Interview with Violet Southern, Family immigrated to Edmonton in 1903

So you were born in Edmonton, and have lived here your whole life?

I've lived here my whole life; it's been home. My mom always said when she crossed the High Level Bridge after she'd been away she knew she'd come back home.


Are your children still in Edmonton too?

Just the one daughter, and one son, but he kind of parted company with us. But my younger daughter, Peggy, lives here, and June and Beatrice are in B.C.


June's the one I spoke with on the phone - she told me you have lots of stories to tell. I want to hear some of them.

Well I don't have lots, but I've got a few. When my mom came here in 1903 she tells me she came as far as Old Strathcona with the train, but that's as far as it came. Then she crossed the river on the ferry, and wandered up the hill to what is now Jasper Avenue. It was one block long in those days. But she had a position with a Mr. [? Pardee]. He was bank manager for Bank of Montreal, and when it was known that Edmonton was going to become the capital city, he started to hold the vice-regal banquet there because it was the most modern building west of Winnipeg in those days. So Mom had the honor of meeting the vice-regal - she and her friend catered the banquet. Of course I was born in 1910; they tell me that was the year they started construction on the High Level Bridge.


Do you remember taking the streetcar across?

Oh yes. Especially when there was a streetcar going southbound, and one going northbound, and a passenger train in between us, and we were all on the bridge together.


So you miss that?

Oh yeah, it was one of the things that was a highlight, to go across the river to the south side. But I can remember I went to school at H. A. Gray School, named after the late bishop of Edmonton, who didn't want to be a minister - wanted to be a cowboy. But his mother said no way, you're going to be a minister. But I remember Wally Post and Will Rogers coming here to Edmonton when I was going to school, on their way to Alaska, so they gave us a half day holiday to watch them land with this huge plane on what was Portage Avenue in those days, but the plane was too big to land on the runway, so they landed on Portage Avenue and then they gave us another half-day holiday to see them take off again. I can remember when the retail part of Edmonton used to be on 2 nd Avenue and 3 rd Street, and I can remember seeing the horses all lined up at the drays to haul the merchandise to the different stores. I know that after the Queen Mother passed over Portage Avenue they renamed it Kingsway. I've seen when downtown Edmonton was such a busy, busy place. Stores, big stores, candy shops, ice-cream parlours, people, people all over on Jasper Avenue.


Did you live close to there? What part of the city did you grow up in?

I've lived in all parts of Edmonton, but most of my childhood was spent up on Alberta Avenue, in what is now called Westwood. I remember that to go on a streetcar you had to go up into this fenced-off place to wait for the streetcar, and when the buses came it was wonderful because they came right up to the curb. Did you know that the dream of the old-timers here was to connect up with Portage in Winnipeg by streetcar? And I remember being here through the big flu epidemic of 1917, 1918 when you had to wear masks on your face when you went out, a bag of camphor around your neck. Like I said, I was four when the war broke out, and eight when the armistice was signed in 1918. My dad was in the first war - he was originally from England, a Londoner, but he spent 9 1/2 years in India with the Imperial Army, and chose to come to Edmonton because he needed a change of climate and thought Edmonton was on the Artic Circle. I said "what a surprise you must've had Dad", and he said 'yes, you're telling me!' It was a big surprise. I can remember the Exhibition parades we used to have, and going to Jasper Avenue, and the theatres there - the Capital and the Empress and the Monarch, and [? unclear] and the old-time dance halls...used to go there when we were teens. Doesn't seem possible that Edmonton's grown like it has. It's not the Edmonton I remember. The old-timers would just stand frozen in their tracks.


So do you still like Edmonton?

Heavens yes, it's home. Even with all the changes and all the murders that make me shudder. Going back to the flu epidemic, people were in bed, and were stupid enough to go down to Jasper Avenue to celebrate the victory of the first world war. And of course in 1939 the second one broke out...my husband was a flight sergeant in the air force. He was an instrument maker from the old country, in charge of the repair depot. He said he spent five years fighting the battle of Winnipeg, not that he wanted to go overseas again. My family and I - the children were all school-age and early teens...[? unclear] I can remember when Sunday afternoons used to be for a walk over to the airfield where the airplanes landed. There weren't that many coming in, so we'd go watch them come in. My mom told me how they'd run flu serum up north.


