Canada Vacation and Steamship Keewatin, 1946

"Kris"
Christine (Szerejko) Shenette Aboard the Steamship Keewatin

( Digital Images.  Photographs Privately Held by Cynthia Shenette; Photographs and Text, Copyright (c) 2016 Cynthia Shenette) Well, it's vacation time again!  At least it was back in August when I started this post.  Alas, it's only taken me four months to write it, but better late than never I guess.

Once again I am dipping into my mom's vacation photo album from the 1940s.  Three years ago I found my mom's vacation album, and I've posted her vacation photos annually since. Her photos from her Canada trip will make this the fourth year running.  I have to admit, I look forward to writing my annual vacation post--it's my favorite post of the year!  I guess it's kind of like going on vacation.  You wait for it for so long, and then it's over in the blink of an eye.

After going to the Tumbleweed Guest Ranch in the Catskills for three years in a row--1943, 1944, 1945--my mom, Christine (Szerejko) Shenette, and her sister, Helene (Szerejko) Dingle, decided to branch out and and take a cruise through the Great Lakes to Canada on the Canadian Pacific steamship Keewatin with a couple of friends.

The back of a lunch menu from the steamship Keewatin

Their trip took them from Niagara Falls in Ontario, through Lake Huron, the Sault (shortened and anglicized so as to be pronounced Soo) Sainte Marie locks between the twin cities of Sault Sainte Marie in Ontario and Saulte Sainte Marie in Michigan, through Lake Superior to the Kakabeka Falls near Port Arthur / Fort William, now Thunder Bay.

"The 'Kee' "

According to a lunch menu from the Keewatin, the Kee was Clyde Built, 3880 gross tons, 350 in length, 43 feet 8 inches in breadth, with a depth of 26 fee 9 inches and traveled at a speed of 15 knots. The crew at the time was Joseph Bishop, Commander (1941-1946); W.F. Irvine, Chief Engineer; William H. Kirwood, First Officer; William A. Paxton, Purser; George H. Fisk, Chief Steward; and Alvin Gallagher, Superintendent.

According to Wikipedia, the Keewatin was launched 6 July 1906, ran almost continuously for 60 seasons and was retired in 1966.  For the last 20 years of her existence the Kee ran under strict regulations for wooden cabin steamships.  In 1949 (three years after my mother's trip on the Keewatin) another ship on the line, the Noronic, burned, resulting in the loss of 118 lives.  You can read the Wikipedia article on the Noronic disaster here.  My mother saved a souvenir booklet from her trip that shows the other ships on the line--the S.S. Huronic, the S.S. Assiniboia (the Keewatin's sister ship), the S.S. Manitoba, and the S.S. Noronic.

Luncheon Menu from the Keewatin, 1946

I love the lunch menu!  Sardines on toast, green onions, puree of green peas, fried lake fish tartare, luncheon tongue, with raisin pie and cream cheese for dessert!  Yum!  What to have, what to have?  I suspect mom more likely leaned toward the lettuce, cucumber or tomato salads with French dressing, the hot dishes of braised lamb with vegetables or grilled loin steak and potatoes, and probably the cake or ice cream for dessert.

"Dining Saloon ss. Keewatin"

The dining saloon looks lovely!  While the Keewatin was retired from service in 1966 it has been preserved as a museum ship in Port McNicoll, Ontario Canada.  You can see photos of the way is currently looks here, including photos of the restored dining saloon.

"Formal Gardens
 Niagra (sic) Falls
Ontario"

From what I can tell my mom's vacation started out in Niagara Falls.  I remember she told me that she and her friends stayed at an old hotel there that had questionable fire safety measures.  Apparently, the fire escape was a long rope bolted to the floor in their hotel room.  My mom said she and her friends dropped the rope out the window to see how far it would go, and the rope didn't even get close to the ground!  I think of how things were back then, especially in relation to the Noronic disaster, and while things aren't perfect we are lucky to have the safety measures we do.

