These are the stories told by Donald, to his son, Bruce
1.Even as a little boy, family was always very important to Donald. He would tell stories about when he was a little boy and his parents owned a Texaco gas station in Gananoque, ON. Donald’s family lived in the apartment building just down at the next corner (southwest side). Donald could see his dad working there at the gas pumps and often in what is now a lawyer’s office in the stone house beside the station.
2. Donald, a wonderful storyteller (with a flare for the dramatic), told about a time when his Grandfather, Rev. Roy Raymond was driving around the Inverary, ON area. Suddenly, the floorboards of his car caught fire, and Rev. Raymond could be seeing running and to and from the local creek trying to extinguish the flames.
3. Stories were also told about hard times for Donald’s grandfather, and how Donald’s mother would often be asked to go the farmer across the road for some potatoes for supper – as they did not have much of anything to eat.
4. Donals and his brother John were extremely close, so when John was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and began experiencing extreme pain and hallucinations, Donald was devastated. The local country doctor told Donald’s parents that the best way to mitigate the issues was to move to a warmer climate – namely California. Donald’s father, Jack gave up his government job , sold his St. Lawrence River property as well as their home, and moved to California – only to discover from the California Doctors that in fact the California weather would not benefit John at all. Despite the extremely long trip, Donald fondly recalled driving through the dessert that summer of 1948, with the air condition pumping! At that time, the car air conditioning consisted of a large bullet-shaped aluminum container attached through the window that was filled with ice. It was a marvel at the time!
5. Donald would often tell stories about his experiences in Scouts. Part of a life- long Scouting family, Donald and his brother John joined the 17th Kingston Scout Group. Donald had a real passion for the organization, which he learned from his father, who had also been involved in scouting on the 17th’s group committee.
6. Donald would tell stories of his Great Aunt, Anna Robinson, who was a famous actress on Broadway in New York City! Anna went on to marry the Earl of Rosalind, and so became a Countess. Her life often seemed so much more exciting and glamorous then Donald’s simple life in Ontario. Unfortunately, the Earl was a gambler and he gambled away all his inheritance and all of Anna’s money she earned in her Broadway days.
7. Donald and his mother had both unfortunately lost their wedding rings during their lives. When his mother first lost her wedding ring she looked everywhere, but could not find it. She finally contacted a fortune teller, who told her to “look between the newspapers”. His mother walked into their old basement where a stack of newspapers sat at the bottom of the stairs. To her surprise, there was the long lost ring! Years later, Donald also lost his ring. Hoping to have the same fate has his mother had, Donald also contacted a fortune teller. This time he was told to “look up high”. While standing on a wooden dinning chair, Donald began looking high up in the cupboards in the kitchen, where, much to his delight, he found his much loved ring! Like Mother like Son!
8. As a young child, Donald and his brother were given an American Flyer train set, that was much loved during their childhood. Years later the train was nearly sold at a yard sale for $30 by a cousin, but was saved by Donald’s son who wanted it for his family. Donald would later tell this story, along with the story about how on the 30 foot track, three working die cast steam engines and multiple cars were actually valued at thousands of dollars!
9. Donald loved his career in teaching nearly as much as he loved travelling! After retiring, Donald was keen for adventure. He would tell stories to his children about his travels and adventures in Mexico; Shanghai, China; Indonesia, and Jakarta. Donald was fascinated by the culture of these new places, and the children and education programs in the different countries.