The Book (excerpt written by Mabel Pollard Brown, younger sister to Kate)
Sunday, February 14 th , 1960
McKays Nursing Home,
6335 McKay Ave.
South Burnaby B.C.
 
Dear Everybody
God has asked me to write, The Book, The story of my life.
 
I was born at midnight October 27 th , 1897. In a cottage called Rose Cottage, my
father helped build, at Twerton-on-Avon, Bath, Somersetshire, England. 
 
My father was Mr. Wm Pollard. My mother, before marriage, was Miss Charlotte
Catherine Felton. They had seven children, five daughters and two sons.
 
The eldest daughter, they named Helen Maud, the second Gertrude Felton, third
Kate, fourth Edith Matilda, and fifth, myself, they named Mabel. Two sons, first
Richard Felton, the second Arthur John.
 
God took little Edith back unto himself under two years of age. God also took
Arthur on September 14 th , 1916, he would have been eleven on the fifth of
November. He was born in 1905. 
 
My father took the stones from the quarry hole, as we called it, in the one acre of
ground he had bought. He planted apple trees, some plum, one cherry, etc. My
father's father lived next to us, they were gardener's. Mother helped Dad get the
vegetables ready for sale. He did extra work sometimes at the gas works at Bath,
also Dad worked at Mr. Tucker's in Twerton.
 
For hauling his vegetables Dad had a horse and cart. The horse was called Tommy,
there was a small stable for him. Dad had two sow pigs, one of them was born with
one ear, he also had a few chickens and ducks.
 
Our mother had very poor eyesight. Besides cooking and looking after us all,
Mother was a dressmaker before marriage. Now, she sewed for the neighbours to
get money to help bring us children up as we were growing fast.

 
About the first thing I can remember was when Mother went out she would ask an
old lady, Mrs. Body, who lived down by the River Avalon in the attic room of a
house, the stairs going up outside, to look after Dick and I. One day, Dick was
crawling across the kitchen floor when Mrs. Body said, "Get up Dick and walk."
Dick got up and walked to her.
 
When I was three Mother took me to West Twerton Infant School where I played
with other children, building blocks, and toys. When it rained and was time to go
home Mother would come with an umbrella and us children's coats, so we would
not get wet. It was not very far from our home to go to school. We went out of are
lane, along the road, down a foot path, opposite our grandparent's place, through
Blackmore and Langdon's begonias gardens, then we went through a fence, into
Brook's cow pasture. If there were any cows in sight, we were afraid they would
come after us, so we would run across to school. 
 
The school had very high walls, it was three schools together, infants, girls, and
boys. About this time, one of our relatives came home from the Boer War. He
brought with him two necklaces that he gave to my two oldest sisters made of
small beads that came from the necks of dead Bore women. When I was five years
of age my aunt, Annie Cross (my dad's sister), came down from London for a visit.
She had one son named Alfred, having had also twin sons whom God had taken
back unto himself at birth.
 
When Aunt Annie was about ready, she asked my dad if she could take me back to
London with her for a while. She had taken Sister Kate the year before for a visit.
My aunt told me if anyone asked me how old I was I was to say I am three, but
after getting to London some lady asked me how old I was, I said "Ise five but Ise
three, when I am in the train with Auntie."
 
Aunt Annie's husband was named Jack, he seemed very jolly. We lived back of a
fish shop and downstairs. Not far from there lived our uncle, Harry Lawrence, with
his daughter, Hilda. God had taken back unto himself his wife, Caroline (another
sister of our dads), a short time before. They lived in one room. Hilda was about
thirteen years of age.
 
One morning my Aunt Annie asked Cousin Hilda if she would take me to school. I
remember a little song I learnt with the children of my class, it went like this.
Once I saw an ant hill,

Where no ants about.
So, I said dear little ants,
Won't you please come out,
One, two, three came out,
and that was all.
 
Uncle Jack worked in the fish shop. One day, coming home from school, I wanted
to cross the street, it was very crowded with people and cabs. A police man picked
me up and carried me across the street, close to where we lived.
 
Aunt Annie used to dress me up and take me places. The Kew Gardens, The Cut,
Madame Tassauds, the underground station, and others.
 
