Old Family Christmas Trees and Toys....in Fort William, Ontario...

The photo on the left is before I was born, about 1940. It is my uncle Henry sitting on my dad's Erskine(yes that is a car make) just after picking up a Christmas tree, and the one on the right is our whole family out in 1958 picking up a tree at Oliver Lake(we always went there). My mom and I standing, my little sister Daryle and baby brother Corey then my dad with the perpetual smoke in his mouth....but still around now in his 90th year....Wow! Oh yes, that's our '53 Chevy in the background.
These two photos were taken in 1949 at our new house on Arthur Street...a couple of my most favourite pictures....a very lucky kid indeed!


The lucky kid in the picture who is yours truly is holding this Mickey Mouse rubber toy....I remember it well, and wish I had it today as one of these in perfect condition sells for over $200. in the antique world. It was made by the Auburn Rubber Company in Auburn, Indiana.
The original company was called Double Fabric Tire Co and it made tires for the Auburn Automobile Co. In the 1920's the company changed its name to Auburn Rubber, phased out its production of tires and introduced new products such as shoe-soling sheets. In 1935 it began making rubber toys of all sorts. Most of the vehicles were 4 - 8 inches long and were cast in a variety of colours. During WWII the company made soles for combat boots and gaskets for "jerry cans". The company was finally sold in 1959 and moved its dies to New Mexico. The company's plant in Auburn, Indiana was acquired by the Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. Auburn Rubber went out of business in 1969.

The final two pictures here were taken before the family shot above and before my brother was born. With our '51 Chevy is my dad standing, then myself, my little sister and my Uncle Cyril. The photo on the right is my little sister again looking like a china doll and very uneasily eying our little Cocker Spaniel "Wendy"(the Peter Pan movie was hot at the time)sitting on my lap. We were very lucky kids. Sorry to bore you with family stuff but just wanted to add a few photos to tweak your own memories of all the great times you had as a kid around the Christmas Season.
Click on photos to enlarge. MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009

1939 ...Erskine to Duluth

Here's a wonderful photo of my Dad and his buds on a trip to Duluth, Minnesota in 1939, just before he entered the Canadian Army, and only 2 years before he was married. I don't know everyone but will do my best with the spelling of the guys I do know. My dad John is top left. Top right is Orsie Bodnarchuk, and bottom center is Albert Bahlieda, who ended up being my Dad's best man. They were proudly displaying The "Fort William, Canada" bumper sticker on his Erskine(yes...that is a car manufacturer's name). You can also plainly see the 1939 license plate from Ontario. Fort William, as stated before is now called Thunder Bay, after the amalgamation of the two cities of Port Arthur and Fort William.

Mom and Dad

Here are the people I admire most in my life. That's my mom Noreen and my dad John taken at Boulevard Lake here in Thunder Bay in 1940. That's one year before they were married and 4 years before I was born. Also in the picture is Dad's '30 Erskine(Yup that's a car name). This was his second car. He owned a model "T" touring before that. My father has been my life long inspiration and he taught me to "Try anything once". He will be turning a ripe old age of 90 this coming August. My mother sadly passed away in 1974 when I was only 30. Dad lived to the ripe old age of 95 years, and with those great genes, I hope I will do the same.