Grandpa's chair

Dad always called this chair “Grandpa’s chair.” And if it seems to have always been around, it’s because it is well over a hundred years old. Presumably, Douglas Fraser, Sr. brought the chair to Pilot Mound when the family came west from Ontario in March of 1906.

The original finish is barely discernible under layers of paint.

When Murray Fraser downsized in January 2012, we were sure to save this family treasure. The chair was indeed showing its age, a little unsteady and held together with strands of strong wire. A careful repair and refinishing job by The Furniture Guy revealed the true character of the chair and details that were hidden under layers and layers of thick paint.

Douglas Fraser, Sr.'s chair, looking glorious in its repaired and restored condition.

It was indeed Douglas’s favourite chair, and he used it a lot. Two knicks on the back are the result of several years of hitting a desk. Douglas's feet have worn the top rung under the seat to half its original thickness. There is no doubt this school teacher spent long hours in his chair reviewing his pupils’ lessons.

The chair is also significant for another reason. Douglas Fraser, Sr. actually died in this chair in June, 1915. The fact was noted in his obituary published back in Turnberry township, Ontario:

Death came very unexpectedly to one of this community’s much respected citizens on Sunday last, in the person of Mr. Douglas Fraser, calling him to his reward in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Of recent years Mr. Fraser had not been enjoying very robust health, but was able to be around pretty much all the time. On Sunday he was feeling exceptionally well, when all of a sudden he expired whilst sitting in a chair, succumbing to heart failure.

His wife Catherine (Kate) noted the same in a very brief entry in her diary. Her next entry is two months later. Ever practical, she reports a hard frost on August 25 that froze the vegetables.

Douglas's death receives a brief mention between more mundane entries in Kate's journal.

A resume in itself

Dad moved to Winnipeg from Pilot Mound to attend the Dominion Provincial Vocational School in 1940-41 prior to being accepted into the RCAF for airframe mechanic training. (He had applied to become a pilot in the summer of 1940, but was rejected for aircrew because of colour blindness.)

Post-war, Dad trained in Machine Shop and Tool & Die at the Manitoba Technical Institute. Within days of completing this training, he was hired by MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited. At the time, plants like MBA were struggling to find work. They had the good sense to recognize talent when they saw it, however, and with glowing references from his instructors, Dad landed a job and began his 34-year career with the company.

The Ford Plant - later Manitoba Technical Institute - at Portage Ave. and Wall St., Winnipeg

Dad took more training post-war at MTI, the precursor to Red River College.

I've always claimed that the tractor cab Dad built for his father in 1946 was a resume in itself. This is especially true when you consider that MacDonald Brothers Aircraft was building tractor cabs post-war, too! To maintain production volumes post-war, the company introduced a number of projects, including reconditioning surplus army trucks, producing aluminum cookware, car jacks, and sleigh bodies for tractor trains used in the north to haul goods during the winter. They also produced agricultural components, like crop sprayer assemblies, front loader attachments, sprayer tanks, and - tractor cabs.

A history of Bristol Aerospace Limited, entitled 50 Years of Technology 1930-1980: Volume One: The First Quarter Century describes the company's foray into tractor cab production:

A related product [to swathers and crop duster assemblies], reflecting the extremes of climate on the Canadian prairies, was a tractor cab, designed to be adaptable to the different types of tractor used at the time, giving protection from the elements to the operator, and thereby making possible the more effective use of the equipment.

This was a MacDonald Brothers development, from the basic design, through modifications to the finished product.

The cabs were marketed through a distribution system set up by the Company, until 1954 when all rights to the design and sales, were sold to the J.B. Carter Company, which continued to sell tractor cabs for several years.

Compare Dad's custom-designed tractor cab with that of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft. Call me biased, but I think Dad's design is much more elegant.

Dad poses (for scale) with the tractor cab he built in Pilot Mound in 1946.

See more photos of Dad's tractor cab at http://frasertrunk.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-like-it-when-plan-comes-together.html .

Pilot Mound Sentinel readers would have seen this advertisement, two years after Dad built his tractor cab.