Aunt Annie took me to Walthamstow to a relative's wedding, I was a flower girl.
Mother had made me a very nice dress, it was cream cashmere with a pocket
hanging from four ribbons. A leg horn hat was made into a poke bonnet with long
ribbons to tie under my chin. My lace stockings were white, also my low two
strapped shoes.
 
Another one of my dad's sisters lived at Walthamstow, she was dad's eldest sister,
Aunt Eliza Ackerman. She ran a little shop and sold different things.
 
While I was living up in London, Easter time came. Aunt Annie bought me a
present in the shape of an egg, it opened into halves from the top to the bottom. On
the lower part lay a lovely little dolly, her dress with pink trimmed with white fur. 
 
On a morning when Uncle Jack Cross laid in bed a little longer, he asked Aunt
Annie to send me up with a cup of tea, also let him know what time it was, but by
the time I got upstairs to Uncle Jack I had forgotten what to say. So, I said "Cup of
tea, cup of tea, half past, half past."
 
At Christmas time that year (I was six in the October), Aunt Annie bought me four
small dolls, three girls and one boy doll. A short time after Aunt Annie took me
home for a visit, Aunt Annie wanted to adopt me. After visit, when I was got ready
to go back to London, I cried and told them that I wanted to stay with Mother. Dad
said, "Look here Annie, if Mabel wants to stay, she's going to stay. While I've got a
crust for one I got a crust for all."
 
Aunt Annie went back to London disappointed.
 

I remember Sister Helen, Nellie we called her, sometimes took us younger ones for
walks. One day, she took us up Pennyquick Lane, we passed some very big oak
trees. We saw an old well that had a bucket and windlass. Then on, we went to
some friend's home, their name was Gale. There was a very nice homemade model
of a sailing ship on the mantle shelf. Some of our neighbour's names were Evans,
Combe, Wall, Brown, and Hiskins. Alice Brown, Mrs. Hiskin's sister, around
twenty years of age, was crippled very badly with arthritis. She used crutches.
Alice lived with her sister, Mrs. Hiskins, at that time.
 
Mr. and Mrs. Hiskin's had two daughters, Nellie and Dolly, and a son named
Willie. My sisters, brother Dick, and I used to walk past their home, up the road to
the little Sunday school, their two girls went with us.
 
The first of May, one year, there was a Sunday school party. There were so many
girls and boys were picked out a certain age and learnt a little dance to go around
the maypole. Holding red, white, and blue ribbons as they went around, they
braided the ribbons down the pole. I was one of the little girls.
Then one Christmas, a party was given at the Sunday school, giving the children
books as prizes for good attendance. I was given a storybook, my sister, Gertrude,
a little black bible.
 
At that time, my sister seemed both big and strong to me. She would whistle and
beat the boys at playing marbles after school was let out. At one concert, she acted
as Old Mother Hubbard, she had a stuffed black fur dog. Sister Kate was a make-
believe milk made. Kate was in standard four at that time. By this time, Brother
Dick was at school. One day, Sister Nellie came for a visit to Weston, over the
River Avon toll bridge. Our dad's cousin, Alice Humes, lived there. Her father was
a coach man.
 
I remember seeing the nice harness for the horses. Alice was home, she made a cup
of tea for us. Alice a young man whose name was Fred Archer, they came over to
Vancouver, B.C. They had two sons, the eldest Freddy, the youngest Ivor.
Across the road from our home, a man named Arian Long had a chicken farm. He
used to come from his home near Bath to feed and water, also to collect the eggs
once a day.

One day, Dad was making hay not far from home. Mrs. Long and their daughter
Dorothy (about my age) came to the hay field. Mother had brought lunch, us
children were playing on the coils of hay, we had a happy time.
One day, Mother sent me to a little shop not far from home to buy something.
While the lady was at the back (maybe in her kitchen), while she was away, I
noticed some Christmas stockings in the big window. I do not know why, but I
took one of the Christmas stockings, just as I put it under my coat the lady came
back.  She asked me what I had under my coat. I told the lady a lie. I said a girl
whose name was Snow had given it to me, Daisy was forgetful at times. It was not
long until the lady came to see Mother about it. Mother told her, I, Mabel would
not do a thing like that. So, Mother and the lady took me down to where Daisy
Snow lived, as one of them knocked on the door, Mrs. Snow and Daisy came. One
of them asked Daisy if she had given me the stocking she had in her hand. Daisy
said, yes, she had given it to me.
 
