Being Saved for the Lord - Part II

All my little friends had been "saved" and would take their first communion in a month. They were now preparing for this important moment in their lives! Everyone turned out for this turning point in their children's religious lives. I wouldn't be there!

In her desperation mother phoned our minister, Rev. Archibald Graham. They arranged for a private session for me. I was to report in his study on a Saturday morning. So mother's "sinner" was dressed up for the interview. I went reluctantly!

He didn't wear me down till he suggested that we kneel down together and ask for God's guidance. t was a very intimate conversation with the Lord. What I would decide was between God and little Ruth Fenn. I gave in!!

Now I was prepared by mother and father for my first communion. Father took over and I learned many passages from the Bible, learned my catechism - although I hadn't the faintest idea what they meant, but children can memorize anything when young. For my perfection in reciting them I received a leather bound copy of Longfellow's poems. Two still remain in my memory. Here they are:

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. The chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Q. How many persons are in the God Head?
A. There are three persons in the God Head; Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. The three being one, equal in substance, power and glory.

Finally I had to appear before the elders of the church to repeat from the passages I glibly recited. I passed with flying colours. I had a marvelous memory! Mother and father were very proud of me.

Looking back I'd say there was much to recommend in this memorizing of beautiful passages from the Bible in our youth. They stay with you forever and become your ethical guide to a good and moral life.

Today I have left behind now, all traditional religions! I have rejected all dogmas and credos of every religion. So has your father. Yet when we made this decision years ago we missed going to church on Sunday. Then we joined the the Unitarian Church because we were so impressed with the inspiring sermons of the Rev. Angus Cameron that reflected our values for most of our lives. Every Sunday the church was packed. Moreover I noted that   McGill students often took notes during his sermons and later Dr Wilder Pennfield and his wife became members and this impressed me very much.

If Mr Cameron had remained I thought we were Unitarians forever, but then he resigned! After he had retired he thought he had quit the ministry. He went to the Maritimes to live a very simple life by the sea to be by himself and to get a fresh perspective. Later he returned to the ministry and now I understand is preaching in the largest Unitarian Church in Philadelphia.

He was followed in Montreal by Leonard Mason an uninspiring classical scholar and we missed Cameron's inspiring sermons. We quit the church ( and all churches) 

I guess you would call us Agnostics. It satisfies us completely living quietly in the country and marveling at the miracles in nature we see every day in our lives. Too great to explain - will call it the presence of God.

Books and Being Saved for the Lord - Part 1

A great change came into my life in my early teens. I discovered books - not cheap books but the best in English literature - only the best! I have Dr George Fraser of Parkhill for this discovery. Dr Fraser was our dentist. My teeth had to be straightened. This meant weekly sessions to the dentist that continued over the next couple of years.

He had the only library in the village. How impressed I was with his book lined study. He was interested in my mind and took it upon himself of acquainting me with the classics. We would discuss only books during my weekly sessions with him.

Seeing I was interested he began loaning me those suited to my age. Soon I had advanced to the novels of Charles Dickens. A new world  was open to me. I was in my early teens, I believe.

I began quetioning my parents and sunday school teachers on the beliefs and thoughts I was supposed to accept.This proved to be very embarrassing to them. I can remember asking Mrs Mitchell, my Sunday school teacher what happened to Chinese babies who died from starvation before they were christened.  She had told me Christianity was necessary to take us to heaven. Many Chinese were still heathens then weren't acceptable to the Lord.  She was very embarrsed when I asked her. Finally I asked. " Would they go to Hell?" After some hesitation she answered "I suppose they would".
I held this against the Lord. I thought it was very cruel of him to send babies to Hell who hadn't lived long enough to be saved by our Christian missionaries.

Soon afterwards a Carnegie Library was built in Parkhill. What a momentous occasion that was for me. It turned me into the book worm I am today. I am never lonesome as long as I have books to read. I don't need people, but I need books!

Then I was fourteen and mother and father decided I was old enough to become a member of the Presbyterian church. My sisters Olive and Lloy were already members. Olive, their obedient daughter, joined without a murmer of dissent. Lloy was quite emotional when her turn came and I would sometimes see her in her bedroom praying it all hours of the day preparing herself for the first communion.

My parents weren't prepared for my rebellion. I think I was still holding it against the Lord for those little Chinese babies put in Hell. because they died before they could be christened.

