old news

Recently, I found some old newspapers from 1949 and 1950.  They are the Moncton Times and Transcript, and The Moncton Transcript from Moncton, New Brunswick, the city I grew up in.  These pictures will be of interest to some of my readers in the Maritimes as you will recognize some of the articles from days gone by.  I do hope my other readers will enjoy this blog as well, for the vintage ads and history.

This issue shows the Royal Route that Queen Elizabeth II would take

on her tour in Moncton.  

This travel trailer park was new that year (1949) and is still going today

but much larger. 

A modern house plan of the day.

Eaton's was Canada's competition to Sears as a major catalogue and

department store with large stores in many of Canada's cities.

In Moncton it was a big employer to thousands over the years,

including me.  Their dollar days changed to $1.49 day in the 60's.

Sadly, they stopped the catalogues in the 70's and only one

store remains in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

 

This ad is interesting because the oil industry has become really 'big'

in Alberta and still draws thousands of people from Atlantic Canada

to go there for good paying jobs.

This article must be why the newspaper, celebrating Moncton's 

Diamond Jubilee, was saved by my mother as

one of the postmasters was my own grandfather (lower center).

This article is about the Free Meeting House, built in 1821, Moncton's oldest building

and place of worship.  My grandparents lived in the house next door and as children,

when we got too restless, we were sent outdoors to play.  The graveyard around the building

was where we played hide and seek.  Oh dear.  Is that sacrilege?  The building

still stands today and is well maintained and open for tours.

I took this photo of the Free Meeting House in Sept. 2008

while driving by.  It's a beautiful old building.

Sadly my grandmother's sweet old house was torn down

and the property used for a parking lot.

Have you saved any newspapers because of articles in them? I did save

the newspaper from the day each of my children was born so, hopefully, 

the would be interested in reading the news of that special day at some time in their lives. 

Have you found any old newpapers?   I find them very interesting don't you?

Have a great day!

Blessings,

Pamela

to Sir with love

I have named the couple.

My father's family has an interesting history.  I was willed a small leather book that is

very old and someone has written, with a fountain pen, a family tree.

This is a page in the book that starts with a couple -

Sir Jonathan Keate = Susanna Hoo

Born 1633 - married 1660

died Sept. 17th 1700 and

buried at Kimpton aged 67.

Was knighted by Charles II for his adhesion to

his cause and his great loyalty.

So, in honour of this couple I have named the couple

Sir Jonathan and Susanna

The descendents of this couple eventually came from England to

Annapolis, Nova Scotia  in 1733.  They were Thomas Hide and his wife Alicia Maria.

He was a 'master carpenter in the ordnance department London on the pay rolls

of London Tower.'  I don't know

what he did for a living in Nova Scotia.  Thomas died in Annapolis Dec. 27, 1751.

I love geneology.  I haven't done any myself but some other family members have. 

It's a lot of work and I admire anyone who spends hours searching

records, graveyards, histories etc. to trace their lineage.

And, I truly find it interesting that my father's family history is recorded back

to London, England in the 1600's.

I don't know if my little figures came from my father's family home or not

and I know they aren't that old, but I like the names of my 

ancient relatives, so

they will be

Jonathan and Susanna

Do you have an interesting family tree?  Have you ever traced

your  family tree or history? 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I am going to a 'reunion' of my college

girlfriends that we have every fall.  We have a pot luck supper,

a sleepover and breakfast the next morning.  In between will be

lots of visiting, chatter, sharing and laughter.  And very little sleep!!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Blessings to you!

Pamela

P.S.  I am posting my pictures in a larger size now but also, if

you double click on a picture it will blow up very big so

you can see more detail.

the couple

This is an old medicine cabinet that I don't us for that purpose. 

I use it for display of my antique cups, creamers and 'the couple'.

 Do you see them on the middle shelf?

I don't know how old they are but my mother had them

and I think they are so cute.

I don't think they came together as they are made from different types

of china or porcelain.  She is laying down in the flowers and

he is standing over her.  I wonder what he is thinking?  I like

his jaunty hat and green jacket and little bow tie.  And she has

a pretty bonnet and blue dress on.  Her cheeks are very rosey.  Is

she blushing?  Maybe...

This foldout booklet is of the Ten Commandments.

It was given to me by my Grammie for Easter in 1960.

I love the pastel colours and sweet drawings.

Here is a closeup.  I'm glad I kept this. Do you see it in the first

picture, standing on the shelf?

Here is the cabinet with the door closed.  It has the original glass knob.

I found this in my mother-in-law's attic when we were cleaning it

one day and I had been looking for one at antique stores.

I'm so glad I waited as this one was free!

The other little creamers and cups came from different places ~ my

Grammie's and my mother's. 

Thanks so much for stopping to visit the couple.   Perhaps I should name them.

What do you think?

I hope you have a beautiful day.

Blessings!

Pamela

a walk in the park

My hubby and I went for a walk in the park near our home on  Sunday afternoon.

It was a glorious day ~ sunny and a chilly 8 degrees celsius.