Before that time, there was a celebration. Us children, with a lot more, went into
the Guild Hall in Bath. It was the time of the coming to the British Throne, one of
the King Georges, there were seats all the children were given. We were given
brown paper bags with good things to eat in them. Afterwards, we were told to go
outside.
 
We all had a hobby horse ride, then a man with a large brown paper bag filled with
monkey nuts came, he threw the nuts on the ground for all the children to scramble
for. Nellie and Gerty were given enamel mugs with a picture of the King and
Queen on the side of it.
 
When my brother, Dick, could sing a little, one day, a relative came to visit us. I
was a bit jealous when my mother stood Dick over by the door to sing a song. The
summer Dick was five, us children used to see the doctor go up the lane to Mrs.
Hiskin's house with his little black bag. When Brother Dick heard that his little
girlfriend, Dolly Hiskin, had a baby brother, Willie. Dick came home and asked
Mother if she could buy him a brother. 
 
On the 5 th of November 1905, our baby brother, Arthur John, was born. That
morning, Mother called me into her bedroom with her in bed was a little black-
haired baby boy. I was a very surprised little girl, as before the baby came I used to
come into Mother's room and get in bed with her and have a drink of tea out of the
saucer when Dad brought Mother her morning tea. I was eight years of age then.

My sisters used to go down Twerton, near where Mrs. Body lived. This evening,
my sisters took me with them to a meeting called The Band of Hope. There were
more children there, we all learnt to sing. 
 

Merry Dick you soon would know,
If you lived in Jackson's row.
Each day with a smiling face,
He is ready at his place.
In all season cold or hot,
Storm, or sunshine matters not.
Winter's snow, or summers rain,
Ringing out his merry strain.

Chorus

My drink is water bright,
Water bright, water bright.
My drink is water bright,
From the crystal spring.
We've been friends since we were boys,
Shared each other's hopes and joys.
Dick will say that maybe true,
Friends but let me say to you.

Chorus

 
Mother used to take me, sometimes, to what the ladies called mothers meetings.
One day, I remember Mother took me with her shopping, we went down through a
brick yard where men were making bricks, then on and under the train bridge, then
over some railway tracks along by the side of an iron fence of a cemetery. Mother
showed me the place where our baby sister, Edith, was laid to rest.
 
Then we walked to Westcoat Street, to a little shop, where Mother got some
groceries, to me that seemed a long walk.
 
One day, we heard that a missionary was coming to the little Sunday school to
show pictures of people in other lands. He asked us children to pray to God, for the
safety of the missionaries, so when saying prayers, it's this I say as when a child:
Jesus dear Jesus God bless the missionaries.

 
Time went on, until our grandfather, Richard Felton, and our step grandmother
came to visit us from 52 Willington Terrace, Falmouth, Cornwall, England. They
brought us each a present. To me they gave a string of pearls. My eldest sister went
to live with our grandparents, as she was not very well. The doctor ordered the
change of climate.
 
While Arthur, the baby, was small Dad took the rest of us children to a summer
resort called Weston Super Mare by train for a day's holiday. There was lovely,
sandy beach. Dick and I played in the sand. There was a small donkey, we had a
ride on it for a penny. But, the donkey would not go far, but would stop, turn
around, and come back again to the man. My two sisters, Gerty and Kate, had six
pennies to spend. Out of my three pennies, Gerty bought me a little white dog
sitting up. For a penny, Gerty bought one to match, we took them home for
Mother. Brother Dick was very tired, and we were all tired when we arrived at
Rose Cottage.
I remember Dad one evening, took us girls to see Uncle Tom's Cabin Show. What
interested me most was Eliza jumping from ice block to ice block with her child in
her arms.
One day, Dad had brought home some papers about a land called Canada. Dad had
thought about coming to Canada four years before, as my mother and dad's
stepmother did not get along well together. Dad's own mother had passed away at
the age of thirty-seven from tuberculosis, Dad was seven years of age at that time.
Dad's mother's name was, before marriage, Elizabeth Hobbs. Dad had three sisters,
Elizabeth, Annie, and Caroline. He also had four half sisters and two half brothers.
Dad told Mother they could get one hundred and sixty acres of land in Canada for
ten dollars Canadian money and doing a bit of work three years.
 
