MY STORY
THE ROLES I FILLED
Hello, let me introduce myself, my name is Faye Smedley. I am a mother, a grandmother, a nurse and a teacher. I love, and loved, all these roles.
ABOUT ME
I AM NOW 87 AND WANTING TO SHARE WHAT THOSE 87 YEARS INVOLVED.
I am now 87 and wanting to share what those 87 years involved. As you travel down the page you will follow my life. You will see the 3 elementary schools I attended, and the two secondary schools I attended. You will see the nursing school and the universities I completed. You will see how life events directed my employment.
My maternal grandparents owned and ran a boarding house on Laurier Ave. My father boarded in this boarding house, thus meT my mother. They married on December 14, 1936.
April 7, 1938 a baby girl named Faye Cora Louise Grozelle was born to Pearl and Keith Grozelle in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Pearl was 18 years old and Keith was 20. The three of us settled into an apartment somewhere in Ottawa. My grandmother ran the boarding house as my grandfather had a stroke. He was capacitated by it.
I am still using some of the furniture that these young married couple bought. The chairs are admired by all who see them and sit in them. The arms and legs are of chrome.
A few years after I was born dad got a job in a mining town in Northern Ontario. Kearns to be exact. Our first move.
KEARNS, ONTARIO – THE CHESTERVILLE MINE
DAD WORKED IN THE CHESTERVILLE GOLD MINE AND OTHER GOLD MINES IN THE AREA. HE WAS AN ASSAYER.THIS WAS THE STARTING OF OUR MOVES
Calvin Keith Grozelle was born on December 16, 1939 in New Liskeard, Ontario, Canada. This was the area hospital. Calvin and I being so close in age were best friends. We enjoyed each others company and rarely faught. Life was good as you will see.
LIFE BEFORE SCHOOL WAS FULL OF ADVENTURE FOR MY BROTHER AND ME!
I remember life in Kearns I had a few friends. I even had a boy friend. His name was Johnny Miller. I am afraid that I bit him. Why, did I bite him? He wouldn’t let me have my turn on the tracter you could ride on. Aware that I should not have done such a thing, I hid. I hid behind a neighbour’s house. Someone gave my hiding place away and I had to receive my punishment. Isolation!
Faye, Calvin and Johnny Miller before the incident!
T
This mining life came to an end. The Second World War was happening. Dad enlisted in the Air Force to be a pilot. That meant many moves. Move to various Air Force Bases. in Canada.
Whenever we saw an airplane overhead we would call “Hello, my daddy up there.” We would feel close to him at those moments.
airforce bases
Our life was composed of a lot of moves. We moved to different Air Force Bases through out Canada. Most of the moves were by trains. The trains all had black porters. Cal and I were full of questions about these men. This embarrassed my mother so much. The porters treated us well. They were kind to my mom and we children. Sometimes we slept overnight on the train. Sleeping on the train was such fun. As children we were quite fine with these moves.
saskatoon, saskatchewan, canada
One of the towns we lived in was Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We lived in a small apartment with railcars parked right across the street from us. What fun we had playing in them. Our imaginations were use a lot. We feared that the trains might suddenly move and take us away somewhere far from our mother. The fear did not stop us from going there every chance we had.
High river, alberta, canada
High River Alberta we lived in a house, that was situated on a windy hill. The wind was kind as it dried my mothers laundry really quickly and she liked that. It was usually a kind breeze. Our stay was not very long there. I do not have many memories to share. Our next Air Force base was McLeod and I have lots to share.
Mcleod, alberta, Canada
McLeod Alberta was our favourite place to live. It was ranch living. There were cows, goats and a ranch hand. Archie, the ranch had liked to have us around. He would take us for rides in the hay wagon.
The best thing of all was we had a pet goat. This goat followed us every where. The goat would saunter behind us on our way to meet our dad. It was a 1/2 mile to the ranch gate. The car had a rumble seat. Cal, me and the goat loved to ride in the rumble seat.
We even got to go to a Rodeo. I did not like The way the calves and bulls were treated. I found how they treated the animals disturbing.
