1908 New Year

Pretty sure I have posted this letter previously in this blog but figured I'd do a repeat since it is about the same time of year as the letter was written.
In fact it is on the back of a post card showing Kelsale School where, judging by the text, my grandmother and her sisters went to school.
111 years later the card is still in excellent condition.

Alice, the writer, was my grandmother. Still in England for another 11 years before coming to Canada. Mary, her sister, was already in Canada on the homestead with husband Ernest and son Ernie Junior for a few years. No doubt it was exciting news to get a post card from "the old country".

The Nevard Birthday Calendar

January 19 would have marked the 142nd birthday of Mary (Hall) Nevard. Wife of Ernest Samuel Nevard, mother of Bill and Dick Nevard. Born at Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, she came to Canada to join Ernest on  the homestead in what eventually would become Saskatchewan in 1905.
This photo from the early forties  is possibly one of the last pictures of her. She died in September of 1943.

Lilacs At The Poplars

http://mindlessramblings-rlg.blogspot.ca/2014/06/lilac-time.html
After this latest blog post at "Mindless Ramblings" I thought maybe it was more appropriate to show it here in the Nevardblog since it makes reference to Ernest and Mary Nevard's homestead at The Poplars.

Narratives 14 to 1942

In 1937 the Reverend Thomas started taking services at Headlands. In June of 1937 I had my first goiter operation and the second one the following January.
In May of 1938 I saw three deer on NW13, something I had never seen before. Bill had seen them when I was quite young. I remember Bill coming home for dinner and asking Mother and I to guess what kind of an animal he had seen. I guessed lions, tigers, and various others not seen around our hemisphere. So you can guess how old I must have been. I might add that I was rather disappointed in his not seeing something more thrilling.
On October 18, 1938 John Leslie sold out and moved from the district. He had been our faithful mail man for over 20 years. People coming home to our district from Regina knew that if they came to Lipton on Friday's train they could get a ride home with Mr. Leslie. John Fleming took over the post office (Headlands) until it was closed in 1947. On November 25 Bill recorded the sad death of Drizzly Inkblot Dwump, which was one of our cats. I was rather amused over the odd name Bill gave this particular cat.
On October 10, 1940, cousin Joy was confirmed in the Anglican Church in Ituna.
In May of 1942 the Reverend Frank Turnbull came and took Church services at Headlands. Cousin Donald was confirmed November first of 1942, also at the Anglican Church in Ituna.
In the spring of 1942 I had my first experience of working away from home when I worked for the Norths for two weeks while Tom North was laid up with the mumps.

Picnic at Winstanley Grove about 1934. Left to right: Arthur Nevard, Alice Nevard, Uncle Eddie, Horace Nevard, Roy Nevard, Don Nevard, Dick Nevard, Joy Nevard, Bill Nevard, Mary Nevard, Unknown, possibly Mrs. Hammil.

The Passing of Mary Nevard

While harvesting recently near "The Poplars", the original homestead of Ernest and Mary Nevard, it occurred to me that we were near the 70th anniversary of the passing of Mary Nevard. Here is an account of the sad time from the letters of Bill Nevard.
Sept. 2, 1943
Dear Dick, I think it is just a week since I last wrote to you and now another week has gone by, both eventful and troublesome.
 On Friday the 27th, both Uncles went to town for new ration books and Roy went down with John Fleming so he could get home quicker. Dad cut the little barley fields around the yard and rain stopped him from cutting the Thatcher wheat. On the 28th Dad cut the Thatcher and I finished stooking the Renown. At dinner time Uncle A came down with the mail and Mother read your letter. Aunt Alice had a letter from Aunt May so in the afternoon she walked down to have one of her usual talks with Mother. Dad was cutting and I was stooking when we saw Aunt A go home. About an hour later we quit and when we went in the house found that Mother was feeling bad again. She was sitting in Dad's chair so we put her to bed.
The next morning before breakfast I walked up and got Aunt Alice. She came and sat by the bed but mother was unconscious and I don't think she recognized her. Donald went to Schmidt's on Rusty and phoned for the doctor. Doctor Ford came about 1:00 pm. He had his sister with him. He said that mother had had a stroke and would have to be taken to Balcarres hospital. The doctor took her there in his car. The next morning Donald went to phone again but could get no news. In the afternoon Joy went and heard that mother was no better.

