My First “Leith Peterson” WordPress Blog Post
Leith Peterson discusses what was involved in setting up her first WordPress blog and writing her first post.
Charles T. Peterson
The Peterson Family Home at 283 Dufferin Avenue, London, Ontario, Canada, Early 1950s to Early 1970s
My post discusses Peterson family home life from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. It includes a poem my brother Don wrote about what life was like in our unusual household, e.g, my father’s “save the trees” campaign, and how “rock music coming from our house” gave “a headache to the sexton’s spouse.”
Ivey Family London Room’s “Winter in London” 2017 Display Includes Artwork by Jay Peterson (1920-1976)
The Ivey Family London Room 2017 “Winter in London” display contained 2015 and 2017 Christmas cards with artwork by my mother Jay Peterson (1920-1976). My post includes a photo of London Room Library Assistant Barb Scott and I standing next to the display which includes these cards.
Part Four of Four: Tribute to Jay Peterson (1920-1976), on the 40th Anniversary of Her Passing, December 15, 2016 – Her Involvement With Indigenous Issues, 1958-1976
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.
Part Three of Four: Tribute to Jay Peterson (1920-1976), on the 40th Anniversary of Her Passing, December 15, 2016 – Her Involvement With First-St. Andrew’s United Church
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.”
Part Two of Four: Tribute to Jay Peterson (1920-1976), on the 40th Anniversary of Her Passing, December 15, 2016 – More Child-Rearing Information
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.
Charles T. Peterson (1913-2007) – His (Rejected) Submission to the Royal Commission on the Northern Environment, 1978
My father Charles T Peterson (1913-2007) was born and raised in Bruce Mines, Ontario. He was very concerned about irresponsible development in Northern Ontario, so made a submission to the Royal Commission on the Northern Environment, 1978. His submission was rejected, but some of his arguments for sustainable development are worth noting.
Jay Peterson (1920-1976) – Examples of Her Art, ca. 1939-1961
Around the early 1960s, my mother painted pictures of children on the wall of my father’s periodontal office. His office was torn down shortly after he retired, but before his office was dismantled, he cut the pictures out of the wall and had them individually framed; a couple of examples are included with this post.
Charles T. Peterson (1913-2007)
My father Charles T Peterson (1913-2007) served in the Canadian Army Dental Corps during the Second World War. In 1943, he married my mother. Around 1949, he set up his periodontal practice in London, Ontario. He frequently stressed to me the importance of knowing who you are and where you come from.
Jay Peterson (1920-1976)
My mother invented a baby chair that was used by the Service League of London as a fundraiser from about 1958 to 1967. Museum London has two different versions of this chair in their collection. Poet Colleen Thibaudeau Reaney penned the poem that is on my mother’s grave at the Leith, Ontario United Church cemetery.