Women's Institute Circulating Library 1935

The Women's Institute -- like the Orange Lodge before it -- is disappearing as a fixture of rural life in South Western Ontario. For many years, however, the WI played an important educational and social role in the lives of farm women. In 1935 the Downie Township W. I. to which Gordon's mother Beanie belonged, established a circulating library for the use of its members. Likely individual members contributed books from their own collection to be part of the library. Sunset Pass, a Zane Grey novel published by Musson Book Company in 1931 and owned by Mrs. Jack McEwan was one book in the circulating library. Glued to the inside cover of the book is a pinwheel circulation list. Anyone who knows the farmhomes on the Centre Gravel leading to Avonton can visualize the path taken by the book as it moved in a biweekly path through the neighbourhood. From Mrs. Jack McEwan it went to Mrs. J. Boyes, Mrs. W. Robertson, Florence Aitcheson and so on until it reached Mrs. Robt. Thompson, Charlotte Simpson, Mrs. E. Erb where it was then returned to Beanie McEwan. (You remember that if you double click on the image you can enlarge it.) It is somewhat ironic that only the single women retain their individual identity on the list; the married women are all listed as somebody's wife. I wonder how good these women were at keeping the book moving in the rotation and how many of the books ended their lives in someone else's house. Evidently, this particular book found its way back to its original owner. From the one page that appeared when I opened the book, it is obvious that Sunset Pass was not complex reading. Nonetheless, I am sure that it provided an important source of relaxation and imaginative escape for many women.

The Silver Dollar Gift

In the spring of 1952, almost exactly 10 years after he first sighted the fieldstone school at Dicksons Corners, Gordon decided to return his family to Perth County. Teaching in the era before unions, was not lucrative, and Gordon, who had brothers-in-law who were aspiring businessmen, decided to leave teaching and to enter business in partnership with Walter Clarke the owner of a thrivings hardware store in St. Marys. Lois, who had grown to love her life and independence as the schoolteacher's wife at SS#3 North Oxford was particularly sad to leave. However, she recognized -- and agreed with Gordon that -- at least financially -- they would be better off in St. Marys. At a presentation in the township hall, the departing family was given a series of gifts. A linen tablecloth decorated with large red bunches of roses was presented to Gordon and Lois. The girls were given a reading lamp for their bed and the two boys were each given a silver dollar. The lamp as shown still hangs on what we call the girls' bed, and the silver dollars were put away in an envelope and only recently resurfaced, somewhat tarnished but never used. Along with the silver dollar was a note from Gordon explaining its importance.

House Flies

The fly strip was a standard feature of kitchens in the 1940's and 50's. I remember a fly strip in our kitchen at both Dicksons Corners and St. Marys. The fly trap consisted of a strip of yellow paper about 3 inches wide and possibly 24 inches long that spiralled out of a thin cardboard canister. Heavily coated with a heavy, sticky substance the paper was attached typically by a string to the light fixture that hung from the ceiling and hovered over the kitchen table. Of course, the purpose of the fly strip was to entrap unawary house flies searching for a respite from their ceaseless buzzing through the kitchen . Once alighted on the surface of the paper, their feet became stuck and no matter how much they buzzed and pulled they were unable to free themselves. Inevitably they died stuck to the paper. In the hot summer these fly papers quickly became covered with the dead bodies of hundreds of flies and when there was no more room on the trap we threw out the paper and hung up a new one. I have no idea how much these fly traps cost or when we quit using them. While, in retrospect, the fly strip with its dozens of dead and dying house flies, was visually unappetising, it was simple device that served a very useful purpose. In previous decades the role which house flies played in the spread of disease was not well understood. Furthermore, the annoyance caused by the dozens of house flies that bred, buzzed, and landed on food, should not be forgotten. Here are two stories that illustrate this point. Lois tells of a technique they used on hot summer days to rid the Riley kitchen of the hundreds of house flies which, attracted by the cooking, had invaded the room. Everyone would gather in the far corner of the kitchen armed with a coat, a sweater, or a piece of cloth. One person would open the kitchen door and the rest, waving their coats vigorously in front of them would proceed in unison to the kitchen door hoping to sweep the flies outside. In the second story Curly Wilson is reminiscing about St. Marys in the 1890"s: "Manure, smells and flies go together and one cannot imagine the difference between downtown then and downtown to-day. Privies were also a problem but health officers were not as aware of the connection of wastes to diphtheria and typhoid as they should have been. A gradual tightening of regulations forced butcher shops to put on screen doors much to the disgust of the owners who felt such regulations were unnecessary and bureaucratic"

The number of flies in our homes has decreased dramatically in the past several decades. Whether this is the result of better storage and protection of food, improved methods of screening in homes, or new insecticides, I am not sure. Whatever the cause, one result has been the disappearance of the fly strip as a feature in family kitchens.

