The bag held several old columns written by my parents

Within seconds of arriving home from Ottawa recently and looking inside a plastic bag that was found among a stack of papers and mail left by a neighbour on the dining room table, I knew I was holding family treasure.


[“A collection of articles - a rare find”: photos GH]

The bag contained articles written for the Norwich Gazette by my father, circa early 1990s.


One article was entitled ‘Merchant mariner, true Norwich hero.’

My heart jumped. I’d been looking at books related to the Merchant Marine while at Canada’s War Museum in Ottawa.


[“My dad looks a bit like Crankshaft in this shot”]

Another my father wrote was about his workplace, the Norwich Co-op, and included a picture from the 1930s.

Good Lord, I thought. I discovered a story my mother had written in November, 1992. It was called ‘Life around the town tank: War days’ and appeared under the word ‘Columnist.’


[“Mother lived beside the town’s water tank in the 1930s - 40s”]

What a find. Real treasure.

Then I pulled out another:

‘The Thirties: A little went a long way’ by Edith J. Harrison. The topic - the depression years.


[“A reproduced photo of Edith J. - bottom center - was found”]

It included a photo of her great-uncle Arthur, seen leaning against a fence in his yard and beside his garden.

Too soon I came to the bottom of the pile of columns.

Then I began to read.

Treasure.

***

More to follow.

.