"MAMA"
They say that there are seven wonders in the world; but I claim there once were eight.
She was born in Lowell, Mass. and grew up there and also in Barrington, N.S. When she met & courted & married my dad in Mass, they had their first of eight children in Lowell before moving to N.S. to reside permanently. This is where she made her life though she never got over her homesickness for the United States.
Born into the Seventh Day Adventest faith, she believed Saturday to be her Sabbath. Circumstances caused her to attend the local United Church where she could walk (we had no car) and where an organist and voice were badly needed. The love of her life was "music" & she grew to love our Church. What joy when she first played the new pipe organ and wore her beloved burgendy choir gown with the big white collar.
She was already into her 40's when her last baby was born but she was still full of energy & mischief. She'd play games with us and share songs & stories & skits. She would laugh so hard sometimes that she would almost go into hysterics and would frighten me.
She was a traditionlist and so we celebrated all of the holidays, Easter being her favourite. Her combined Junior & Senior choirs would display lovely contattas (musicals) and she was so proud. At Halloween she would make us outfits and costumes, even though all she had to work with were rags, sheets or face painting. She was so much FUN!
Cooking was another of her many gifts; she could stretch a dollar and make a meal out of a turnip that had sat down cellar since summer but in the dead of winter, tasted wonderful with that deer meat. Her Christmas cakes and her home-made cinnamon rolls, cookies and pies were mouth watering.
She liked to play cards (45's) and I learned by watching and listening to her play with the older children and daddy. She let me wind up the cuckoo clock, gather eggs from the henhouse, milk the cow, hang out clothes, iron, ice skate, draw, play hopscotch, marbles, play tricks and pranks, make home-made ice cream, sew, write poetry, sing, etc. But most importantly, she taught me to love.
She admitted to me once that I was not a "wanted" baby; I was her "surprise" baby. This is how she explained it: "But I'm 41 years old; I can't be pregnant again!" she exclaimed. "Well, you are and I don't see any reason why you should have a difficult delivery. All the others were easy enough. Call me if you have any problems."
She knew the old country Doctor meant well but how did he know how "easy" it was to give birth to a baby? He had told her after her last daughter was born that there should be no more as she was going through the change of life. But then she had a son! Now, just as he had turned 1 year old, she was expecting, AGAIN!
She never complained and immediately resumed raising her family of four girls and three boys. Often, her husband found work but sometimes, during the winter months, there was no income at all. They struggled to stay warm and clothed and fed. She would sometimes go without supper so her small children wouldn't have to go to bed or school hungry.
She'd sit with a cup of hot tea and perhaps a piece of bread; no-one seemed to notice as she made herself busy all of the time. Almost every day she'd do a wash using water she heated on top of the old wood stove; water drawn from the well or a pump inside her big kitchen. She'd hang them all outside to dry, even in the winter months. How weary she must have been as her stomach grew and her body craved rest.
That's where she was when the labour pains started; she was bending over the washboard in the old kitchen, facing the back woods, washing dirty diapers. Arrangements were made for the older ones to look after their smaller siblings and a taxi, driven by Lawrence Ryer, took her to a neighboring house. There, a Mrs. Bursto welcomed her and helped deliver her baby. The snowstorm caused the electricity to flicker but it stayed on into the long night.
Dr. R. Brannen arrived & as there were no complications, she took her baby and went home by taxi the next day. She wanted to use her sister's (middle) name for her new daughter's (middle) name and did so. Her husband then named the baby girl "Heather".
Because all of the kids had head colds, her father would not permit them into the new baby's bedroom, her parents room, for the first day or two that she was "home." It was a very bitter cold winter and the wind seemed to go right through the old two-story house, heated only by a wood stove and lit with one Aladdin lamp.
At night, she heated bricks inside the oven and when very hot, wrapped them in heavy newspaper and placed one in each bed. It was so cold one could see their breath in the dark bedrooms. The newborn child stayed close beside her mother & father and nursed for at least the first two or three years of her life.
The Canadian Government paid approximately $4.00 a month for a "Children's Allowance" and this check meant the world to them as there were 8 children. The 20th of the month was a very welcome day for Box #11 at the local Post Office! (the amount increased over the years until the check was for $16 each in 1965)
There were to be no more babies; eight was plenty! She was grateful to God that each one was born healthy, both physically and mentally. They were taken to Church and educated in the local school system. Each of her children was precious and loved and individually adored.
She never got a driver's license; she didn't work outside the home; she spent her years dedicated to her family and her church. The woman who gave life to me was very special and will be forever loved, treasured and cherished.
When she died early on Sunday, March 4th, 1979 at the age of 72, she died quietly and peacefully, as she had lived her life. Buried in her choir gown as requested, her favourite Minister travelled back to Barrington to assist at the funeral.
The melody in our home died with her. She was an American, an Ice Skater, a musician, a wife, a mother, a grandmother; but to me she was that eighth wonder of the world and I just called her "Mama."
