St. Vincent – A Family History in Letters

December 3 1969

49 Cedar Road,
Ottawa 9, Ontario.

3rd December, 1969.

Dearest Mummy,
I am sorry that I have been such a long time in writing, but what with Cec, and Lindy, and all the Graduation goings-on I seem to have been in a whirl, and then I had to rush madly and get off the English parcels and then the Christmas cards. They were late, but at least they have gone – can you imagine Nan’s parcel was here before I even sent hers, but it was not even the last week in November, so I felt that she was very early, not me very late!
I can’t even remember, when I last wrote, and from your letter of the 23rd, I can’t quite gather if I had told you of Cec’s operation or not. I remember sending you bits of Linda’s dresses, so it was sometime in the middle of Nov. and in case it was before the operation, Cec had it on the 11th, and had the right side of his thyroid gland removed. It was very hard and calcified, but not malignant, and apparently is some strange sort of infection where it infects and rejects itself. The incision is at the base of his neck in front and Cec says that he has had his throat cut! He was dopey and uncomfortable when I went in to see him the first night, but by the next afternoon, he was very cheerful and talking and eating didn’t seem to bother him too much. He was tired by the evening, of course, but next day, Thursday, he was up and walking around, but I still could hardly believe him when he said, the Dr. had said he could probably come home on the Fri. or Sat. Then on Fri. morning the phone rang and here he was saying ‘Come and get me’. I was amazed, and had to rush around as I had washed my hair, and it was all in curlers, but the dryer soon did the job and I went to the Hospital, and Cec was home for lunch. He was really marvellous, and, although I don’t think he was feeling quite as frisky when he got home as he expected, he never complained but he was restless and couldn’t settle to anything for a day or so. However, he soon began to eat well and sleep well, and the wound healed very quickly, but he still is wearing a cravat in his open shirt as his neck is still a bit swollen, and he finds a buttoned collar and tie a bit uncomfortable. I took him to see the Dr the following Thursday, and he said that he could go back to work when he wanted to but to take it easy, so that since then he has been going in late in the morning, and coming home a little early. The first week I drove him as he couldn’t turn his head very easily, but he is driving himself now. Lea (Cec’s sister) was saying that when she trained as a nurse that any patient with a thyroid operation was kept lying in bed on his back for 2 weeks with a sandbag on either side of his head and he wasn’t allowed to move an inch. Isn’t it fantastic how things have changed and mustn’t it have been miserable? Last week Cec went to another specialist, an endocrinologist or something like that, to get a test to see how his remaining thyroid was acting, and he has to take a little thyroid pill every morning, and will have to do this for the rest of his life, but this is a very common thing now I understand. Little Mrs. Martin was in the Hospital and had a hysterectomy operation the same day as Cec had his – she had a prolapse. I took her some flowers the next day when I went in to see Cec thinking that she would not be feeling very well, and I would just go for a minute, but here she was as cheerful as could be, and all ready for a chat! Amazing! She didn’t have her tum split like me and apparently it isn’t such a big operation the other way. She was home in less than a week and one of her daughters came for a week and now she is on her own again and doing very well. Her husband is in the hospital permanently (we hope) now as he is quite helpless and incontinent and she isn’t able to lift him and do all the work.

The week after Cec came home with the big Graduation weekend! What a Wild Whirl! I had both of the dresses nicely finished, and Charlie’s suit all pressed, so I spent most of Friday cooking and baking so that everything would be ready. Bruce had phoned that his bus from Toronto arrived at 5:15 and Lindy’s was coming at 5:45 so that worked out very nicely. Charlie and I went down to meet them but of course both buses were a bit late so we collected them eventually, Lindy wildly excited, and dashed home. I had dinner in the oven, so we ate at once then they rushed to get dressed as they were supposed to be down at the High School at 7:30 and the ceremony began at 8:00. I had spent $10 on film for Cec’s camera and mine and flash bulbs for both and so Cec and I were already and waiting when they came down, but what happened? My flash didn’t work, and everyone was saying hurry, hurry, we’ll be late, and Cec took a couple of pictures of Linda alone, and that was it! It was the only thing that I was disappointed in the whole weekend – it was the same thing the next night when they were all dressed for the dance – they were late and in a hurry, and although my flash worked then it was so rushed. Cec’s idea is to stand them in a row and take a picture or sit them in a row and say smile, but I like to take my time and have them relax and not beaming at the camera, but goodness knows what we did get in the end. When Linda is home for Christmas I’ll take more pictures of her and Charlie and their finery so you will get to see them eventually.
When we got down to the High School Linda and Charlie went off and Cec and Bruce and I got quite good seats in the auditorium – it was nearly full even then, but we got fairly near the front and at the side. Now that it is such a huge High School (1800 students) there were so many girls and boys graduating, as there are both Gd. 12 and Gd. 13 students. There were all sorts of awards and Janek and Janet got some and of course we knew lots of the kids. Both of ours went up and got their diplomas without incident, like tripping over their feet or anything! Linda’s dress looked very nice, and she said that she got all sorts of compliments over it. She had her contact lenses in of course, and Janet has now got them and was wearing them, so they felt very pleased with themselves. One sad thing was that Joanne didn’t graduate – she failed 2 subjects and will have to take at least one of them in night school to make up the subjects she needs before she can graduate, but it was such a pity as they have gone right through school together. This meant that Linda felt she couldn’t even talk to her about graduation or dresses, etc. and Janet wasn’t going to the dance so she couldn’t talk to her about evening dresses, so she had to be very tactful! Of all Lindy’s friends and girls who went through school with her – Jean Craven, Janet, Joanne, Mara Arndt, Carol Ann, etc.. none of them got dates for the dance, so I kept patting myself on the back and thinking how clever I was to have invited Brucie, because it just made the weekend for Lindy to be in on all the festivities, and I know she will look back on it as a really happy time.

