Chapter 16: Bruce Ross and Edith Latham
Bruce Ross attended the University of Toronto from 1931 until 1935, in the depths of the great depression. He
took Electrical Engineering, and graduated as a member of the Engineering Class of 3T5. Jobs were very scarce in
1935, and initially the class members met weekly to see if anyone had found one. This remarkable group stuck
together, and held regular monthly meetings for the next 70 years.
In 1985 the Class of 3T5 had an ambitious plan to publish a book containing all their biographies, to mark their 50th anniversary of graduation. The book was never published, but Bruce had written his contribution. In later years he added some material and distributed copies to his family. Some sections from this document have been chosen to tell the story of Bruce’s early years, in his own words.
‘I was born on May 4, 1914 about one mile west of the little village of Park Head. This is in Bruce county 14 miles west of Owen Sound and 6 miles east of Sauble Beach.
My father owned and operated a grist mill on the Sauble River. Power to run the mill was generated by a hydraulic turbine. When I was about 10 years old a second smaller turbine was added to generate 110 volts DC. This was to supply light for the house and mill, and also to supply an electric iron - our only appliance.
Those were the days when the roads were all gravel. There were no snowplows. Travel was normally done by horse and buggy or cutter, complete with sleigh bells. Everyone knew everyone else for miles in all directions. Very few people locked their doors, partly because there were no thieves and partly because there was not much to steal.
I can very well remember driving about 6 miles in a Model T Ford to listen to a radio owned by my great uncle Fred Shannon. On at least one occasion when it was my turn to have the earphones, all I heard was static. At that time there was only one station, KDKA.
My Public School education was at SS#16 Amabel Township, in Park Head. This was a one-room school with eight grades. Next I attended a two-room Continuation School in Hepworth. Two teachers taught all of the subjects from first form to fourth form. Then it was Owen Sound Collegiate for fifth form.
Although money was scarce from my earliest recollections until 1928, we lived in many ways an ideal life. There was always an abundance of super food. The location, within 75 yards of the river and the bridge, was beautiful. Fish were plentiful and often during the summer I was ordered to catch one for dinner. Many people were swimming in the river every hot day and my sister and I were always with them.’
Bruce had learned to swim in the millpond at a very early age, taught by his father Harry Ross. Water flowed into the mill through an intake with vertical concrete sides and an open top. To provide access by foot to the dam, there was a sturdy wooden plank across the top of the intake – a perfect spot for swimming lessons! Harry attached a fishing line to the back of Bruce’s swimming trunks, and then sat on the plank to coach young Bruce (age 3 or 4) while he paddled vigorously below.
At some point fairly early in the lesson the line broke, and Harry had to jump in fully clothed to rescue Bruce. Eila Ross recalled that her mother Annie did not approve of this teaching method. However the outcome was good. Bruce grew up beside a river where he swam and played in boats from a very early age. Swimming skills were essential.
‘It is difficult to believe that neither of my parents ever resided in a house that even had cold running water. Until I was about 12 years old we had no source of drinking water on the property. Someone (usually me) had to cross the bridge to Mrs. Berry’s to get a pail of water. Other water came from a cistern that received its water from the roof of the house. There was a tiny room off the kitchen known as the washroom. To wash with cold water there was a pump that pumped the cistern water into a portable basin.
If you wanted warm water it was a matter of carrying a dipper full from the reservoir in the stove. If there was no fire in the stove there was no warm water. For tea and for cooking, hot water was obtained from a kettle on the stove. It was just too much of a hassle to make a cup of tea in July or August. Lighting a fire in the stove only added to the heat problem.
My grandfather Henry Shannon bought a Model T Ford in 1913. It was an open car with a canvas top that could be folded back. Enclosed cars with windows that moved up and down were yet to be invented. It had a brass radiator. It had to be cranked by hand. Self-starters were still in the future. My father first purchased a car about 1922. It was a 1914 Model T Ford with a silver coloured radiator. New cars were selling for about $450 dollars. My father possibly paid $50 to $100 for a car about 8 years old.
