Arthur Henry Haynes - 1910-2008
Arthur (Art) Henry Haynes was born on August 13, 1910 in Leeds England to parents Harry Haynes and Edith Mary Harrison Brown.
Harry
was born on 19 June 1877 in
King's
Norton, a small town, parish and sub district in Worcester. The town is
adjacent to the Birmingham and Briston Railway and to the Birmingham
Worcester Canal, 5-1/2 miles SW of Birmingham.
The parish
extends to the boundaries of Warwickshire and Staffordshire.
Edith
was born on 3 June 1876 in the county of Warwick to Mary Clare Harrisson and
father unknown. Her mother eventually married Thomas Brown. She was
given her mother's maiden name at birth and later added the name
Brown. She was born in Aston parish
1544 Warws, 2-1/4 miles NE of Birmingham, Chapelry of Bordesely, Castle
Bromwich, Deritend, Erdington, Archdiocese of Coventry, Diocese
Lichfield.
Harry was a metal worker and Edith Haynes was a housekeeper.
Art's grandfather Henry Haynes was a sawdust dealer. Art later recalled that he remembered his grandfather slinging sacks of sawdust to be used on the floor in meat cutting shops. His grandfather had a hook arm and Art recalled that he would frequently tease him with it.
Art was the fifth of nine children. Art's siblings were Gladys born in 1900, Elsie born March 18, 1902; Winnifred born April 2,1905, Ivy born in 1908, John (Jack) born in 1913, William in 1914, Joan in 1916, and Helena (Nell) born in 1918.
The family lived
on Winnie Rd. in Selly Oak.
He found a metal working job at Johnson Matthey (?) in Toronto in surgical instruments manufacturing to earn money so his family could follow at a later date.
1917.
Scrapped 1925. Photo courtesy: www.norwayheritage.com
1919 - "Sicilian" Purser's Manifest - Harry's name is listed second from the bottom (page 17 from Sicilian 1919-09-10 crossing - Library and Archives Canada)
A year later, in 1920, Harry's wife Edith, with their 9 children, emigrated to Canada on the ship "Victorian". Edith and the children (Gladys, Elsie, Winnifred, Ivy, Art, John (Jack), William, Joan, Helena (Nell) left from Liverpool England and arrived in Quebec city on May 5, 1920. The final destination was Toronto. A handwritten note to the right on the Purser's manifest states "spouse Harry Haynes is waiting ...".
The Victorian was an Allan Line steamship launched August 25, 1904 at Belfast, Ireland by Workman, Clark and Co. Ltd. Taken over by Canadian Pacific Line 1917. Feb. 2, 1926 collided with the S/S "Whimbrel", towed to Southampton. Scrapped 1929. Photo courtesy: www.norwayheritage.com
1920 - "Victorian" Purser's Manifest - the Haynes family is the top entry (page 70 from Victorian 1920-05-05 crossing - Library and Archives Canada).
Shortly before their arrival, Harry Haynes purchased a house at 236 Boon Avenue in Toronto. The young family grew up in the house - 9 children and 2 adults squeezing into 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. Money was very tight and they learned the value of hard work and frugality. Art attended Earlscourt school in Toronto.
One of Art's earliest jobs was in a factory that made children's dolls. When he arrived he was assigned the job of gluing felt soles on the bottoms of the doll's shoes. He only lasted two hours before he went to the foreman and quit. The foreman exclaimed that he wouldn't get paid unless he finished the day. Art told him that he had been well paid for the experience.
At age 16 (1926) attended Central Technical School for his plumbing apprenticeship. While at Central Tech Art was employed as a "lab boy" responsible for cleaning glassware in the chemistry labs. Harry wanted Art to join him at Johnson Matthey and had secured a position for him there. Art went for a day and quickly decided that a factory job was not for him. When he turned the job down, his brother Jack welcomed the opportunity and worked there until his retirement.
At some point Art was employed by Belyea Plumbing and Heating in Toronto. He may even have completed his apprenticeship with them.
1928- Family portrait - Art standing at left.
On September 13, 1931 the family went on an outing up near Lake Simcoe for a picnic. Art didn't want to go with the family. As he later explained it, he felt something ominous about it and paced most of the day. Later that day the family returned and Art learned that his brother William (Bill) drowned. As he recalled many times, he knew by the look on his father's face that something terrible had happened. In those days there wasn't a rescue squad so the next day they borrowed equipment from someone on Toronto Island. Art, his father and brother-in-law Jim went back to the lake to look for Bill. Knowing where he had last been seen, they dragged the lake with a hook behind a rowboat and within 10 minutes they recovered Bill's body. As he would later say, the body looked normal in all respects except it was frozen in a sitting position. The cause of death was drowning however it was thought that cold springs in the lake may have contributed to a condition which caused his death. Art was quite affected by Bill's death as they were very close and had been planning to start a business together. Throughout the years when Art would recount the story there was always a note of sadness in his voice.
Around 1930 Art rode the rails (rods) out west, as many young men did during the depression, to look for work. He arrived in a small B.C. town, was very disillusioned with the lack of work and decided to ride the rods directly home. He had left Toronto with money hidden in his jacket and returned with almost the same amount of money.
Around 1934 Art purchased a shack on the Pickering Beach. Over a period of time he renovated the structure. He later tired of the place as it was a considerable drive out of Toronto. He then sold the place to his sister Joan who subsequently had it for a number of years. The shack would have been at or close to the current day Pickering nuclear power plant.
Art worked in the Laura Secord Chocolates factory for a period of time. He didn't like it however as the women on the line enjoyed the presence of a young man and threatened to grab him and to dip him in chocolate.
Art's mother Edith became ill and on at least one occasion Art donated his blood to her. In those times blood transfusions were done directly from person to person. On May 9, 1937 Art's mother Edith passed away at Toronto General Hospital from kidney failure at the age 60.
1934 - Art Haynes Pickering Beach
In 1936-1937 Art was employed to open up the Beaumaris Hotel on Lake Muskoka for the season. Art and a helper arrived to a totally empty building and it was a very eerie to say the least. The old wooden building creaked and groaned as it cooled throughout the night. Art started talking to his helper about the ghosts that were present in the building. By the next morning the helper has disappeared.
1938 - Beaumaris Hotel on Lake Muskoka.
1937 - September - Art in Muskoka.
Art met his first wife, Mabel Elizabeth (Beth) Geeson, around 1936-37. Mabel was working at the Beaumaris Hotel on Lake Muskoka providing maid services to her employer. He was there doing plumbing or maintenance work for the same lodge, either as a direct employee or contractor. It was love at first sight for both of them and they were married at St Steven’s Anglican church, 103 Bellevue Avenue, in Toronto on September 20, 1937. Art was 27 and his bride was 24. They left for Sudbury shortly thereafter.
1937 - With friend on Lake Muskoka
The Beaumaris Hotel was lost in 1945 to an act of arson committed by a disgruntled employee. The staff managed to evacuate all of the guests and no one was killed.