After the Graduation, there was a reception at the school for everyone – this was about 11 o’clock or more as the thing took so long with all the speeches and everything – and all of us parents congratulated each other and all the boys and girls caught up on the news! We introduced Bruce to everyone and introduced Charlie’s girlfriend, Maureen to Cec and Bruce. She is a nice little girl – rather like Janet, small and dark, but not quite so freckly! She isn’t all that pretty, but is lively and bright and amusing, which Charlie enjoys! After we had chatted, and had coffee and cookies – by the way, the change in Lindy is fantastic – she was dashing up to people and chatting – boys and girls – which she never would have done before – and we went home, or at least Charlie went off with some of his pals for a while – but the rest of us went home and sat and talked some more. Cec was quite tired as it was his first social outing, so he and I went to bed and left the kids to gab till goodness knows when!
On Sat. morning, we got up late, but Lindy had an appointment at the Eye Dr. so I suggested that Bruce should go downtown in the car with her and then while she was in the Dr’s, he could drive around and see where the Skyline Hotel was and the parking etc. so that he would know where it all was for the dance that evening. While they were gone, Charlie had to go for his driving lesson, so he had an early lunch and went, and they came in late, Lindy having taking Bruce to see the Arts Centre, so the day just seem to fly. I had ordered corsages for the 2 boys from the greenhouses, so they drove over later in the afternoon to pick them up. I had got Lindy a pretty wrist corsage of little yellow rosebuds for her graduation from Cec and me, and then Bruce had phoned and asked me to order her a corsage of 2 gardenias for the dance. I had said to Charlie that he must find out what colour Maureen’s dress was so that he could get flowers to match, and he made me laugh so much. He asked one of her friends who said Maureen was wearing a pink dress, and Charlie replied, quite seriously ‘Oh dear. It will clash with my mauve suit’ and he said the girl looked at him with stunned horror and said ‘You can’t really mean it!’ so that Charlie just couldn’t keep a straight face any longer! Anyway, he got her a very pretty wrist corsage (on a little elastic bracelet) of baby pink rose, buds, and the gardenias were lovely too. It was a dinner dance, but not starting till 8:30 so we had a buffet supper at 6 and then they went and got ready. Bruce looked very nice – he is quite conventional but always immaculately groomed, and he has a dark suit, whereas Charlie looked much more young ‘mod’ type in his green! Lindy looked lovely in her dress, and was delighted with it. It was very plain, but suited her exactly, and it was a comfortable sort of dress too with no fuss, so that she could be comfortable in it. She had gold sandals to match the gold on her graduation dress, and I got her a little gold evening handbag, so to co-ordinate her evening dress, which had silver in it, I got a very pretty beaded trim, just to go around the neck. It was just about an inch wide and was long gold and silver beads with pearls and I got her a pair of little gold earrings with a single pearl hanging from a little chain so it all looked very nice. I had great fun getting all these glamorous, things ready – a long time since I used to get them for myself!

I have changed to Charlie’s typewriter as the ribbon in mine is mostly holes! I got a new one which turns out to be the wrong size, so this is better. The young people set off to pick up Maureen at 8 o’clock, so there were Cec and I left – the old people at home! Cec said that we should go out on the town too, but we were left without even a car to get us anywhere! We spent a nice peaceful evening, and went to bed about midnight. I knew that they were going to a party at a friend of Charlie’s, Dave Grimes, afterwards (oh, I forgot – they left before 8 because they went to a party before the dance too – another friend of Charlie’s!) So Cec left the lights on, but I woke up at about 5 am and was very curious to know if they were safely in their beds, so got up and peeked out the door and sure enough the lights were out! They told me afterwards that the dance finished about 12:30-1:00, and then they went to Dave’s and stayed till about 3:15. The party was still going on and they had an invitation to go to a breakfast party at 6 am, but they decided to call it a night and took Maureen home and then came back and sat and talked the whole thing over for an hour or so!