In the 1920’s there were no driver’s licences or tests of any kind. My father was the type of man who took pride in having his son drive at a very early age. Consequently I was driving when I was 12 or 13 years old. I would often drive a carload of friends and neighbors to continuation school in Hepworth. The students would be Eila, Florence Rusk, Fosta Matches, and Elgin Rourke. This was done with the Model T. In 1928 my father bought a new Pontiac. I was also allowed to drive this to school. One day I had a very minor accident resulting in a small dent in the left front fender. I drove to Owen Sound and had it repaired for $3. My father never did know about that one.
My father always had a canoe or punt. The first boat I owned was made by Jim Longmire in the shed behind the house on his property. It was made with 3/4-inch knot free white pine. It was properly called a punt. The punt could be paddled from the back seat or rowed from the centre seat. This would be when I was about ten years old. We used the punt mainly for fishing. Some fishing was done at night with a three-pointed spear. Light was provided by means of a small bonfire in a wire basket mounted at a height of about 5 feet at the front of the punt. The fish were easily seen in the shallow water near the shore.
Every spring as a source of money I would trap muskrats. To prepare them for sale they had to be skinned, stretched over a small board (shaped like a small ironing board) and then dried in the sun. A fur buyer would canvas the area each spring. Some years a hide would sell for $2.00. In bad years they would sell for as little as 50 cents.
When I was about 12 years old my father bought a .22 single shot rifle. This was my pride and joy. The rifle was mostly used for shooting groundhogs. The farmers would pay $1.00 per dozen for groundhog tails. Groundhogs are a curse on the farm because horses and cows frequently broke their legs in groundhog holes. The rifle was also used to shoot rats in the mill. Rats are always a problem wherever grain is stored.
In 1919 when I was in Sintaluta with mother and Eila, I saw my first airplane. I can remember to this day all of us rushing out of the house to see the airplane pass over. When I was about 12 years old I attended a Fall Fair in Port Elgin with Grandfather Shannon. I believe Eila was there too. One of the attractions was a ride in an airplane. They lasted about 10 or 15 minutes and cost $5.00. The pilot was a WWI veteran (this was a very popular occupation for former fighter pilots). At my request, we did a loop. In 1932 I applied to enter the RCAF, but the program was cancelled that year.
During my UofT days I lived at a boarding house at 257 Wellesley Street East. At the same house were Joe Jones, Lloyd Cruickshanks and Harold Worley. If you shared a room it was $5.50 per week for room and board, if you had a private room it was $6.60. Only Harold Worley had a private room. All meals were included except five lunches, which we normally ate at Hart House at 20 cents per meal. The only way they could get away with such steep prices was to provide us with all the milk we could drink and all the bread and butter we could eat. I now find this hard to believe!
During the summers of 1931, 1932, and 1933, I worked on the S.S. Manitoulin out of Owen Sound. My job was washing dishes for about 125 passengers. On weekends we would take a short trip to Killarney, Little Current and Manitouwaning. During the week we had a longer trip to many places, including Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island in Michigan. My weakness was being seasick. Every time it became rough I was ill.
Entering the United States and returning to Canada once each week presented some tempting opportunities. Most boys who worked on the S.S. Manitoulin would buy a 26-ounce bottle of rye whiskey in Canada for $1.80 and sell it on Mackinac Island for $5.00. (This was the era of prohibition in the United States.) On the return trip we would buy a carton of American cigarette for 99 cents and sell them in Canada for $2.50. It was very profitable. Late in my third year I was caught by the customs man in Owen Sound. He went to our sleeping quarters and did a search when we docked. It is the one and only time in my entire life that I was fired.’
In 1985 the Class of 3T5 had an ambitious plan to publish a book containing all their biographies, to mark their 50th anniversary of graduation. The book was never published, but Bruce had written his contribution. In later years he added some material and distributed copies to his family. Some sections from this document have been chosen to tell the story of Bruce’s early years, in his own words.
‘I was born on May 4, 1914 about one mile west of the little village of Park Head. This is in Bruce county 14 miles west of Owen Sound and 6 miles east of Sauble Beach.
My father owned and operated a grist mill on the Sauble River. Power to run the mill was generated by a hydraulic turbine. When I was about 10 years old a second smaller turbine was added to generate 110 volts DC. This was to supply light for the house and mill, and also to supply an electric iron - our only appliance.
