| Notes |
- My father, Louis McIver, was born in Newton, P.E.I. where he was educated in the local one room schoolhouse that had no indoor plumbing and was heated by a coal stove in the winter. Around 1910 he left home and settled in the C.P.R. Town of Aroostook Jct. N.B. Rail traffic north, south, and into the state of Maine was very busy in those years and he decided to open a grocery and dry goods store in 1917. He was not disappointed because the employees of the C.P.R. gave him most of their business for the next fifty years.
In 1937 the store was destroyed by fire. He bought a farm and for the next four years he worked on the land and operated a small store as a side line. In 1941 he sold the farm, bought a new building, and returned to the store business full time.
In 1932 my grandparents moved from Newton to Aroostook Jct. to be with my father and to care for Arnold and myself. My grandfather built and operated a fox ranch and my grandmother not only looked after the house but fed many hoboes riding the trains during the depression of the 1930’s.
The presence of my grandparents (mama and papa as they were affectionately known) in Aroostook Jct. attracted other family members like Alberta, Nora and Jim. Nora and Alberta helped my father in the store and Jim worked on the railroad. In 1939 my grandparents returned to P.E.I. taking my brother Arnold and me with them.
As dad’s store was on the main highway through New Brunswick he was often visited by many a relative and sometimes just by a fellow Islander noting his store sign. All were welcomed and offered meals and lodging. He treasured these visits in his heart as he loved to hear about his beloved Island.
In 1967 he sold his Aroostook store, moved to Plaster Rock, N.B. and opened up another small grocery store. It was in this store that he died May 7, 1973 and he is buried in St. Malachy’s Cemetery, Kinkora, P.E.I.
My mother, Genevieve Armstrong, was born in 1905 in Perth, N.B. After the marriage separation in February, 1930 she enrolled in the commercial class at Mount Carmel Academy, Saint John, N.B. She graduated in 1931 and her first employer was S.G. Mooney, Barrister and Solicitor, in Perth, N.B. In 1941 she was appointed Deputy Registrar of Deeds. Mother played the piano and during the years that she lived in Perth, she was the organist at her church in Andover.
In 1942 she accepted a position with the Armstrong Brothers, General Contractors, Perth, N.B. One day in 1945, mother told Charlie Armstrong that we should have a hospital in Perth. Charlie responded “I will give the land and a building if you will be the organizer”. Since mother knew the Superior of the Catholic convent in Chatham, N.B. she wrote to her and asked if she would be interested in starting a hospital in Perth. The first hospital in Perth was located in one of Charlie’s buildings, 1947, and I remember visiting it. A bigger hospital was built a few short years later. The 50th anniversary was celebrated May 29, 1997, the day my mother died. Mother remained with the Armstrong Brothers until June, 1956.
In the same year mother accepted a position with Levines Ltd., Fredericton, N.B. as office manager and accountant. She remained with the company until her retirement in 1978. Mother returned to her place of birth and enjoyed 19 years of retirement before her death on May 29, 1997. She is buried in the Catholic cemetery in Andover, N.B.
My parents remained single for the rest of their lives.
Submitted by Ronald McIver, son
|
McIverPEIAncestry.ca Electronic Family Tree
1892 - 1973 (80 years)