Our Orange Heritage

In an article entitled ‘Order and Respectibility’ The Glorious Twelfth in St.Marys, Richard Holt reviews the history of the Orange Order in Perth County and speculates on the social and political role which the Orange Lodge played in the community. The Orange Order is important in our family. Lois’ father Bob Hearn was a lifelong, ardent Orangeman. He never missed a twelfth of July parade. By the very fact of his membership in the organization Bob Hearn must have acknowledged and supported the strong pro-Protestant and anti-Catholic philosophy of the Orange Order. And yet, he and his family regularly socialized with their Catholic neighbours. Lois’ best friend was Mary Riley. There are pictures of the two families exchanging Sunday afternoon visits. In his article, Richard Holt suggests that this disconnect between the biased philosophy of the order, and the realty of the social and commercial world of Perth County was not atypical. The first Orange Lodge, LOL 518, was established in St. Marys in 1853, just 10 years after the first settlement. These first settlers were largely Protestant, with large groups of Ulster and Palatine Irish living on the west of the Thames River, and Scots and English settling on the east of the river. Interspersed among these Protestant groups were a few Catholic families, with larger concentrations of Catholics in Hibbert Township and in the Gore of Downie. As could be expected, some of the biases and historical feuds from the old country were transplanted into Perth County. The result was a strong sentiment in favour of the Orange Lodge in the St. Marys area. At the height of its power, there were seven LOL lodges in St. Marys, Downie, Blanshard and East Nissouri. On the 12th of July lodges throughout the county came together to parade in celebration of the Battle of the Boyne - "The Glorious Twelfth" - a small battle in which the forces of King William of England in 1690 defeated the Catholic Jacobites. These 12th of July marches were often followed by intemperate harangues provided by local clergy who railed against the evils of Jesuitism and exhorted the marchers to stand firm against the power of Catholicism. Over time, however, and faced with the broader realities of life in Ontario, Holt suggests that these sentiments gradually lost their meaning and, inevitably, they became empty rhetoric, a part of the tradition, but one which in itself, had little power or meaning. Like formalistic bedtime prayers, the rhetoric was repeated mindlessly and then forgotten. Gradually, the LOL lodges evolved into fraternal clubs for working class protestant men and women who came together for social outings and to be part of an organization with its rituals and ceremonies. Holt offers a couple of anecdotes to support his hypothesis. In the County parade of 1906, for example, John Walsh a wealthy Catholic store owner opened up his eleven acre property in Ardmore Park, to serve as the destination point for the Orange Parade. In a similar vein, Erma Keine a member of a Catholic family living in Perth County reminisced that all of the Catholic children in her area would go to watch the parade because they knew that Mr. Dunbar a neighbour and friend would be riding the white horse and carrying the open Bible in his role as King Billy. If it is true that the rhetoric did lose its meaning and it faded into irrelevancy, then that process may explain why John Walsh, a Catholic shopkeeper, could welcome the 12th of July marchers on to his property, why the parents of Erma Keine saw no problem in allowing her to watch the parade, and why Bob Hearn could attend a Orange Lodge meeting on one day and invite the Riley family to his home for a meal on the following day.

more on Ante Ante Over

My sister Lou spent her entire elementary school years as a student at Dicksons Corners. I asked for her recollections of the rules and traditions of "Ante Ante Over" as we played it in the 1940's.

Here is what she said: "I am putting down the details I recall - accurate or not.

• At Dickson's Corners - played over the entrance way. (as you remarked, only the bigger students would be strong enough to throw a ball over the height.)
• I remember this game as an early morning game only - as kids arrived at school each would join a side in orderly fashion.
• I do not recall a ball being provided by the school for this game; I think we waited for "the person with the ball" to arrive. I think it was expected that they would arrive early.
• As soon as there were a few on each side the game began. the person with the ball called "ante, ante over" and then threw
• If the other team caught the ball they went into attack mode, running as a team to tag with the ball as many on the opposite team as possible
• at the first sign of attack the opposite team was headed to the other side of the entrance (safe territory)
• because the ball had to be used as the tag, it could be carried by any team member not just the person catching it. I remember players being very generous about this - as well as who threw the ball
• if you were tagged you became a member of the other team
• so the game continued until one team had all the players
• I also remember the players being very honest about "catching" the ball - only your own team would know but individual reputations were built on those moments.
• there was always that build-in timing, The other team did not know if the ball had been caught ... and the opponents were going to charge at any moment or if they were adding to the thrill by waiting until "ante ante over!"