Friday, October 8, 2010

Several Old Columns Pt 2: “Great-uncle Arthur” - his name lives on

In January, 1993 an article by my mother (Edith Jane Harrison) was published in the Norwich Gazette entitled ‘The Thirties: A little went a long way.’

I have a copy of it thanks to Carlisle Penney, a former resident of Norwich, at present a resident of London, who still subscribes to The Gazette and left a few 18 - 19-year old columns written by my parents in my mailbox on a when my wife and I were likely galavanting around our nation’s capital and spending my hard-earned money as if there was no tomorrow.

I’m so glad he did.

I’ve read several of the columns by now and have been rewarded for my efforts several times over.

About ‘The Thirties: A little went a long way.’

I notice my mother liked the colon ( : ) as much as I do now. Why, I can barely start the day without at least one or two. (Sure, look at earlier posts if you don’t believe me).

Part of a paragraph, mid-story, piqued my interest.

“Great-uncle Arthur always had a large garden; he would drop by with baskets of this and that, and he kept chickens and a cow - without him we would have been worse off after Dad died.”


[“Great-uncle Arthur and I have similar facial features.”]


["Uncle Arthur, Aunt Edith's grave stone, Norwich, Ont.": photos GH]

“They (Arthur and his wife) had no children, but he planted and harvested each year and no doubt helped other families besides ours. Aunt Edith was a great cookie baker, I especially remember her ginger cookies, my favourites.”


["Ida Belle Catton, my mother's mother"]

I wonder if my mother was named after her Aunt Edith? I wonder if my middle name, Arthur, is a connection to her great-uncle? If so, we both share a connection to very hard-working and generous people.

I also learned my mother had an Uncle George who “lived around the corner”, worked at the fertilizer factory (I know where that used to stand) and was my grand-mother’s half-brother.

Now, I know my Great-grandmother Gordon was married twice, so perhaps George was from her first marriage. If so, my family tree just got a bit more complicated - and that’s okay, because I hear there is strength in diversity.


["My great-grandmother - a Campbell by birth - married first a Gordon, then a Robbins"]

Finally, I noticed my mother said that without Arthur’s help “we would have been worse off after Dad died.”

She wrote the column when she was about 70-years old, and probably remembered Arthur fondly. He was a help to a family that was perhaps doing poorly or facing struggles because there was no man in the house. And as mother, at 70, wrote she remembered those hard times without her father - her Dad.


["Lawrence or Lorne Catton, my mother's Dad"]

I’m glad those feelings about her Dad lived on inside her.

And live on in her writings.

.

4 comments:

Jane said...

Me too, glad that is.
Imagine our meals growing up without dad's garden: no strawberries, no corn on the cob, no yellow beans, no carrots, potatoes, raspberries, radishes (yuck), leaf lettuce, onions, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers... why...we would have starved to death!
One summer I worked in tobacco for 56 days straight and every day I ate cheese whiz and green pepper sandwiches - an amazing combination I invented from my love of cheese whize and an overabundance of green peppers in our garden:) Ahhhh memories...
Lannie wrote a post - and she's thinking of joining my network of personal finance bloggers who have made a committment to spend "consciously" for the next year. Hey - three bloggers in the family!

G. Harrison said...

hi Jane,

I remember we had so many strawberries one summer I got tired of eating them. my appetite for them is back now.
I've only seen a couple of gardens as large as dad's in my short lifetime. few are as dedicated or have a family w five kids w hollow legs!
now that you own 4 acres in potato country I'm expecting big things, like spuds.
cheers,

gord

Lannie Good said...

Hi Gord: If it wasn't for great Uncle Arthur I think at nana's house there would have been some empty tummys..It was even harder for widows back then. I remember dad's big gardens too, hated picking raspberries. But after I got married I had a garden there too, imagine driving an hour to do weeding! Dad and I used to get hives from eating so many tomatoes and strawberries. Remember the huge pails of honey he would buy in Burgessville? The gardening gene lives on with me I guess and you do your bit, as does Kim and Jane will probably do more when she retires..It's hard not to think of mom and dad picking veggies or when admiring my flowers. love L.Dee

G. Harrison said...

Lannie, you definitely have the green gene. I have more fun taking pictures and writing about veggies than growing them. However, I have a plan for next year already, more pots on the back deck (our yard gets too much shade now).

I bet you, mom and dad saved thousands of dollars due to your efforts. All healthy living too.

Do you have any pictures of Arthur? I think he and I look alike - except for the baggy pants.

Cheers,

Gord