A day in the life
A stroll through the North End of Saint John tells
what one might see
on a normal afternoon in the days of yesteryear
 |
| A. Lindsay Dykeman, the principal of Alexandra School, with
members
of the staff.
Photo courtesy of Marcia Dykeman Donahue |
As long I could remember, Mum used the same handbag. It was black leather with a handle. I was really quite surprised when she ordered a new one from the Eaton's catalogue. Dad jokingly told her she spent all her egg money to buy the purse and now she had no money to put in it.
I think throwing away the old handbag was like losing a friend. She dumped all the contents on the kitchen table and starting sorting. This was as good as peeking into a surprise bag. I looked at everything she had, a button from Ken's white shirt, a brown nickel, a skeleton key with a broken shank, an old grocery list, a recipe for Upside Down Pineapple Cake, a favourite Dorothy Dix column and a well-creased clipping from the Kings County Record.
It seems that Mum was not the only one who kept clippings in her
purse for safe keeping. Marcia Dykeman Donahue was going through the
wallet of
her father, Merville Dykeman, after his death in 1990 at age 84 and
found
the following newspaper article on the North End of Saint John. She is
most
anxious to date the article and find which newspaper printed it and who
was
the writer. If you happen to know, you can contact her at
847-5575
or e-mail to donwar@nbnet.nb.ca.
| "In memory, I reach the top of the Public
Steps and feel I am treading in the footprints of Samuel Cunard, for
whom the street is named and who later headed the great Cunard
Steamships line. Strolling back up Main Street it would not be unusual to meet, Harry McClaskey, who made many "Victrola" records in the early 1900s under the label name of Henry Burr. Some of his Red Seal records were the beat of the era. Harry sang for several years in the Main Street Baptist Church choir before moving to the United States. His father was with the Simons Cigar Company, as representative, and lived on Douglas Avenue in those days. Quite likely you would see Walter Pidgeon, with music case under an arm, on the way to an audition with Mrs. A. C. D. Wilson created and produced the children's and teenagers shows. She was inspiration to all. Walter starred in many of her shows, and helped in others. These were very popular in the days before radio and, of course, television. This association with Mrs. Wilson was doubtless of helpful influence on Walter's out-standing career in the world of motion pictures. Lindsay Dykeman would probably pass the time of day with you on his way to the Alexandra School, of which he was the principal, and lord and master. If you were a pupil there, you might feel a tremor and possibly tip your hat hurriedly as the great man passed. How times and deportment change! He was a strict teacher, but what he taught, you learned. And many went up the ladder of success in their lives could thank him because of his devotion and his high standards of excellence. You might very well meet doctors on their rounds, such as Dr. William F. Roberts, Dr. Mayes Case, Dr. Weldon, Dr. Barry or many others of the day when house calls were definitely a part of the interest and concerns for their patients, day or night if needed. And their fees would be laughed at today, even if they collected all that was owed to them. The rattle of the old electric street cars and the clump-clump of horses would lend atmosphere to your stroll, along with the dust and familiar odor of the wooden blocks on the Main Street Baptist Church Hill." |
This interesting clipping is a piece of history filled with information of the days of yore in the North End of Saint John.
* * *
Query 891
Flower - Green - Vincent: Anthony Flower was born on March 4,
1792 in London, England and moved to New Brunswick about 1820 and
married Mary (Polly) Green on July 4, 1820 at Wickham, Queens County.
Apparently his father owned and operated a fleet of merchant ships at
the time of the Battle of Trafalgar - and Anthony worked on these ships
until he came to Canada. Anthony Flower was an artist in New Brunswick.
I am related to his and Mary's daughter Margaret who was born in 1825
and died in1894. She was married to William Leverett Vincent on October
8, 1846 at Johnston Parish in Queens by Reverend Skinner. I have quite
a detailed family tree from Anthony downward to me, but I am missing
some pieces. I am interested in finding out Anthony's father's name and
where in London, England, did Anthony live before coming to
Canada. Any information on Anthony Flower, his paintings, his ancestors
and his descendants will be appreciated.
-Carolee at chutecd@shaw.ca
Query 892
Humbert: A Humbert descendant plans to visit New Brunswick in
September. He is seeking information on the parents and siblings of
Frank Humbert who was born in probably the Saint John area of New
Brunswick in 1877. He went to the United States and graduated from
Harvard in 1905 with a Mining Engineer degree. Frank Humbert was the
son of Samuel Brunswick Humbert and Julia Calvert and the grandson of
John Humbert and Rebecca Bustin and the great grandson of the Loyalist
Stephen Humbert.
- Ruby . E-mail to rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.
Ruby is a genealogy buff. Readers are
invited to send their New Brunswick genealogical queries to her at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.
When E-Mailing please put Yesteryear Families
in the Subject line. Please include in the query, your name and postal
address as someone reading the newspaper, may have information to share
with you but not have access to E-mail. Queries should be no more than
45 words in length.
