From 1958 until her passing in 1976, my mother was involved with Indigenous issues. She helped Aboriginal people to market their crafts and supported many of their other endeavours. Some people encouraged me to carry on with her interest, but since the mid-2000s, I have mostly been on the outside looking in.
From the 1950s to the 1960s, my mother was involved with many projects at First-St Andrew’s United Church in London, Ontario. For instance, she helped organize religious art and artifact exhibitions. The Very Reverend Angus J MacQueen (1912-2006) gave my mother’s 1976 eulogy at the church. He described her as “very special kind of person.”
My mother created a shoulder-bag carrier for infants. She also turned a banana box into a swing that small children could play in. She acknowledged she got her ideas for these devices from researching how women had carried their offspring throughout the ages.
This is the first of a four-part tribute to my mother on the 40th anniversary of her passing December 15, 1976. I discuss her 1950s paintings of children, her design of the “Moo Cow” marionette for James Reaney’s “Apple Butter” play, and her baby chair invention which was acquired by Museum London.