MIDDLEMORE ATLANTIC SOCIETY, NB, CANADA

Just released on June 22/2011,  "Middlemore Atlantic Society` Book by Marion Crawford.

This 94 page book includes individual`s stories, the origin of the Middlemore Reunions, and events over the past 30 years ending with the 30th reunion and a few of the `families reunited`stories. There are many photos included. The retail price of the book is $25.00 and can be ordered directly through Marion Crawford, 75 Stoney Hill Road, Belleisle Creek, NB, E5P 1K8, or mas@nbnet.nb.ca

 

A very successful 30th annual reunion was held on Saturday Sept.18th at the Fredericton Legion to honor our British Home Children. We are greatful to our Honored guests, The Honorable Graydon Nicholas,  Hon. Keith Ashfield , Barbara Mottram, and Jean Guy Perrault for their participation.

British Home Children and descendants celebrated their 30th annual reunion on Saturday Sept.18th at the Royal Canadian Legion, Fredericton, NB. Our members attending were greeted by our Good Will Ambassadors and fellow descendant, Kathy Sullivan (Fredericton) and Murray Carpenter (Saint John). Our emcee for the event was Jodi Corey, granddaughter of our Home Girl, Elsie Hathaway.

The morning events included greetings from Lieutenant Governor, The Honorable Graydon Nicholas. Mr Nicholas spent time talking to families and individuals, seeing their display of memorabilia items and learning their stories. He shared the pleasure of cutting the cake with our BHC Sidney Coles and Elsie Hathaway. Mr Nicholas took time as well for several photos with the families and a group photo. It was our great pleasure to have him present to share the morning with us.

The Hon. Keith Ashfield delivered his own encouraging comments to the Middlemore Society for marking the 30th reunion; quote: “a feat in itself”. Along with his own congratulations, Mr Ashfield brought with him a personal letter to the Society from The Hon. Jason Kenney. Mr. Kenney added his comments and congratulations for the major roll that our Society played in the success of Motion 438 being declared as 2010, Year of the British Home Child.

Mr. Jean Guy Perrault, President of the Legion Branch #4 brought greetings and welcomed the attendance during the morning session. A special Prayer was given by Father Stuart Allan (Saint John) and Grace was sung by all and lead by William Hill (Nova Scotia). After a delicious meal put on by the Legion Ladies, there was time for many to get a close view of the BHC Memory quilt that is touring Canada. Being one of two exquisite quilts to commemorate 2010, this quilt from Hazel Perrier of Claresholm, Alberta, was greatly enjoyed and well photographed throughout the day.

Although our guest speaker, Mr. Phil McColeman was unable to be with us in body, his Parliamentary Assistant, Barbara Mottram, was able to show a video prepared by Mr. McColeman to address our Society’s reunion. Barbara Mottram continued with the presentation and explained the process for the Motion that took place on Dec.7th/2009. Our Society was very grateful for her presence and making the time available to us from her very busy work schedule. Mr. McColeman also sent along several collector stamps and First Day Cover Envelopes; recently issued by Canada Post to commemorate the BHC. These were dispersed as door prizes. A very special thank you goes out to Mr. Phil McColeman for the heartfelt video and gifts to our members and to Barbara for their involvement with our Society over the past year. 

At our annual meeting, election of officer took place. It is with great pleasure that we have Nancy Avery-Easter returning as Secretary and Mary Dobbelsteyn returning as Treasurer each for another two year term. The President position was opened for nomination due to the retirement of Marion Crawford and we are very pleased to welcome as new President, Ricarda Bradley. Marion will remain on research and web site duties.

Our day concluded with drawing of prizes which is our annual fund raising event. Donations were from throughout the Province and included Barbour’s Food, Fundy Mutual, Sussex Co-op, Gould’s Flowers and Lawton’s Drug Store all from Sussex area. There were gifts from Fredericton businesses, members, and Elsie Hathaway and family donated several item again this year. There were over 90 gifts to be won. Marion was presented with a lovely engraved plaque and bouquet of flowers for her years of assistance to the Middlemore Atlantic Society.