They say that there are seven wonders in the world; but I claim there once were eight.
She was born in Lowell, Mass. and grew up there and also in Barrington, N.S. When she met & courted & married my dad in Mass, they had their first of eight children in Lowell before moving to N.S. to reside permanently. This is where she made her life though she never got over her homesickness for the United States.
Born into the Seventh Day Adventest faith, she believed Saturday to be her Sabbath. Circumstances caused her to attend the local United Church where she could walk (we had no car) and where an organist and voice were badly needed. The love of her life was "music" & she grew to love our Church. What joy when she first played the new pipe organ and wore her beloved burgendy choir gown with the big white collar.
She was already into her 40's when her last baby was born but she was still full of energy & mischief. She'd play games with us and share songs & stories & skits. She would laugh so hard sometimes that she would almost go into hysterics and would frighten me.
She was a traditionlist and so we celebrated all of the holidays, Easter being her favourite. Her combined Junior & Senior choirs would display lovely contattas (musicals) and she was so proud. At Halloween she would make us outfits and costumes, even though all she had to work with were rags, sheets or face painting. She was so much FUN!
Cooking was another of her many gifts; she could stretch a dollar and make a meal out of a turnip that had sat down cellar since summer but in the dead of winter, tasted wonderful with that deer meat. Her Christmas cakes and her home-made cinnamon rolls, cookies and pies were mouth watering.
She liked to play cards (45's) and I learned by watching and listening to her play with the older children and daddy. She let me wind up the cuckoo clock, gather eggs from the henhouse, milk the cow, hang out clothes, iron, ice skate, draw, play hopscotch, marbles, play tricks and pranks, make home-made ice cream, sew, write poetry, sing, etc. But most importantly, she taught me to love.
She admitted to me once that I was not a "wanted" baby; I was her "surprise" baby. This is how she explained it: "But I'm 41 years old; I can't be pregnant again!" she exclaimed. "Well, you are and I don't see any reason why you should have a difficult delivery. All the others were easy enough. Call me if you have any problems."
She knew the old country Doctor meant well but how did he know how "easy" it was to give birth to a baby? He had told her after her last daughter was born that there should be no more as she was going through the change of life. But then she had a son! Now, just as he had turned 1 year old, she was expecting, AGAIN!
She never complained and immediately resumed raising her family of four girls and three boys. Often, her husband found work but sometimes, during the winter months, there was no income at all. They struggled to stay warm and clothed and fed. She would sometimes go without supper so her small children wouldn't have to go to bed or school hungry.
She'd sit with a cup of hot tea and perhaps a piece of bread; no-one seemed to notice as she made herself busy all of the time. Almost every day she'd do a wash using water she heated on top of the old wood stove; water drawn from the well or a pump inside her big kitchen. She'd hang them all outside to dry, even in the winter months. How weary she must have been as her stomach grew and her body craved rest.
That's where she was when the labour pains started; she was bending over the washboard in the old kitchen, facing the back woods, washing dirty diapers. Arrangements were made for the older ones to look after their smaller siblings and a taxi, driven by Lawrence Ryer, took her to a neighboring house. There, a Mrs. Bursto welcomed her and helped deliver her baby. The snowstorm caused the electricity to flicker but it stayed on into the long night.
Dr. R. Brannen arrived & as there were no complications, she took her baby and went home by taxi the next day. She wanted to use her sister's (middle) name for her new daughter's (middle) name and did so. Her husband then named the baby girl "Heather".
Because all of the kids had head colds, her father would not permit them into the new baby's bedroom, her parents room, for the first day or two that she was "home." It was a very bitter cold winter and the wind seemed to go right through the old two-story house, heated only by a wood stove and lit with one Aladdin lamp.
At night, she heated bricks inside the oven and when very hot, wrapped them in heavy newspaper and placed one in each bed. It was so cold one could see their breath in the dark bedrooms. The newborn child stayed close beside her mother & father and nursed for at least the first two or three years of her life.
The Canadian Government paid approximately $4.00 a month for a "Children's Allowance" and this check meant the world to them as there were 8 children. The 20th of the month was a very welcome day for Box #11 at the local Post Office! (the amount increased over the years until the check was for $16 each in 1965)
There were to be no more babies; eight was plenty! She was grateful to God that each one was born healthy, both physically and mentally. They were taken to Church and educated in the local school system. Each of her children was precious and loved and individually adored.
She never got a driver's license; she didn't work outside the home; she spent her years dedicated to her family and her church. The woman who gave life to me was very special and will be forever loved, treasured and cherished.
When she died early on Sunday, March 4th, 1979 at the age of 72, she died quietly and peacefully, as she had lived her life. Buried in her choir gown as requested, her favourite Minister travelled back to Barrington to assist at the funeral.
The melody in our home died with her. She was an American, an Ice Skater, a musician, a wife, a mother, a grandmother; but to me she was that eighth wonder of the world and I just called her "Mama."
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