The Lansdowne Letters: The Beverley Baxter of the Bush

I've been busy with my northern materials.

Instead of calling my Northern posts Human Refuse, 
I've decided to title them The Lansdowne Letters.

My brother Roy really got me thinking 
when he commented,
"You know, Louise, 
Human Refuse doesn't capture 
the wonder and the delight of the North.  
It sounds too grim.  
Don't you remember all the good times we had?"

Well, yes I do, Roy,
and you're right.

I've been letting the wrongs and the injustices
I experienced so deeply
overshadow the delight and the wonder.

And one thing I know about our family
is that good times together are a constant.
(We even have fun squabbling and competing,
as five close siblings can do spectacularly!)

Still Good Times Together!  

Donnie and Roy, Two of My Sibs
Making Dinner Remains a Family Effort
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, 2014

Dad's Northern letters are filled 

with the wonder and the delight 

of an adventurous place and time.

Lansdowne House

Northern Ontario, Canada

Photograph by Rev. Father Ouimet, OMI

Fall, 1960

Once he arrived in Lansdowne House,

my father quickly settled into a nightly routine

of writing letters to his wife, mother, and extended family.

On September 28, 1960 he wrote:

"Good Evening, Everyone.  

This is Donald MacBeath

from Lansdowne House speaking to you.

I feel just like the Beverley Baxter of the bush.  

I think I should call this nightly effort of mine

'The Lansdowne Letter.' "

The Beverley Baxter of the Bush

Lansdowne House, Fall 1960

I had to google "Beverley Baxter" to learn

that my father was referring to Sir Arthur Beverley Baxter. 

Baxter was born in Toronto in 1891,

and he had a successful career as a journalist, theatre critic,

and politician in the United Kingdom until his death in 1964.

So I snagged Dad's title,
which feels appropriate because the letters he wrote
are the primary resource for my Northern manuscript.

I've been sporadic with my Northern posts.
I haven't written one since last May (post).
But I'm home for now and plan to publish one each Friday.

And thanks to my brother Roy,
who has never hesitated one nanosecond
to tell me when he thinks I'm wrong.

Here’s to a plan and to the best siblings!

We Five

Roy, Louise (me), Donnie (in back), Bertie, and Barb