Crassly and Hunter, the great Evangelists had come to Parkhill to hold nightly meetings in the Methodist church. It was quite a social affair. Everyone attended, especially women and children. I went with mother.
It was an emotional experience. After a very emotional sermon on the joys of being saved and the tortures awaiting us in Hell if we weren't, we'd all get down on our knees to ask forgiveness for our sins, and this would open our hearts to the Lord.

When we arose, the organ was playing and the choir led us in a song I still remember. It went something like this.
"I am coming Lord, I am coming;
coming near to thee
Wash me, cleanse me with thy blood
which flows from Calvay"

As if under a spell we marched down the aisle to the front benches and were blessed by messrs Crassly and Hunter. To mother's horror I would not accompany her. I sat in the back row with the sinners. For five nights I went back. Mother insisted but for five nights I sat in the same back of the church. How humiliating to mother!

School and the Great British Empire

I was six years old when we moved to Parkhill. We were now in the twentieth century. I knew nothing of the world outside our small community. Soon I was studying geography and a bit of history at school. Both subjects fascinated me. The good noble Queen Victoria died on Jan 22nd, 1901 at the age of 81. She was succeeded by her equally "good and noble son" Edward VII. To have even questioned their goodness and nobleness would have been treachery. They ruled over The British Empire. Those red spots on the globe were the countries fortunate indeed to be ruled over by our noble monarchs. No harm could come to them. I was so proud to think that Canada was part of that British Empire.

We were never told of the starving people of India. If we had been told we wouldn't have believed there were starving people. How could they if they were part of the British Empire, ruled by our good and noble king Edward VII! It must be unbelievable to you how misinformed we were about the world we lived in. The Indians were "the savages" who wanted to ambush and scalp us. The Chinese were heathen who hadn't learned the words of God till missionaries went in to save their souls.          

Mother in missionary form decided to take on three Chinese laudrymen who opened a laundry in Parkhill; also one of their sons - a small lad we liked very much. Poor lad! He had a very bad time at school where students would throw stones at him yelling after him as he fled "chink, chink, chinaman ..." He persevered. One day he was brave enough to call back at them  "You are bad boys. My Jesus would not like you to throw stones at me".

I am very proud to remember my parents were not intolerant. These Chinese laundrymen. were our neighbours. We exchanged gifts at Christmas time. They'd give us Chinese nuts, Chinese tea and Chinese coins. I know mother gave them gifts also. After all she was their Sunday school teacher!

When father died he lay in a casket in our living room. Everyone came to pay their last respects. Our Chinese neighbours came.  Imagine our surprise when one of them bent down before his casket, smote him on the chest and said smilingly "Goodbye Mr Fenn. You were very good man. You will got to Heaven".

Mom, Moving to Parkhill

But our lives were soon to change. On a rare vacation father went to visit a harness maker in Parkhill who had a much bigger store than his. It was owned by an elderly gentleman by the name of Thomas Watson, an Englishman, who was about to retire. Father bought the business. I am sure it was a cash sale for my father always paid in full for everything he purchased.

Now I will talk about a bit about mother and how hard father's thriftyness was on her. She loved pretty things in her home but how could she indulge her desires for nicer furniture, pretty dresses and above all fine china! Where there is a will, there is a way! She found a way to buy that lovely set of Limoges Irene and Cathy will inherit. Our old cow Blackie gave us more milk than we could use. Albert Berham who owned the china shop in Parkhill was displaying in his windows this beautiful china. How could she get a set when her husband only gave her 2$ a week for groceries? (however the house was well stocked with food).

She entered into her sweet plan with daughters . We would help her. We went out and got milk customers. We took on just enough to supply ourselves without father guessing. Every morning and evening we would streak out to supply our customers with their daily quota. We sold a quart of milk for 10 cents. It took years for mother to finish her set - but in the end she did. I don't know if father knew about our deception. He probably did and was greatly amused!

So Cathy do be very careful when you wash your Limoges plates, cups and saucers. How many quarts of milk did your grandmother Fenn have to sell to purchase one plate, and one cup and saucer.

Just some photos

The few pictures that we have of mother from long ago were taken by box cameras and invariably the grainy photos were of many people. I haven't found any portrait pictures of my mother. Anyway here is what we have.

 

Mom's Father

Now I will write about my father as I remember him ( my favourite character in this family biography).

He told me that he had been born around 1865. He went to school till he learned to read and write and do sums. The he quit school as did his three younger brothers to help their father on the farm. I wonder what they did to have fun?  There didn't seem to be any time for fun. When winter came they were sent to Plattsville to look for jobs.Idleness would have been "a deadly sin" to their parents! Boys must have work to keep out of mischief! 