You can see why it was the one town we did not want to leave. Haileybury was the town where my father was born and raised. He graduated from The Haileybury Mining School. We looked forward to meeting our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The town was full of Grozelles.
haileybury ontario, canada
We moved to Haileybury, Ontario when Cal was 4 and I was 5. My mother felt it was time to settle down, I guess. We left my dad to continue his pilots training without us. We moved to Haileybury as this was where my dad was born and grew up. We stayed there for a couple of years. Life was pleasant in this small town. It was full of my dad’s family. What a warm and generous family.
It was a peaceful time. My mother grew a great vegetable and flower garden. We were free to wander over to any of our aunts houses for a visit or even breakfast. My Uncle Harold called Sputt ran the projector at the Haileybury Movie Theatre. We often went to the movies by ourselves We were 4 and 5 years of age.
We met a lot of family. My dad’s aunts and uncles, more like his brothers and sisters. Growing up in the same household would account for this phenomenon.
Cora their mother died at a very young age, 33, of an ear infection. Her death resulted in a big change in a lot of peoples lives. One change was who would care for Cora’s and Fred’s four young children?
Fred’s parents, Antoine and Jane Anne Grozelle took the four children into their home. Jane and Antoine had 7 children of their own. Their children were Fred who was the oldest, Viley, Pearl, Dorothy, Harold, Cyril(Chic) and Percy Grozelle. They raised Cora and Fred’s four children. These children were Richmond, Keith (my dad)Viley and Verne. My dad was ten at the time. You can see why these two families became like one big family. I can only imagine what a day would be like with 11 children. Fred was a prospector and sent money home to help the family. He had a lovely big house built for them. Everyone had their own room. The kitchen was huge. I don’t recall What the dining room looked like. They had a parlor which was quite dark and had a lamp with a fringe on it that fascinated me. One day I was called into that room to have my picture taken with all my grandparents and my dad. This was a picture to show five generations.
Idyllic as that life was, for us anyway, it was time to move. I had to go to school. I was six. I had missed kindergarten and now I had to go to school. My dad was coming to be with us. It is 1945 and the Second World War is over.
My education began with our move to North Bay Ontario
north bay ontario
North Bay Ontario was our next destination. We found a house on MacIntyre Street. It was right beside a creek with a large open field right behind our two story house. My parents rented the upstairs, we lived in the downstairs. I had a friend Trudy who lived upstairs we were great friends. We compared the toe jam between our toes. Really? There we were on the stairs with our shoes and socks off, looking at our toes. What in the world is the all about I ask myself now.
We had relatives in North Bay. My Uncle Verne, Aunt Betty and their 2 children, Cora Mae and Kenny. Their house was on Lake Nipissing. Their beach had the best sand for building sand castles. We spent a lot of time there. Even after we moved we would visit at least once a year.Many of your relatives in Haileybury and Cobalt would come for a visit when we were there.
Anyway it is school time and off I go.
EDUCATION
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
MCINTYRE STREET SCHOOL-NORTH BAY, ONTARIO
I was excited to be going to school. I did well at that school and living on McIntyre Street. I had lots of friends.
Reading was my favourite subject. I enjoyed reading to the class
Teachers can be cruel. I saw that my teacher was cruel. I saw my teacher hit my brother’s small hand with a ruler hitting him several times. Why? He would not, could not, write with his right hand. I know this affected him his whole school life.
I had friends on McIntyre Street. One was a doctor’s daughter and lived in a big house across the street. She had a marvelous play room full of fantastic toys. It was always a treat to spend time in that playroom. These children had naps after lunch. I remember that often I went to find someone to play with and they were having their afternoon nap. I always wondered why I never was made to nap?
My
I took tap dancing classes one year while living in North Bay. Our dance class had a recital. The Farmerettes was the name of our dance. I can still see the costumes. I had a special part. The teacher asked me to give that special part to another girl? The reason she gave me, she said, this girl was poor and did not have a lot etc., etc. Of course I agreed, because I understood.
After the war it was hard for veterans like my dad to find jobs. So my dad was often away trying to find a job. He finally found one in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He would be working at Dubreuil Lumber Company.
david kyle school, sault ste. Marie, ontario
Second Elementary School attended
Douglas Street became our new home. It was in the west end of town, the Italian part of town. What lovely people we met, they loved children. These wonderful adults would offer us fresh vegetables from their gardens and a warm welcome as we walked by their homes on our way to school.