There were all kinds of wood for fuel, the grass was so high children could play
hide and seek in it. I did not go over to our step grandmother's very often. One day
I went over, we had tea in the summer house, it had a board seat around three sides
of it, the front was all open. They had a big vegetable garden and down both sides
of the walk were lovely flowers to the front little gate. 
 
Now dear everybody, I was nine years of age, us children were waiting for Father
Christmas. Mother had went down to see her father and stepmother. Her father had
retired in the south of England, he had been a sailor most of his life.
 

Mother told me her father had been born in Hanover, Germany. When he was a
little boy of seven, he saw his father beating his mother, so he ran away from home
and stowed away on a ship and never went home again. He married a girl called
Anna, born to them were four daughters and three sons. The girl's names were,
after marriage, Anna Plear, Charlotte Catherine Pollard, and Elizabeth Beach. Aunt
Bessie we called her, went to Massachusetts USA about 1903.
 
The baby girl, Christina, passed away very young. The two boys were named
Jacob and Jo, the babies name I did not know. Grandfather's wife, our
grandmother, at thirty-seven, God came for her, also little Tina, also the baby boy.
The two other boys had already gone unto God. After that, he put his three
daughters in a boarding school while he went to sea. After a while, he married
again, a woman with one daughter.
Us children slept in one room, when Brother Dick was small. Gerty, Kate, and I in
a big bed, while Dick slept in another bed with Sister Nellie.
 
When he was little Nellie had learnt Dick an evening prayer, it went like this:

Come sister come
Wish me goodnight
For I my evening prayers have said
I'm tired now and sleepy too
So, put me in my little bed.

 
One nice evening, Dad and Mother were taking a ride on top of one of the buses.
They saw us five in the direction of home. Brother Dick had got hold of some
matches and set the small stack of hay on fire. By the time Dad and Mother got
home, Sister Nellie who was afraid Dick would get a whipping, had put Dick in
bed. There he was fast asleep. Arthur was not very old, after he was bathed and put
to bed, Dick was next, then me. I always wished I could stay up with the older
ones, and as I was over two years older than Brother Dick, I could not sleep. I was
nine years old now, then came the last Christmas in England.
 
As we children woke up on Christmas morning, we heard tip tap down the stairs.
We were afraid to open the bedroom door, but when we did Father Christmas had
gone. By the time we got dressed and down the stairs Dad was playing records on a
small Edison Phonograph. Our grandfather, Felton, had sent us for a Christmas
present. Us children always hung our stockings up at the foot of the bed. We got
candy, nuts, an orange, and an apple. We ate that before coming down the stairs.
Then we found a present each. I found my present, it was a big rag doll. It had

curly cloth for hair, buttons for eyes, a baby's dress on, socks, and a pair of odd
baby shoes. As I was carrying her out in the lane one day, someone gave me a
penny, they thought I was carrying a live baby.
 
Time goes on again. Dad had made up his mind to leave England. Some furniture
and other things were put down by the gate for sale with a sign on them. Our step
grandmother bought Mother's new parlour suite. Mother had sewed for the
neighbours and that way had earned enough money to buy the suite. There were
two large pictures on the wall in the parlor, one was a picture of Queen Victoria,
who I always thought was nice and plain and neat. The other was of an old man
reading his newspaper, while behind him, a stork perched reading the paper. The
bird had a long beak, the man had glasses on the end of his nose. On a small table
in one corner on it was a glass dome, inside of it was a stuffed squirrel sitting up
with a nut between its paws, Dad had shot it.
Let time go back a little. Aunt Annie Cross with her son, Alfred, had moved from
London to Bath and was running a little shop. Dad used to take them vegetables to
sell. Aunt Annie also sold pigs feet all ready to eat.
 
Our uncle, Jack Cross, went up to London to look for work. He could not find any
job, so he wrote to his wife Aunt Annie a letter asking her if he could come home,
she wrote him a reply.
 
My Mother told me Aunt Annie had read the letter to her, Mother said she told her
she would not send a letter like that, but she did. Soon, our Aunt Annie got a
message saying Uncle Jack Cross had committed suicide, he had jumped from a
second-floor window, the police came and took things over.
 