The photo looks to have been taken at Oaks Garden Theatre.  There is a lovely contemporary shot here.

"Our favorite crew
'nautical but nice' "  

I did a little newspaper research on the Keewatin and found a number of articles written around the time my mom took her trip.  According to a Boston Globe article the cruise took "two water-born nights and most of two days between Port McNicoll and the Lakehead, at rail fare plus $20 for an outside cabin and meals."  Deluxe accommodations were available and automobiles could be transported as well.

The ship set sail every Wednesday and Saturday from early June through mid September.  I know my mom took her vacation 1946, but I didn't exactly know when, but now I know it was probably sometime between June and mid September.  Given the clothes that she and her traveling companions were wearing it was kind of hard to tell.  I figured it could have been any time from spring through early fall. Return trips left Fort William on Saturdays and Tuesdays and arrived back in Port McNicoll early on Mondays and Thursdays.

"K. {Kakabeka] Falls
Helene + Kris."

Kakabeka Falls is located in the village of Kakabeka Falls in Ontario 19 miles west of Thunder Bay. You can read more about the falls here.

"Shuffle board (or a
reasonable facsimile thereof)"

Shipboard  life was similar to that of an ocean voyage.  Passengers could relax or participate in a variety of on-board activities.  There were deck activities, such as shuffleboard, bull board, deck quoits, and sunbathing, as well as table tennis inside.  The Kee also boasted a spacious dancing saloon.  Passengers enjoyed meals in the dining saloon, as well as morning bouillon, afternoon tea, impromptu parties and midnight snacks.  A barber, a hairdresser, and valet service were available.

"Up -- for a
sniff of fresh air."

My mom took a lot of photos of their trip.  Clearly, the war and the film shortage of the previous year's vacation was over.  In 1945 they only had enough film to take one photograph to remember their vacation.  My mom's travelling companion, Phyl also has a camera on this trip.

"Kris, Laura, Helene, Phyl.
at the 'sharp end'
of the boat"

I don't know who Laura and Phyl [Phyllis] are.  I know Phyl is in some of my mom's other photos from the 1940s, so clearly they were good friends.  I looked through my mother's yearbook for the Class of 1940 from the High School of Commerce in Worcester, MA to see if I could find photos of either Laura or Phyl, but no luck.  If you recognize Laura or Phyl I'd love to hear from you!

"Kris.
'Miss North Pole of 1946' "

According to the Globe articles I read, one night of the voyage was spent crossing Lake Huron to St. Mary's River, for a 55 mile trip up the river. When the ship reached Sault Ste. Marie it went through the locks which lifted the ship up 18 feet from Lake Huron to Lake Superior.The ship's voyage took them across Lake Superior, and the world's largest inland waterways. The ship traveled close to some of the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay.  The route traveled near the Bruce Peninsula and the Christian Islands.  From one end to the other the the ship traveled 544 miles.

"Ve yust come over"

If my post and the presentation of the photographs seems a bit disjointed it's because I am presenting the photos in the order in which they appeared in my mother's album.  I'm trying to preserve the original order of the images to present her story in context.  I am also using her captions which show her sense of humor and the language they used, like calling the Keewatin, the Kee.

The photo above kind of cracks me up, but also makes me a bit sad.  Given that it was 1946 I bet they saw way too many people coming to the States from the old country.  My aunt Helen Bulak worked with an organization to help Polish refugees once they got to Worcester, so I bet my mom and her sister saw way too many people, especially women wearing babushkas, saying, "Ve yust come over."

"Jerry + Helen
(Gerald Allen Fullerton)"

According to articles from the Boston Globe special boat trains provided connections from Toronto to Fort McNicoll to serve  the ship on sailing and arrival days.  Passengers stepped from the train aboard the ship.  In the photo above, my mom's sister Helene is standing next to a train.  Before I read the newspaper article I wondered how they got from the train to the ship.  I could tell the young man pictured above, Gerald Allen Fullerton, was from the Kee because of his uniform, but I couldn't figure out how he would also be at the train.  Now I know!