He became an apprentice in a harness shop and went back every winter until he had learned the trade. 

When he turned twenty he decided he'd like to have his own shop. His father loaned him $400 and with the money he bought a harness shop in Dashwood. Soon he took on an apprentice whose name was Pat I knew him very well because he boarded with us. The business flourished. In a year's time he had paid back his debt to his father with interest.

When he had enough money saved he took a wife, the prettiest girl in the village, Emma Mabel Fried, the daughter of the miller, Noah Fried. It was quite a large mill and hired many men. In fact , "Dashwood" was once "Friedsberg" named after my grandfather Fried. 

During the following years he built three houses, each one larger. There were three daughters, Olive, Lloy and Ruth and my brother Graham. There was 5 years difference in the the sisters ages.  My brother Graham was born after we moved to Parkhill. He was nine years younger than me.

I remember only the big house. It still stands in Dashwood. It wax a two story house  of white brick. There was a big bay window at the front and another at the side that flooded our dinning room with sunshine. Such a bright cheerful room! Both windows were filled with mother's ferns and Christmas cactus plants that really bloomed in the Christmas season. 

There was a front lawn, a side lawn and a back lawn, but on the other side of the house there was an orchard by a Mr Kellerman where we played Except when chased out by his horrible son who ,would cut down our swings and destroying our playhouses telling us we had no right to be there because the orchard was his father's property. 

On the side lawn father built a duck pond for our three pet ducks he brought home for us. I think he had brought them home for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners - but they became tame. When father came home they would follow him around thae yard quacking loudly. Now I ask you how could we possibly kill and eat our pets? (we couldn't). I suppose later they were given  away to a farmer.

Pigeons nested in the loft in the barn. They became a nuisance as they were always breeding and flew all over the village. They were known as Fenn's pigeons and no one seemed to like them but Olice Lloy and I. We wept bitterly every time father suggested getting rid of them.

There was also a yellow bulldog we called Peg who our constant companion. He was a stubborn dog though ashe refused to go into any of the dog houses we built for him in the yard out of the bricks left over from the house.

Then of course we had a cow, chickens and a horse.

It must have been a large house with many bedrooms upstairs. The hired man, Pat lived with us, then mother's hired girl,Vicky had the room next to the nursery where Olive Lloy and I slept. After he retired my grandfather Fried  lived with us part of every year.

Father enjoyed his daughters more than my mother when we were young...I think through us he found all the childhood pleasures he had missed when he had to work so hard on the farm. He was the gayest of companions.

Sunday morning he did not go to church because the service was in the German language. He and mother attended the evening service delivered in English.

Our hired girl, Vicky, went to her home in the country on the weekends( note here I refer to Vicky as our hired girl; never in those days did you call a domestic, a maid servant) Vicky ate all her meals with us and was considered one of the family.

On Sunday morning mother was treated like a real lady. She stayed in bed until noon and we would fight over who would take up her breakfast tray. We got up to help father prepare breakfast and tidy up the house 

Then we would be off in into the country. We would roam through the fields and woods and wade in the streams. In the springwe'd pick wild flowers, later we would fill small pails with wild raspberries - and in the fall there were beechnuts to gather; we'd store them in the attic for winter evening consumption.


I remember dad teling us all about birds. I think my love of nature dates back to those early days in my life.

My Aunt Jessie

Briefly I want to tell you about your Great Aunt Jessie. She was our spinster aunt and in those far off days was indispensable to the whole family. When anyone needed her she could always be depended on to serve them. After grandfather died she moved to Plattsville where she tenderly looked after her mother till she died.

After her mother had passed on the brothers and sisters decided that she should inherit all of Grandmother's estate as she would need whatever money that was left to live on. Aunt Jessie must have been in her sixties and hadn't been trained to do anything outside her home. Well she protested. She didn't want their charity. The will said that the money was to be divided among them all They insisted; she put it in the bank and never spent a cent of it;

She went out and got herself a job. Her job was to be the housekeeper and companion to the local doctor's two spinster daughters and she stayed with them till she died. to our surprise  we received a notice after her death that we would all be receiving $250 (about $5000 equiv. in 2012) from her estate (by all I mean all her nephews and nieces) 

I admired her proud independent spirit. I hope I am like her. I think I am and don't want any financial help ever from my children. I'd feel like Aunt Jessie that I was accepting charity.