1946 – 1950

Doug arrived home from Antwerp on February 9, 1946, about six months after World War II was over. We were married in Niagara Falls, Ontario. nine days after his arrival. Doug didn’t want a fuss and I was just as happy to go along with his wishes.

We took the train to North Bay to have our wedding pictures taken at the Railton Studio,¹ a client whose work I liked. We arrived in North Bay a day late and didn’t know enough about hotels to call and let them know so our reservation was cancelled. Credit cards were unheard of in those days. Skiing weather was perfect, and the hotel was fully booked.

We found a room in the only other hotel in North Bay, which was a disaster. Our toilet was off the hall some distance from our room. The so-called bath and shower was also down the hall. Water was scarce, dripping slowly, barely enough to get wet. I remember little about our room except that the one and only blanket on the bed had a big hole in the centre. Doug opened the window or windows before getting into bed in below zero weather. I was awake all night, too cold to get up and close the window and too timid to ask Doug to close it. The condition of our accommodations didn’t seem to trouble him in the least, after so many years in the army.

We had our wedding pictures taken and met the photographer’s five-year-old son, a beautiful child who happened to be at the studio at the time. After we left, we both decided that if we had a son we would give him the same name. 

We left our unforgettable hotel room the following day and took a train to Huntsville. We were picked up at the train station and driven to the Tally Ho Inn. Perfect skiing weather, a lot of snow, a comfortable lodging and good food. We had to climb the one and only mountain in the resort in order to ski downhill. The rest of the hills were small, so we mostly enjoyed cross country skiing. Ski lifts were scarce in the forties. I checked the Internet and found the following:

The first known ski chair lift was created for the ski resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1936. It was installed on Proctor Mountain, two miles (3 km) east of the more famous Bald Mountain, the primary ski mountain of Sun Valley resort since 1939. The chair lift was developed by James Curran of Union Pacific’s engineering department in Omaha during the summer of 1936.²

After two weeks at Tally Ho we left for our new home on Pape Avenue. The building we lived in was a two-story wooden structure with four self-contained apartments.³ Our apartment was very small, consisting of a bedroom with a door leading out to a large fenced-in yard, a fair-sized living room, a tiny cupboard-sized kitchen, and a shared bathroom with our landlord, who lived in a separate room next door to our apartment.

Doug had saved most of the wages he earned in the army. We spent a chunk of it to buy furniture and household necessities and we banked the rest. We delved into our savings only when it was absolutely necessary. Wedding and shower gifts helped towards our household supplies. My only contribution was a 108-piece Aynsley china dinnerware set I bought in 1945. The cost of a 12-piece place setting was $169.60, about the price of what a teapot or a large platter would be now (in 2009).

Before I married, I outfitted myself with an extensive wardrobe so I wouldn’t have to spend money on clothes for the four years that Doug would be at school. A big mistake. In the year 1945-46, styles changed from short, knee-length skirts to well below the knee; it was a way of keeping the needle trade industry lucrative. Because of the drastic change, women felt powerless as it was at a time when we felt we had to keep up with the latest styles. When the Hippy era arrived set lengths for dresses and coats were no longer an issue and still aren’t fifty-plus years later.

The government gave all World War II veterans a choice of a wartime house or an education. Doug chose to attend university for a Bachelor of Applied Science degree, becoming a Chemical Engineer. During school terms we received $90.00 a month from the Department of Veterans Affairs and an additional $10.00 a month for each child. Doug worked during the summer months at labouring jobs, wherever he could find work: one summer in a cement factory; another summer job with his father installing ceiling tiles.           

I became pregnant in late February or early March. A tenant who lived upstairs above us was often on her balcony when I was out hanging my wash during the summer months. She told me several times that I looked as though I would be dropping my bundle any day. I finally got fed up and told her that if I did, it wouldn’t be Doug’s. She never mentioned it again.

Our son was born at the end of the year with a frown. He looked as serious as his father. When Doug first saw his son he said, “We must now start to think about university and an education for him.”  The little scholar slept in the bottom drawer of a chest his first night at home.

Doug was continually concerned about his grades and our future. We didn’t have a phone, so our friends and family dropped by uninvited and unexpectedly. There was nowhere in the apartment where Doug could study without being distracted. It was a difficult time for both of us. There seemed to be no end of visitors through the apartment. He worried about failing and I worried about him worrying.  Our future depended on his getting a degree in chemical engineering.

Doug was handy around the house. He could fix just about anything and loved working with wood, a skill he inherited from his father. He built a folding table against the wall in our tiny kitchen that we could raise to prepare meals and lower to make room for cooking, cleaning and washing dishes. We also bathed our children on the kitchen table. 

A few months after he came home from the war, Doug developed an itchy rash that covered most of his body. Being a sensitive man, he was extremely embarrassed especially whenever his face broke out. He saw about twelve skin specialists, but nobody had a remedy or knew what brought it on. He finally saw Dr. Hudson who diagnosed the rash as Dermatitis Herpetiformis. He cleared the rash with sulfa drugs which affected Doug’s liver. He went to the hospital and they had to take him off the drug. His rash came back, so he then had no choice but to go on with his life.

All my sewing lessons were a blessing. I made all the curtains, bedspreads, and most of the children’s clothing. Between the two of us we were able to dress reasonably well and maintain a comfortable home. 

I earned a little money retouching negatives, but not much, since my work was seasonal. I found retouching relaxing especially once the children were in bed. I also hand coloured snapshots during the summer months.

Doug refused to spend money on clothes for himself that were not absolutely necessary. He had one dress shirt and only two pairs of wool socks at one time. Needless to say, they were forever being mended.

During the war, he developed a knee injury – a torn cartilage that became dislocated on occasion.  He was able to set it back in place, relieving the pain. He went to see a doctor at Sunnybrook Hospital, a veteran’s hospital. They gave him coverage for any future medical treatment he might need. He was surprised when he later received regular disability cheques in the mail. I suggested he use the monthly cheques for his clothes which, surprisingly, he agreed to.

Some months after Susan was born,⁴ a two-bedroom apartment on the main floor of our apartment building became available. Mr. Lucas, our wonderful landlord, gave us first choice and let us have it for $50.00 a month, $15.00 more than we were paying for our miniscule apartment. It was very reasonable for the year 1948.  We also had a private bath, a large kitchen, a good size living room, and the same large yard surrounded by a six- or eight-foot fence. I was in seventh heaven.
Doug received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree at the University of Toronto on June 7^th, 1950. Susan and Brian, ages two and three, attended their father’s graduation. It was a happy, wonderful, day.

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¹ The Railton Photography Studio and Hobby Shop was located in the Railton Building at 143 Main Street West, North Bay. Return

² Angela’s source for this citation was apparently the Wikipedia page on Chairlifts which has since been revised to a somewhat different text. Return

³ The building Angela describes, on Pape Avenue at Lipton, was Angela and Doug’s family home from 1946 to 1956. It was subsequently demolished. Today it is the site of the Pape subway station on the Danforth line. Return

⁴ Susan was born on March 7, 1948. Return