"Bill + Kris
(William Murry Doyle)"

I love that my mom took the time to write the names of some of the crew in her album.  Besides Gerald Allen Fullerton in the photo above with Helene, my mom is standing with a young man named William Murray Doyle.  If you are related to either Jerry or Bill I would love to hear from you!  I'd love to hear about their experiences on the Keewatin.

"Smoke stack Lou Lou
(I don't want to set the world on fire, I just want to set a flame in your heart)"

Well, another vacation has come to a close.  This is the last vacation covered in my mom's album.  I do have more of her vacation pictures from the 1940s and 1950s in slides, so one of my projects next year, maybe over the winter, is to organize the slides to see if I can put together a story about where she traveled and what she did in 1947.

It's been a long journey across the lakes, and time to say goodbye for now.  The boat train is waiting at the station, and I'm ready to go home,

Bon Voyage, until next year!



Other Posts You Might Like:

Tumbleweed Guest Ranch, 1945
Tumbleweed Guest Ranch, 1944
Tumbleweed Guest Ranch, August 1943
An Interview with My Grandmother

Military Monday: Frank (Francois) Chenette, Civil War Pension File

Surgeon's Certificate for Frank Chenette

(Digital Image; Documents Privately Held by Cynthia Shenette; Image and Text Copyright (c) 2016 Cynthia Shenette)  A couple of years ago I ordered my great-grandfather, Francois Chenet's (1813-1886), Civil War pension file from the National Archives.  I didn't really know what or how much to expect for my 80 bucks, but I thought what the heck, and purchased the file for myself for a birthday gift.  Well, didn't I hit pay-dirt!  The file contained over a hundred pages and provides an interesting insight into a number of members of the family.  

Francois and his son Francois (1845-1864) volunteered on the same day on 10 December 1863, and Francois Jr. died of disease in Virginia on 3 November 1864.  Lucky for me Francois Sr.'s pension file includes information on Francois Jr., Francois Sr., Francois Sr.'s fourth wife, Lucie Touchette (my great-grandmother), and a number of other family members, friends and acquaintances who were deposed after my great-grandmother Lucie was caught collecting Francois Sr.'s pension after she married for a second time.

The handwriting in the documents is somewhat hard to read, and while I've skimmed through them over the last couple of years I really think I need to transcribe some of the documents to really take in the details and the whole of what they are trying to tell me about my great-grandfather's family.  My hope is to post some my transcriptions on my blog.  Unfortunately, my scanner is not able to scan the full size of the documents in the file.  I've included a portion of the document for a visual at the beginning of this blog post.  If you are related to Francois and would like to see the full document, please feel free to contact me, and I will be happy to scan the document as best I can and send it to you.  

If you are related to Francois (and given that he had four wives and 24 children, who isn't) I suggest you also take a look at the blog posts I've listed below.  He was an interesting character.  While you read the text of the surgeon's certificate keep in mind that at the time of the doctor's visit in September of 1884 Francois had seven children, ages 14 and under, including a two year old daughter.  Francois died at the age of 72 on 22 March 1886.  He left his fourth wife, Lucie, and 14 living children ranging in age from three to 46.

SURGEON'S CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION OF A DEPENDENT RELATIVE.

Claim No. 310,290

State: Vermont, County: Orleans

Post Office: Coventry, Sept 27th, 1884.

