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Page 4 Helena (Aldred) Link's Story 1929-1933 Our story goes back to May 1929 when our Mom gave birth to our sister Madge. Four months later our father, a mentally and physically damaged veteran of the war, decided he did not want a wife and five children and left us. We never received a penny of support from him. We were renting a house on property called "The Orchard". If Duchess had carried on west past 15th Street, it would have had to go through this property. Mother applied for the Mother's Pension (I'm not sure exactly when), but was told that she didn't qualify, because Mr. Aldred was still living in B.C. If he had been living out of the Province, it would have been a different story. There was no relief money either, as the Depression had started. Mom attended St. Stephen's Anglican Church as she had been raised High Anglican in England. We were probably on their list of charity cases because we had been getting "hand-me-down" clothing from somewhere. As far as I can make out we were still in the Orchard in the summer of 1930 as both our late mother and my brother Phil told me of her getting up at 5:00 a.m. to pick raspberries. These she took to a Chinese store on Marine Drive to earn a little money. It is possible that the eldest, Harry, had a paper route. Our next residence was a rental house on Bellevue Avenue. The reason I know the house number, either 1351 or 1357, is because I recently found a book that was presented to Harry in 1933 for attending Hollyburn Sunday School for one year without a miss. It is still in excellent condition. Sometime during this period Harry got a job delivering prescriptions before and after school. I do not know if it was Reid's Drug Store at that time, or it it had changed to Kerr's Drug Store. It is probably in 1932 that the drug store had a contest. My sister Madge and I were entered. I presume when customers made a purchase they could vote for their favorite contestant. I recently came across a photo of all the participants. I put it away in a book for safekeeping, but I am an avid book collector, so I can't remember which book! In 1931 or '32 my mom injured a leg, and it turned septic. She was in the North Van. hospital for many weeks. The West Vancouver Authorities hired a young woman (possibly 18 years of age) to look after all of us. I can only remember the name Clara. I presume we did not get monetary help at this time. My sister Rita would take me on the Pacific Stage to North Van. to visit Mom. I can still describe the huge ward where Mom was in it. In order to be allowed to go, our housekeeper would make me eat my porridge, but it always had lumps in it. I have never eaten porridge since! My brother Phil's reaction to this episode in our lives shocked me. When I asked him some questions about it he didn't know what I was talking about. He had wiped it out or had hidden it very deeply in his memory. I guess with our Dad deserting us and Mom being away in hospital for weeks, it was just too much for a 9 or 10-year-old to handle. In 1932 a teacher at Hollyburn (and later at Inglewood) took exception to Harry being constantly late in the morning. Without asking for an explanation, he took Harry out of the classroom and strapped him, not on both hands, but on both wrists. He arrived home with them badly swollen. Mom took some of Harry's red ink and penned a note telling the teacher that if he had asked questions first, he would have found out that a 15 year-old was the breadwinner of the family. In England, to write in red ink was an insult. The teacher never touched Harry again. Rita and Philip were also at Hollyburn at this time, and so was Buffalo Mathias. As the son of Chief Mathias, he was allowed to go to public school instead of residential school. He and Phil became fast friends and blood brothers. His third chum was Japanese Canadian. When I read out the name Takeshi Kataoaka, it seemed to ring a bell, but my brother isn't sure. Harry and Phil used to love to visit Chief Mathias, and I remember them taking me to visit as well. The slough was much bigger in the 30’s and Buffalo Mathias kept a dugout canoe in there.