Linda and Charlie were very good and got up and went to the 10:30 service with me and then I had decided that as both the dinners we had had were very hurried affairs, I would have a nice dinner at lunchtime, as Bruce and Lindy were both leaving by bus at 3:45, so we had Fondue Bourguignon then afterwards an angel food cake with fruit and jello in the middle and covered with whipped cream. Bruce loves desserts with fruit and cream and so I always get great pleasure in making him something special. We had a very nice leisurely lunch and then the 2 of them packed and I washed up and we were just in nice time to take them down to the bus station. Lindy got the Toronto bus with Bruce as it was quicker, and she could get off just outside Peterborough, and get a taxi to her college, which we thought was worthwhile for them to have company on the trip. They all seem to have a really good time and enjoy every minute, and apart from the rush, I enjoyed it too, and felt that it all went beautifully. Linda had 2 essays to do when she went back, so she has been busy, but in her letter today got them finished and handed in and was feeling very relieved. She also had a date with a nice boy Jim, who is in her English class – she likes him, and has talked to him since the beginning, but he is shy and lives in Peterborough, so isn’t in and around the college all the time like those in residence, so she felt she wasn’t getting very far but he has invited her out this evening. Really her first proper date! She has joined the Choral Society of the University, and they are putting on ‘The Mikado’ in the spring, and she is in the chorus, and is enjoying it very much. Whenever she comes home, she is singing bits all the time and when she leaves we have it embedded in our minds! I am delighted that she is going on singing and very pleased, because none of her friends at the college are doing this – she just joined and went ahead with it on her own so she is really becoming independent.
When Charlie and I came back from the Bus Station after taking Lindy and Bruce, we found Cec asleep on the family room sofa, and I lay down on the sitting room sofa and had a nap, so the older members of the family were exhausted, I don’t know what about the younger ones!
Charlie brought home a lovely surprise one day that week – his Progress Report, in which he doesn’t get actual marks, but A B C’s etc. and he got an A in every subject he took, and A for effort in all of them! They call this a Straight A Report and it is the very best one can get, so you can imagine how delighted we were. He is doing very well this year – he has got rid of things like History and Geography which he never cared for and is taking lots of Math, Physics, Chemistry, English, and French. He works hard what and with the Math and Science course has lots more work to do than Linda last year, but he really likes it and the Math and Science is no effort for him. He has just had an English essay to do ‘The character and composition of the Elizabethan Audience’ and that is much more of a toil for him, but he is very conscientious and does a very good job in the end.
I have been very busy the last little while while trying to organize a present for Marjorie and Dick Graham for their Silver Wedding Anniversary. It is in the middle of Dec. and I knew it was coming off and that Marjorie planned to have an Open House without telling people it was her anniversary. I had thought I would just give something small, but Eve phoned me and said were we getting together and if so she and her mother would like to join. So I have been phoning people and trying to collect money and decide what to get etc. We at first thought we would get her silver candlesticks as she had none and we knew that she would like some, but unfortunately another friend gave her some, so we were stuck. We thought we wouldn’t get more than about 20 dollars which isn’t enough for an entrée dish, and when I looked at the other silver sauce boats bonbon dishes etc. they all seem so useless. Then I had a bright idea. Marjorie has been getting cut glass glasses and wine glasses, etc. but I knew that she didn’t have a wine decanter, so Ruth Lockwood and I went shopping one day and have got them such a pretty crystal cut glass wine decanter. It is not very big, but very dainty and pretty and to tie in with the silver part, we got one of those silver labels on little chains, saying ‘Sherry’ and put it on, and it looks very nice and everyone is pleased with it. Now to try to get and get my money collected! I have a card for everyone to sign, and I am going to take the present to our Coffee Party which is on Sat. morning and will hide it behind my Handicraft Counter and have people come and peek at it and sign the card. Marjorie will be too busy selling at her Baking Counter to notice, I hope! The open house is on 13 December and I am going on the Friday to give her a hand and then will help on the day and Linda is going to help Jeanie pass around. The WA are going to give her a centrepiece of flowers for the table – the present is just from some of us old timers!
One night last week I went to the Arts Centre with Margaret and Peter Savic to see the opera ‘Mignon’. They had been going to take a friend, who was sick and had flu, so the night before Margaret phoned and invited me and I was delighted because what with Cec in hospital, etc. it seemed ages since I had been out. The opera was lovely (in French) and I enjoyed it very much and of course, as usual, the people in the audience at the Arts Centre are always an additional entertainment! We were also invited out on Sunday. Ottawa has been in the grips of a violent Football Fever! The Ottawa team, the Ottawa Roughriders beat Toronto to win the Eastern Championship and then last Sunday the Grey Cup Game was played in the big stadium in Montreal against the Western Champions, the Saskatchewan Roughriders! The captain of the Ottawa team has been very popular for ages, and is a wonderful player, Russ Jackson, and it was his last year in football. He is also Ass. Principal in one of the high schools, and he is retiring this year, so everyone was hoping that his last year would be a good one. It turned out it couldn’t have been better – he won all sorts of awards – Best Canadian player – best this and best that, and the Grey Cup Game last Sunday was the Grand Final. Ottawa won that too after a very exciting game and everyone was just about delirious with joy! Phyl Douglas had phoned and invited us to come over on the Sunday afternoon to see the game on their Colour TV so we accepted with pleasure. Phyl said for Charlie to come too as it was not a party but just them, but when we arrived about 12:30 here arrived Margie and Cy Garrett too sporting big green and white Saskatchewan colours! We had lots of fun, although Charlie was much more subdued in company than he is at home watching a game, but Margie and Phyl screamed and yelled so I did my share too. It was exactly the kind of game I like – Ottawa began to win quite early in the game so I didn’t have to suffer too much! When it was over Andy Douglas drove Charlie home as he was busy with an essay and we sat and chatted and then Phyl gave us a delicious dinner. By the time it was over and we’d had coffee we said we must go and arrived home about 8:15 having been there nearly 8 hours! It was a lovely party!