Our new home was a house, which might have been a mansion. It was yellow brick with wide concrete steps between solid brick supports leading to double doors. When you entered those doors you went right to the apartment of Mrs. Bailey and her son. The apartment of the Pikinen family, they had the basement with a swing) faced you as you entered the front door. Turning to the left you walked up a few stairs and you were at our apartment, take a sharp right and up a few stairs and you were at the Mador’s Apartment. So many memories of that place. We lived there for 2 years.
William merrifield school, wallace terrace, ssm
Third Elementary School I Attended
I cannot find a picture of this school. This is just a random picture.
For reasons I do not know dad left Dubreuil lumber Yard and worked as a brick layer. Dad was promised he could rent the house when he finished. This did not happen. Because we were going to be moving to William Merrifield School district our parents enrolled us in that school. This resulted us in having to walk a very long way to school. We only had a block to walk at McIntyre School.
We like both schools. Both principals were very good to us. Both played the fiddle and on rainy days we would have dances such as Skip-to-maloo and othee such fun dances.
I was also Snow White in a play. I felt that I did an excellent job of fainting after I ate a bite of the apple. The cutest boy in my class was Prince Charming. His name was Peter.
The Douglas Street apartment was not suitable for our growing family. It had mice and at one time bedbugs. My mother was so angry about the bed bugs that she visited every person in the building. She wanted every parent to know how to treat their children correctly and immediately.
We had our name in to get one of the Wartime houses. These houses were just being built.
king george elementary school gladstone ave., ssm
The Fourth Elementary School I Attended
Finally, in 1948 a few months after our sister Sandar Gail was born (September 21, 1948)we moved into 35 Crawford Ave. It was a two story house with 3 bedrooms and a basement. It was in Monterey Gardens or Maternity Gardens as it came to be known. I was able to do a lot of babysitting and earn 25 cents an hour.
The yards were clay with wooden walks to each house that all looked the same, but different colours.
So many schools, so many moves. It was hard to make friends as I was rather shy. I was in grade 5 by the time I got to this school. So I was going to be here for 3 years. I hoped. I did make friends, but mostly from my neighbourhood. I was a little bit older, so I was lucky that Jane lived across the street from me and we became so close.
The principle Mr. Dunne followed us to McIntyre School from William Merrifield. He entertained us on rainy days by playing his fiddle and encouraging us to dance. Oh how we loved that in him. He was a great principal.
Mr Green, my new math teacher asked me to help students who were struggling. with their assignments. I had learned fractions at William Merrifield School.I assisted those struggling classmates. I blame that on my 100 mark in math at McIntyre Street school, digressing from then on.
Here I am 16 and I am still in one city Sault Ste. Marie. However, I am moving schools again. The school is just down the street from King George and it is a High School.
Sault collegiate institute, Macdonald ave. ssm
Fear, excitement and another long walk to school. Hardly any of my classmates at KIng George were going to be joining me at Collegiate. Most were going to the Technical School. I had all new faces greeting me when I walked into my homeroom. Homeroom and wandering through the halls to your classes was a change. It was great to have the opportunity to move and talk to people and have different teachers.
My favourite and best class was home economics. I started with making a pin cushion, to a blouse to a lined suit and a kilt with a matching vest. Cooking was high on my list of things I like to do, we had great cooking classes. We learned to even make puff pastry.
One class we had to chose a recipe and demonstrate how to make it in front of the class. It was just like what you saw on TV. I thought, I would like to have a career demonstrating recipes on TV.
My math skills were not very good. I had a lot of work to do so that I could get me high school diploma. Gordon, my new boyfriend volunteered to help me and he did. Sometimes he had other plans in his mind though.
To hone my math and have other skills, that would help me get a job, if nursing did not work our for me, I went to the Technical School.
SECOND HIGH SCHOOL I ATTENDED
Sault Technical School
THE GREATER NIAGRA SCHOOL OF NURSING
In 1957 I graduated from Sault Collegiate and Sault Technical School and headed to Niagara Falls. I was accepted at The Greater Niagara General Hospital School of Nursing. I spent 3 years their learning to be a nurse.