One of the most important discussions during our day was to continue with these reunions and to strive to share the BHC story with others, be it on a personal level or to take your stories to local historical groups, schools or other events to present this part of history. One such example was to go to your local Post office and ask to have a poster of the BHC placed into their bulletin board.

A special thank you goes out to all who volunteered their time and energy which resulted in a very comfortable and well received event for all. Jason & Josie Curtis, Don & Ann Coles, Mary & Joe Dobbelsteyn, John Toon, Catherine Weston-Cote, Jodi Corey, Connie Jeffrey, Kathy Sullivan, Murray Carpenter, and Richard, Marion & Devin Crawford, and Sam Christie.

 

 

 Monday, Sept.13th saw the official start to the City of Fredericton's declaration of "Middlemore Atlantic Society Week". A flag raising took place in front of the City Hall building, Queen St.. with Mayor Brad Woodside, Sidney Coles BHC, Emily Hathaway representing Elsie Hathaway BHC, Marion Crawford President of the Middlemore Atlantic Society, and Kathy Sullivan Good Will ambassador for Fredericton. Members of the Society later set up a BHC display and sale of 2010 Year of the Home Child memoribilia items at the Kings Place Mall. http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1224025

see also       article in the Daily Gleaner August 27/2010

 http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1192800 

and      http://kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/search/article/1207995

 Quilt's squares tell stories of Home Children and Video
Peterborough News Posted By GALEN EAGLE, Examiner Staff Writer
Wed Aug 18, 2010

http://www.peterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2718444

 ""That's all he ever had""

http://www.cottagecountrynow.ca/news/article/863731--that-s-all-he-ever-had=

ThBHC Memory Quilt (Alberta) displayed

June 27th to July 10th --- Stratford-Perth Museum, Stratford Ontario
July 14th- July 28th ----Glanmore House, Belleville Ontario
Aug 7th ---------------------NS Association reunion, Halifax, NS
Aug.14th to Sept.6th----- Peterborough Art Gallery, Peterborough Ontario
Sept 9th .................... National Archives, Ottawa, Ontario
Sept.18th-------------------Middlemore Atlantic Society reunion, Fredericton, NB

After Sept.18th this quilt will go to Lethbridge & Edmonton Alberta. Locations will be announced at a later date.

http://www.canadashistory.ca/Magazine/Online-Exclusive/Articles/Tales-of-Home.aspx
http://www.ckwstv.com/index.cfm?page=news&id=2869

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2666788

http://www.canadashistory.ca/Magazine/Online-Exclusive/Articles/History-Spotlight--British-Home-Children.aspx


is email is courtesy of CottageCountryNow,=a division of Metroland Media Group.

 

 

 
 
 
The first reading of the motion "2010 Year of the British Home Child" was  introduced by Phil McColeman, Brant Ontario on behalf of descendants across Canada. This reading of the motion took place at 11:00AM on Monday Dec.7th/2009.
 
CONFIRMED : M-438 2010 Year of the British Home Child Declared
 
 
 
 

 photo courtesy of David Lorente:         David Lorente, Phil McColeman, and John Sayers after the successful passing of the Motion to declare 2010 Year of the British Home Child

 
 
 
 
 
Middlemore Reunion 2009


Saturday, Sept.19th/2009 saw the 29th consecutive annual reunion held at the Fredericton Inn, Regent St., Fredericton, NB.  We had 120 in attendance, some from British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia and a good showing from New Brunswick.

Displays were placed by our Society, John Sayers of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa and David Lorente, along with other displays from the Belyea family. A very nice historic collection of valued treasures consisting of a Bible and toys brought to Canada by Joseph Taylor were displayed by his daughter Georgina MacDonald.