As I mentioned we are having our Coffee Party on Sat. morning at the Church. How did your Bazaar go? I hope that you did very well after all your hard work and made lots of money. Our Coffee Party is not really a big affair, but I have made some funny little things. When I made my Christmas cakes I made about 24 little ones in cupcake paper cases and then I brushed over the top with boiled syrup glaze and stuck on glace cherries and pineapple to make them look pretty. I have wrapped each one in saran wrap and have it called them Christmas Mini-cakes! Then I had half a bottle of Sauterne and half a bottle of port and some claret, so I got some Certo and made different kinds of Wine Jelly. I got little baby food glass jars from a lady at church and have 22 little jars of jelly, all different reds and yellows – very alluring! I will make my gingerbread men as usual and decorate them and wrap them separately and we get 10¢ each for them and I am also making some little kind of candy/cookies some called rum balls, and others Mocha Truffles (they have brandy in them!) I have some pretty little flowered paper cases for candy, so will put them in these and then my empty Christmas card boxes have cellophane lids, so I will arrange them in these, and I think they will look very attractive. The last thing I have done is the funniest. The nursery school has some funny little shapes of wood for glueing and painting, etc. so I have taken round ones and made little faces on them and stuck on white beards of rabbit fur and pointed red felt hats and then painted other funny oblongs, rounded bits, balustrade shapes, etc. red and stuck the heads on top and made funny little Santa Claus decorations. They look very peculiar, but maybe the children will like them, and buy them! Anyway, this has been taking up my time!
Mme. Gemuse is here today, so I have been typing (it is now Thurs. 4th.) and think I should go and do some sewing. I have a ‘Jump Suit’ cut out for Lindy. This is a kind of slacks and top all in one, which is all the Thing just now. I got some warm check material to make her one for the winter, thinking it would be cozy, then I thought she might like a vivid gay one for evenings in college, so I got that and cut it out, but haven’t sewn a stitch yet. The gay one is all blues and wines and green – rather like stained glass window colours, and I am so pleased, I got some of that velvet rouleau stuff in the exact colours, and it will make such a pretty tie belt for the waist. I have also got myself some silvery-greyish material to make a dress for Marjorie’s party so I had better get busy. I can’t make up my mind as to whether I like this material or not – it is the same kind of laminated material as Lindy’s evening dress but I wanted something more practical so stayed away from pastel colours and very silvery goldy things, and this was what was left. I can wear it with black shoes and will get more wear out of it than I do something more glamorous, but I can’t make up my mind if I will look nice in it! It has a zigzag pattern, and Ruth L. says it is a bit ‘busy’ and I agree, so we will have to see how it looks!
I am glad to hear that your very hot weather is over and know how glad you will be to have it cooler and some rain for your garden. We have had quite a nice time so far without bitterly cold weather and until this week just the merest powdering of snow, but it became much colder at the end of last week and the last few days it has been busy snowing and now we are all white. The skiers are very happy and I don’t mind once it gets to Dec. it is Christmassy. Cec and I were very pleased because just before it got cold we had a few mild days and I covered up the roses and put away the hose etc. so we were all ready for winter.