Ad in the Pilot Mound Sentinel, May 6, 1948

Other advertisements at this time were more detailed:

Canadian Farm Implements magazine, August 1948
[Source: Red Power Magazine forum]

[Source: Red Power Magazine forum]

Tractor cabs built by MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited:

Early tractor cab development

Installing a tractor cab

Finished tractor cabs

⇧ BACK TO TOP

Down east

While we tend to think of Douglas Fraser, Sr. as a teacher in Ontario, he did operate a 107-acre farm on the Maitland River, near Wingham, Ontario. An assessment dated 1903 noted a total of 102 acres cleared. Assets included 1 dog, 20 cattle, 3 horses, and 102 hogs.

1903 assessment of Douglas Fraser Sr.'s Ontario property

The Fraser farmhouse appears large enough to accommodate Douglas's and Kate's eight children.

 

The Fraser farmhouse on the Maitland River, Turnberry Township

By 1954, when this photo was taken, only the old bridge supports identify the spot. 

Farewell Aunt Annie

The following portrait of Mom and Dad (Hazel and Murray Fraser) was taken at 400 St. Charles Street when Aunt Annie was in Winnipeg for a visit. A letter from her dated January 22, 1974 acknowledged receipt of the portrait:

The pictures came yesterday. Many thanks. Very good too, only that old lady you have out in front doesn't add any glamour.

Hazel and Murray Fraser with Aunt Annie

This may well have been the last photo of Aunt Annie. She passed away just two months later, on March 30, 1974, at age 82.

Published in The Winnipeg Free Press, April 2, 1974

Greetings from Bournemouth

Annie Belle Fraser was an independent, curious and adventurous soul. She often travelled back to Ontario and kept up with the Fraser folks down there. But sometimes she ventured further afield. In 1969, at 77 years of age, she took a cruise to the British Isles aboard the new RMS Queen Elizabeth II.

The website http://listverse.com/2008/12/29/10-great-atlantic-ocean-liners claims this was a luxurious ship:

At the twilight of the golden age of Atlantic steamers came the QE2, launched upon the retirement of the first Mary and her sister ship. From the late 1960s until 2004, the QE2 was the only way to cross in luxury (aside from the Norway, before she became a cruise ship). She sailed more than just the Atlantic, though, and came to port in Sydney, Australia, among other places. This gorgeous superliner finally retired in 2008, to become a floating hotel in Dubai.

RMS Queen Elizabeth II

Aunt Annie travelled from Blenheim, Ontario through Detroit and sailed to Dublin out of New York. This trip of a lifetime cost $1879.84.

The cost was worth it. Aunt Annie enjoyed her trip very much, as evidenced by a letter to Murray and Hazel Fraser dated September 11, 1969:

Souvenir of our school

With so many teachers in the family, Frasers were good students. Dad seems to have appreciated his own teachers, perhaps because he learned at home to respect the work they do. Among his keepsakes is a tiny booklet entitled, "Souvenir of our School" from 1925-1926. It lists a Pilot Mound School class of 26 students under teacher Nora E. Davidson.

Teddy bears on parade

Among the items in Grandma's trunk was a small, tattered photo that didn't make it into the family album. It's out of focus, and light has leaked into the camera, but there's no mistaking those little ears. These days, he has a stiff hip and is feeling his age, but that's to be expected when you're over 90.

No, no, I don't mean Dad. I mean Teddy, Dad's bear.

A young Murray Fraser with his bear, Teddy

Spot looks dejected as Murray and Jessie hug their toys instead of him.

Teddy sports black cotton palms and soles, which are actually patches that Grandma added to carefully mend his worn paws. His joints and head used to swivel, but have been sewn in place. One hip joint awaits surgery, and he's lost a little sawdust.


Much-loved Teddy

And speaking of bears needing surgery, Teddy has company in his hospital ward. L'il Teddy Bear, my own bear, has survived some very drastic procedures in his 60 years. My sister Virginia honed her surgical skills on this little body, including several skin grafts, and the implant of a red button heart.

As if this wasn't enough to "bear," L'il Teddy Bear once required an entire face transplant. Imagine my childhood terror to find my little bear in Montagnons' yard, with only the back of his head and ears hanging from his limp body. The neighbour's dog literally ripped his face off and kicked the stuffing out of him. I rushed L'il Teddy Bear to Emergency, and it was a miracle that he survived.

Yes, Mom skillfully crafted a new head, complete with embroidered nose, new button eyes, and a felt tongue.

Dr. Fraser's first patient. Just look at those fine sutures!