thebravestcanadian

By Sam McBride

My paternal grandmother Winnifred Mae Foote (1889-1960) enjoyed photography as a hobby in her hometown of Nelson, British Columbia from the early 1900s until the last years of her life.  As the eldest in a family of five daughters (and no sons), she liked to take photographs of her four younger sisters as they grew up, and they would in turn take photos of her.

The annual Children`s Parade that was part of the July 1^st Dominion Day celebrations was prominently featured in her 1908 scrapbook that survives today as part of the Foote-McBride family history files.

The close-knit Foote sisters and their mother Edith James Foote left Perth, Ontario for Nelson in the summer of 1900 to join father Jim Foote (1861-1921) who had arrived the year before to start a job as blacksmith at the Silver King Mine.  After two years living in a rented house in the remote Silver King Townsite outside of Nelson, the girls were thrilled in 1902 to move into the vibrant city of Nelson when Jim got a job as carpenter with the City of Nelson construction department.

Foote sisters, from left: Lillian, Isobel, Marion, Gladys and Winnie.  Family photo, c. 1904.

Win`s sisters included Lillian Maude Foote (1891-1962), Gladys Edith Foote (1894-1965), Isobel Bessie Foote (1897-1988) and Marion Louise Foote (1902-1923).   Win`s album features numerous photos of her sisters, herself and friends, usually related to a fun community event such as the Dominion Day celebrations or church picnic.

For Nelson children, their time to shine and be the focus of attention was the annual Children`s Parade down Baker Street that was one of the first events in the annual two-day holiday celebrations marking Canada`s birthday.  Here are photos from the album from 1906 and 1908 of the Children`s Parade, as well as a clipping from the Nelson Daily News of July 2, 1908 describing the first day of parades and associated July 1^st events.  Also included here are a couple of newspaper ads of other special events, as well as the daily report of who was staying at local hotels during the celebrations.

1906 Children`s Parade, Winnie Foote photo

Two photos in Foote album of the 1908 Children`s Parade

Another Win Foote photograph of the 1908 Children`s parade, identified as such but not included in the album.  Print quality is better, likely because it was not exposed to viewing as much as the album has been over more than a century.  Family photo.

Ad describes on of the 1908 holiday events.

Nelson Daily News reported a long list of visitors staying a local hotels during the Dominion Day celebrations.  NDN July 2, 1908.

This photo in family files is not identified, but it is very likely taken in the civic field with the Gyro Bluffs in the background.  The young ladies have ribbons from winning something, which may well have been during the Dominion Day sports events.   My cousin (once removed) Blake Allan told me he thought the girl in the centre of the front row was his aunt Isobel Foote Murphy.  I am not certain about that, but there must have been either a family member or a good friend in the group for Win to paste it into her scrapbook.  Family photo.