Please thank Auntie Muriel for her letter for me. Actually I have 2 to thank her for – one written after you got back and one after her birthday. I am so glad that she had such a happy birthday – it was nice for her that you were doing the housekeeping and could make such a nice treat for her without her having to worry. I wonder if you got my recipes for supper dishes after your cri de coeur about not knowing what to have for supper and if you tried them. I must mention all the gorgeous stamps on your letters from statehood etc. I am sending them to Dottie’s Tim – I always feel that Dottie’s sons are knowledgeably appreciative of stamps! I just opened one of your letters to answer, and had the wonderful surprise of finding your $5 bill inside! I am very hard up till payday tomorrow, so I am very happy! What happened was that I got Lindy the pantihose, and Charlie a very nice pair of green socks when I was out shopping and gave them to them on the grad. weekend and quite forgot I had paid for them, and never taken out your money – lovely! Both L. and C. were delighted with them and thought it was very sweet of you to think of it, and asked me to thank you.
In the same letter, you were telling me that you had at last heard from Martin’s Bank that they have been taken over by Barclay’s. I wonder if it is really true that you would have to maybe pay back income tax if you transferred all your business to the St. V. bank? That Cambridge bank has been so inefficient and useless that you feel it would be a good thing to have your affairs within reach and be able to know what is going on, so I wonder if you perhaps couldn’t find out a bit more about it. Perhaps Peter might be able to find out for you, or you could ask the Manager here to really write to Head Office and find out properly. I can’t see that you would have to pay tax if you had already paid it in England. You don’t need to do anything beforehand, but I think you might make more enquiries. Probably the income tax in St. V. will go up now they have statehood and have to support themselves, but goodness knows the British Income Tax is high enough and surely the St. V. one wouldn’t be any higher.
You were asking about Cec’s technician Geoff, with whom he used to drive. Well, he originally came from Winnipeg and during the summer he applied for a job there and got it, so he left while Cec was away. Our second car will have to wait a while I’m afraid – two university fees for 3 or 4 years is quite something – Linda’s fees this year for residence and tuition come to $1500 and then there is about $100 for books and of course she gets a bigger allowance now, and is supposed to buy clothes and everything with it. So far she has been very cautious and most of her spending has been on food (residence food is not very good!) and bus fares home! I told her I would pay for materials for things I made, but she would have to buy the ready made things and so far I don’t think she has broken down and bought anything yet. She has discovered the joys of exchanging clothes with the other girls and has been home in a pretty gold sweater and a few other things she has borrowed! She has let her hair grow and it is about to the bottom of her ears and she puts big rollers in and has a nice bouncy bob. She didn’t want to go to the hairdresser and get her hair all fancied up for the grad. and she had washed it the night before and set it and she looked very nice and was happy with it herself, which is a big thing. You can’t imagine how happy I am not to take her to the hairdresser anymore because each time she was in a frenzy because it looked so awful!
While I was talking about your money I should have mentioned that both the Canada Savings Bond and the money invested here appreciates next year, but I think Cec said that he thought the new Canada Bonds were just about the best investment so probably we should just re-invest them for you. You were talking about sending us a cheque for Christmas – don’t forget that I have your cheque book, and start worrying about where it is!
[Handwritten ending!] It is now Friday evening so I had better get this finished & mail it tomorrow. I spent all day making gingerbread men & have just packed a box to send some to Lindy! I will be writing again before Christmas but maybe you won’t get it, so I hope you have a really happy day. I sent my parcel quite early, but my card was late, so you may not get it.
Much love to you & Auntie Muriel
from Cyn.