I HEREBY CERTIFY That I have carefully examined Frank Chenette, father of Frank Chenette, Jr who claims a pension as the dependent Father of Frank Chenette, Jr. who is alleged to have died Date not stated, and that in my opinion, based on such examination and a personal acquaintance with him for ----- years, the said Frank Chenette  - father is and has been physically incapacitated  for the support of himself and family, the nature, degree, and duration of his disability as follows: 

Age 73 - Weight. 130. Pulse 56. Respiration 16 Temp 97.5 Claims to be disabled by reason of partial blindness. and also by reason of Rheumatism which was incurred while in the service as Private in Co. K 11th Vermont Vols., in front of Petersburgh, Va in April 1865. - both of these disabilities have troubled him ever since he was in the service. constantly. Says now all the work he can see to do is to turn a crank in a printing office at Waterloo,, PQ. (formerly a laborer.) I find upon careful inspection of his eyes that there is an opacity of the vitreous humor of the R eye - which totally destroys the sight of  the R eye.  There is a like condition of the L eye - but of less opacity - He can see a little with it - cannot read half inch type in any position.  cannot see to pick up a large white beam from the floor except in a very strong light.  He is totally blind in R eye and partially blind in L eye. 

I rate for total loss of R eye 1/2 total }                     3/4 total 

Rating for partial loss of sight of L eye 1/4 total }

I also find the applicant has Rheumatism.  The positive signs being crepitus in shoulder or knee joints - enlargement of joints of great toes and joints of fingers of R hand - also a contraction of flexor tendons of 2d -3d - 4th fingers of R hand. 

over

Dr. C. F. Branch

Examining Surgeon.

There appears to be no cardiac complications from Rheumati [paper tear] His heart is acting very slowly - with five intermissions, each minute.  He uses no tobacco or liquors, he says, - His general appearance indicates that he was once a strong man , yet today aged + infirm, his disabilities are sufficient to entitle him to a rating. The facts  are not within any knowledge I simply find from his history and symptoms, and positive evidence of disease.  In my opinion the Rheumatism has existed about twenty years, the blindness may have begun as early and has been progressive - Probably he will be totally blind in a few years if he lives. - He is entitled to a pension of himself for service as a soldier, but prefers to ask for a Fathers pension.  His tongue is large and red, liver + spleen + Abdomen + Rectum normal. Muscles small + shrunken with age.  I should rate him for Rheumatism - one half tota [paper tear].

[Stamped: US PENSION OFFICE OCT 8 1884]



Other Posts You Might Like:

Tombstone Tuesday: Francois Chenette, Civil War Soldier
Sightseeing Around Civil War Richmond, Virginia
Four Wives and 24 Children: A Demographic Study
Flash Back! The Life and Times of Francois Chenet (Greatly Abridged)

Business Profile: Grove Gardens, Grove St., Worcester, MA

My grandmothr's sister, Helen Bulak

(Digital Images, Photographs Privately Held by Cynthia Shenette; Photographs and Text Copyright (c) 2016 Cynthia Shenette.) My grandparents, Adolf Szerejko and Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko, immigrated to the United States from Poland in the early part of the 20th century, and from the early 1900s until 1940 they lived in the predominantly Polish Vernon Hill section of the city.

My grandparents were fantastic gardeners and gardened extensively in the small backyard of their three-decker on Fairfax Rd.  You can see their garden here.  While they loved their home on Fairfax Rd. they dreamt of living someplace where they could expand their garden, possibly into a business they would both enjoy after my grandfather retired from his job as a machinist at Leland-Gifford.

Peach tree blossoms, spring 1949

In 1940 my grandparents purchased a home on Grove St. in Worcester.  It's hard to imagine today, but in 1940 Grove St. was a narrower, tree-lined thoroughfare on the rural outskirts of the city.  The house was situated on four acres of land adjacent to the small pond on the opposite side of the road to Indian Lake. The land and the house were previously owned by descendants of the Horace Thayer family, and in 1940 Horace's son Charles still owned and operated the dairy farm next door..  

My grandmother, Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko, spring 1949?

My grandparents' vision was long-range.  The plan was to build and work their business over time, so it would be a viable business once my grandfather retired at age 65.  They planted apple trees and cherry trees and peach trees.  In the spring there were lilacs and forsythia bushes and pussy willows. In the summer there were zinnias and peonies and gladiolas.  In the fall there were chrysanthemums. They grew their own vegetables and my grandmother canned the produce.  They sold flowers to friends, neighbors, and anyone else who wanted flowers.  According to the Worcester city directories, Grove Gardens was listed in the city directories from 1941 to 1959 in the individual listings and sometimes under florists in the business section of the directory.

