HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-10-18, Page 23Family News
Anniversary celebrates 65 year love affair
When you ask Gertrude West what the
secret is to a happy marriage that has
lasted 65 years, she says there is no secret.
"If you love a person, you keep on con-
sidering each other," she says,"and there
is no boss in the family."
That was true, except when twin
daughters, Gwen and Jacquelinedecided
they wanted perms. Their father said no
but their mother gave them the money,
anyway.
Father was very unhappy and the family
knew.
Gertrude and Harvey West celebrated
their 65th wedding anniversary at a tea at-
tended by family and friends held at Vic-
toria Street United Chureh, September 27.
Married on September 30, 1921, they raised
a family of six children while operating a
successful grocery store in Hearst.
Always active in church and community
a .,, , gather
and they worked hard to contribute o e
life of their community. Harvey was
mayor of Hearst more than twice and Serv-
ed on council for a total of 17 years. Ger-
trude cooked meals for the CGIT camp
established on their lakefront property.
.In honour of the occasion of their 65th an-
niversary, their daughter, Grace wrote the
following article which was read as a
tribute to the couple on the CBC radio pro-
gram, Fresh Air, Sunday morning.
Friends and family of Gertrude and
Harvey West gathered in Goderich
September 27 to celebrate not just an an-
niversary but a love affair that has lasted
65 years.
Not only do they continue to love each
other deeply, but they share a grand pas-
sion for nothern Ontario and as pioneers
made many contributions to its
development. •
In 1917 •at the age of 15, Gertrude Howard
arrived in Hearst with her father, the
town's first pharmacist.
A depot on the transcontinental line,
Hearst was only a tiny cluster of log and
farm buildings already twice rebuilt after
forest fires had swept through in 1914 and
1916.
To Gertrude, life in this isolated com-
munity 600 miles north of Toronto, was.
high adventure.
She loved the surrounding bush, the
unspoiled lakes and rivers and the
friendliness of the people.
Harvey appeared two years later on a
January night when the temperature had
m
plumeted to 38 degrees below zero. When
the train stopped on a siding to let him off,
there was no one there to meet him. Across
the vast frozen field on the edge of the
black spruce forest, he' could see only one
lighted window. '
At 21, Harvey had been lured by the
magic of the north. Settlers were en-
couraged to take up land, sell off the
timber then: farm its dark, rich soil.
When he opened up his store, Gertrude
who did the shopping for her father, swit-
ched her allegiance' -from the 'established
shopkeeper to this handsome young
newcomer, whom she had already spotted
at church socials.
They were married in 1921. Together
they raised six children and developed the
store into a thriving business that was to
continue for 50 years.
As the town grew, Harvey and Gertrude
pitched in, giving generously of their time
and. energy, serving on committees and
boards and working on the many projects
of school, church and community.
Grace remembers their place as a kind
of focal point for much of. this activity.
Lively discussions . on topics of local in-
terest often took place around the stove in
the centre of the store.
Upstairs in the living room everyone
Was welcome. There were quilting bees
e
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 15, 1986—PAGE 9A
"Go ahead high prices, make nn' dal!
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and school board meetings, bake sales and
planning sessions. The old upright was
seldom silent.
Gertrude and Harvey shared not only
their home but any gond fortune as well.
The store had two trucks and the big one
was used to take people along on Sunday
afternoon drives out to the cottage on the
lake and for delivering treats to the sick
and elderly living on isolated farms.
When a bad tooth forced the 60 mile
drive over a washboard surface to the
nearest dentist or if they had to make the
two day .trip down east to Toronto, there
was always room for one more.
•
These were good times. but there were
tough times too. In the thirties, lumber
prices fell and although the land was fer-
tile, the growing season was too short and
too wet to sustain successful farming.
The depression was at its worst when
Harvey, serving as mayor, tried in vain to
alert government authorities to the plight
of many settlers in •the area and the rail
riders passing through town in search of
work.
One night in. 1932, some 50 of these
desperate people marched, on Harvey's
store: A few carried axes and long sticks.
. They demanded food and relief.
While the doctor, the bishop and Harvey
took turns appealing to this crowd, they
managed to dispatch a telegram to Toron-
to. Queen's Park responded with a cheque
for $600 which was distributed among the
needy the next morning, making Hearst
the first municipality in Ontario to receive
direct aid.
With the end of the depression came the
Second World War and ironically better
economic times. But it brought a sadness
too, for Gertrude and Harvey lost a son at
Dieppe. They rallied, always caring for
each other anti there was much to be done.
There were bond drives and scrap
drives. There were afternoons when the
women of the town got together in Ger-
. trude's kitchen to assemble parcels of
KING'S
BOOK & GIFT SHOP
Just orf the Square on East Street,
beside the Post Office.
Your
4+iQQwaani
- Commuity Card Shop
•Groeting Cards •party Ware •Office Supplies
•gooks & Gifts •Wedding Stationery
JeafkkArarrtairiltaffafferNs
hand knits, homemade treats and letters to
send to the boys overseas.
Gertrude and Harvey bought a camp on
the lake and instead of using it as a retreat,
they opened it up to others for picnics and
a camp for children, with Gertrude doing
the cooking during the summer.
All, summer long, the store truck was
called into service delivering picnicers
who needed a lift. Back in town at Ger-
trude's dining table, there ws always room
for one more, the homesick American
soldier stationed at the local camp, the
travelling salesman condemned to a lonely
evening in a hotel, room .or perhaps so-
meone who had come to town by horse and
sleigh to see a doctor or do a little shopp-
ing, who needed a warm meal before star-
ting the long cold ride home.
Busy as they were, Gertrude and Harvey
always had time to treat each other with
respect and a loving kindness that was
very special.
The war ended. The years passed. The
children grew up and moved away. But
even after they sold the store, Gertrude
and Harvey stayed on, now working for
new organizations like the Cancer Society
and the tuberculosis ;association. They
began to adopt children` through the foster
parents plan. •
In 1979, they moved to Goderich to the
warmer climes of southern Ontario. Today
their love for each other and the north con-
tinues. Old friends drop in and are welcom-
ed with a piece of Gertrude's famous date
loaf. The talk always centres on the north.
Once I asked my father what made him
fall in love with my mother. He laughed
and said, "Well, besides her good looks, I
kind of liked her cheerful optimism and
• her determination to get things done."
When I put the • same question to my
mother, she said, "My dear, not only was
your father a handsome man and still is, I
knew the first time we met him; he was a
good man, and in the best sense of the
word." They were both right.
he Ultimate in
Hair Design'�
53 South St.
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we have discontinued the
use of a full-time salesman
in the GODERICH area.
We are now able to pass on to
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on all
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