Those were the days when the roads were all gravel. There were no snowplows. Travel was normally done by horse and buggy or cutter, complete with sleigh bells. Everyone knew everyone else for miles in all directions. Very few people locked their doors, partly because there were no thieves and partly because there was not much to steal.
I can very well remember driving about 6 miles in a Model T Ford to listen to a radio owned by my great uncle Fred Shannon. On at least one occasion when it was my turn to have the earphones, all I heard was static. At that time there was only one station, KDKA.
My Public School education was at SS#16 Amabel Township, in Park Head. This was a one-room school with eight grades. Next I attended a two-room Continuation School in Hepworth. Two teachers taught all of the subjects from first form to fourth form. Then it was Owen Sound Collegiate for fifth form.
Although money was scarce from my earliest recollections until 1928, we lived in many ways an ideal life. There was always an abundance of super food. The location, within 75 yards of the river and the bridge, was beautiful. Fish were plentiful and often during the summer I was ordered to catch one for dinner. Many people were swimming in the river every hot day and my sister and I were always with them.’
Bruce had learned to swim in the millpond at a very early age, taught by his father Harry Ross. Water flowed into the mill through an intake with vertical concrete sides and an open top. To provide access by foot to the dam, there was a sturdy wooden plank across the top of the intake – a perfect spot for swimming lessons! Harry attached a fishing line to the back of Bruce’s swimming trunks, and then sat on the plank to coach young Bruce (age 3 or 4) while he paddled vigorously below.
At some point fairly early in the lesson the line broke, and Harry had to jump in fully clothed to rescue Bruce. Eila Ross recalled that her mother Annie did not approve of this teaching method. However the outcome was good. Bruce grew up beside a river where he swam and played in boats from a very early age. Swimming skills were essential.
‘It is difficult to believe that neither of my parents ever resided in a house that even had cold running water. Until I was about 12 years old we had no source of drinking water on the property. Someone (usually me) had to cross the bridge to Mrs. Berry’s to get a pail of water. Other water came from a cistern that received its water from the roof of the house. There was a tiny room off the kitchen known as the washroom. To wash with cold water there was a pump that pumped the cistern water into a portable basin.
If you wanted warm water it was a matter of carrying a dipper full from the reservoir in the stove. If there was no fire in the stove there was no warm water. For tea and for cooking, hot water was obtained from a kettle on the stove. It was just too much of a hassle to make a cup of tea in July or August. Lighting a fire in the stove only added to the heat problem.
My grandfather Henry Shannon bought a Model T Ford in 1913. It was an open car with a canvas top that could be folded back. Enclosed cars with windows that moved up and down were yet to be invented. It had a brass radiator. It had to be cranked by hand. Self-starters were still in the future. My father first purchased a car about 1922. It was a 1914 Model T Ford with a silver coloured radiator. New cars were selling for about $450 dollars. My father possibly paid $50 to $100 for a car about 8 years old.
In the 1920’s there were no driver’s licences or tests of any kind. My father was the type of man who took pride in having his son drive at a very early age. Consequently I was driving when I was 12 or 13 years old. I would often drive a carload of friends and neighbors to continuation school in Hepworth. The students would be Eila, Florence Rusk, Fosta Matches, and Elgin Rourke. This was done with the Model T. In 1928 my father bought a new Pontiac. I was also allowed to drive this to school. One day I had a very minor accident resulting in a small dent in the left front fender. I drove to Owen Sound and had it repaired for $3. My father never did know about that one.
My father always had a canoe or punt. The first boat I owned was made by Jim Longmire in the shed behind the house on his property. It was made with 3/4-inch knot free white pine. It was properly called a punt. The punt could be paddled from the back seat or rowed from the centre seat. This would be when I was about ten years old. We used the punt mainly for fishing. Some fishing was done at night with a three-pointed spear. Light was provided by means of a small bonfire in a wire basket mounted at a height of about 5 feet at the front of the punt. The fish were easily seen in the shallow water near the shore.
Every spring as a source of money I would trap muskrats. To prepare them for sale they had to be skinned, stretched over a small board (shaped like a small ironing board) and then dried in the sun. A fur buyer would canvas the area each spring. Some years a hide would sell for $2.00. In bad years they would sell for as little as 50 cents.