November 29 1969

This letter from my grandmother reminds me of how different my ‘60s’ attitude was, compared to that of my grandmother and even my mother. It was the flower children era! I was at university, free to study what I wanted (unlike my mother at my age), free to wear jeans every day to class if I wanted (and I did, although I believe my high school finally stopped insisting that girls wear skirts after I left), although I also enjoyed dressing up in my mother’s creations. It’s just that the graduation ceremony and dinner/dance after were not as important to me as they were in their eyes, because they had had dances that had been rites of passage for them. By November 1969, I had moved on, and the rituals of high school no longer mattered that much. I had enjoyed the weekend, seeing my friends again, wearing my lovely outfits, going through the graduation ceremony, celebrating with my brother and cousin and friends, but I was focused on my new life and was enjoying it a lot more than high school!

Noyack,
St. Vincent

Nov. 29th. 69.

Dearest Lindy,
I have just realized that if I don’t hurry & get this letter to you at College, you will be going home for your Xmas vacation; I wonder how long a holiday you’ll have? – much longer than when at school I suppose? – Well! all the excitement of Graduation & the Ball, are all over – & I guess you wish you could have it all over again, or don’t you? I hope you had a really lovely time, your Mum send me the patterns of both your dresses, &, I think they were both beautiful – the mini one for graduation – would be so unusual, no other girl would have anything like it – being as how it came all the way from India! Then I liked your choice of the laminated blue material for the evening frock, exceedingly much! & my Lindy must’ve looked very beautiful!- I only wish I could have had a peep at her! Please take lots of pictures for me to see both you, & Charlie – as I hear, he was looking very smart in his new suit, with waist-coat, and all! I hope you both had a grand time & that Bruce was a good dancer – did you ‘Samba’ & ‘Jump-up’ and do all the strange, silly dances they do these days? Say what you like, a waltz takes a lot of beating!
I am sure you were all a bit worried about your dad’s operation, & having to be in hospital, &, I was so thankful to hear it was safely over & he was home again.
I wonder if your Saki cat missed you? When I was away, my little Sally cat had 4 kittens but Auntie M. gave them all away before I returned – about which I was sorry – however, she has just produced another 4 kits!! I am thinking of selling them at the Bazaar! The only trouble is, they will hardly have had their eyes open 2 weeks, poor wee things, but I do think a basketful of kittens would be quite an attraction don’t you? While I was away M’s dog ‘Andy’ was quite sick – in fact, Moo thought he was dying – however at the sight of me, he recovered! He is a good watchdog, but he barks at every sight & sound & nearly drives me silly – but we don’t like to stop him in case of thieves around.
Our church bazaar comes off on 6th – so we only have a week left & I am getting real nervous, as it’s the first time I’ve really had a stall on my own, but Auntie M. & Mrs. Glenn will help me – I sent you off home a small Xmas parcel, nothing much just a remembrance & Cyn will get you something with the cheque I’m sending her. It’s late so I’ll say good night.
God bless – much love, yours aye – Grannie.

[Written sideways on the first page:] Your nice letter came at last & I enjoyed it v. much.

October 31 1969

Oct. 31st 69

Dearest Lindy-
I carefully wrote down your college address – & now I cannot find it, so this must go to Ottawa & be forwarded. It will probably turn up sometime after I posted this – I am enclosing a PC to remind you of the tropics now that winter is here!
I have now been home in St. Vincent two weeks & 2 days – but it seems ages and ages ago since I flew off from Kennedy Airport.
Last week we had a great celebration as St. Vincent assumed its ‘Statehood’. There were all sorts of functions beginning with a Service of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral, which was truly packed; Jack Otway [their nephew] came from Trinidad that morning & went with us to the service. Then he went with me to a Cocktail party next afternoon at the Botanical Gardens – fortunately, it was fine – as there were quite 1000 people there, but inspite of crowd, Jack & I quite enjoyed ourselves – eating snacks, & drinking juice! There were also banquets & balls, & lots of jumpings-up & steel bands in the streets, & much rejoicing everywhere. We now have a Governor (English – at present) & a Prime Minister, & other men to run the government – mostly black.
I am so glad you got home for Thanksgiving & I wonder if you are returning for your graduation sometime soon? A case of better late than never eh?
Your Mum told me your friends were talking of going to spend a weekend with you. I wonder if it came off & if they all packed into your room? What a squash!
How about your music & singing. I hope you’re keeping them up – & are you in the choir? Write & give me all your news. Mill writes they’ve had snow already – very early surely? I hope it’s not too cold with you?
Very much love from me, & Moo, & Jacko!
Yr loving- Grannie.

Indian Bay & Villa Point, St. Vincent, West Indies

On the postcard, with only the generic address of Trent University, Canada:

Dear Lindy, I send you this view to warm you up now that Winter is upon you! The Hotel on the Point is where Mill & Ford stayed when here last year, & and we had some lovely sea bathing. Soon you will have to come & enjoy some swimming in this nice blue sea! I hear you wrote me, but I missed yr. letter – so I will write soon & tell you all about our Statehood. Love & XXX, Gran.

October 8 1969

This letter is the final one in the two month Linda-goes-to-university diversion, after which the letters go back to Cyn writing to her mother Carol instead of her daughter. (I’m sure she did go on writing to me, and that Grannie did too, but the first two months were the only bunch of letters I preserved, although a few from Cyn over the university years have survived.) At this point, Carol’s visits to relatives in Ottawa and New York are coming to an end, and she is going home to St.Vincent where she lives with her sister (Auntie Muriel). Cyn’s letters will continue the saga of Linda at Trent- most events long since forgotten by me- as well as her daily life and news, although when Carol got them is another matter, the cousin in New York having to send on her post to the West Indies…

Linda (unsuccessfully) tries to send a letter to her grandmother before Carol goes home to St. Vincent.

Traill, Trent
Wed. Oct 8.

Dear Grannie,
This is the shortest of notes, just to tell you I’m doing fine and loving it here. I have lots of friends, and like all my classes.
Tomorrow I’m going home though because it’s Thanksgiving this Monday in Canada, and I’ve managed to get no lectures on Friday this week so I’m leaving after my last lecture at 6 on the 7:15 PM for Ottawa. I haven’t really been home- sick – to cry my eyes out every night I mean – but I’ve missed everybody. And letters mean a lot to me so I’m very glad for yours.
Mummy sent Alan and Donna’s picture to me & I think he looks a scream. Donna’s outfit is darling. A lot of the boys & professors here have beards, moustaches & long hair. Charlie is going to look scalped when I get home, after living with these types.