The hospital
Another View of the Hospital
The hospital and the nurses residence were both brand new. Designed by a famous architect John B. Parkin. Our first year we lived in the old residence and worked in the new hospital. A bus would take us back and forth to the hospital and residence. If you slept in or worked late the bus left and you had to walk. You would wear your beautiful pure wool cape on these walks and bus rides. They were navy blue with a bright red lining. Very attractive and warm.
Have you ever been initiated? While I was. The initiation took place in the old nurses residence. A place we had never seen or been in. The residence was decorated with things that looked like cobwebs and other creepy things. Once we were shown about the place blind folds were placed on our face and we were exhorted to various places and instructed to touch or smell things. It was scary. I remember being told to touch “these eyeballs”. Oh, no I can’t.In the end I had to it was to gross. It turned out that the eyeballs were actually peeled grapes. I was relieved that we weren’t going to be living in that residence.
The Nurses Residence
Once the residence was completed our classes were held in a lovely bright class room and lab. Our class time was from 7:AM until 3:PM. Our teachers were Miss Doyle, Miss Bunston and Miss Seubert who got married our first year. The director of the school of nursing was Miss Bell. Miss Wilson was Director of Nursing of the hospital. They all were University educated nurses BSN. Miss Bell and Miss Wilson lived on the top floor of the Nurses Residence.
ABOUT THE NURSING RESIDENCE
Why a month off in summer?
The school felt that a month off was more beneficial than taking the usual holidays offered during the year. This monthly holiday occurred during the summer months. I agreed with their decision. Only one student in my year was from Niagara. A lot of the other students were from Northern Ontario, or areas outside Niagara. After completing the course with a diploma in nursing. I wrote my Registered Nursing Exams and waited in Sault Ste. Marie to receive the results. Wow, I had passed the exam I was a Registered Nurse. I could add RN after my name.
Clinical Experiences
Here I am hard at work.
Unlike today a nurses education ( called training) was taught either in a hospital setting or at a university. Because we were learning in a hospital setting we had a lot of hands on care and worked the three shifts 5 days a week for 8 hours for six weeks. We usually had four patients.
We did not feel that we had anyone really responsible for us while caring for our assigned patients. I am sure the nurses whose patients we were looking after were watching us pretty closely, as was the head nurse.
Yes the head nurse was keeping an eye on how we cared for her patients. One day on the surgical unit where I was assigned to. the head nurse Miss Misner was making her rounds.
After her rounds she called me to her office. Everyone was frightened of her and I was no exception. She was a big lady and a fearsome one. staff and students feared and respected her. So when I heard “Miss Grozelle come to my office I was terrified.
She told me that I coud not give a decent bath with only an ounce of water in my basin. I of course, was offended a I prided my self on the great baths I gave. My defense was that I had finished the patient’s bath and I only needed a small amount of water to do his back before his back rub. I was known for my great back rubs. Miss Wismer accepted that explanation and when I left her unit she gave me a very good evaluation.
During the six weeks we were in the hospital we spent at least 2 weeks or 4 on different units so we would when we graduate work any where we were needed. We even manned the switchboard for a scarry day. when I was assigned there it was busy and the woman manning it left. While she was gone I had to place a long distance call for a doctor. Unless you are new at such a request you will not understand the horror to be all on your own to do it. I succeeded
Another assignment was in the ER. That was easy, just a sore throat, a stomach ache nothing too scarry until I was to go with a gentleman came in who had cut through his boot at the knee. I had to look calm and knowledgeable as I removed his boot and blood was oozing out and all over. I had to clean the wound until the RN came in to relieve me. Talk about empathy, I now know that it is in the pit of your stomach.
My favourite assignment was in the nursery and the infant ICU. Close behind was maternity and pediatrics.
GRADUATION 1960 – A VERY HAPPY DAY
GRADUATION 1060
This picture was taken at the entrance to the nurses residence. Afer graduation I returned to Sault Ste. Marie and was hired at the General Hospital for a couple of months before my wedding in November.
THE GENERAL HOSPITAL
OUR WEDDING DAY
I married Gordon Smedley on November 26, 1960. He like me, had just graduated. He graduated from the University of Manitoba in architecture.