When I was about 12 years old my father bought a .22 single shot rifle. This was my pride and joy. The rifle was mostly used for shooting groundhogs. The farmers would pay $1.00 per dozen for groundhog tails. Groundhogs are a curse on the farm because horses and cows frequently broke their legs in groundhog holes. The rifle was also used to shoot rats in the mill. Rats are always a problem wherever grain is stored.
In 1919 when I was in Sintaluta with mother and Eila, I saw my first airplane. I can remember to this day all of us rushing out of the house to see the airplane pass over. When I was about 12 years old I attended a Fall Fair in Port Elgin with Grandfather Shannon. I believe Eila was there too. One of the attractions was a ride in an airplane. They lasted about 10 or 15 minutes and cost $5.00. The pilot was a WWI veteran (this was a very popular occupation for former fighter pilots). At my request, we did a loop. In 1932 I applied to enter the RCAF, but the program was cancelled that year.
During my UofT days I lived at a boarding house at 257 Wellesley Street East. At the same house were Joe Jones, Lloyd Cruickshanks and Harold Worley. If you shared a room it was $5.50 per week for room and board, if you had a private room it was $6.60. Only Harold Worley had a private room. All meals were included except five lunches, which we normally ate at Hart House at 20 cents per meal. The only way they could get away with such steep prices was to provide us with all the milk we could drink and all the bread and butter we could eat. I now find this hard to believe!
During the summers of 1931, 1932, and 1933, I worked on the S.S. Manitoulin out of Owen Sound. My job was washing dishes for about 125 passengers. On weekends we would take a short trip to Killarney, Little Current and Manitouwaning. During the week we had a longer trip to many places, including Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island in Michigan. My weakness was being seasick. Every time it became rough I was ill.
Entering the United States and returning to Canada once each week presented some tempting opportunities. Most boys who worked on the S.S. Manitoulin would buy a 26-ounce bottle of rye whiskey in Canada for $1.80 and sell it on Mackinac Island for $5.00. (This was the era of prohibition in the United States.) On the return trip we would buy a carton of American cigarette for 99 cents and sell them in Canada for $2.50. It was very profitable. Late in my third year I was caught by the customs man in Owen Sound. He went to our sleeping quarters and did a search when we docked. It is the one and only time in my entire life that I was fired.’
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S. S. Manitoulin
When Bruce was fired from his job washing dishes on the S.S. Manitoulin he did not suffer much financially,
because the summer was almost over and he was only making $15 per week. However, he had his heart set on
visiting the World’s Fair in Chicago, which was a planned destination for the S.S. Manitoulin at the end of the
summer. As a young Engineering student who was always fascinated by the latest technology, he didn’t want to
miss the World’s Fair.
So, with very little money, Bruce hitchhiked from Park Head to Chicago in 1933. When he arrived in Chicago, he slept on park benches under newspapers for a few nights, until the S.S. Manitoulin arrived at the docks. Then, with the help of his friends, he snuck back on board and slept in his old berth for a few more nights. He saw the World’s Fair.
In 1936 Bruce Ross and Edith Latham were married in Toronto. They had met at a party in 1932, when Bruce was in first year at the University of Toronto.
Edith Latham was born in Yorkshire, England, and had grown up in Toronto. Her early years were quite different than Bruce’s. In 1994 Edith was asked by her daughter Camille to compile a ‘A Grandparent’s Book’, by writing answers a long list of questions in the spaces provided. Some sections from this book have been chosen to tell the story of Edith’s early years, in her own words.
So, with very little money, Bruce hitchhiked from Park Head to Chicago in 1933. When he arrived in Chicago, he slept on park benches under newspapers for a few nights, until the S.S. Manitoulin arrived at the docks. Then, with the help of his friends, he snuck back on board and slept in his old berth for a few more nights. He saw the World’s Fair.
In 1936 Bruce Ross and Edith Latham were married in Toronto. They had met at a party in 1932, when Bruce was in first year at the University of Toronto.
Edith Latham was born in Yorkshire, England, and had grown up in Toronto. Her early years were quite different than Bruce’s. In 1994 Edith was asked by her daughter Camille to compile a ‘A Grandparent’s Book’, by writing answers a long list of questions in the spaces provided. Some sections from this book have been chosen to tell the story of Edith’s early years, in her own words.