I’m looking forward especially to seeing Daddy, because I haven’t seen him since August. Also, there are lots of kittens living around here – although we’re not allowed 4 footed animals in residence – and we smuggle them into visit us, so I’ve been missing Saki too. You’ll be glad to get home and see your friends – both 2 & 4 legged – again. Say hello to June for me. I have Auntie Muriel’s book trough here with my favourite paper backs in for relaxation- everything from Jane Eyre to Elizabeth Gouge. And your teapot, (that is, my teapot that you gave me) decorates my bookcase – my table & shelves and walls are all cream coloured so I need a bit of colour.

I am taking English – all Shakespeare; History – Canadian only, darn it; Greek & Latin Literature in translation; Ancient History; and Psychology. I have about 12 hours a week in class – lectures or tutorials. We have these gowns – dark green, which doesn’t match anything, and they are an awful nuisance. We can wear whatever we want, so I can put on my slacks on cold days. It is very beautiful here now, with all the leaves turning – a perfect Thanksgiving weekend. A couple of West Indian girls are thrilled, and really looking forward to the snow – though I know they’ll get tired of it.

Well, it’s getting late and I’ll be in a bus for a long time tomorrow evening, so I think I’ll get to bed. Thanks so much for writing, if we don’t get at least one letter a day, we get awfully depressed (because everyone else seems to get mail when we don’t) so please keep it up.
My love to everybody & have a good trip home. Bon Voyage.
Love
Linda

October 1968

I include a newspaper clipping from the Ottawa Citizen because, small though it is, it gives a picture of some of the issues of that year.

Cyn’s note: You sent me a cutting about this didn’t you?

The establishment of the American Peace Corps that decade influenced the start of similar organizations in other counties, including Canada. [Ten years later, Linda would go to Nigeria, along with a cohort of other young Canadians, teaching there for two years with CUSO, working with Nigerian teachers, NYSC graduates, and other ex-pat teachers; meeting volunteers from the VSO in England; making friends and enjoying her students in what was a very positive experience.] Cyn and her mother exchanged news, letters and newspaper clippings about subjects of interest, and Carol kept one of these from October 1968, about an Ottawa surgeon volunteering in the summer in St. Vincent, so that the local surgeon could take a holiday. The Canadian Executive Services Overseas and the Canadian Medical Association worked together to make this possible and it seemed to be successful.

On the reverse side of the clipping is a story about children sniffing glue, citing the death of a 10-year-old Ottawa boy, and the efforts of a local entrepreneur in Hull, across the river from Ottawa in Quebec, to restrict the sale of glue to minors. Linda and Charlie may have been unaware of it at the time, but the drug culture was affecting their school and their generation.

The last story on the clipping is pure 1968, in that the very respected fundraising of the United Appeal featured a “psychedelic go-go breakfast” for its campaign workers! Sadly, the story does not feature the menu, but focuses on the need to “hustle” to beat the figure raised in the previous year.

December 6 1961

Back in May [May 17 1961] Cyn, in a long letter to her mother, referred to her Will and her shares, since they had been discussing which Bank should act as Carol’s executor. The last letter [November 23 1961] was Cec’s long-delayed information about her finances. (This letter from Carol Ewing- ‘Dearest Mummy’ to Cyn, Mum to Cec, Grannie to me and Charlie- only exists because she sent it on an Air Form with a map of St. Vincent that I later used for a school project, which Cyn kept in the scrapbook.) Carol’s answer to Cec about the investments he made for her gives a sample of the typing which Cyn is always encouraging her to do, as well as an idea of her personality, brief though it is.

Noyack
Murray Rd.
St. Vincent.

Dec: 6th 61.

Dear Cec,
Thanks for your note, I am just recovering from shock!! but this is to send you good wishes from St.V: as you will see by inside I thought it would interest you and amuse you too. It is a scheme to raise funds for our Red Cross, I think it was Mrs. Giles’ idea, but whether she did the drawing I do not know, the only fault I have to find about it is that they have not shown all the mountains in the centre of the island, but the products are very good aren’t they?
Thanks so much for getting the Bonds for me, if I had remembered sooner I w’d have told you to leave them over for the present, however it’s done, and I’ll have to come and pick them up in 1970! ha ha!!
When I wrote my will they asked me for a list of my investments, so I wrote to Martin’s and got them, then I added the number of the bonds, they wanted to know the name of my Canadian Bank, I told them Toronto G-T-Corp: he then said he would have to contact them about the Bonds, but I told him they were not at my Bank that you had them. So probably they will contact you, such a fuss!! Anyway, beware!!
I am so thankful to know Cyn is improving slowly but surly I hope, you must have had a bad time of it, if only I had been there this year instead of last, I w’d have been there to help, too sad & bad. I am glad you like the new car and I hope it goes on well, & the debt will soon get cleared.
Sorry this is written so badly but I have a man painting the wires at my windows, and he is making such a mess of the glass, that I am swearing and having to stop every minute to tell him off, and I am full of splashes too!!
Very much love to you all and “have a happy”
Yours Mum.

