A Walk Through Time

I recently had the opportunity to literally walk in the footsteps of my grandfather, William Parker – one of the people who inspired the writing of my first novel, A Ring of Promises.  It was a spine-tingling experience I’d like to share with you.

During the research phase of writing the novel, I found, and interviewed, Ella White, the youngest child of Frank and Mabel Scullion, my grandfather’s first employers and landlords. She had not yet been born when my grandfather lived there but was able to share stories of her parents’ earlier lives and the running of their mill.  I promised her a copy of the novel upon completion but sadly she passed away before that could happen, and the only other family contact had changed his email address and also vanished from the web.

When my husband, Don, and I realized we would be almost passing by the house on our trip to the east coast he suggested we try once again to connect with the family. Through the magic of Ancestry Family Trees, this proved to be easier than I had once believed. Frank and Mabel Scullion were listed on two Ancestry Family Trees and the owners of those trees responded to me promptly. One was able to connect me with Ella’s son-in-law. He informed me that the house was still in the family and we began to arrange a visit to the house and a tour of the Saint John locations my grandfather may have frequented back in the day.

An article published by the Saint John Telegraph Journal, in advance of my visit, included a picture I had shared with the journalist of the postcard my grandfather sent home from the French Village back in 1912 (see above picture). I had always believed it was a postcard purchased in a local store. Lorna pointed out that the picture on the postcard was shot from the front lawn of the Scullion’s home — right where we were standing. I have since discovered that in 1903 Kodak launched a camera that produced postcard-sized negatives the public could have turned into postcards. My grandfather must have connected with someone who owned such a camera and decided to create a personalized postcard. Regardless of how the postcard was produced it was taken from that very spot. The mill no longer exists so the area is much more treed than 110 years ago, and the river is currently much less swollen, but the sweeping lines of the hills remain the same. That realization sent the first spine tingle of the day shivering up and down my spine.

Lorna invited us in for some refreshments. The interior of the house is markedly different after a major renovation to modernize the old, timber frame home. We gathered in what is now the living room but was the kitchen in grandfather’s day – a place they would have taken meals and spent social time. The original fireplace brought some of the ambiances of an earlier day to the room. Music had been part of the fabric of the Scullion’s lives and as anyone who has read “A Ring of Promises” knows, my grandfather was also a musician. I could picture and feel the energy of the Kitchen Parties of days gone by.

As we chatted my spine started to tingle, yet again, as it dawned on me that this was likely the room grandpa wrote his poems to Janet in, the ones that later became songs. They are poems full of yearning for the missing loved one from whom he was separated by an ocean. Emotion swelled as I shared this insight with others in the room and played one of his songs on my phone for them. “You are the girl I love”. You can listen to it by pressing this link. The past and the present were mingling in this old homestead.

Brian and Debbie then took us on a tour of Saint John, visiting the sites grandpa likely frequented in his day. The old railway station where he’d slept on the floor the night of his arrival in Canada while awaiting the hour he was to go “see a man about a job” was long gone. The harbour is likely similar to its appearance in 1912 but the city surrounding it has changed. The next stop was King’s Square, a parklike space across from the City Market. There are interesting monuments and plaques but what caught my eye was the restored bandstand that had been built in 1908 for the city coronet band. The band played from the second story overlooking the surrounding streets. I wondered if my grandfather had ever played there or busked in the square. Across the street from the Square is the City Market. The structure of the building is much the same as in the era my grandfather was there. The impressive queen post trusses at the ceiling level give the impression of an upside-down galleon. It is designated a national historic site and boasts that it is the oldest farmer’s market in Canada.

The market was alive with vendors of a variety of products including various sea foods and the work of local artisans such as photographs and books about the local history. I was a little poorer when I left than when I came in, but I was happy to have souvenirs of this fascinating piece of Canadian history.

Frank and Mabel Scullion took a chance by hiring a footman to become a logger in 1912. They not only provided him with work but housed him as a boarder. Kindnesses that gave him a chance to get on his feet in a new country. Kindnesses, without which my family may never have existed. A hundred and ten years later their grandchildren happily toured my husband and me around their property and the city. A kindness that has given me a better sense of my roots in this country. I guess kindness runs in the family. I am forever grateful.

Photo credits to Brian Chisholm and Don Gage