Violet Lillian Boulton was born almost exactly 100 years ago on April 1,1918. To her mother Elsie and father Thomas, Vi's birth would have marked a happy occasion after the death of baby Emily Patience 3 months earlier and with ongoing news of WWI. She grew up on the farm south of Reston and attended Kinloss School and then higher grades in Reston. Vi is remembered by one niece for her fashion sense. When she was very young, she put coal in her shoes so she would have high heels. That would have been a long mile to school in those shoes!
In the late 30's Vi moved to Winnipeg with her sisters Edna and Annie and cousin Ida where she took a job as a domestic in the home of Archbishop Samuel Matheson at 91 Kingsway Avenue. Writing on the photo below from the Boulton album of her in her uniform helped fill in that detail. Edna's daughter remembers her mother talking about the girls meeting downtown on their half day off each week to catch up and perhaps shop and have lunch out.
The second picture of Vi on the rocks was labelled " At God's Lake" and it was taken the same time as her with the float plane at the top of this post. These bushplanes were known as "flying boxcars" and I can only imagine her first trip that summer in the single engine plane!
Her cousin Ida and her husband Max White lived and worked there and she apparently joined them for a summer of work and fun. A little research helped me find out that God's Lake in 1941 was the site of a gold mine and supported a community of 400 people. Today it is home to Elk Island Fishing Lodge and a First Nations Reserve nearby. A wonderful newsy letter home from "Villy" in the summer of 1941 reads as follows:
Just got home & have read your always looked for & welcome letter. I missed hearing from you on Tuesday. This is another cold, windy, rainy day. Apparently this is the kind of weather they have up here in August. It seemed such a short summer. However - we’ll probably get a lot of nice days yet - I hope. You certainly have done a lot of preserving and pickling. Mrs. Baker & I have made a great many jars of jams & jellies & also some pickles. We’ve had a lot of fun picking the berries. We put on the awfullest looking old slacks & sweaters etc & maybe we don’t look like a couple of tramps when we go berry picking.Ida & I are sitting here crunching candies. If there’s anything in that line around we just can’t seem to leave them alone until they’re finished - we call it our energy food.I was glad to hear the crop is turning out so good. Threshing is early this year isn’t it? The girls must be a big help too. They must take after their sister Vi for riding horseback.
I had a letter from Edna. She is working for two weeks and then has found a place to board while she is going to school. I hope she & Annie are getting along fine.Gee little Faye must be cute, Aunt Susie. Ida, Max & I thought what you told us about her taking a bite out of the tomato and putting the eggs on the table awfully cute. We sure miss wee Dinty here so much. He was getting to be such a nice dog & learning so many tricks.Well I can’t seem to think of much more to write now so will stop until this evening & maybe the plane will get in & I’ll be able to answer any letters I get so until then Bye.Hello once more. It is now 9:30 & I have just finished the front of a ladies sleeveless sweater (R. Cross knitting) so here goes for a few more lines. Ida is busy making her white skirt over into a jumper & Max is sound asleep.The plane came in but the mail wasn’t given out so I don’t know whether we got any mail or not. Last night was our knitting group meeting. Bev Chute has it this week. We do have a lot of fun at them & do a lot of R. Cross knitting as well. I had it the week before and next week Mrs. Whitiker is taking it.I haven’t been playing tennis for quite a while. It won’t be long now until the badminton season starts.
You did not say how you like the pictures I sent or if you sent them on. I hope you got them ok. Did you see in the paper where Thelma Barber was married to a MacLelland man. He also was a teacher in Birtle.
I was reading a list of young Manitobans who received their wings & saw Jack Forman’s name among them. Where is Cliff Pierce now? Did he not join the airforce?Well I guess this is all the news I can think of for this week so I’ll close now with my best love to all.
On Valentine's Day of 1942, Violet married Joseph Sowtis, an officer in the Navy during WII. They lived in Victoria where their daughter took her first steps. After the war, they moved back to Brandon where they raised a daughter and a son. Joe worked in the Post Office in Brandon for 38 years. Vi and Joe moved back to Victoria in their retirement years.
Joe passed away in 2006 and his sweetheart followed him almost exactly three years later on November 22, 2009.
Additions and corrections to Vi's story are most welcome at ssimms@escape.ca
The story continues here...
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