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Edith Latham at the age of 18 months
‘I was born in Hemsworth, Yorkshire, England on October 14, 1914. My father was George Latham, age 32, and my
mother was Cicely Knowlson, age 21. They were married in Hemsworth on March 24, 1913. It was the time of the
First World War. In 1916 my father joined the army and was sent to Canada. While my father was in Canada, my
mother and I went back to the farm where she had grown up. It was a lovely old home with beautiful flowers,
built around 1600.’
George Latham had grown up in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. He was a master plumber, having served an apprenticeship of seven years. When he joined the army at age 34, he was assigned to aircraft maintenance. During the First World War the Royal Air Force did not yet exist, and the Royal Flying Corps was part of the British Army. The Royal Flying Corps did some of its training in Canada, in bases around Toronto. We believe George Latham was stationed at one of these bases.
Cicely Knowlson had grown up on a farm near Hemsworth, Yorkshire, England. She had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Her parents did not own the land they farmed, but they were successful tenant farmers. The ‘lovely old home’ was called Vissit Manor, and it was restored in 1974 as part of European Architectural Heritage Year.
‘My father liked Canada so much that when he came home he persuaded us to go back to Canada with him, so we moved to Canada in 1919, when I was four years old. When we first came to Canada we lived in the upstairs of a house. When I was seven years old we bought a house at 24 Davisville Avenue, where we lived until I was married. It was near Yonge Street, which was not paved yet.
Because I was an only child, my parents took me everywhere they went. When I was eight, the three of us went back to England to visit our relatives. It was a great reunion. My Auntie Thersa came back to Canada with us when I was eight. My Granddad cried when we said goodbye. The doctor on the boat thought I was getting the measles, because I had a temperature, so we were all quarantined on Belle Isle for 2 weeks. I didn’t get the measles.’
The two Knowlson sisters lived long and healthy lives in Canada. Edith’s mother Cicely Knowlson died in Guelph, Ontario in 1993, at the age of 99. Her aunt Thersa Knowlson died in Victoria, British Columbia in 2000, at the age of 102.
George Latham had grown up in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. He was a master plumber, having served an apprenticeship of seven years. When he joined the army at age 34, he was assigned to aircraft maintenance. During the First World War the Royal Air Force did not yet exist, and the Royal Flying Corps was part of the British Army. The Royal Flying Corps did some of its training in Canada, in bases around Toronto. We believe George Latham was stationed at one of these bases.
Cicely Knowlson had grown up on a farm near Hemsworth, Yorkshire, England. She had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Her parents did not own the land they farmed, but they were successful tenant farmers. The ‘lovely old home’ was called Vissit Manor, and it was restored in 1974 as part of European Architectural Heritage Year.
‘My father liked Canada so much that when he came home he persuaded us to go back to Canada with him, so we moved to Canada in 1919, when I was four years old. When we first came to Canada we lived in the upstairs of a house. When I was seven years old we bought a house at 24 Davisville Avenue, where we lived until I was married. It was near Yonge Street, which was not paved yet.
Because I was an only child, my parents took me everywhere they went. When I was eight, the three of us went back to England to visit our relatives. It was a great reunion. My Auntie Thersa came back to Canada with us when I was eight. My Granddad cried when we said goodbye. The doctor on the boat thought I was getting the measles, because I had a temperature, so we were all quarantined on Belle Isle for 2 weeks. I didn’t get the measles.’
The two Knowlson sisters lived long and healthy lives in Canada. Edith’s mother Cicely Knowlson died in Guelph, Ontario in 1993, at the age of 99. Her aunt Thersa Knowlson died in Victoria, British Columbia in 2000, at the age of 102.
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Edith Latham and
Granddad Knowlson in 1927
I remember my father to be very outgoing. He sang tenor in the church choir, and he sang solos occasionally. The church was very important to us. We went to church on Sunday mornings. Then I went to Sunday school in the afternoon, and then we three went to church again in the evening. I sang solo in church when I was eight, and I was in the church choir in my early teens, until I was married. My mother was rather shy. She played the piano very well, and used to accompany my father and my Auntie Thersa when they were singing duets. Our piano was our most prized possession. I also took piano lessons.
