Josh Cassidy - Paralympian

Josh is a member of the Canadian paralympics national team who will be participating in the XIII Paralympic Summer Games from September 6 to 17, 2008 in Beijing, China. He is a wheelchair racer who is competing at his first Olympic Games. He competes in wheelchair 800m 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

Wheelchair Racing is a very fast and exciting sport. . . . Those who have seen the sport have been very entertained by the speeds which exceed 35 khms/h, the catastrophic crashes, and close, neck to neck finishes. [1]

A recent interview with Josh can be found in the Owen Sound Sun-Times

Josh is not only a great athlete but a person with a message.

Ever since I was a child, I have had the mentality that there is nothing that I can't do. I have always found a way to do everything that any able bodied person can do. Sometimes the task may be more difficult for me, however there are also many things which I do better. . . . My message is the same to everyone: there is nothing you can't do, as long as you have the will to do it. It is the "Driving Spirit" in us all which I hope to encourage and inspire. [2]

Unfortunately, I have never seen Josh race so I am hoping that I will be able to catch at least one of his races in Beijing. To get into the finals, racers must qualify in the preliminary races and semis. The Paralympics do not get as much coverage as the Olympics, so only the highlights generally get broadcast.

Canadian Paralympic Committee - Home page with links

Opening Games Coverage on CBC -Saturday, Sept. 6: 19:00 to 20:00 EST = 7 to 8 p.m. [Toronto ] (Opening Ceremony)

The official website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

See events live on paralympicsport.tv. Also Check Universal Sports The challenge will be to figure out the times and translate the schedules to where you live. Check out parlaympicsporttv on YouTube for submitted videos.

I am proud to say that Josh Cassidy is my cousin. (For those who are interested, Josh is a first cousin, twice removed. His great grandfather was my dad's brother.)

I will also be following Josh on his FaceBook group and cheering him on.

Go Josh Go.

[1] Josh Cassidy "The Driving Spirit" 2

[2] Josh Cassidy "The Driving Spirit" 1

Pets - Carnival of Genealogy

I'm not a pet owner and I have never had any desire to be one. At present, my sister has two cats and my brother has a dog. When I visit them, I enjoy the pets and greet them on arrival and even say goodbye to them when I leave, but that has not made me want to have a pet of my own.

When we were children. we had goldfish and I can recall for short periods of time having turtles and newts or was it salamanders in the house. When I lived and taught a year on St. Joseph Island, the family I lived with had a dog. Dogs on the farm were more for work than as a pet. I taught French at one school on the island and four on the mainland each day. At that time, no bridge connected the Island to the mainland so I took the ferry back and forth. I ended my day at 3:30 at my last school in Echo Bay but it would be about 4:45 before I drove up the farm lane. The dog was usually waiting for my arrival.

According to photos in the family album, my dad's family had a dog named Fido. I don't ever recall him mentioning the dog. This is my uncle Bill with Fido.






My mother her lived on a farm. There were cats and dogs but I don't imagine they were kept in the house. I do have this photograph of her with angora rabbits and one with a dog and two kittens.

Women's History Month Salutes

Women's History Month salutes Emily Lily Iles nee Dudley. Although, her name was registered as Emily, I have only known her as Lil.
I was fortunate that I spent my early years living across the road from my grandmother. Thanks to photographs that have been kept in the family, I have photographs of her at different stages of her adult life and one from her childhood.

Emily Lily Dudley was born in 1884 in Birmingham, England to Josiah Dudley, a bricklayer and Sarah Mucklow. She came from a family where only four children lived into adulthood. Family lore says that Lil's mother had 22 children, which included 3 sets of twins and 2 sets of triplets. This has not been substantiated. So far, I have found only one other birth in 1869. There is a gap from 1875 to 1884 so quite possibly there were other children.

The picture to the left is of Rose, her younger sister and Lil.


In 1901, Lil's father died. At the time of Lil's marriage, the family lived at 2 Back 6 Little Green Lane in the Aston area of Birmingham. (Small Heath) Housing was often crowded. To read about Back to Back Housing in Birmingham, check this site.
I suspect that she met her future husband, William Iles at the Small Heath Salvation Army.









Using multi-map with approximate addresses, it would be about a twenty minute walk between their homes.


My grandparents were married in 1903 in the Register office. From the Salvation Army Heritage web site I learnt that

The Salvation Army, were not registered to perform marriages until 1898 (and after that it was up to individual corps to have their halls licensed). Many corps halls were not licensed for marriages until the 1950s or 1960s, or later, so sometimes there would be two ceremonies: the official marriage ceremony at the Register Office and a Salvation Army marriage service at the Army hall. After 1898, the corps building could be used for marriages, with the ceremony conducted by a Salvation Army officer, but with a registrar or 'Authorised Person' present to fulfil the legal requirements.

The photograph to the left may be from around the time of their marriage.


Lily came to Canada in 1905 with her husband and baby girl, May. Also on board were William's mother and siblings. Her father-in-law may have emigrated the year before. Her older brothers had already emigrated to the United States. She left behind her sister, Rose and her mother, Sarah in England.


