Helen, transcript of interview

I was born in Venlaw, Manitoba, on a homestead. My parents came here from Europe and they were given some land from the government, way out, 250 miles north of Winnipeg. The land was forest, big trees: Tamarak trees, Spruce trees.

And my father had nothing, only two hands and ten fingers. What could he do? But he had to at least put up a dwelling of some kind. So he dragged those logs out of the forest and built a log cabin that had a roof of earth.

Mary, transcript of interview

Well, in the first place, I think that living at The Beach and living on Waverly Road with our backyard going out into Kew Gardens was really the golden era of Toronto for children. Being free and able to go to the library on the corner of the park, down to the beach to go swimming every day in the summer.

And we were allowed out just before dusk to play all sorts of games across the road. And then voices of parents would be heard calling, 'Mary and Jean, it is time for bed'. And everything was going swimmingly for everybody.