I just got
off the phone with my Aunt Barb in MN. She gave me a story that I need to get
down before I forget it all.
Barb was
born in northern MN. I always wondered why and how this came about, since
her parents (my paternal Gram & Grandad, who raised me, but that is a whole different story!) lived in Ottawa
Canada.
It was
because in 1932, the Great Depression was in its heyday. My Gram was pregnant
with twins and she was not well at all. Her doctor in Ottawa
told her to go to the US
where she could get better health care than she could get here in Canada. Gram
was born in MN, had all kinds of family there and (supposition here…) was able
to go & get help stateside.
Thus, Gram ended
up with her mum & dad, Gram & Grampa Woods, in (I believe) Eveleth, MN.
The twins were born, altho’ Barb’s sister, Wilma was still born. After a while,
it was time to go home, but the Depression had a strong grip on Canada, a bit deeper than the US was facing
at the time. It was decided that it would be better for Barb to stay in MN,
rather than go back to Ottawa
and face the hardships there. Besides, Gram Simpson was still not very healthy and all things considered, this would be best all round.
[ By the
time my Grandad & Gram Simpson were settled in, with 2 more children, I imagine
that they decided that Barb was also nicely settled with her grandparents. They
didn’t want to take here out of that environment. ] ← supposition, again
Barb told
me that when she was around 4 years old, the folks in MN thought that maybe she
would be OK to move to Ottawa.
Her Uncle Norman & dad Thomas brought her to Ottawa and then left a couple of days later, in the middle of the
night, no less!
Well, Barb
was at a loss as to what was going on. She said that she cried for two weeks
straight. It got to the point where my Grandad Bill was at wits end, so Grampa
Woods (Thomas) came back to Ottawa,
collected up this lost little girl, and brought her back to the home she knew
and loved.
-- Now, this
explained a “wonder why?” I’ve had for years and never had the courage to just
simply ask about it. --
Barb said
that she came to Ottawa almost every year for a
two week visit, always with her Gram Woods and occasionally with Grampa Woods
& Uncle Norman.
She and her siblings (my Aunt Judy and Dad) would almost live at the Hog’s Back Beach,
now Mooney’s Bay.
Aunt Barb
told me stories of her and my Aunt Judy swimming the pool just below the Hogs Back Falls on the Rideau River.
She described moving along the rocks with her hands because there was no bottom
and most of the rocks she clung to were over-hangs. Barb said that now she
realizes that if she had lost her grip, she could very well have been pulled
under one of those over-hangs and never be found.
I was told
about my Great-Grandad Thomas helping to install the posts to bring electricity
to the cottages / homes that were along the Rideau
River, between the river and the
Rideau Canal, just south of what is now the Heron Road Bridge.
Barb talked
about never really wondering, or not much, about her living with her
grandparents when her actual parents were so far away and in a different country.
“Dad Bill” and “Mum Merle” were her parents. They just weren’t there. She told
me that it really didn’t matter since all the families, both in MN and Ottawa, were quite close,
always got along and always kept in touch.
=======
I realize
now, with time slipping on by and family knowledge going the same way, just how
important it is to gather up all those tidbits of history & lore and get it
saved for future generations. My ancestry searches have brought up more
questions than answers, but those who may have the answers are gone from me
now.
If you’re
curious, ASK. If you know, write it down. We all can gain from our past, and
carry it into the future so that all may know and learn.
Keep The Faith*