We had a small wedding, at Ste. John’s Evangelical Anglican Church. After a lunch for guests and family in the church hall we left to start our life together. We planned to live and work in London England. We had no return date. A honeymoon was planned before we were going to apply for jobs.
The honeymoon started from the Sault. We were going to travel overnight by train to Montreal. We had the honeymoon suite at the Hotel Champalese. One of our wedding gifts was a meal at the hotels exquisite restaurant. The meal wonderful food, wine and drinks. All was absolutely perfect.
The next day we travelled by bus to Quebec City where we boarded the MS Italia Ship for London England. Wonderful as that sounds I was seasick most of the trip. Needless, to say when we finally docked at Southampton, I could not get off the boat fast enough.
From Southampton we spent a few days site seeing London before we headed to a small town in spain called Torremolinos where we honeymooned for a few days. We left Torremolinos and visited more towns in Spain. We spent Christmas and New Years in Madrid. We celebrated by going to an English movie. Other things we were so lucky to do was see a bullfight in Barcelona. Holland was the last place we visited before we returned to England and reality. Gordon’s parents had friends their who took us on tours of Amsterdam. We left Amsterdam and returned to England.
Gordon applied to an architect firm in a small town called Ipswich. It is located by the ocean and so quaint. The bed and breakfast we stayed in also served us an evening meal. The hosts treated us as if we were royalty. They kept a fire burning in the living room for us and warmed the bed with hot pans at night. The job was no longer available so we reluctantly left and headed back to London.
In London Gordon got a job with an architectural firm in downtown London, England. Then it was time to hunt for living accomodations. That proved very interesting. We were shown apartments with a bathtub in the kitchen, one that came with a cleaning lady and one that we would share a bathroom These places were not very expensive but we were spoiled by our Canadian living accommodations. Eventually we found this wonderful place situated on the Thames.
In a few weeks I managed to get a job at The Hospital for Nervous Diseases Queen’s Square. It was in the Outpatients Department. The hospital was a famous for its education of Medical Doctors from all over the world. My job was to prepare the patients for their assessment by the teaching professor for the students to learn. I worked 9 t0 5 with weekends off. I also became a registered nurse in England for life. I did not have to do any exams just confirm that I was a registered nurse in Canada.
We left England in 1962 as we were about to become parents in May. I wanted to have my child born in Canada. We arrived back in Canada In April. Julie Anne Louise was born May 26. James Julian was born June 10 1964. I was a stay at home mother for 5 years. However, I did volunteer.
A VOLUNTEER
1N 1962 I was a stay at home mom raiding 2 small children. After much asking and encouragement I accepted the challenge to teach a course in hospital services for St. John’s Ambulance Services.
In 2005 I volunteered to work on CAPT’S website. This involved inputting information and sending our emails to their supporters. I am still maintaining their website and sending out emails.
I volunteered in 2011 to go house to house on our street asking for donations for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I only did that once as I didn’t like the way people responded to the ask.
HOW WORK ENCOURAGED MORE EDUCATION
My working life begins in 1969. The children are now at school Julie Anne full time James half time. I feel like I want to work. My dad saw an ad in our newspaper for a teaching position, he was sure it would be a great job for me. It was a teaching job at Alexander Henry High School an alternate school for students having difficulties learning. The course was Home Care and Hospital Services. I applied for the job and I was hired under a Letter of Permission.
What I Loved About Teaching These Students
I loved teaching these students. At times teaching these students was easy, difficult and confrontational.
Lessons Included
Their classes taught them to do necessary household duties. They learned how to iron, how to read a recipe, and how to leave the kitchen clean after they cooked. Their lessons for hospital services included o how to make a hospital bed, how to give morning care,etc.
After a short period I added sewing to the course as I felt that some of the students would benefit from the skill of sewing.
What I Did When Students Came to Class Stressed!
If I sensed there was stress in a student or the whole class I would take the class to the back of the room where I had a comfortable area to sit and talk. The wood making class had made couches and chairs for my class. My students made the cushions in sewing class.
