Sunday, January 23, 2011

My First Home - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History


My first home was above our corner grocery store. I lived there until the end of grade two. In the photo above is my sister holding me on her knee. It was taken during the winter of 1951. Straight behind us is the entrance to the apartment. Stairs led upstairs to where we lived.

 I remember a few things about the place. It was a one bedroom apartment. The bedroom was small. It eventually held the three children. A bunk bed and a single bed were in the room. Outside that room was a hallway area where there was a daybed. It was there my great aunt Margaret would sleep when she came to visit. My parents slept on a sofa bed. I can't remember where the bathroom was located. There was a fairly good sized kitchen.  - To my siblings - Have I remembered it correctly?

We also had an attic where we could go to play. It was also used as a storage area.
We had good neighbours and there were many children our age so we didn't lack for playmates. A special bonus was that my paternal grandparents lived across the street.

Below is what the building looks like today from a Google map street view. For a number of years, it was a doctor's office with apartments above. I don't know what is on the main floor but there are apartments in this building.


View Larger Map

There weren't traffic lights at the corner when we lived there. They were added in recent years.
© 2010 Janet Iles

4 comments:

  1. Loved reading about your first home! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a small town. How awesome.
    Love the picture and google too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been to Owen Sound several times and find it incredibly beautiful. In fact, I think I may have passed within a block or so of where your old house was!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hummer - It is great to be able to show the building past and present. It is interesting Owen Sound has been a city since 1920 but it has only about 21,000 people now.

    Kim - If you came into Owen Sound on highway 6 & 10 (9th Avenue East) you would have only been a couple of blocks from our place. When I went to college, I loved the view of Owen Sound and the bay has you came into the city.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated before being posted. Please no links in your comments. The blog author reserves the right to not post a comment if deemed inappropriate.