The Lansdowne Letters: Before Cell Phones and the Internet

Today we take immediate communication for granted.  
Technology is so integrated into our lives,
that it's hard to imagine life without it.

A half century ago, 
family and friends
scattered across a country
kept in touch
by writing letters.

     Dad writes to Mom

Many rural or remote places 
had poor or no telephone service,
and long distance calls were expensive 
and reserved for rare occasions.

You had to catch the person
you were calling at home,
because voice messages
and texts were unknown.


Wikipedia 








If you had no phone service 
and needed to communicate something quickly,
you went to a telegraph office and sent a telegram.

The Telegraph Office

Nakina, Ontario

Photo by Donald MacBeath, September 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

People wrote for many reasons:
to share news, solve problems, 
exchange information,
or make new friends;
and always, they had to wait for an answer.

Today I am not sharing one of my father's letters,
but I'm including several short letters
that were traveling from Ontario to Nova Scotia
and from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island
in November 1960.

They're ordinary letters written by people in my father's life,
but they're authentic and reflect the way we communicated then.


The first letter is written by Maureen McRae,
one of the four white women in Lansdowne House.
She was married to Duncan McRae 
who worked for the Department of Transport.
She and Duncan were close friends of my father,
and she wrote to introduce herself to my mother.

On Sunday, November 4, 1960 
Maureen wrote to my mother:

Maureen and Toboggan
Photo by Donald MacBeath, 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Dear Sara,
I hope you don’t mind me calling you by your first name, 
but Don has talked of you so often I feel I know you already.
Right now I’m in a letter writing mood 
so I thought I’d drop you a wee note.

Don is looking very well, 
and he’s still having lots of fun with his canoe.

Duncan and I are really looking forward 
to meeting you and the children.  
I’m pretty sure you’ll love it up here.  

It is the most beautiful place in the whole world.  
Mind you, that’s one person’s opinion.  
It is just like a resort in the summer.  
There’s fishing, swimming, and picnicking (Is that a word?).

Canoeing on Lake Attawapiskat

Near Lansdowne House, 1961

Photo by Donald MacBeath

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

I hope all your family is fine.  I’d love to meet them too.  
It would be nice to have more children up here.

I’m sure our little lad 
would appreciate playmates 
when he’s old enough to play.


Baby Duncan

Photo by Donald MacBeath

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Well I haven’t said much, 
but I hope you’ll answer and tell me 
how your children are, and you of course. 

Sincerely,
Maureen McRae

P.S. We love you sending some pictures of the girls and Roy.


The second letter is written by my mother
to her mother-in-law in Prince Edward Island.
Ironically my mother, 
at home alone with five children,
was more socially isolated than my father
in his remote northern village. 

Today it's hard to imagine it taking 
multiple back and forth letters
to straighten out something as simple as a receipt,
let alone copying by hand.

On Friday, November 11, 1960 
My mother
wrote to her
mother-in-law,
Myrtle MacBeath:

















Dear Mother:
I received a telegram from Don right after you phoned 
saying the freeze-up had finally set in.  
I imagine he wired you at the same time.

I have been taking the house apart 
trying to find the receipt that you sent me.  
I had put it in my desk to copy when 
I had the time to do it without fear of losing it.  

I had so much company this last week; 
usually, I see very few people.  
Anyway, I went to get it this afternoon and couldn’t find it.  

The only thing I can think is that I might 
have thrown it out thinking it was an old letter from you.  
Every once in a while I houseclean the letters in my desk; 
however, I usually read them over before destroying them.  

As soon as I found I couldn’t find it, 
I looked for the old receipt I had, 
so I am sending it to you so you can read it over 
and see if it is the same as you sent.  

I feel just terrible about losing it.  
I will continue to look for it, 
although I turned the house upside down today.

Would you let me know if this receipt is the same 
or are there some changes that should be made?

With love,
Sara


The second letter is written by yours truly,
a grade five student student in Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia.
Academic success was important in my family,
and my grandmother and great aunt 
always wanted progress reports,
not to mention a little help with  
book suggestions for Christmas gifts.

On Tuesday, November 15, 1960 
I wrote my Grandmother MacBeath 
and my Great Aunt Maude:


Nana as a Young Woman
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Dear Nana and Aunt Maude,

I miss you very much.  This is going to be a short letter 
because I am going to school.  I am doing very good in school.  
Two weeks from now there are going to be exams.  
My marks are:  Reader 95, 98; 
Language, 96, 96, 100; Science 100.

Love, Louise


















P.S.  Here is a list of books 
that I would like you to try and find for me.  
The titles of the stories are different, 
but the people are the same.  L. L.

Rin Tin Tin   Hardy Boy Mysteries (Real good)
Trixie Belden   Donna Parker
Nancy Drew Bobbsey Twins
Spin and Marty Roy Rogers
Dale Evans Gene Autry
Tarzan The Walton Boys
Rip Foster Tom Stetson
Ginny Gordon Zane Grey
Circus Roy Wyatt Earp
Trudy Phillips Red Rider 
Annie Oakley Polly French
Fury Lassie
Bomba Rocks All Around Us

The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars
In the Days of Dinosaurs

            

     Amazon                                                                                      Wikipedia                                                                        Wikipedia

I could never have imagined that my early interest in dinosaurs
would lead to my studying geology and paleontology
and to a thirteen year stint volunteering in the fossil lab
of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

So much of our lives is taken up with the little things,
and, sadly, it is the memories of little things that disappear with time.
I often think of the countless stories of everyday people 
that have been lost over the generations.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

Crossing to Tiverton
on Long island,
in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Photo Copy by Roy MacBeath 
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Links to Earlier Posts:

TLL: Bush Planes and the Puzzle of Thanksgiving

TLL: Pushing Back the Black Night


For Map Lovers Like Me:

Canada   Wikimedia

Lansdowne House, Ontario, Canada

Wikimedia