Things I Learned About My Nova Scotia Roots (in Ohio)

In 2016, I visited my maternal aunt in Ohio. I had not been there in forty years! My mother Dawn (Creighton) Moynahan had passed away thirty-five years ago and then I moved even farther away to Sudbury!

It had been a very long, long time and drove there with my other maternal aunt (my aunt Deb) and when we arrived, my aunt Barb shared her home, her hospitality, some wonderful photos and cherished stories with me. I am so grateful. It was a trip that I will never forget.

Below, I will try to summarize, in twenty-five words or less, a few of the things that I learned.

"Tufts Cove" Should Be Spelled "Toughs Cove"

Between 1929 and 1941, my mother and her Creighton siblings
were born in Tuft's Cove, Nova Scotia.
Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia as it appears today (Source: Google Maps)

Frederick Douglas Creighton (1907-1976)
with two daughters (Claire and Barb) and an unidentified young girl
in Tufts Cove (c 1937)

George's Island Lighthouse

Historic postcard: http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/CANPK/ORIGINAL/GEORGE_I.JPG

 

My Grandfather Was A "Plate Burner"

Artist Stanley Spencer received a commission from the War Artist's Advisory Committee on 6 June 1940 to record the war effort by focusing on the shipbuilding industry. 'Burners' was the first of the shipbuilding works to be finished and was based on drawings made in May 1940. Spencer's shipbuilding drawings show a fascination with the components and machinery of the yards and the skill of the workers manipulating them. Their job was to cut the steel plates with oxy-acetylene torches, following the complex chalk lines the machines could not manage. In a letter from Spencer to Elmslie Owen at the Ministry of Information in November 1942, he described the work: 'In this burners painting I have treated the burners as a series of decorative figures because of the interesting variety of positions they naturally assume.'

"Workers, wearing round goggles and sitting or lying in various positions, use oxy-acetylene equipment. A pair of cylinders, one oxygen, the other acetylene, can be seen in the top left. Many of the burners were young men from the age of 16 to 20 years old. The young boy sitting upright, top right, takes a break and has removed his goggles and is mopping his brow."

My Aunt Nearly Drowned In The Narrows

There is a newspaper article about my aunt falling off a Halifax pier and I am still searching for it! Rescues from near-drownings were usually front page news and often picked up by other newspapers of the day. I will post it here when I do find it.

UPDATE September 2019: my maternal Aunt Deb has a copy; gave the photo to my sister and my cousin Jodie provided the text! Here is the article:

Into Cove Water: Floats About Until Rescued By Her Mother

Photo by Fraser

SHOWN above are Mrs. Fred Creighton and her daughter Barbara, inset picture Harold Sarson, who gave the alarm that resulted in the rescue of the two-year-old girl.

TWO YEAR OLD Barbara Creighton, pretty little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Creighton, of Tuft’s Cove, is alive and well today, but only after having gone through one of the strangest experiences recorded here in many years.
The child, one of a family of three, had wandered from the Creighton home at Tuft’s Cove on Sunday afternoon, following her father and little brother who had gone for a sail in a boat. Unaware of the danger, little “Babs” toddled out on the family float and unseen by anybody, toppled headlong into the water.

FLOATED IN WATER

Just what happened then is not known, but it was more than five minutes from the time she disappeared from the float that Harold Sarson, a young boy, noticed the baby floating in the water nearby. Calling frantically for help the boy attracted Mrs. Creighton’s attention and realizing that her baby’s life was endangered, she rushed to the scene.
“Babs” was floating head up in the water, apparently enjoying herself, but at her mother’s approach she struggled and sank beneath the surface.

OBEYS MOTHER’S PLEA

Disregarding her own safety, the mother began to wade out. She called to the child urging her not to be afraid, but stay quiet until she got there. Obediently, “Babs” stopped struggling and in this way remained afloat until the mother, up to her neck in the water, was able to reach out and grasp her clothing.

IS MYSTERY

How the child remained afloat without is a mystery. Mrs. Creighton was inclined to treat the matter lightly when questioned this morning. If Babs had not obeyed her command to remain quiet it is quite likely that she would have been drowned as there were no swimmers in the vicinity who could have gone to the rescue.
Mr. Creighton is an employee of the Halifax Shipyards and is a prominent softballer, being a member of the Tuft’s Cove Mountain Lions team.

Estimated date: September 1935

The North West Arm Was Popular

My mother Dawn (Creighton) Moynahan in front with friends at the North West Arm, Halifax, Nova Scotia

My mother (second from front) with her best friend Shirley (in front)

Always Write Who, When, Where on Your Family Photos

Some pictures that we looked at remain a mystery because there are no names written on the back. I am also guilty of this with photographs taken by me in the recent past. The photos below remain a mystery:

Visitors from Australia

The Creighton brothers?

Time Passes Quickly But Family Is Always There

This was probably the most important thing that I learned on my visit to my aunt Barbs house in Ohio. Time does pass much too quickly and I let too many years past between visits with both of my maternal aunts.

The letter above (written by one of Aunt Barb's grandchildren) said that Barb had taught him to:

"Live life deliberately and to the fullest, always maintain a certain stubborn will to go on, have fun .."
(*still makes me so teary to read it again*)

What a woman! What a life! Thank you for all that you have taught us all. I love you Aunt Barb! 
And thank you Aunt Deb for making the trip with me. The drive there and back was filled with laughter and love. I am so grateful.