Now the time drew near to 9th of April 1907, when we were to go on board the
Mongolian, an old boat fixed up for passengers. So, we said goodbye to friends and
relatives, Dad's father, stepmother, half-sisters Millie, Ethel, Lily, and Nellie. Also,
two half brothers, Harry and Ted. Dad gave our black curly retriever dog to Mr.
Arian Long. Uncle Ted Pollard had bought Dad's house and land (Rose Cottage).
In the evening, for a few hours, on the night of the 8th of April, we went up to the
Hiskins to wait for the train. Time at eleven o'clock that night we boarded the train
for Liverpool. Aunt Annie and her son Alfred, our cousin, came to Canada with us.
Mother put us younger ones to bed, next morning we arrived at Liverpool. Where
in a hotel, we had boiled eggs for breakfast. One of them had a bit of chicken in it.
 

After breakfast we all got ready to go on board the old Mongolian. Mother brought
a few things, her singer sewing machine, the new slipcovers Mother had made for
her new suite of furniture. They brought a spit, a thing that hung in the living and
dining room in front of the fireplace. It went halfway round, then back, halfway
round, then back. Mother used to roast little pigs hanging from it.
 
Mother told me one day when Sister Nellie was a little girl she stood looking at it,
she said "Is you very hot little piggy?". Dad brought the horses harness, a pistol,
also the small Edison Phonograph with the big red horn. Us children were very
excited as we walked onto the deck to the third-class cabins, as we were English
immigrants in 1907. Dad asked if we could have a cabin close to the table as
Mother had a baby. Arthur was two years and five months of age. So, my father,
mother, Kate, Dick, and I had that cabin while Sister Gerty had a bed in Aunt
Annie's cabin. Cousin Alfred went in a cabin with another man. As we were third
class we were at the end of the boat, there was a long table. I don't remember being
sick.
 
I remember our cabin. Dad, Mother, and little Arthur slept in a lower bunk. While
Brother Dick and I the upper one. Sister Kate had a bunk at the side of the cabin.
One of the sailors played at skipping the rope with us girls. One day, Sister Kate
and I thought we would take a walk around, so we went to the left of the boat. Up
front, along a little hallway, a door at the side was open, we looked in and saw
sides of beef hanging there. We went a little further along exploring, when Kate
suddenly turned, me after her, we were afraid someone might see us.
 
One day, Dad told Mother the second-class people would like him to take the small
Phonograph to play for a party and dance. Aunt Annie, Gerty, and Kate went with
Dad. How I would of liked to go to a party. I had never saw people dance. I felt big
enough, but I was one of the younger one's, Mother had to stay to mind us. We had
been out at sea a few days when we saw a liner on the horizon.
 
In the evenings, the man called Dan, he may have been the cook's helper, would
go down in the hole at the bottom of the ladder. There was a big barrel half full of
hard tack biscuits, he would give us children one each. After travelling about a
week, we came upon some big icebergs. Our boat left some of its new red paint on
some of them. We could hear the grind of the ice as the boat went through the
icebergs.
 
Then a few days later, we were all sitting at the table when the old Mongolian
struck a rock. So, we had to go into St. John's Newfoundland for a day or so to get

fixed up. Us children were excited to go up the hills, to the shop, to spend the
pennies we had been given. When the boat was ready, we all got on board again.
We sailed out of St. John and travelled around to Halifax to get off the boat.
 
There were two teenage girls, about eighteen, they were the fun of the trip. They
were always jolly, now they boarded the same train as we did to go West. As we
got on the train, Dan, our friend of the boat got on to wish us all goodbye. The train
had started when Dan jumped off. It had taken two weeks to come across. Now,
the train seemed a long-time coming West.
Sometimes, when the train stopped, Dad would get off to get us all something to
eat. This day he bought some bread and a wooden pail of greengage (plum) jam.
Us children ate piece after piece, it tasted so good. We missed the two girls, they
wished us goodbye and got off the train at Portage-La-Prairie. The train rolled
along, mile after mile, day after day. We did not see many towns in those days of
1907. We saw lots of Prairie.
At last, we reached a town at night, it was Calgary, Alberta. Where we had to
change trains. I remember they made us younger ones a bed on the floor of the
station with the blankets we had with us, until the other train arrived. Mother got us
ready, then we were on our way once more. At last, we arrived at South Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada. We changed from train to coach and continued over the low-level
bridge to the north Side of the North Saskatchewan River, across Jasper Avenue
north on 101 Street, to the Immigration Hall where the coach left us.
 
