Titanic Era Tutorial on Family Life

I saw that a few people had downloaded my List for the Laurier Era(one year of accounts for a 1900 family of four) along with Threshold Girlthe ebook based on the Nicholson Family Letters of 1910. Together they make a nice Titanic Era Tutorial for, say, Middle School or High School.

I just listened to a BBC Radio Four program where Jeremy Irons and Eileen Atkins read the Wasteland. That poem is a bit like fiddling with the dial on a radio, and it pre-dated radio, just a bit.

I think I’ll have my hubby listen to the same BBC program this weekend. A few weeks ago I had him watch Death of a Salesman, because he admitted he had never heard of it. Then I saw that Grapes of Wrath was on Turner Classics, so we watched that. The book was a mandatory read in our high schools, but he never read it. After watching the 1939 (I think) movie he asked, “Why would anyone want to watch something that depressing?”  ”It’s not nearly as depressing as the book, ” I replied.  Well, we still have Star Trek. We both like that.  My husband works nights so I make him lunch at noon and we watch the first Star Trek reruns, kind of a ritual.

Last week they aired that awful episode with the stupid plants that spew happy seeds where Spock falls in love with Jill Ireland. (The first time that aired, back in 67 or whatever, my brothers ran out of the room.) We discovered something new, thanks to HD TV. They use DOUBLES during the fight scenes. After all these years, we suddenly notice. That first Star Trek is part cheesy child’s program, part serious sci fi, and part dissertation on the repression of Eros, methinks. And part genius too, I guess. Considering what came after…

Anyway, we both like the Big Bang Theory TV Program, too, which, as it happens, had a Spock themed plot this week, and 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother and  we like lots of modern movies, those androgynous ones, like the Bourne Series. Titanic is an androgynous movie and it’s coming out right now in 3D. We won’t likely see it because my husband cannot see 3 D. He has an eye issue that’s congenital.

Threshold Girl is about Flora Nicholson’s year at Macdonald Teachers College in 1911/12, the Titanic Era, if you will. Diary of a Confirmed Spinster is about her older sister Edith’s doomed love affair.

(I ‘voiced’ the first chapter on my other blog.

Diary of a COnfirmed Spinsterin AUDIO as this WordPress Place doesn’t support video or audio.

The stories are based on real letters, I just embellish. I added a child labour theme to Flora’s story and I’m adding a murder theme to Edith’s.

The more I think of it, the more I believe my own FICTION.  It is entirely plausible that Edith’s fiance went to Mexico to -ahem- make easy money. After all, he moved to Cornwall upon his return, a place where it was easy to smuggle to the US.

The hurricane at Monterrey in 1909 did, indeed, do considerable damage to William Mackenzie’s brand new water works system, I found a document on Guthenberg that shows the damage. So it entirely plausible that Charlie’s trip to Mexico was to do with some damage control measure by the Canadian concern. William Mackenzie was a Torontonian.  He was made a Sir in 1911, likely at the Coronation of GeorgeV, and along with Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier.

Here:

Nicholson Family Saga: Letter 3: Visitors, Visitors

Magical Mystery Tours. Marion, seated in front in neighbour’s car. Possibly the Skinner’s, but maybe the Montgomery’s, They lived on the other side of Tighsolas.

Margaret to Norman

June 10, 1911

Dear Norman,

Your letter to Edith received Friday morning. As she was not here I opened it.

She had left an hour before with Dr. and Mrs. Skinner for an auto ride to Montreal left here 10 am arrived in Waterloo at 12.30 had dinner left at 2 o’clock arrived safely without any stop. In Montreal at six pm.

They said when leaving that they would be home Tuesday; she said they had a delightful ride. She was staying with Marion.

I had a letter from Herb Friday night. He is very well. Said the last letters went to Qu’appelle (Saskatchewan). They were diverted by some mistake and he was longer in getting them. (An excuse for not writing sooner?) He said the manager was going to have his holidays and that he was to be Manager for two weeks. Says he does not like the town one bit and if he does not get transferred will leave. I hope he will stay and get a transfer before long. I hope you will write him to stay until he is sure of something better. I am going to.

Just when Flora and I were preparing for the Ladies Aid meeting 16 women, Aunt Christie (Watters) and Malcolm arrived from Lingwick. Aunt C. was away two weeks. M. went up to meet her stayed one week. (That was his first trip to Lingwick. I don’t think he was much taken with the place there are not many young people there. Of their friends.)

They did not send any word that they were coming. Uncle Alex (Watters)came down about 5 o’clock to meet Christie and take her home.

Mrs. Nielson (Norman’s sister) went up to Bella’s And Clayton and Bella took her out in the auto. She stayed with me for 3 days.

So Flora and I are having a quiet time. It will be a rest for her as her exams begin tomorrow morning; she is very well.

I was quite tired after all this but feel quite rested now as we were alone last night. We did not get up until quarter to nine and we both went to Sunday school.

Morse cut the lawn once, took him three evenings, clipped it one eve, he does it well. But said he would not promise to do it regularly.

We put our plants out and beans in. Taylor said he would put the tomatoes in Tuesday. Says his own were not in Friday when I spoke to him. He is so slow.

I will enclose you a clipping from the paper about Dr. Moffatt’s loss. Mrs. Montgomery was telling me that they had offered him 50 cents on the dollar, that is a loss of 4,000, he was in Sherbrooke Friday. I supposed he made it on stocks so he need not feel it so much. Mrs. Moffatt was working at the sale but did not mention it to me. Only she was rather short in the temper. They have sold all their horses.

Uncle Alex had a great many questions to ask (about you.) He knows more about that part of the country than I could tell him. Had to come up to the office (home office!) to look at the map, of course. Cochrane was not on it. We found Lake Abbott, a mining town he said it was.

Is that place in the woods from Cochrane?

I was trying to tell him it was quite civilized around there.

I hope you will like the crew. Too bad you have to walk so much.

I will tell Alex all the good points, he always wants to know your business before you know it yourself. He is jealous if anyone is doing well.

Dan and Grandma are well. (Maragaret’s brother and mother.)

I did not get the Herald last night, hope you got it. Let me know if you feel any of the indigestion.

With Much Love,

Your Loving Wife
Margaret.

Visitors, visitors. They could be welcome and unwelcome in 1911, but you still harboured them, because in turn they harboured you. Alas, with no maids, visitors were a lot of work.

Dr. Moffatt was the Nicholson’s GP and he also was related to them by marriage. He was a victim of an Eastern Townships stock market swindle, the Nicholsons cut out a newspaper clipping.

He soon moved to BC and wrote many letters to Norman during the First World War (he felt young British men were signing up merely to get a free ride home) and even one during the 1918 flu epidemic where he described himself as “dead on his feet.”

Linguick was nearby farm country, (the Malcolm in the letter above walked from Linguick to Richmond) and where the Isle of Lewis Scots of Quebec landed in the mid 1800′s. Norman’s people were from there (The Gore) although these Watters’ now live in Kingsbury, where Margaret’s people, the McLeod’s landed in 1838, with nothing but the clothes on their back. These people were poor crofters (tenant farmers) cleared from the land to make way for sheep. Margaret’s people, from what I have read, had to be thrown on the boats at Uig Carnish to come to Canada, they were so reluctant to leave their barren but beautiful homeland.

These were Gaelic speakers. Margaret’s mother spoke only Gaelic and Margaret was bilingual, but clearly not ‘trilingual’.

Both Flodden and Kingsbury are marked are on Google Maps despite the fact they hardly exist as destinations being just crossroads, houses and fields.