By Tuesday it was raining and made the roads very muddy. I walked to Schmidt's and Mrs. Schmidt phoned for me. They told her that mother was worse. Yesterday morning Uncle Horrie and I went to Schmidt's in the cart and heard that there was no change in mother's condition. In the afternoon Tom North came to Uncle Arthur's after a pup and he offered to drive Aunt A to Schmidt's and phone but things were just the same. This morning Aunt A and Joy went in the cart to phone. Dad was trying to finish cutting and I was stooking when they came back with the sad news that our mother had been taken from us. I know this will hit you hard Dick but it had to be told. We will just have to buck up and be men. Millons of people are having worse troubles and I feel sure that mother will be happy where she is going and she won't feel like a stranger when she is with Grandfather, grandmother and Aunt Emily, Annie, and Daisy.

We would have sent a telegram but at such a time a telegram is a pretty brutal thing and dad thought it might be too much of a shock to you. He didn't think that you would be able to get home in time anyway. He and Uncle H. are going to make the necessary arrangements this afternoon. Uncle H has to go and be a pall bearer at the funeral of Tom Bordass who died suddenly Monday night. Well I guess I haven't time to say more now. I'll tell you the rest when you get home or in the next letter.

Goodbye for now old fellow

From your loving brother, E.W. Nevard

P.S. we think the funeral will be held on Saturday the 4th.

Mary Nevard, lower left.

Letter From Sister Emily 1905

Another Christmas letter , this one to Ernest Nevard from his sister, Emily. Ernest and brother Arthur had been in Canada since April of 1903 working and trying to raise enough money to go farming in what would eventually become Saskatchewan. The young Ernie mentioned here was Ernest's son, (Bill) born in February of 1902 so it is doubtful if he would even remember his father who had left for Canada in April of 1903. The family would be re-united in May of 1906 when Mary and Bill came to Canada.
36 Straight Road
Lexden, Essex, England
Dec. 26, 1905
My Dear Brother
I was very pleased to receive a letter from you, yesterday, Christmas day, just in time to wish us all a happy Xmas. Thank you very much for all your good wishes but I am so sorry you won't have one letter from home soon enough to wish you a happy Christmas although you know we all hope you are well and happy.
Mary couldn't write soon enough as she was expecting a letter from you to say you was going up country. Louie sent to me for your address as she wanted to write to you for xmas but we told her she had better wait until your next letter came when we found you were still at Winnipeg. I sent her word. I expect you will soon have it now.
Thank you very much for the sending of the order. Mother says you didn't want to send it. She hope you haven't wronged yourself as we should manage alright. Mother sends her love to you and hope you will send more news about yourself. You never say if you are ill or well, in work or out. Of course we know you have done some work or else you wouldn't have any money.
We are very anxious to know about you. Your son is standing looking at me writing to you. He say, send my love to my dear dada, tell him how I used to go and call Aunt Louie in to dinner. We have been having fine fun with him this Xmas. We told him on Saturday Grandfather Xmas come with nice presents for good little children at Xmas time. And if he was a good little boy and go to sleep perhaps Grandfather Xmas would come. He had only just gone off to sleep when the postman brought a nice large book from Mary's cousins at Leiston, Mary and Daisy. It is a nice book all about birds and animals, illustrated. A very nice book for him to read when he gets a bit more advanced in his education. Mary took it upstairs and put it on the bed so when he woke up Sunday morning he said, "did grandfather Xmas come?" Mother said yes he came. When he undone the parcel he said I wonder if that is from my dear dada. When he saw what it was he said "Oh its a book, a beautiful book, " Mary had hard work to dress him. He wanted it on the table during breakfast. We were having bacon for breakfast of which he is very fond but when Mary told him he couldn't have it on the table as it would get greasy he said, "give me something else to eat then, I don't want the bacon.". We told him on Sunday night if he was good and went to bed grandfather Xmas would come and fill up his stocking. So Cecil got one of his socks and put some sugar mice and other sweets, biscuits, nuts, apple, orange , etc he bought at the shop and a bonbon sticking out at the top of course.
We were all at Church on Xmas morning as Mary and Cecil went at 7 o'clock and Horace and I went at 8. So Ernie and Mother were all alone so when he woke up he said "grandmother, wake up, get up, did grandfather Xmas come?" So when they got up he found the sock. When Mary got home he was just discovering the treasures. He was so delighted so he had to have another one this morning, only on a much smaller scale as grandfather Xmas had exhausted nearly all his store.
Mrs. Lester has given him a mechanical toy. It is a fireman going up a fire escape. She told Mary it was for him to take to Canada but I doubt if much of it would go............