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.

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…

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!

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.

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!

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.

June 4 1956

This is the third letter from Carol’s friend, who has lent her beach-side cottage to Carol so she can take her visiting sister for a local holiday to Villa which they knew from childhood, while Mrs Edmunds helps Lewis seek treatment in Toronto.

4/6/56 [but postmarked June 7th.]

My dear Carol,
Many thanks for your second letter of the 30th received the day before yesterday. It was so nice to hear you say how settled you feel already in Villa & that you & Trix are going to be happy there – it’s lovely for you having Fred’s car which will solve all the transport problems for you won’t it?
Thank you for being so kind to my Prince, & I’m sure he’ll be much happier now that you are there to fuss him – pussy too. At the moment Lewis plans on returning the first week in July – I’m sorry to say he’s not as well as he was on arrival & is somewhat depressed about himself – of course Carol quite between ourselves I don’t think there is anything the Doctors can do for him now – Glynn told me that a long time ago but saw how keen Lewis was on this trip to Canada & how much faith he had in this blood specialist here & hoped for a miracle, so said the best thing to do was to let him come. The Dr told me the same thing the last time I saw him & said he would give Lewis some treatment for the weakness of his legs, (which is getting worse!) but we didn’t tell Lewis this naturally, & I don’t want him to lose hope. I shall be very thankful to get Lewis safely home again – the responsibility weighs somewhat heavily at times, especially with the bad news of Glynn. After being without news since I left Villa I had a letter yesterday written from Hospital where he had had an internal operation 2 days ago! Another letter this morning saying he was still in Hospital & in pain but was hoping to be out in a few days time. I knew he was far from well when he went home & I only hope he will soon recover now & return to his old self.
I do hope you are making use of the radio and the piano? It’s sweet of you to bother to weed Carol, but please don’t work too hard – you’re supposed to be on holiday you know. You don’t mention your little dog so I presume you left her behind – what a pity – Prince would love to have her I know.
We’ve had all the seasons since we arrived here, weather unknown in Toronto for hundreds of years! June 1 & 2nd were bitterly cold, then some miserable wet days & now today we’re back to Summer again – I hope it stays now.
I’m still hoping to see Niagara Falls but I am dubious about taking Lewis – yet it would be too disappointing to miss seeing one of the world’s wonders.
With very kindest regards from Lewis to you both & with my love,
Affectionately,
Dorée.

And here the story ends. If Cyn mentions Dorée Edmunds or Lewis in any future letters, we may find out some more details about their health- or Prince- but without Carol’s letters there is no closure. The only hint we get in Cyn’s summer letters is an offhand comment about the cook leaving- apparently Dorée’s ‘staff’ will be one short on her return!

June 2 1956

This is the second of three letters written to Carol (Dearest Mummy) in St. Vincent by a friend who is in Canada for medical appointments, and has lent her beach-side house to Carol so she and her sister can leave Kingstown and enjoy a local holiday.

June 2nd 1956

My dear Carol,
I was simply delighted to get your letter yesterday afternoon and to know that you and Trixie were going out to Villa on Monday. It was sweet of you to be so concerned about Prince on my behalf as I am so glad to hear that he was all right. It’s only natural he would be fretting but I know he will be so much happier when he has your company & affection- he loves a fuss!
You will have had my letter from Barbados long ago & will no doubt have already heard of our safe arrival here? Our flight was smooth all the way with lovely weather, but very tiring & we were both glad to reach journeys end. Lewis stood the trip very well on the whole but is quite certain that he could never have attempted it alone, or be able to go about Toronto on his own, & I am thankful I was able to accompany him.
The Medical matters are progressing well- the eye specialist advises quite definitely against an operation which relieves my mind greatly & re-assures Lewis that there is nothing more to be done but to accept the verdict, & to make the best of things as they are.
The Dr. is giving Lewis a course of treatment for the weakness in his limbs which will take about 4 weeks.
I’ve had a sinus x-ray & I am now awaiting the results – will let you know.
The weather was cold on arrival, warmed up for a day or two & then yesterday the 1st of June was a freezing day! It’s somewhat better this morning so I hope summer is on the way at last!
Toronto is a lovely city & the shops full of temptation – the prices are very high as you know so it’s no use wanting too many things!
We were so glad to know that your brother is now out of the hospital & do so hope that his recovery will soon be complete – it’s been worrying time for you all. Yes, we knew about poor Mrs. Hetherington & I’m so sorry for her & the Doctor – it’s going to be a long time before she’s well again I fear & she’ll need all her courage & patience to sustain her – & there’s so little one can do to help.
Well dear I am thinking so much about you & hoping that all is going well & that you are quite happy & comfortable at Villa & that you found all in order. Please don’t hesitate to ask me about anything that may not be as you wish it to be.
With my love to you & my kindest regards to your sister & a huge hug for my Prince please.
Affectionately yours,
Dorée.