There were still lots of leaves on the trees ~ mostly yellow, gold and orange

and a carpet of the same leaves on the ground.  It was beautiful!

When our children were growing up we, along with our dear friends,

would go to this park many times to walk, hike, picnic and play.

What great memories we have of this beautiful place.

This is the sailboat marina ~ empty until next summer.

An old red oak tree.  This is on the site of a former farm that was once

farmed by my husband's ancestors in the early last century. 

I wonder how old this tree is and who planted it.  There used to be two

of them here but one must have died. 

The Mactaquac Provincial Park campground is nearby.

Isn't this a beautiful spot?  I would love to have an

old country house here wouldn't you?  Before the Mactaquac Dam

was built there was no body of water for sailboats.  The St. John River

valley was flooded from Keswick Ridge to Woodstock.  Homes were destroyed

or moved to higher ground.  Many were moved to the Kings Landing Historical Settlement

and restored as a living history museum.

The old route 105 actually came across the water above and is under the water.

You can walk down part of the old road to the water's edge.

A crooked birch tree makes a nice resting spot.

This is looking from the oak tree out across the "headpond" towards

Keswick Ridge end of  the Mactaquac Dam.

This photo was taken on Labor Day 2009 at York Centennial Park.

The water is the 'headpond' or Mactaquac Lake and if you click on the picture

to enlarge it you will see the Mactaquac Dam road.  On the other side

of the dam the St. John River continues on it's way to the Bay of Fundy.

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Thanks for stopping by today.

Blessings,

Pamela

the old Carleton County Court House

In 1832, Col. Richard Ketchum, Member of the Legislative Assembly

of New Brunswick, donated land for a court house and jail

in Upper Woodstock thus establishing it as the shire town

of the new county (Carleton County).

A new court house was constructed in the village of Woodstock in 1909 and

in 1911 the County Council sold the old court house and land to

Byron Robinson who used it as a barn.  It was later resold to

Frank Hayden and continued to be used as a barn.

It was pretty well dismantled inside with many artifacts going to local people.

The Carleton County Historical Society was formed in 1960 with it's main purpose

being the aquisition and restoration of the old Carleton County Court House.

The restoration spanned two decades and was officially  opened  by

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne on June 25, 1986.

Various events are held there including the annual Victorian Christmas and

it is a popular site for weddings.

Guided tours are availabe through the week during the summer.

My friend, Carolyn, and I travelled this road past the

old court house yesterday and I asked her if she would stop so I could take some pictures

of this beautiful old building.  I was so glad I had stopped to pick up my

camera before I had left home :-) 

I would really love to visit this historic site next summer.  Here are a few  more

pictures I took while up there today.

Carleton County is beautiful with rolling hills and farms and small communities.

The main crop here is potatoes.

Woodstock is a very pretty town on the Saint John River with beautiful historic

homes and buildings, quaint shops, interesting eateries and a lot of history ~

and it is near the U.S. border town of Houlton, Maine.

I hope to return again so I can spend some time and take pictures of the

town itself.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend,

Blessings,

Pamela

oldclothesand houseclothes

These are some old baby clothes I have collected.

I'm not sure how old the gowns are as they were at my mother-in-law's

all folded in a drawer.  They are machine stitched and this one has

a sweet little rabbit embroidered on the bodice between

the pin tucking.  The hanger is a reproduction.

The hanger on the right with the baby's face is vintage.

The hat is satin and hangs in front of a pretty satin baby's coat.

This is another old hat hanging over a hand made bib.

The bib is embroidered with my husband's initials

and his birthdate.  There is a gown underneath as well with lace

trim around the neck.  They are very sheer cotton and quite fragile.

I wish I knew who wore them and if they were christening gowns

from the early 1900's. 

I have a collection of old things on the shelf including jars of buttons,

a hat stand, a china tea set from my childhood, the book "A Child's Garden of Verses,

sample hats of molded plastic from Stetson in the yellow box, and a pair of

leather baby shoes. The baton laying across the pegs is from the 50's.

This is a vintage laundry bag with appliqued 'laundry' on

an embroidered clothes line between poles.  So cute!

These are some old patterns I found.  I love the colourful

drawings and the vintage clothing styles.  Too bad

I don't like to sew as these apron patterns are beautiful!

Do you remember your mother wearing an apron while doing house work

or baking?  I do.  My mother always wore a half apron while baking

and she even had extra fancy ones that she wore to serve dinner in.

My great aunt wore a full apron over her house dress.  Yes,

there were "house dresses" back in the day.  A properly dressed lady

didn't wear her street clothes while in the house.  She wore a cotton dress, usually

flowered or patterned and always wore an apron over it to protect it.

I have house clothes.  Yes, I do.  I wear a tee shirt and jeans and if it's cold, a sweatshirt

or hoodie.  And I don't wear these particular clothes to town.  I may

wear them to the corner store but not when I go shopping or visiting.  When a tee shirt gets

a little worn it becomes my house shirt.  The same with jeans.  I do wear an

apron when I bake, but not when making or serving dinner :-)

I am wondering if any of my readers wear aprons or if they have house clothes

as I do.

