The Rings

Lois wears three rings on the second finger of her left hand. The first ring, the one with the three opals was given to Mae Rolston by Bob Hearn as an engagement ring sometime before they were married in 1910. Mae wore it all her married life, and after her death in 1933 the ring was given to Lois by her father. The second ring is Lois' engagement ring given to her in 1936 by Gordon. The tiny diamond in the ring is an accurate reflection of Gordon's financial situation as a young school teacher in rural Ontario during the Depression. On one particular occasion this ring caused a huge panic for Lois. It happened when she was working part-time at Douglas' Paint and Stationary Store in St. Marys. She was sorting cards when suddenly she noticed that the diamond was missing from her ring. The other clerks in the store all stopped what they were doing to search for the missing diamond which, in reality, is a diamond chip. Fortunately Hazel Fairbanks found the missing stone and Lois went immediately to Ross Andrew's Jewellery Store to have it reset. On seeing the ring the saleswoman suggested that Lois upgrade the setting to something of better quality. Lois refused, insisting that the ring be left as it was originally, stone chip, simple setting and all. The third ring with the ruby stone surrounded by diamonds was given to Lois in December 1977 by Gordon to commemorate their fortieth wedding anniversary.

Wedding Gifts

In the summer of 2006, Lois had a new asphalt roof put on her house. All the old roofing was thrown into a large dumpster parked next to the house. When Bob arrived for his usual Saturday afternoon in the garden, Lois explained that the reason why there was an old plastic swimming pool and and a broken bicycle in the dumpster, along with all the old roofing, was because she had invited neighbours to use the dumpster as a means of getting rid of their old junk .... and, by the way, she had tossed out some old wedding gifts that had been sitting in the basement for years. An hour later when Lois was picking up branches in another part of the garden, Bob scrambled into the dumpster, and found, under lots of heavy roofing, a small cardboard box containing a variety of silver plated candy and serving dishes. None was valuable and all were very black. Here is a sample of what they looked like (after they had been cleaned) and here is the note which Lois wrote when she gave each of her four children one of the reclaimed-from-the-dumpster wedding gifts from 1937 (remember, double clicking enlarges).

Mrs. Tyler's Wedding Gift

Mrs. Tyler was one of Mae Hearn's best friends. She lived around the corner, north from #9 school. She was reputed to be a women who never stopped working. One of the many essential tasks of the farm housewife during the 1930's was to feed - abundantly and well - the men when they came in from the fields. Timing was essential in planning the meals. The hot food could not be taken off the stove until one caught sight of the men beginning to move in from the fields. While she waited by the window for the first sight of the men, Mrs. Tyler would stand and knit. Then, when the men appeared, she would put the knitting down and begin to transfer the hot food into bowls and on to the table. After Mae Hearn died, it was Mrs. Tyler that Lois turned to whenever she needed help with learning how to cook or can or to do any of the hundreds of other tasks which women performed. Here is the only picture we have of Mrs. Tyler. It was taken in 1920 at a St. Pauls Women's Institute meeting. With the white hair she looks much older than we would expect. Seventeen years later when Lois married Gordon, Mrs. Tyler gave Lois a quilt, every stitch of which Mrs. Tyler did herself. Now, 70 years later that quilt is displayed, preciously and never used, at the foot of the spool bed in the boys' room of Lois' house.

The 27th December 1937 .. cont'd

Well, the car didn't disappear into Black Creek, but when Gordon and Lois did emerge from the manse, they found their car at the bottom of the hill securely wired to a second car parked in front of the community hall. (On the right is Avonton Presbyterian church as it looks today with the manse next door. The front window of the manse that can be seen to the left of the porch in this picture is the one through which Lois watched the car roll down the hill toward Black Creek.) Once Gordon as a newly married man, managed to extricate his car, he and Lois drove the 2 1/2 miles up to the 1st and 2nd concession and turned left to go to the McEwan homestead where Gordon's mother and father had lunch waiting. Lois' father Bob, and Laura Turner, in the meantime, returned home. Lunch consisted of salmon sandwiches and a sweet. Then, Gordon and Lois drove into Stratford where they were scheduled to catch the bus to London for the honeymoon. Since the car was needed at home Jack, Gordon's father rode into Stratford with them. As they drove down the Centre Gravel on their way to Stratford they met Earl Boyes, a neighbouring farmer who had previously dated Lois. (Earl had been married the year before to one of Gordon's many relatives in the area: Marie Ballantyne.) When he saw Earl's vehicle approaching, Jack ducked down in the back seat. "Good Lord, I don't want Boyes thinking I'm going on the honeymoon with you!" Gordon and Lois rode the bus to London and walked the three or four blocks to the Iroquois Hotel, then a prominent establishment on the north-west corner of Clarence and King Streets. During their two-day stay, Gordon spent considerable time on the phone to the various arenas asking for information on what sporting events were going on in the city. What he didn't realize was that every time he picked up the phone, he was adding to his hotel bill. For a guy who had a total of $100 for his entire honeymoon trip, and a wife who had absolutely no money, the bill which was presented at the end of their stay was a shocker. Somehow the bill got paid, but I would imagine that it was at this point that Gordon realized that he was a long way from Downie Township.

27 December 1937

No pictures of the wedding. None were taken. Here is how Lois tells the story: Gordon was teaching at Black Creek School. His Christmas school vacation gave them just enough time for a wedding and a short honeymoon. But, of course, all of this had to happen after the 25th because Lois was responsible for organizing Christmas for her father, and her six siblings. On the 25th, which was a Saturday, Lois cooked a Christmas dinner for the family, and two guests: elderly, unmarried, second cousins - David and Rachael Fulcher -- who always were invited for the Christmas meal. On the next day, the 26th, Gordon came to visit. It was snowing hard and the roads quickly became impassible. Lois' father Bob suggested that Gordon stay the night. The morning of the 27th was clear and Gordon left right after breakfast to drive home by way of Conroy and # 7 Highway where the roads were more likely to be clear. Lois got the breakfast ready and then did up the dishes before she got herself ready, without, of course, the aid of a bathroom or running water. (She also must have packed some type of bag for the wedding trip, but I have never heard what it was or what it contained.) Lois' Aunt Minnie (George's wife) came to stay with the youngest children, Vic being 7 and Roberta 5. Then father Bob drove Lois and Laura Turner (a friend of the family who was to be the second witness) to Avonton where Lois and Gordon had arranged to be married by Rev. Samuel Kerr in the front room of the manse of Avonton Presbyterian Church . The young couple, the two witnesses, and the minister were all that were present. The minister's study in the manse at Avonton Presbyterian Church faces west overlooking the Centre Gravel road which runs north through the village leading to Sebringville. In front of the church, the road follows a gentle decline down to the bridge over Black Creek. Rev. Kerr, performing the wedding ceremony, stood with his back to the window, Bible in hand. Gordon's car was parked outside on the road. As the vows were being said, Lois could see Elizabeth Robertson and several others hurrying up the road. Then, as Lois looked at the minister to repeat her vows, and beyond him to the scene outside, she could see Gordon's car rolling silently down the hill toward Black Creek. Gradually the car rolled out of view and disappeared to the right behind the curtain of the minister's study.
.... to be continued