Our guest speaker, David Lorente gave a wealth of information from his years of experience and travels relating to his efforts to promote knowledge of the British Home Children story. A very
well delivered PowerPoint presentation gave us some insight to the many areas of knowledge this man holds and the work, at his expenses, to bring this awareness to Canada. He has also been involved with the United Kingdom and Australia at Government levels and in media releases.

John Sayers, along with his lovely wife Ivy, helped many in attendance with their display of materials relating to the Home Children. John offered his personal effort to help show folks how to use the internet to their advantage as well as doing family look-ups for them. During the panel question & answer segment of the day, John was able to inform us of the ongoing work with BIFHSGO (www.bifhsgo.ca ) and the co-operated efforts with our National Library & Archives.
John is always on the look for new information on the Home Children, wether it be by way of cemetery’s or listings of children from other various sources.

Beryl Young, from British Columbia, was also on hand to deliver a short talk on her new book “Charlie, A Home Child’s Life in Canada”. Beryl had the opportunity to talk to many in attendance and commented that it was just like ‘coming home’ to be at this reunion.

All our special guests this year volunteered their participation and it would not have been such a great day without them. Our Society very much appreciated their time, their guidance and their information.

Orin Manitt, from Quebec, has been our lead correspondent since 2008. He has offered his time to direct attention to the Federal Members of Parliament asking for support to make 2009 the Year of the British Home Child. Since we were unable to attain the motion soon enough, we have directed our efforts for 2010. The Canadian Stamp Advisory Board has approved a stamp to be issued in October of 2010.  We now have the motion placed on the Order papers of the House of Commons. It will be delivered in late October or early November to be read and debated twice. On the second debate, the vote will be put forward.. I wish to thank, not just Orin for the massive work on this, but also to Helen Atkinson of Alberta, Gail Collins, the BHC mailing list and web site, and to each and every one out there who has helped contact their MP’s asking to support this motion.
 
The photo gallery will have photos added as they become available. If you wish to receive a copy of any photo on this web site, please contact Marion through mas@nbnet.nb.ca
The reunion was video taped this year to the best of our abilities and will be available later if you wish to order a copy. Remember now, we were not professionals, but it has the day’s events and although with a short technical difficulty, can be found to be very informative for you.

Details will become available for the 2010 year of events,.but please check in often or contact Marion Crawford later in the new year.

The following links will take you to resent news releases that were prior to the reunion.
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/793193
http://bugleobserver.canadaeast.com/search/article/795501
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/795850
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/807031
http://kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/search/article/791671 

 
Middlemore Atlantic Society Reunion 2009
www.middlemoreatlanticsociety.com
President:  Marion Crawford
Secretary: Nancy Avery-Easter
Treasurer: Mary Dobbelsteyn

New Brunswick, 2009 Year of the British Home Child


On Dec.16th/2008, the motion (#24) was read by Hon. TJ Burke and seconded by Mr. Bev Harrison. It was passed with unanimous support from the Members present. Clothing and mugs were a fundraiser and also to show support for this project.
We, and many other groups and individuals across Canada and even from the United States and Great Britain have been attempting to get the Canadian Government to make this same declaration, to recognize the British Home Children. Support from Veteran’s affairs Minister, Greg Thompson and his staff have gained us the opportunity to have a motion read by Phil McColeman of Brant, Ont. Our only problem was in the timing of this motion. Due to the fact that it will be September or October before the motion makes it’s way to the first reading, we have decided to alter the motion and declare 2010 as the Year of the BHC.
We would like to suggest to all members attending this year’s reunion or viewing this update on our site, to call your local Federal Representative in September and ask that they support our efforts for this motion. Get your family and friends from all across Canada to do the same. Timing now is everything as the Fall Session begins on Sept.14th.
Therefore it was decided that we would again sell mugs and clothing and change the Logo to 2010, Year of the British Home Child to represent our Canadian effort. We hope that you will continue to support our Society with a purchase that you can use and enjoy.
Price list of items available:

Coffee mug                             $5.00 each
Child’s tee shirt                      $5.00 each
Adult unisex tee shirt              $10.00
Adult sweatshirt unisex           $25.00