Have a wonderful day.

Blessings to you,

Pamela

I missed it!

 I missed apple season this year.  I watched the trees in the orchard

back in the spring when they were being pruned.  I watched as the blossoms

started to open and then burst into beautiful white and pink petals.

Then I watched as the leaves grew and apples formed.  It would be a good crop

this year.  We had the right amount of sunshine and rain and heat.

I watched all summer as I walked by every day and in August I could even

smell the apples, making my mouth water for a taste of a fresh, juicy apple.

When September came and the Apple U-Pick sign went up I knew I

had to get there before we got the call that our grandchild

was on the way.  However, I put it off too long, we got the call,

and with all the packing and planning we flew away and left the apples behind.

The U-Pick is closed for another season. 

I'll have to pick my apples up at the supermarket - apples grown

in another province or country - not freshly picked with

my own hands on a beautiful late summer day.

Next fall, I'll have to get out there early and get picking!

Honey Crisp Apples 2009!

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings!

Pamela



backhome

 We are back home from our trip to Alberta to visit our daughter, Jennifer and her hubby Matthew and our brand new grandson, Ewan.  We had a wonderful time visiting and helping the new mom with all the chores and diaper changes etc.  We also had a lot of cuddle time with that precious bundle.  He is so adorable!

Isn't he precious?  I can't believe he'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow!

We had beautiful weather while there with sunshine every day and temperatures above normal and some days in the low 20's celsius.  By the end of the second week it was a bit cooler.

 I did get to see the Northern Lights but not from the ground.  As we were flying home on Saturday night (actually Sunday morning about 1 a.m.) I couldn't sleep so was looking out the plane window at the lights dotting the prairies below.  Then I noticed over the wing a pale green glow in the clear sky.  It was all along the northern horizon and some of them were dancing with streaks shooting up.  They weren't as spectacular as they can be and I've seen much the same here at home, but they were mesmerizing all the same.  I just wish the wing wasn't in the way and that I could have taken a photo.

Our flight was long as we left Fort McMurray at 7:30 p.m. landed in Edmonton, then Calgary for a 3 hour layover, then back in the air for over 3 hours before landing in Toronto with just enough time to find our gate and dash to the bathroom before our last leg to Saint John.  Phew!  We landed at 10:00 a.m. Sunday - a long night and I only slept, fitfully, for about 2 hours!

We enjoyed the beautiful fall colours on our drive home as the leaves are still on the trees here in N.B.

Here is our front yard on Sunday with lots of leaves on the

ground and the trees half bare.

We had to mow the lawn yesterday and bagged most of the leaves. However, we will have to do it again when the trees are finally bare.  All my plants in baskets and containers were frost killed so they are

 cleaned up. There is still lots to do to get the flower beds and yard ready for winter.

The backroad with pretty fall colour. (sorry for the picture

quality as it was taken through the car window)

I see there will be some maintenance on blogger tomorrow regarding image uploads.  I have been having a problem uploading pictures from Picassa for a while so I hope it will be better Thursday.  Has anyone else had problems with this?  It is very frustrating isn't it?

Take care and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

Blessings,

Pamela

 

fall in the fort

Hi everyone!   I am still around.  I hope you are all having a wonderful week.   We are still in Alberta in 'the Fort' as the locals and anyone who has family or friends in Fort McMurray call it.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with two turkey dinners at friends homes.  Folks in their church here are very kind and generous and we've had some great fellowship and food.

We have enjoyed our visit with our family and lots of cuddle time with our baby grandson.  Our time is winding down as we fly back home Saturday evening but won't arrive at our destination until Sunday morning,  followed by a 2 hour drive home!  It's going to be a long trip!!!

There isn't a bit of colour around at all.  I think every single leaf has fallen and the hills look grey now.  However the ground under those grey trees is golden yellow and brightens up the landscape some.

The days are getting shorter and the sun is lower in the sky.  Thankfully Jennifer and Matthew's condo faces south and the sun shines through the patio door beautifully,  making it quite hot actually.  We have the door open all day and into the evening.  I could never do this at home.  I'd be shivering all the time and would probably have the heat on. ;-)  I think it's because the air is much drier here compared to the damper air of the Maritimes.  One good thing about the dry air is that it's great for anyone with any curl in their hair ~ namely moi!  My hair has never been so managable!

I am hoping to catch the Northern Lights on my camera before we leave.  That would be an awesome sight as they can be very vivid and spectacular up here.  We have seen them back home on a cold, clear winter night but up here it's WOW!

Looking down the hill at Fort McMurray

Our maple trees at home 3 weeks ago.  I wonder what they look like now?

Sunrise one morning last week in Fort McMurray.

Well, I'm going to enjoy my cup of  Stash Licorice Spice tea and
a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie and the lovely sunshine pouring in.

Have a wonderful day and I'll be back next week after I get settled
back at home.

Blessings,

Pamela