Memory Lane(s)
My mum and I decided to have a bit of a photography trip one day. We have lots of interesting things to see from gorgeous flowers and trees to pretty water scenes but we decided this day that we would look for interesting houses.
We headed west to an area of town called Willistead because it has some beautiful homes and the well known “Willistead Manor”.
Willistead Manor is a 36-room mansion that sits within a 15-acre park. Built in 1906, the Manor was briefly the home of Edward Chandler Walker and his wife, Mary. Today, this cultural gem in the City of Windsor is a perfect location for weddings, receptions, meetings and other special events.
I’ve been to “Art In The Park” at Willistead Park many times since I was young and I noticed that the old Coach House is now a ‘Gertrude’s Writing Room’. The homes surrounding the Manor are so pretty so we had fun taking photos of our favourite ones.
Unlike Alberta, there are so many homes made with brick exteriors and I just love the look of them. The trees are large and full and the day was so unusually hot ( 32 degrees) that we decided that we would take all of our photos from the comfort of my air conditioned rental car. ( with a cold “Timmy’s drink at hand)
At one point we passed this lovely church and mum said, “That’s St. Mary’s. Your dad used to sing in the choir at the Anglican church there when he was a boy.” What? That’s the first time I ever heard that story!
Then she asked me if I wanted to see the homes that Dad lived in when he first came to Canada as a boy from England in the second world war years. So off we went to Kildare Street and I got to see “Aunt Charlotte’s” house (not his real aunt but a lady who took in children at that time to give them a safe space….and also to get some help around the house) and the “Battersby’s” home where Dad lived with his sister, Jean, when he was 8.
They came over to Canada when the ‘Ford’ families contacted the Ford families in England about sending their children over here to Canadian Ford families who would protect them. I also wasn’t aware of this!
In order above: “Aunt Charlotte’s home from 2 different angles, The Battersby home, St. Mary’s Anglican, and the former St. Clare of Assisi ( now St. Peter’s) where my grandparents (Mum’s parents) were married.
I had never thought to ask where Dad had stayed when he came to Canada. It was a fun trip down “Memory Lane” for mum and a learning experience for me.
And what a nice way to spend some time with my Mama.