Coffee mugs are 12oz (1&1/2 cups) in a cream white with royal blue logo
Child’s tee shirts are gray or black with white logo from size 6 to 12.
Adult tee’s are royal blue with white logo and great quality.
The sweat shirts can come in forest green or royal blue with white logo, a great quality, very warm and less than 5% shrinkage.
Additional fees will apply for shipping.
Place orders with Marion Crawford before August 7th/09 at mcrawfd@nbnet.nb.ca

 

In November, I was invited to participate with the Grade 7 class of Belleisle Regional High School, in their studies of the British Home Children section of their Social Studies Program. The children viewed the documentary, "Childhood Lost", a production of Global TV, which involved the lives of British Home Children in the Maritimes, as well as Ontario. With their course material and the documentary, the children prepared a list of questions for me to answer. I was able to supply material from my personal collection, which included posters of photos and detailed stories from press releases; ships that brought the children to Canada; and a collection of photos donated to our Society from our members. It was a very rewarding experience to share my knowledge with these children. They were enthusiastic about the presentation given to them and they fealt they came away with a much broader level of knowledge for having had this offered to them.

UPDATES ON THE 2009 PROJECT

 Dear viewers, I would like to bring to your attention to the latest news for the 2009 Year of the BHC Project.

 As most of you are aware, we launched the letter writing campaign last spring, asking for the support of our Provincial and Federal members of Government to have 2009 declared for the British Home Children. Our efforts have been less than satisfactory on a National level. An example of this is based on one of our members of the Middlemore Society, who sent off 111 letters to leading figures of the Provincial and Federal Political standing. The results of his efforts showed less than a 20% response. 

 However there was a unanimous support by the Province of Nova Scotia right off the bat. Liberal, Conservative and NDP members passed resolutions that were then forwarded to Ottawa for their consideration. Here in New Brunswick, we have been officially recognized by the Provincial Government on December 16th,2008. Motion #24 was brought forth in support of this project. It was introduced by Hon. T.J.Burke and was seconded by Mr. Bev Harrison. The motion was passed unanimously. A copy of the transcript can be sent (by email) to anyone wishing to have a copy.

 With the lack of our Government’s acknowledgement, our Society felt we had to make a new approach in hopes that this project will still be declared on a National level. In November, support was summoned from many key participants with the Home Children saga. In the United Kingdom, we received support from Shirley Hodgson, of the Bristol & Bath Historical Society, Bristol; Councilor Reginald Corns and Cabinet Chair, Councilor Michael Whitby of Birmingham City; and Councilor Randall Drew, Deputy Lord Mayor of Birmingham. As well we are also honored to have supporting this project, Sian Roberts Archivist of the Birmingham Central Library and Archives.

 On our Home front, we were able to include David Lorente, founder of Home Children Canada, Perry Snow, founder of the BHC web site, and Gail Collins, of the Maria Rye data Base.

Together with the NS Home Children and Descendants Association, we addressed a letter to our Governor General, Her Excellency Michaelle Jean, and as well to the Provincial Lieutenant Governors for Canada, asking that they play a role in support of this most worthy project. Although out of the Country at the time our letter was issued, a reply did come back from the Governor General’s office. The reply from Yonathan Yew, her correspondent, stated that we should contact our Federal MP’s.  I would like to mention that Newfoundland’s Lieutenant Governor, John Crosbie, replied very promptly and sent his support to Her Excellency. We have since discovered that Her Excellency is unable to state her interest for issues of this nature. Therefore further attempts are being made to our Federal Memebrs of Parliament.

On a positive note, during the first week of February I had a conversation with the Office of Greg Thompson, Ottawa. This office has summoned the aid of two members of the Legislature to commence research and preparations for a possible motion to be introduced. I will keep you all posted as news developes on this issue. 

Marion Crawford- President Middlemore Atlantic Society

mas@nbnet.nb.ca