My Dad bought a car. It was a Model T Ford. He was not a good driver, and Mum and I used to hold our breath. You didn’t have to pass a driver’s test in those days. However, it did enable us to buy a cottage at Elmhurst Beach on Lake Simcoe. We had many happy years there, and my parents encouraged me to bring lots of friends as guests. North Toronto Collegiate was about a mile north of Davisville. I don’t remember any of my teachers in particular, but they were all good. I had to work hard to attain my senior matriculation. My favourite sport was basketball. My two best friends were on the senior team with me.
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North Toronto Collegiate Girls Basketball Team
I had a few boyfriends in High School, but they were all just about my height. I was very anxious to meet a tall
boy, who was good looking and attending university. Well, I met him at a house party when I was in Grade 13, and
then we met again a week later at a university dance. While we were dancing, I invited Bruce to come to my
house. He was from the country, and didn’t know very many people. So he came to our house to meet my mother and
father. My parents were very strict, and Bruce had to spend the whole evening in our home. My parents liked him
and made him feel at home.
Bruce was in 1st year and I was in Grade 13. He was an executive of his class each year, and so we went to all the dances for free. This was wonderful, because money was very scarce. The next year I went to the University of Toronto and took Household Science. I passed the year, but I couldn’t go on to second year because it was the depression and my father couldn’t raise the money. I was not too disappointed, because I was not an ardent student.
Bruce was in 1st year and I was in Grade 13. He was an executive of his class each year, and so we went to all the dances for free. This was wonderful, because money was very scarce. The next year I went to the University of Toronto and took Household Science. I passed the year, but I couldn’t go on to second year because it was the depression and my father couldn’t raise the money. I was not too disappointed, because I was not an ardent student.
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Edith Latham at Joseph & Milton
Miss Milton went to Paris every spring and fall, and brought back beautiful clothes that she bought at the shows. Then, our customers would hurry in to see them. Miss Milton would have me try them on for the customer to see, and then the dressmaker would copy them to fit the customer.
I really enjoyed my three years at Joseph & Milton. My salary was raised to $12.50 per week plus commission after the first few months. Just before I left to get married, one of my very good customers invited me to the Windsor Arms for tea and gave me a wedding present. Miss Milton had Bruce and me to dinner at her home in the country. In those days married women didn’t work outside the house.’
Bruce Ross and Edith Latham were married in Glebe Road United Church in Toronto, on October 24, 1936. They were both age 22, and their parents thought they were ‘a little young’.
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Wedding Party in 1936Thersa Knowlson, George Latham, Cicely Latham, Edith Latham, Bruce Ross, Annie Ross, and Harry Ross
The story continues with additional selections from Edith’s ‘Grandparents Book’.
‘We had $100 saved for our wedding trip. Bruce’s sister Eila had won a new Chevrolet car with a raffle ticket. She loaned it to us for our honeymoon. We were away two weeks, and drove to Buffalo, New York, Washington, and Atlantic City.
When we were first married we lived in a small apartment in Peterborough, Ontario, which we rented for $25 per month. Bruce was working in Peterborough for Canadian General Electric. Our son Bob was born there in 1938, just before we moved back to Toronto.
When we moved back to Toronto we lived in a semi-detached house at 20 Falcon Street which we rented from my father for $28 per month. My father got this house from a builder who went broke during the depression, and could not pay for plumbing work my father had done. Our son Murray was born there in 1941.
In 1942 we moved to a larger house in Toronto, at 6 Cortleigh Boulevard. It was a beautiful house and we stayed there for 14 years. It had a huge front hall where we had a piano. We had lots of parties, and sang songs around the piano. Our son George was born there in 1946. We named him George after my father, who had died a few months earlier.
Our son Ted was born in 1949 and our daughter Camille was born in 1952. After four boys, at last I had a baby girl! Television became available in 1952, and Bruce put one in our hospital room. We were very popular with the nurses.’
In 1955 Canadian General Electric transferred Bruce Ross to Guelph, Ontario, to become the Manager of Engineering at the new plant in Guelph. In early 1956 the Ross family moved into a new house at 45 Harcourt Drive in Guelph. Shortly after the move, Edith and Bruce had a family portrait taken at a local studio.