Auntie Helen Bulak, spring 1949

It's kind of amazing when you look at the color in these photos. They were taken in the 1949 and 1950.  I scanned Kodachrome slides and did a wee bit of retouching, but the color is essentially in the original condition.  Compared to other types of film there's nothing like the staying power of Kodachrome.  I also have some slides of Grove Gardens in Anscochrome, but they can't compare in brilliance and color clarity to the Kodachrome.

My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, spring 1949

My grandparents did the work themselves with occasional help from their kids--son Robert, daughter (and my mom) Christine, and daughter Helene.  Once my parents were married and visiting from where they lived when my dad was stationed in Newport, Rhode Island, my dad would help my grandfather with some of the work around the property.  When my dad retired after 20 plus years in the military he decided to go to the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and eventually became a well regarded Worcester area landscaper.  I can't help but believe a large part of that was due to his time helping out around Grove Gardens.

My grandmother was incredibly proud of her rock garden which was behind the fireplace in the photo above.  She use to tell me about when she raised tiny alpine flowers that she ordered specially through the mail. When I was a kid much of the rock garden was past it's prime and overgrown, but I still loved picking the red, yellow, and pink tulips and the purple grape hyacinth and bright blue glory of the snow and scilla.  I also use to love sitting in the crook of the apple tree to the right reading a book.

Spring 1949

I love the photo above.  It's interesting to see the construction of the stone wall which created kind of a sunken garden appearance with the rock garden in back.

My grandmother specialized in perennials and knew the Latin name for every plant.  She was something of a plant expert and even the garden columnist from the local paper would occasionally call to ask for information regarding a plant she was knowledgeable about when he needed information for his column.

September 1949

My grandmother use to joke that people referred to her as "the perennial lady" and my grandfather as the "glad man."  My grandfather use to raise and sell gladiolas.  The photo below is one of my favorite photos of my grandparents.

My grandparents, Adolf Szerejko and Antonina (Bulak) Szerejko and their gladiolas, August 1950

Unfortunately, their dream retirement business was not to be.  My grandfather died unexpectedly four months before his 65th birthday.  After he died my grandmother couldn't maintain the property by herself, so she eventually sold three of the four acres and most of the plants.

By the time I remember the property what was once the main part of the garden was an overgrown field. The lilacs were still there.  So were the cherry trees and a poplar tree and the apple trees. Peonies popped up in the field grass where carefully tended rows once lined the garden.  The rock garden remained, but wasn't tended with the same careful precision. We had a large veggie garden on our property, but by the time I remember my grandmother her canning days were over.  She never lost the gardening bug even into her 80s. She was the person who instilled a love of gardening in me.

When I cleaned out my mother's house I found the sign for Grove Gardens in the basement. It ended up in a dumpster, though I do have my grandparents' log books and some letterhead stationary and business cards.  And the photos.  The log books are interesting, because they document the expenditures and income for the business from March 1941 through December 1972.  I feel fortunate to have my  photos, and a local historic preservation society is working on a project researching lost gardens of Worcester, and I plan to contribute copies of my photos and images of materials for their files.  

If you drive by today our old house it's still there, though it doesn't look anything like it use to look. The garden is long gone, and there is a new house on the back property.  No one would ever know that Grove Gardens once existed.  I figure I'm honoring my grandparents and the business they loved so much by writing about them and their garden.  They loved their garden and they loved each other, so I kind of feel that by writing this post some 76 year after they started I'm  keeping the dream alive.



Other Posts You Might Like:

Flower Girls - Wordless Wednessday
Wordless Wednesday: Fuller Rose Garden, Circa 1966
My Garden 2012 - Wordless Wednesday
Celebrating Spring! - Wordless Wednesday