Posted on by B Babich

Postwar years at 1037

Ernest and Louisa Cook continued on Clifton Avenue together for 10 more years after the loss of their younger son in 1945. Their elder son, Ronald George, finished his service commitment in PEI and joined his wife and young daughter. Cheryl June had been born on November 19,  1946 in Hamilton where Peggy was staying with friends. Carson William was born in 1949 in Toronto.  Ronald became a radio announcer and the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio on March 30th 1950 where Ron became the “Voice of the Cleveland Barons.”  

The driving time between Cleveland and Moose Jaw is listed nowadays as 23 hours.  So perhaps the little Cooks in Cleveland did not get to have their pictures taken on the front steps of Grandma and Grandpa Cook’s house on Clifton. With their son’s family so far away in the USA, I am sure that grieving support provided by Louise’s older sister, Ella Frances Brodie, was important to Louise and Ernest. 

Ella had been widowed since 1938 and had lived on in the Brodie house on Main St. (where KFC is today).  Ella and Louise had been brides and young mothers together in Moose Jaw. They had both been involved in community and church groups.  Then in 1947, Ella passed away, and the Cooks had only each other and the people who rented the upper rooms in their house on Clifton Ave.  I know about a few of the renters who lived here in the 1940s and 50s, but I would like to know more. Here are some of the voters’ lists for those years. It would be great to hear from some of you readers who might be remembering some of the names.  

In 1940 the Cook family is renting the house and shared it with 3 single women who likely have the 3 bedrooms on the third floor.
In 1945 with both sons gone, more rooms are rented out. The Cooks have taken title to the house in 1944 and have 6 adults renting rooms in 1945.
In 1949 Ernest and Louise Cook are landlords for 5 single women. Nan Corman and Penny Gillan were teachers and roommates until Penny married Harry Braaten who was a school principal in Moose Jaw.  Both Penny and Nan became consultants in the Moose Jaw School system helping new teachers like me learn the tricks of the trade. 

 

 

The 1953 Voters’ List is the last record of residents in the house before 1955 when Mary Louise Cook passes away after living in Moose Jaw for 50 years including almost 20 years at 1037 Clifton.
Moose Jaw Times-Herald micro-film. Public Library Archives. Nov. 15, 1955  (Son’s name was Ronald, not Donald).

Five years after Ronald and Peggy’s move to Cleveland, Ohio, their children, Cheryl and Conner, would have been 9 and 6 years old.   1955 was the year that their Grandma Louise died in the house on Clifton Ave, where their parents, Ron and Peggy, had been married on Christmas Eve 13 years before. Louise’s death notice in the paper anticipates the arrival of Ronald from Ohio, but it is not clear whether the rest of the family came back to Canada for the funeral.

Ernest and Louise had been renters in the Clifton house from 1938 until April 26, 1944 when they became owners and had a title registered.  This was just a month after their son Bill had gone overseas. When Louise passed away, Ernest continued in the house for a while with a few tenants, but he began to have some health issues.  He is not listed in the house after 1957, but after some time for recovery, perhaps in a hospital or care home, he embarked on a trip to England. His intention according to the ship’s manifest was to stay for 5 months. His nephew Stuart Brodie was the relative in Moose Jaw who heard from Ernest. Notification of his Uncle Ernest’s recurring illness in England and the lengthened stay would have come by mail to Stuart who then heard that Ernest was planning to return to Moose Jaw in the spring.  Then Stuart received the news that Ernest Cook had died in England on February 22, 1961.

Source: Times Herald Microfilm, Moose Jaw Public Library Archives.
Ernest and Mary Louisa Cook are both buried in Moose Jaw. Many thanks to relatives in Oregon and New Zealand who shared pictures and ideas with me. 

One Reply to “Postwar years at 1037”

  1. Wow, there were a lot of people living under one roof during those years. Some must have found it very comfortable as they stayed for several years.

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