This column first appeared in the Victoria Daily Times on Nov. 2, 1940.
When Tommy Hayes, after a breakfast of orange juice, porridge and cream, and a poached egg, left Miss Ivy Trent鈥檚 house and ran down her front steps on his way to school, eating an apple, with another one in his pocket, Miss Trent, who watched him from her front window, experienced a thrill of satisfaction.
Now, then, she thought, if I can rouse the retired teachers of this city to lend a helping hand to the soldiers鈥� wives and children, I will be doing them all a good turn, but no one will get the Hayes family away from me 鈥� I saw them first.
Then she thought of Tommy鈥檚 teacher with a sense of gratitude. Tommy had told her his teacher had allowed all the children whose fathers or brothers or uncles were leaving with the battalion to put their names on the board, so if they were late this morning it would not be counted against them, for this was a day to be remembered, she said, 鈥渨ith pride and not with sorrow.鈥� Tommy had remembered the exact words.
Two days after this, Miss Trent assembled six of her friends in her living room and to them she unfolded the plan she had for providing a direct form of war work.
鈥淗ere we are,鈥� she said, 鈥渟ix of us, six unattached women, each with a home, small but complete; with enough to live on. We have years of experience behind us, and years, I hope, of service ahead of us. We are all loyal Canadians and anxious to give what we have to the service of our people.鈥�
Then she told of what happened that dark, wet morning when she had gone down to see the soldiers leave; of seeing the pathetic little family saying goodbye, and later hearing the sad little boy who stood inside his own gate answering as best he could the charge that the bigger boy had made against his father.
鈥淣ow, I must confess if that child had not used a profane word, I might not have stopped,鈥� said Miss Trent, 鈥渂ut I knew it for a distress flare and then when I heard the whole story and saw the poor mother in tears in that cheerless house, I saw it was a place where I could do a good job of helping a little family who were going to miss their father dreadfully.
鈥淣ow, there are plenty of families like this one, were the mother is young and away from her own people. It鈥檚 not easy for a woman to raise her family without the help of a father. It鈥檚 hard enough to raise a family with two parents. Of course, I know I do not need to argue with you and so I declare the meeting open for discussion.鈥�
Miss Lang, a former high school teacher, took the floor.
鈥淚 think, Miss Trent,鈥� she began, 鈥渢hat any work of this kind must be carefully considered from all angles before it is undertaken. Fools rush in, you know, where angels fear to tread.
鈥淚 remember the difficulties we had in the last war. I was younger then, and impetuous. We had many unpleasant experiences when we tried to help. Some of the women resented our coming; they thought we came to see how they were spending their money. I warn you, there are snags which you will surely encounter.鈥�
鈥淕o on, Miss Lang,鈥� Miss Trent said encouragingly, 鈥渓et us know the worst. I have you in mind for the head of the Trouble Department.鈥�
鈥淚 suspect Miss Trent is laughing at me,鈥� said Miss Lang, a bit tartly. 鈥淗er life was spent with very young children and she had acquired much of their sweet innocence. In my work I dealt with turbulent, unadjusted youth, foolish and indulgent parents, so I had to face life as it is.
鈥淣o one will doubt Miss Trent鈥檚 kindness of purpose, but I would be disposed to suspect her knowledge of human nature. However, I want to say at the outset that I have not the slightest intention of adopting a family or undertaking to give them any advice. I will continue to do my war work by knitting and giving what money I can afford. I feel I have earned a rest after 30 years of teaching.鈥�
A silence fell on the little group. Miss Lang is the sort of person who closes the conversation. Then Miss Trent spoke.
鈥淜nitting,鈥� said Miss Trent, taking hers out of a bag hung on the arm of a chair, 鈥渋s not work. It is relaxation. I knit only when I have friends in to see me, or when I am listening to the radio. No one can do their war work by knitting alone. Except the poor people who can鈥檛 do anything else. But we can鈥檛 hold that against you, Miss Lang, we will delete that sentence from the minutes. Now let us hear from the others. Please tell us how you feel.鈥�
Then Miss Speers, a retired music teacher, spoke up.
鈥淚 do think we should be careful,鈥� she said; 鈥渋t鈥檚 hard to take on new obligations at our time of life. I know it is not easy for me to have even the slightest interruptions.鈥�
鈥淚nterruptions!鈥� cried Miss Trent. 鈥淲hat about the people of Britain who, when they go to bed at night, never know where they will be before morning? What about the men who left two mornings ago? Most of them gave up good jobs to go out and fight for us. Their lives have been interrupted.
鈥淲ho are we to demand rest and security? Of course, if you are all too old and stiff in the joints to do something extra, I apologize for bothering you, and will put soft music on the Victrola, and serve tea and seed cakes to you at once.鈥�
鈥淥h, wait a minute,鈥� one woman cried. 鈥淗old everything; we鈥檙e not as old as that. I do not want to brag right out in meeting, but I have a soldier鈥檚 family to whom I do little chores. I got acquainted with them through our family doctor. When the mother had to have an emergency operation for appendicitis, he called me up to see if I could take the two children.
鈥淪he had no relatives here and I have enjoyed having the two little ones when she wants to go out. I do not know anything about the deeper needs of children, never having had any of my own, but I have enjoyed taking these little ones to the park, or for a street car ride, though I don鈥檛 suppose I would know how to make good citizens of them. Just what have you in mind, Miss Trent, when you say that we could help these young mothers with their children?鈥�
鈥淚 will give you an example,鈥� said Miss Trent. 鈥淭he first thing to do is to make friendly contact with a family. All good influence, I think, begins with friendship. When I had the two little Hayes children for breakfast two mornings ago, I asked a blessing at the table, which evidently was new to them.
鈥淭ommy asked me why I did it, and I explained it to him. I told him about the sun and the rain and how the grain grows to make bread for us, and how God provides for all our needs, and so before we eat it is nice to thank Him for His goodness to us.
鈥淭he two children listened to me with eagerness, then Tommy said: 鈥業 wish you would tell my mother 鈥� she likes things like that.鈥� It鈥檚 so easy to build up a child鈥檚 faith and give them a keen sense of right and wrong. And besides the influence on the children that we might have, we can help these young women who are going to be terribly lonely, and I think it is our duty to plan some little pleasures for them.
鈥淚 know we can鈥檛 make up for the sacrifice that they have made. I don鈥檛 even know how much we can do, but I do not propose to sit down and do nothing simply because there may be difficulties in the way.
鈥淲hen I remember my own childhood, I know my father meant a great deal to me. He never had a big salary, but we were always happy. I remember how he made a playhouse out of packing boxes for us and put up a swing for us, which made us the envy of the neighbourhood; and took us walking in the woods and told us stories. Miss Brown, you taught botany and zoology, didn鈥檛 you? Think of what you could do for a group of soldiers鈥� children if you took them to the museum on Saturday!鈥�
All this took place a week ago. Of the six women who gathered in Miss Trent鈥檚 house, four of them have made contact with a family. They have agreed to meet once a week for mutual assistance and advice. Already they have had one birthday party, with photographs to send to the fathers. There has been a bus ride into the country for apples. There have been visits and meals together, and much conversation.
A small thing, hardly worth recording, and yet it is in the small things that friendships grow, and small things make children happy.