Inside the hall were a few more people, there was a big stove on which the women
cooked the meals for their families. I remember we slept on the floor. It was now
the beginning of May 1907. There soon came a man they called a guide, his name
was Mr. Ed Flynn, from a small village called Riviere Qui Barre. He acted as guide
to take people to look at farms to rent or land to homestead on. Dad went with him
to look for a farm to rent. Dad was gone a week.
During that time our aunt Annie got a job for herself at the Queens Hotel on the
south side of Jasper Ave., Edmonton. Also, a job as chambermaid for my sister
Gerty. The ground north west of the Immigration hall was broke up the year
before. Another little girl and I used to run and jump across the furrows. There
were a few Indian teepees up. I remember going up town once, along a small
sidewalk, to Jasper Avenue. Then Sister Kate and I thought we had better go back.
Dad brought back a small team of horses, their names were Molly and Baldy, they
were hitched to a Democrat.

 
Dad had rented a quarter of land, 160 acres from a bachelor whose name was Mr.
Dan McMillan of Riviere Qui Barre. That was to be our home for a while. Dad put
the things we had in the Democrat. Mother sat on the seat in front with Dad and
little Arthur. Kate, Dick, and I sat at the back. We started out on our trip to Riviere
Qui Barre, we went through a place called Saint Albert, then on a few more miles,
as the road was very heavy with mud. It was hard work for the small horses. We
came to a bachelor's place, his name was Dee McMillan (brother of Dan
McMillan). Dad had bought another bigger team of horses from him, their names
Darling and Grace. The men changed horses, we started out again. We were
getting hungry just as we got nicely started, and the middle of the road got very
bad. Dad pulled the horses to the side, by the fence, into some water, when Grace
balked, she did not want to go, but after a while she started. 
 
We went on about half a mile there, we stopped at Ray hotel. The people who lived
there were the Pete Burleys, we went in their yard, the man and Dad put the horses
to feed, and we went into the hotel to a meal and rest. Then started out again going
north until we came to a road going west into Riviere Qui Barre.
 
We saw a school house where Brother and I were going to attend, the Camila
school. We passed Mc Namara's hotel, and as we passed the Catholic Church we
saw a little boy with bare feet. He was Johnny Flynn, he was running along the
sidewalk in front of Mr. Joe Poirier's big store, we turned south about three
quarters of a mile. We passed a farm of the Hoffeys, just a little further on we came
to a gate of our future home, for a little while. We went about to the middle of the
quarter, we came to some buildings, we were looking for a house. It was a log
shack about 12' x 12', it had one little window and a sod roof, not far away was a
stable grainery combined into one. Dan McMillan was there when we arrived, he
had a blue roan mare he called Babe, she was loose. She came up to our rig, saw a
sack of flour and ripped the sack open with her teeth. She looked like a lovely
animal.
 
The shack only had a bed and small stove. Soon, Mother asked Dan McMillan
about a school for Dick and I. So, Dan asked Charlie Constantine, the blacksmiths
boy, if he would take us the first day. It was not long before Dad brought sister
Gerty home from Edmonton. She went to work right away to work in the house for
Mrs. Joe Poirier. When we got there to the farm there was some snow on the
ground, the spring was late that year of 1907. But, with the four horses, Dad put in
sixty acres of crop. The neighbours called Dad the green English man.
 

One day, our neighbour, a bachelor to the south of us, whose name was Mr. Hans
Danielson came over. He had heard of a sale, so Dad went with him. He advised
Dad what cows to buy, so Dad bought a grade Herford cow, Mother named her
Boss. She was Mothers' cow, and a large white cow called Whitey, and the last
one we named Pretty Cow. Dad also bought a few chickens at the sale. Kate
learned to milk the cows, Mother used to give Boss a piece of bread when Boss
would come knocking on the door with her big horns.

(excerpt written by Mabel Pollard Brown)