The Move to Lindsay
THE MOVE TO LINDSAY,
July 1935
From Doreen Betty
Barbé Wakelin April 3, 1996
Transcribed from
notes by R.V.H. Barbé‚
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The first weekend in July, the family (Dad, Mom, Doreen 14, Marj
11) drove to Thamesville to visit with Aunt Bea and family. Lois,
8, returned to Hamilton with them for a visit.
The next Wednesday, Dad went to a business function with a
leather salesman at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. This was
unusual, as Dad seldom went on trips. At the meeting, he heard of
a shoe repair business for sale in Lindsay.
The following Wednesday, (Wed. afternoons were usually taken off
work in those days) Dad drove to Lindsay alone. There he bought
the business and rented a house, at 8 James St. for $8 a month.
Scanning the paper, after Dad had returned, the family read that
in Lindsay, a Mrs. Wallace, obviously distraught, had thrown her
5 children into the Scugog River from the Lindsay Street bridge.
The eldest, Guy had swum to safety, and the baby, wrapped in
blankets, had floated long enough to be rescued. Distressing news
to read as the only information they could find about their new
home town.
The next Wednesday, the family, including Lois, moved to their
new home in Lindsay. The moving van came to the store at 640
Barton St. E. in Hamilton to load up Dad's machinery and the
household furniture. The family had been living in an apartment
above the store. Doreen remembers the truck driving away with
Dad's big finishing machine sticking out the back of the truck.
After the truck left, the store and the apartment had to be
cleaned, so the family didn't leave for Lindsay until a couple of
hours after the moving van.
Upon arrival in Lindsay, the family crossed the tracks on
Cambridge Street and turned left onto James Street. At the next
corner, Dad pulled up in front of a house and said, "Here's
your new home girls!" The girls were shocked and Mom burst
into tears. Dad had stopped in front of "the dump" of
the neighbourhood, a run-down, junky derelict of a house. He
quickly drove on to their real home, a neat block structure,
later to become famous as the birthplace of another Barbé. None
of "the girls" seems to have appreciated Dad's sense of
humour.
When they arrived at 8 James, the moving van was not there yet.
The evening wore on. There they were with no food, no clothing,
no furniture, no bedding. The truck didn't arrive until about 2
a.m. It had broken an axle and had had to unload everything, have
the axle fixed and then reload the truck again.
The August first weekend, the family drove to Thamesville again
to return Lois to her family. The trip that had taken forever
from Hamilton, now seemed interminable all the way from Lindsay.
They met their new neighbours over the next few weeks, including
a Mr. Wallace, son Guy and baby who lived at 3 James Street.
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The Move to Lindsay
WebAuthor
Ron Barbé
RR# 1, Codrington,
ON, Canada
K0K 1R0
[email protected].
This page last updated February 12, 2001