‘We had $100 saved for our wedding trip. Bruce’s sister Eila had won a new Chevrolet car with a raffle ticket. She loaned it to us for our honeymoon. We were away two weeks, and drove to Buffalo, New York, Washington, and Atlantic City.
When we were first married we lived in a small apartment in Peterborough, Ontario, which we rented for $25 per month. Bruce was working in Peterborough for Canadian General Electric. Our son Bob was born there in 1938, just before we moved back to Toronto.
When we moved back to Toronto we lived in a semi-detached house at 20 Falcon Street which we rented from my father for $28 per month. My father got this house from a builder who went broke during the depression, and could not pay for plumbing work my father had done. Our son Murray was born there in 1941.
In 1942 we moved to a larger house in Toronto, at 6 Cortleigh Boulevard. It was a beautiful house and we stayed there for 14 years. It had a huge front hall where we had a piano. We had lots of parties, and sang songs around the piano. Our son George was born there in 1946. We named him George after my father, who had died a few months earlier.
Our son Ted was born in 1949 and our daughter Camille was born in 1952. After four boys, at last I had a baby girl! Television became available in 1952, and Bruce put one in our hospital room. We were very popular with the nurses.’
In 1955 Canadian General Electric transferred Bruce Ross to Guelph, Ontario, to become the Manager of Engineering at the new plant in Guelph. In early 1956 the Ross family moved into a new house at 45 Harcourt Drive in Guelph. Shortly after the move, Edith and Bruce had a family portrait taken at a local studio.
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Ross Family Portrait in 1956
When this photograph was taken, Edith and Bruce were both age 42, and had been married for 20 years.
Edith and Bruce Ross lived in Guelph for the rest of their lives. Edith died in 1994, at the age of almost 80. They had been married for almost 58 years. Bruce died in 1999, at the age of 85. Both Edith and Bruce had requested cremation, and their wishes were honoured. Their cremated remains were scattered together in a private grove in the Arboretum at the University of Guelph. A tree and a bench in the Arboretum have been dedicated to their memory.
It is always difficult to decide how and when to end a family history book. Any such book will be out-of-date a few years after publication, even if the author covers events right up to the present day. I have chosen to use the 1956 Ross family portrait to mark the formal end of this narrative. The five children of Bruce and Edith Ross are the great-great-great grandchildren of Donald Ross, who fought at the Battle of Corunna in 1809. The ‘black sheep’ was the grandson of Donald Ross, and the grandfather of Bruce Ross. This book covers a period of time starting about 200 years ago, and ending about 50 years ago.
This photograph also marks the end of the era of traditional, black-and-white, family portraits taken in local studios. There are several similar photographs in this book, taken in earlier years. Many other eras were ending at about the same time. The eras of family farms and one-room schools and rural railroads all ended about 1960. The stories in this book took place during a different time.
Some personal reflections about these eras will be discussed in the final chapter.
Edith and Bruce Ross lived in Guelph for the rest of their lives. Edith died in 1994, at the age of almost 80. They had been married for almost 58 years. Bruce died in 1999, at the age of 85. Both Edith and Bruce had requested cremation, and their wishes were honoured. Their cremated remains were scattered together in a private grove in the Arboretum at the University of Guelph. A tree and a bench in the Arboretum have been dedicated to their memory.
It is always difficult to decide how and when to end a family history book. Any such book will be out-of-date a few years after publication, even if the author covers events right up to the present day. I have chosen to use the 1956 Ross family portrait to mark the formal end of this narrative. The five children of Bruce and Edith Ross are the great-great-great grandchildren of Donald Ross, who fought at the Battle of Corunna in 1809. The ‘black sheep’ was the grandson of Donald Ross, and the grandfather of Bruce Ross. This book covers a period of time starting about 200 years ago, and ending about 50 years ago.
This photograph also marks the end of the era of traditional, black-and-white, family portraits taken in local studios. There are several similar photographs in this book, taken in earlier years. Many other eras were ending at about the same time. The eras of family farms and one-room schools and rural railroads all ended about 1960. The stories in this book took place during a different time.
Some personal reflections about these eras will be discussed in the final chapter.
Descendants of Bruce Ross and Edith Latham