The Lansdowne Letters: Big God, Little God, and Our New Life

Within days of arriving in Lansdowne House in late February, 1961,
my family was comfortably settling into life in the bush;
in fact, we were thriving,
and it was wonderful to be together under one roof again!

Each day was a blend of the familiar and novel,
and our parents and we children were embracing our new life.

The Only Image I Have of Our Home 

The Forestry House, Lansdowne House, 1961

Drawing by Donalda MacBeath

Text:  Dear Nana, This is a picture of our home.

Note:  Indian "Gods,"  Buckets of Meat Hung from the Eaves, 

a Box of Groceries on the Roof,

and the Weather Vane on the Chimney

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

The Artist and Letter Writer

Donalda, Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Thursday, March 2, 1961 
My father wrote to our extended family:

Hello There Everyone:
I am afraid that I will have to change the name of this publication
from The Lansdowne Letter to The Lansdowne Memorandum,
as I find that I don't have the time to write a daily edition anymore.  

My time is fully taken up with my daily chores,
chores such as hauling up the daily water supply,
hauling in the oil for the stove, filling the lamps, carrying out the garbage, etc.
However, it is so wonderful to have my family with me,
that I would gladly do twice the amount of work and not complain.

No, I am afraid that the daily letter is a thing of the past.
You will have to consider yourselves lucky to receive a weekly letter.

We have been having a wonderful time since Sara came up here.
We are entertaining like crazy.  
Last night we had two tables of bridge at our house.
We had the Mitchells, the McRaes, and the MacMahons
over for the night, or rather for the evening.

The night before, we had the Father and the Brother
over for the evening and had another rip snorting bridge session.
The Father and I beat Sara and the Brother,
though not by too much, only about 700 points.

Father Ouimet with My Father
The Roman Catholic Mission Kitchen
Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario, Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

 

Brother Bernier with My Father

The Roman Catholic Mission Kitchen

Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario, Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

The Father and I won the event on the last hand of the evening,
for we got over 800 points on this one hand.
The Father bid and made five hearts doubled,
and by doing so clinched a fast rubber to boot.

The children are settling down to school,
and life in the bush is most in a most satisfactory manner.
They are also getting along just fine with the Indian children.

I find it a unique and very rewarding experience
to be teaching my own children in school.
Most parents are never lucky enough to be able to get to know
their children as well as I am getting to know mine.
It is very interesting to see just how they get along with other children. 
It is also a rather strange experience to see them through the eyes
of a teacher, instead of through the eyes of a parent.

My Father's School

Church of England Day School

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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I don’t want to brag too much, but Louise is a very intelligent child.
Not the most intelligent that I have ever taught,
but I would certainly rate her among the four or five
most intelligent that I have ever had as pupils.
She is a thinker, and that is a rare product
of today’s rather insipid educational system.

Roy is smart too, but very careless in his work.
He is also just like his father, in that he can’t spell worth a damn.
His writing also bears a remarkable resemblance to mine in its illegibility.
I think that mine is a bit more readable than his though,
so that doesn’t speak too highly for his, does it?

Roy and I, Often Together

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, 1953

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Barbara and Donnie are a great help to me
in reaching my pupils in kindergarten and grade one.
I have made more progress with this group
since they joined them than I usually make in a month.

Barbara is a great favorite with all the older Indian children.
I guess it is because she is so fair, so young, and so cute.
They are always helping her to get dressed at recess
and undressed when she comes in after recess.

A couple of times, I have had to take Barbara to task for something,
and all the Indians rallied around her and comforted her
and glared at me most reproachfully.  

Once, when I had to shake her, I just about had a mutiny on my hands.
I just hope all the attention and near adulation she is receiving don’t spoil her.

I think that in the long run, both my children
and the Indians are going to benefit from the arrangement.
The Indians are going to see just how 
curious white children from outside react to school.
Already I have noticed that the Indians are becoming more responsive
in class and are showing more interest in their work.  

My children are also going to get a lot of benefit from associating with the Indians.
The Indians do much neater work than white children and are more artistic.
They are also better behaved and more kind to each other than white children.
They are also more self reliant and honest than white children.
Perhaps some of these qualities will rub off on mine.

To Be Continued…

My Father's Newest Students

Barbie, Roy, Me with Gretchen, and Barbie

Margaretsville, Nova Scotia, 1958

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Sometimes sharing my father's words are uncomfortable for me.

However, I promised myself when I started this journey that I would be honest, 

and while I might edit my father's spelling and punctuation,

I will not edit his words.

The protective daughter and teacher in me come out

when I see my father's struggle with dyslexia;

and I think of him, my sister Barb, and one of my nieces,

all brilliant people, but bedeviled by the dyslexia

that clings to our family tree like lichen on a black spruce.

So, yes, I'll edit the mechanics of Dad's writing, but not the content.

And yes, it was difficult to type Dad's assessment of my intelligence

because I don't like to blow my own horn any more that my father did.  
My four siblings are every bit as intelligent, driven, and accomplished as I am.
Even more so, truth be known.

And yes, it was difficult to type about Dad shaking Barbie in school.

A half century ago parents shook children sometimes
to get get their attention or worse.

Hopefully it happens much less now,

because now we understand the dangers of shaking children.

Of the five of us, Barbie was the one who stood up to our father the most,

and some of their standoffs are legendary.

Barbie was also the one most like our father in personality.

It's one thing to see your strengths and positive traits reflected in a family member,

but it's quite another to see your challenges and weaknesses mirrored in your child.

Dad may have been  Kitche Shemaganish
or Big Soldier around the village,
but sometimes his fair, young, cute daughter 
would give him a run for his money. 


A rare photo of Dad and Barbie: 
Dad was usually the photographer
and not the subject.
Alymer, Ontario, 1958
Photo by Sara MacBeath
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue


Bay of Fundy out of Westport, Brier Island
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Notes:  
1.   Indian "Gods," Buckets of Meat Hung from the Eaves,
      a Box of Groceries on the Roof, and the Weather Vane on the Chimney:  
      My sister Donnie recorded the Indian dogs that hung around our door step and our unusual
      food storage system.  Because it was so cold, Dad stored all our frozen meat in buckets hung
      from the roof.  Sometimes groceries that could be frozen went up on the roof in a box.



For Map Lovers Like Me:

Aerial Photograph of Lansdowne House

The Mainland and The Father's Island (Couture Island), 1935

You can clearly see the Father's beach where Dad's luggage was offloaded from a canoe.

Credit: Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs and Northern Development / Library and Archives Canada / PA-094992

A Quick Sketch of Lansdowne House by My Father

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Lansdowne House, Ontario

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