Heirloom Scrapbook Volume 3

Volume 3 of the Heirloom Scrapbook focuses on my mom’s side of the family.  I did not know these grandparents at all as they both passed away before I was born – so I cannot contribute with memories as I could with my other grandparents.   My sister Deb has a knack for the written word and as I said, she wrote a small novelette about my grandfather’s journey to Canada. So she decided to write a novelette entitled ‘The Red Velvet Pouch’ which told a semi fiction history of the lives of Gramma and Grampa Waterfield while living in England, their journey to Canada and their life experience after settling in Forest.

Both grandparents were born in England, married in April of 1916 and immigrated to Canada in September of 1923.  Unfortunately my mom’s sister Christine passed away at the early age of 15 after she became ill with Rheumatic Fever.  In 1947, my mom lost her second born son at the age of 3 months to crib death. Gramma Waterfield passed away in 1956 at the age of 66 and Grampa passed away in 1962; he was only 69.  This family saw far too much tragedy in such a short period of time. 

 

Grampa was the baker and the gardener of the family and Gramma was the musician. They lived in a house that sat up on the hill and grampa’s gardens could be seen from afar.  He was an avid gardener and known for his lush peonies. I often heard stories of how grampa would hook you around the neck with his cane and pull you towards you if he wanted your attention.  

February 18, 1924, my mom was born.  This is the earliest picture we could find of my mother and as depicted on my fathers page, I investigated the news headlines for that day along with the prices for the basic necessities during that time.  This picture of my mom is the spitting image of my sister Kathy… which you will see in the upcoming volumes. 

This page shows my grampa’s lush and full peonies and his garden of holly hocks.  The babies in the pictures are my oldest brother Dick and my oldest sister Pat. 

This picture is my mom and her brother and sisters.  The top left picture has Mary in the drivers seat with Keith on her lap and mom (Clarice) is sitting on the hood of the car.  Below that: mom, Mary and Keith.  To the far left, Keith, my mom and Mary below her. The pictures in the middle are both of Christine just  before she passed away.

Below is a picture of my grandparents that also inspired me to create this scrapbook for everyone.  This picture was taken many years ago and it was taken in black and white.  At that time photographers would ‘touch up’ photos to add a bit of colour to enhance it.  It has hung on the wall in the same place at my mom’s for as long as I can remember.  When I was little, I can remember the numerous times some of my siblings would argue, “I get that picture willed to me someday” – ‘why do you get it?’ – and this would go on and on.  Now I’m the one that has the sentimental longing to keep things, but this picture didn’t mean the same thing to me as it did to them because I did not know these grandparents and they did.  So after several years, my mom had heard enough of the bantering.  So she tried to have replica’s made, but they just did not turn out.   So I literally took the picture one day and scanned it and reproduced it myself and it came out exactly the same; so now everyone has a copy in their book.  

  

Stay tuned for Volume 4 – my parents wedding …