01:49 Where were your parents from originally?

My mother was from Scotland, my dad from London.


Do you know why they chose Edmonton?

I guess they wanted a change, and even in those days, work was hard to find where they were, so they came out here with her sister and her husband...[? unclear] Mom said she'd never live anywhere else; always knew she was back home when she came across the High Level Bridge.


So did you mind the cold growing up?

No. I used to walk to school twelve blocks in the middle of winter.


And they say it was colder back then.

Well you got bundled up all nice and warm, with long underwear, boots, scarves, mitts, toques, and away you went.


And then when I was 55 I went out to work at the Norwood Extended Care Centre, doing the kind of work I'm being waited on here with, and worked until I was 65. But you know, it was a good thing I did because it gave me such a different outlook on life, working in that kind of work. Most of the ladies I looked after were bed-ridden patients, not like here where they can be up and around.


So how did it give you a different outlook?

Seeing what's in store for me as I was going to get older.


Didn't that make you depressed?

(didn't seem to hear that question, but started chatting again, new topic)

As I said, I've lived all over in different parts of Edmonton because my mother had a rather unquiet spirit and liked to move into different districts. My husband and I had the same house for 35 years on the east side of the airport on 107 St., and of course after he passed on... He worked with the Eaton's company for 33 years. But I can remember when Eaton's bought what's now city center - 102 Ave used to come as far as 1 st St. and then half a block north it was 2 nd avenue again, so Eaton's gave the city that much property to straighten out 2 nd avenue.


In those days they had a police officer stand right in the middle of 1 st St. and 2 nd avenue with one of those hand stop-and-go signs, where the old city market used to be, where the Citadel stands today. Used to have fish markets on 101 A Avenue, just east of the Westin Hotel where the post office used to be, where the hotel is now. In days gone by the fish train and the silk trains had the right-of-way on the rail traffic, and you could always smell the fish train when it was coming. Friday was fish day. Everything else would be cleared off the tracks so the fish train could get through. As I said, I'm glad I was born in Edmonton.


Did you stay home while your children were growing up?

Oh yes, I enjoyed it, and I realized that someone had to be home with them, and I know things got pretty bad with some families where mother and father both had to go out to work. It was tough going sometimes as far as money was concerned, but no, I never regretted it. My family never gave me any problems, I can't complain.


It's nice for children to grow up like that.

Well I think that's half the problem today - their parents are not around enough. They're latch-key kids. Of course in the days gone by we used to have the Exhibition. It's changed now compared to then, but we used to have entertainment at the grandstand, and this lady, Evelyn Parks, she taught dancing, but this time she was putting on Cinderella, and I was one of the ugly sisters. My friend and I were the ugly sisters. Of course in those days they had the side-shows, which they don't have anymore. And the old [? unclear] it's been demolished and the Agricom is there in its place.


Did you do other acting too?

Oh no, just that one time. That was my debut. As I said, I enjoyed my life. My family thought I was pushing the gun to go to work at 55, but I couldn't see the city trying to keep... my husband's pension was petering out.


How old were you when you lost your husband?

Fifty-five. It'll be 29 years this year since I retired.


How did you lose him?

Of course I never expected to end up here, but I've got arthritis, and one morning over two years ago I couldn't get out of bed and I went into the University [Hospital] and in the night I took a stroke in my right shoulder and of course my legs aren't very good. They're giving out. They tease me here, tell me well they carried you for 94 years, so what are you complaining about.


Well you look great.

Tell my body that, and I'd be quite happy. Have you been in Edmonton long?

About 25 years, and I love it, it's home for me, love the sunny skies, you just have to dress for it.


My daughter June and her husband were both born in Edmonton but they've latched onto B.C. She said well I'm glad I don't have to shovel the snow, I like to see it melt down the drain. But to me it seems like Vancouver's having more snow than ever. Used to be that people would leave here in the winter to go to Victoria because they'd have a green playground.