The 1911 census shows the two Iles families living outside Owen Sound. What a contrast after living in the crowded city of Birmingham. The family moved into Owen Sound, a small town, and Lil lived there the rest of her life.



Lily was a member of the Salvation Army until her death, but her husband and some of the boys left the Salvation Army to join the United Church of Canada. I have been told that she played the timbrel (similar to a tambourine) and was active in the Home League.

Lil was mother to nine who lived to adulthood: three daughters and six sons. One son and one daughter are still living. During the First World War, her husband was overseas for three and a half years. I understand that he went overseas in March 1916, the month in which my father was born. I wonder if he was home for my dad's birth. It must have been hard for her while grandpa was gone. She kept the postcards that he sent her.

During the Second World War, five of her sons served. Fortunately, all returned home.

Grandma knit baby sets and sweaters for her young grandchildren. She was grandma to over thirty grand-children. I recall a time when she asked me to try on a sweater. She wanted me to check how it fit on me as she was making it for one of my cousins who was about my size. It turns out it was to be my sweater. I don't remember anything about the sweater. When she got older and her vision was getting poorer, grandpa wrote out the patterns on cardboard to make it easier for her to follow.
This photograph is of my sister, Nancy and I. I don't look very happy. I have never been fond of having my photo taken.
She and William celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary with a family dinner. In attendance were her six sons and three daughters, twenty-eight grandchildren and thirty-three great grandchildren.

In her later years, she became quite frail, but she still had the sparkle in her eyes. The photograph below was taken at Niagara Falls. It would be quite an outing for her.

Now that I am interested in our family history, I wish had asked her more questions. I would love to know more about her life and her family.

Aunt Maggie's visits

December 20 - Christmas and Deceased Relatives
Did your family visit the cemetery at Christmas? How did your family honor deceased family members at Christmas?
Our family did not have a tradition of visiting a cemetery at Christmas or a special way to honour them at Christmas.
I would like to talk about my great Aunt Margaret. She was my mom's aunt. She lived across the lane from the farm house in which my mother was born. Aunt Maggie never married. She acted as a hostess at my mother and father's wedding reception as my grandparents were not able to come to the wedding.
I don't know when Aunt Maggie first came to our place for Christmas. She left Manitoulin Island after the death of her mother and had come down to southern Ontario to live. She did housekeeping and cared for elderly people. In her last position, which lasted for many years, she also was a live in housekeeper and helped raise two children. She would come to visit us during her time off.
When I was small, our first place was a one bedroom apartment above our corner store. The three children slept in our tiny bedroom and mom and dad in the living room. Aunt Maggie slept in the hall on a divan. She continued to come most years to our place for Christmas until she moved back to Manitoulin Island.
Aunt Maggie was interested in family history. She wrote by hand information on her family in a small notepad. Not all of it has been proven to be 100% accurate but what a wealth of information and clues she has provided me as I do my own genealogy. I wish I had asked more questions when I would visit her up on the Island.

Wedding weekend over - now quiet on the home front

The wedding was beautiful. Waterview Resort was a perfect location. http://www.waterview.ca/ On Friday evening, the evening begin with a barbecue. After the wedding party rehearsed, we gathered around the fire pit and roasted marshmallows and visited. Many stayed at the resort but we headed back home.

Saturday, those at the resort enjoyed the facilities. We took the scenic route to get there. The 4 o'clock wedding was down by the water. The father of the groom played the bagpipes as the bride was escorted down the aisle by her mother (my sister) and her father.

After the ceremony, a large group photo was taken. I wonder if I will be able to find myself in the photo?

The photographs were taken while the guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, played horseshoes, bocce or visited.

Each table was given a name. The table names related to either Jeff or Heather's life. The pictures on the name cards were done by Heather's kindergarten students. During the reception, there was no clinking of the glasses to get the newlyweds to kiss. Instead, you had to correctly guess the significance of the name of your table to get the couple to kiss. If incorrect, you kissed someone else.

After a very delicious meal, a slide show highlighted the lives of each of them and then some photos of them together -- very touching - it brought back memories, a few tears and some laughter.

It was not quite yet time for the dancing to begin so time for more visiting outside. The horseshoe game continued. The music began. The bonfire was lit and those who preferred gathered around it. At 10, there was a spectacular fireworks show. The music resumed and those who enjoyed dancing were on the dance floor. Others stayed around the bonfire until it was time for the cake.

As a remembrance of the weekend, the couple gave the guests white spruce saplings to plant. Heather met Jeff when they were tree planting.

We left around midnight but the party continued. All the best to Heather and Jeff in their married life.

Well, it is quiet here now. The family has left. It was a wonderful visit.
The laundry awaits.

mom's family 1928

mom's family 1928 Originally uploaded by JanetII

Do I look like anyone in this photo?

Mom was the youngest of five children. She is seen here with her parents and siblings. - John, Everett, Agnes Elizabeth "Bessie", Janet

front row - Ross and Marion

My nephew David looked very much like Everett until he cut his hair extremely short.

Family photographs are an important addition to a family history. It is fun to see family resemblances. I always thought I looked very much like my mother, but now I can see that I also have some of my dad's features. I am thankful for all those photographs that have been kept and were labelled.