Extracurricular Activities 1
The Trip to Toronto
Wishing to expose the students to different experiences I, with the permission of the school, offered the students a trip to Toronto. 10 students chose to take the trip. In order for this trip to occur the students had to raise the money. The raised the money by having bake sales and other events. Thanks to Louise Saunders my sister-in-law we had a place to stay for free. In a few weeks we boarded the Greyhound bus and headed to Toronto for a week. The students and I spent the week experiencing museums, Art Galleries and city life. We even had our picture taken on a Moore Sculpture.
Extracurricular Activities 2
Modeling for Stedman’s Department Store
To encourage self esteem in the students I arranged for the students to have a fashion show and be the models.Stedman’s department store were most helpful in this endeavour. As Stedmans wanted children to model in the show I volunteered my children. The experience went very well and the students were very proud of how they got over their nervousness and walked the stage with dignity and pride. They did a fine job. Stedman’s was very pleased with their performance.
A Sad Day
My year at Alexander Henry is Over
Unfortunately, I was hired to teach with a Letter of Permission as I did not have a teaching degree, the school had to advertise my position, at the end of the school year. Alas, a nurse with a teaching degree applied for my job. I must say principal and staff were sad that I was having to leave, as I sure was.
Life After Alexander Henry Highschool!
Working for the Board of Education
After leaving The Henry I did supply teaching for the Board of Education Sault Ste. Marie. I supply taught a lot at Alexander Henry and at several schools across the city. I quite enjoyed it. I had a bag of psychological puzzles I would give a class if the teacher did not leave any lessons.
NURSING CALLS ME
After having experienced teaching and finding that I really liked it, I had a decision to make. Do I explore teaching or do I work at a hospital? In 1968 I started working at the Plummer Memorial Hospital, to see if that was what I really wanted to do.
Much as I enjoyed working at the bedside, I decided that I really wanted to teach. I decided that I should find out what I would need to teach in the nursing programme. To teach in a nursing programme you needed a BSCN degree. Unfortunately, Algoma University did not offer this degree. I felt a university degree would be good for me and in 1969 I was accepted at Algoma University, where after 2 years full time and several years part time I earned my degree in psychology and English. I applied to Sault College to teach in their nursing programme and I was hired. YEH!
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
ALGOMA UNIVERSITY
Algoma University was a wonderful place to learn for a 30 year old woman. It was affiliated with Laurentian University. The clases were small, the teacher were friendly and helpful to the students. The university was located in the Shinwak Hall. Shinwak Hall, was a residential school for Anishinaabe children.
I started to earn my degree in 1970 to 1971 as a full time student and finished in 1987 as a part time student.
In 1987 I entered Lake Head University in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan to get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSCN) Degree.
In 1989 nursing was requiring that all nurses have a degree in nursing the BSCN. This required that I go to university. Fortunately Lake State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan offered this degree as a two year programme. The courses I choose at Algoma University were accepted, I was able to do the course in one year. They accepted all the courses I had taken at Algoma University. I graduated with a 3.9 percent average. I made the Dean’s List.
MY WORKING LIFE
AS A NURSING PROFESSOR AT SAULT COLLEGE SAULT STE. MARIE
SAULT COLLEGE 2000
SAULT COLLEGE
These two pictures show the variety of my job as a teacher at the Sault College in 1970. I am the one in the blue uniform with my first clinical group at Tendercare Nursing Home. I am doing my duty for Sault College Nursing programme by manning a booth.
INSTITUTIONS I SUPERVISED IN
TENDERCARE NURSING HOME
DAVEY HOME FOR THE AGED
RETIREMENT YEAR 2000
time for friends and sailing
Retirement allowed me more time for sailing and sunbathing on the Beach at our cottage at Batchawana Bay. I now had time to do some research on my ancestry. This is how I found out I have a passion for history research.
I have a passion for history..
Retiring from my nursing career has given me time to examine a very old photograph album with pictures of my ancestors from the 1800s. I have studied these photographs and the relationships of the people in them. I researched them on Ancestry’s and My History’s websites. After learning about these families I wanted to share with my family. This resulted in developing this website.
As there are many talented people in my family and the fact that I have an abundance of pictures of them I have added them to the website.
I am hoping that my family will take advantage of this website and enjoy learning what I have found out about these long gone people.
