice girl!!
Must stop & get dinner – “Dimmy” is coming to have dinner with the children! Hugs from them & lots & lots of love from us all –
Cyn.

June 3 1957

3rd June. 1957.

Dearest Mummy,
I was so sorry to hear in your last letter about the fall and bumping your poor nose. I hope it is quite better now & no damage done – we always thought your nose was such an elegant feature didn’t we? Thank you so much for both that letter & a long one previously – I’m glad my long one to you arrived safely but I am disgusted that your birthday parcel has never arrived. I also hope that it does eventually appear – I have practically forgotten all the odds & bobs I put in it. What annoys me is that I sent it via New York which costs much more & is supposed to be quicker! I included a small bon voyage present for Peggy, so if it ever arrives you’ll have to keep it for Christmas!
Since I last wrote we haven’t done much, but I had a little Janek Blachut staying here from the Wed. to the Sun. of the week before last. Teddy was going to Quebec for a conference & Fanni wanted to go too so I offered to take Janek & her Polish neighbour took the 2 little ones. Janek was v. good & Linda was thrilled to have him & they trotted off to school together, but by the Sun. the novelty had worn off & he was glad to go home & they (L. & C.) were glad to be alone!! Since he left, poor little fellow, he has been in bed with a throat infection, so I was glad he waited till his Mummy came home! I too, have a cold & I am so fed up with it as it is one of those tickly throat type that drags on & on.

Linda’s Report Card from June promotes her to Grade 1! (Her classmate Janek was top of the class from Grade 1 to 13 so I expect he did well in Kindergarten too!)

Our weather is still cool but has been quite nice & sunny the last few days so over the weekend Cec & I gardened hard. You will be sorry to hear of the tragedy of our seeds though – Nicki LAY on them! What with that & a spell of v. cold freezing weather just as they appeared so that we couldn’t get them outside they didn’t do very well. Alas!
Will write more later this week – just thought I’d let you know we are all flourishing. XXXX from Lindy & Charlie & much love from us all – Cyn.

May 14 1957

14th May. 1957.

Dearest Mummy,
Not yet 11 o’clock & all my washing on the line! I must admit that the beds aren’t made yet, but I have to go down to the P.O. when I go for Lindy so I thought I would write one of these to you & mail it. I wrote to Dottie & Nan last night & also my father. He now has the bright idea that I should come to England & bring Lindy to see him. What he thinks I would do with Cec & Charlie I don’t know. Then his next letter he suggests we all come back to England to live – they need scientists etc. & over here there may be another depression. So of course I have written squashing all these suggestions so he’ll probably get mad at me again.
Thank you so much for your last letter which came yesterday (written 5th) – mostly about babies, legitimate & otherwise! I see that your May Fair was all over & that you did very well. Perhaps you’re having a breathing space now like us! We are being quite quiet and unambitious now – Cec is going back to work again in the evening a bit & gardening a bit – he has got some tomato plants in down the hill & says if they don’t freeze we will have nice early tomatoes! The seeds in the basement are all sprouting nicely, but the lavendar hasn’t appeared yet – Mrs. Carleton says they have never been able to get the seeds to germinate so I wonder if we will.
I didn’t do much sewing last week but finished a little blue corduroy jacket for Lindy to match her skirt & made a blouse for me out of an old shirt of Cec’s! All Lindy’s last summer dresses have to be let down & Lu has passed me on a few of Leslie’s & they all have to be taken up! Groans! Next I am going to start my white & black dress & I have some black cotton with roses on to make me & Lindy skirts. The sofa cover by the way is made out of the material Dottie sent me from England for curtains in the old house. I got brown fluffy edging & it really does look nice.
I was glad to hear that your vitamins did you good. I go to see Dr. K. on Friday & we’ll see if he gives me any more iron – I feel quite perky now. My hand is fine & although there is a little lump still it doesn’t hurt or prick anymore & I think the lump will gradually go.
We didn’t do anything much last week except have a visiting Englishman, Dr Cruikshank, to dinner & on Sat. evening we went to Teddy & Fanni’s. They had about 14 people & we had a v. nice time.

Sunday was Mother’s Day & all last week Lindy was so excited about it & a secret she had! On Friday she came home with a little parcel & a big picture & ran to hide them in her room till Sunday, but after 1 hour she couldn’t bear it any longer & had to show me! She showed me her picture (of me!) & her gift – a sachet that she had made all herself! Then she said a verse & sang a song! We then hid everything away again till Sunday!! Poor Charlie was quite at sea – didn’t know what a gift (always “present”) or a sachet was!
Lots of love from us all,
Cyn.