Which daughter is it still in Edmonton?

Peggy, Peggy Foster. She lives down on 105 th St. and 78 th Ave. When she came out of school she worked for the City until she got married. Had an unfortunate marriage - her husband was a woman chaser so she divorced him. But she worked for 11 years for Education Administration at the University and because she worked for a woman professor they wouldn't recognize that as seniority so she had to leave that job.


Because it was a woman?

Yes, because it was a woman professor she worked for. She worked then for what they call a [? unclear] railway outfit. Well it was sold to an American company and they fired all the Canadian girls, didn't want them, so now she does temp work at the University hospital emergency department. If she doesn't work she doesn't get paid. It's just the way the world works. And June, my other daughter, she worked for the City, and my oldest daughter was in insurance, and my son was a parts man for Northwest Automotive. They've all done pretty well for themselves.


For sure. How many grandkids do you have?

Four grandsons, one granddaughter, and five great-grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter is 19. Four of them are in Vancouver. The other one lives here with his dad cause his mother died of cancer when he was 17 months old so my grandson decided he'd bring his son up himself. Seem to be getting along pretty well. I hear from him occasionally, but being over here - it's hard for people to get here to visit from the north side. It's an hours' drive to get here. But I don't know whether my stories were interesting to you; I hope I didn't bore you.


Not at all. Tell me what stores you shopped at, where you got your groceries.

Eatons, Woodward's. I can remember when Woodward's bought that property where the center is now and they destroyed the old courthouse. That was a beautiful building that should've been kept. But the big grocery shopping was done either at Eaton's or at Woodward's.


They had groceries?

Oh yes. They had everything, meat department, furniture...and then of course McCall's took over Woodward's ...I used to like to go shopping downtown. But Saturdays in days gone by you went downtown to do some shopping and the next thing you knew you met all your neighbours and friends and you had to sit and talk and you never got your shopping done.


Nice though, that sense of community?

Oh yes, it was a different feeling altogether. Now there's nobody to talk to.


Do you still get downtown?

No, getting in and out of a car is too much of a hassle. My daughter and her husband took me out for my birthday last year to a Chinese restaurant just off Calgary Trail, but it's too much to get myself maneuvered around. We have bus trips here sometimes. Last week we went out for a coffee and cinnamon bun and to the Imax theatre. Just have to take your turn getting on a bus trip. I'm quite happy here. The only thing it's kind of hard for the nurses with the cutbacks and working hours. Used to be two people on 8 hours a day, now there's one and another one for 6 hours. Makes it hard for them - they have about 15 people to get up in each wing. But as I said, I had homecare and I got to a point where I needed more, needed someone to help me up in the morning, and my daughters were afraid I'd fall in the night.


Was that a hard transition for you to make?

It was hard, but I sat and thought about it for awhile, didn't want to go, and then this one afternoon I thought 'yes, but you're not being very kind to Peggy or June or Bea,' so I had a friend who said we'll have to go check out nursing homes. We started over here on 112 th St. and it was a nice new one but I wasn't too impressed with it, so then we went to the Bonnie Doon one, and I didn't want that...evidently when they tore down the building where I used to work they brought a lot of the patients over here to Mount Pleasant so I said we've got to go see Mount Pleasant. And you know, as funny as it seems, as soon as I walked through the front door I felt at home. I was lucky too, eventually got a private room to myself. Had an English lady first, quite the character, woke me up one morning at a quarter to five, washing her hair. I have nice ladies at the table, some of them can talk, some of them can't, so we just use sign language and make the best of it. With the stroke I had, it took my reading ability from my eyes so I can't read, and TV bothers them too, so I've reverted to CHED radio and I think I know about what's going on [better] than anybody.


Probably because you were so busy before you didn't have the time?

That's right. You know when you want to catch the news or something but you knew the children were coming home and you had to lunch for them, there's no time for radio then...all in all I've had a good life, I've got no regrets.