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Saturday, February 23, 2019

Just a girl from South Porcupine, Ontario.



Mabel was born in 1923. In the year of her birth, a number of newsworthy events took place. Insulin was introduced, changing the world for diabetics. The first issue of Time Magazine was published in March, and Warner Brothers’ film studio opened. Yankee Stadium hosted its first ball game later that spring, and someone in Sweden got the first home refrigerator. The Civil War ended in Ireland, where Mabel’s family history originates. In a foreshadowing of things to come, Adolf Hitler led the Nazi party in a failed coup attempt in Germany.
On the home front, folks were crowding movie theatres to watch “The Ten Commandments” with Theodore Roberts and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Lon Chaney. Women were wearing drop-waist dresses with straight lines and they rarely left the house without a tilted hat on their heads. For a night on the town, men wore something called a Broadway hat with a three-piece suit under a moleskin coat.
The first portable radio was released in 1923 but in South Porcupine, Ontario, where Mabel was born, her parents likely first heard the musical magic of jazz great Louis Armstrong on the family Victrola. The community was home to a gold mine, and most families in the area were very familiar with the mining way of life. It was hard work, in a climate that was hard living. People from this northern town are known to have character, and a sense of humour.
At the age of 18, Mabel met a young railway worker by the name of Garnet. They were a handsome couple, and far more mature than the teens of today. They got married and moved to Ottawa, where they settled down to raise two sons.
An administrator with a skill for numbers, Mabel worked her way up the corporate ladder in finance. Her strong will and belief in herself enabled her to thrive in a male-dominated environment that was not exactly supportive of women. A natural leader and problem solver, she thought carefully before speaking with confidence. The men who might otherwise try to take credit for her work had no choice but to get the heck out of Mabel’s way. At the peak of her career, she was head of Finance for the Federal Court of Canada.
Mabel is my grandmother. I always thought of her as slightly intimidating, the matriarch of the Leeson family. You certainly didn’t want to let her down. But as the years went on, I realized what my Dad said was true: “do not underestimate your Grandmother.”
Full disclosure: I had no idea what he meant by this, at first. But as I went through a number of dramatic and difficult stages in my own life, I always found Grandma to be that constant, reassuring presence that I could turn to. And believe it or not, she never passed judgement. She was never shocked or disappointed, much to my surprise.
When I was having trouble in my first marriage, Grandma showed up at the door to remind me that we Leesons don’t just give up when times get tough. But a few months later when I had to admit all the counselling in the world couldn’t solve my prolems and I called it quits, she simply said, “Meh. I’m surprised you stayed as long as you did. You certainly tried.”
It also amazes me that Grandma knows exactly what is going on in the world. She has always been a traveller, so she has been exposed to other cultures and races her whole life. She has a very practical and fair world view, unlike many of her generation. And I think it helps that she does not get her updates on world events from Fox News. Mabel sees the world through the eyes of her 7 grandchildren, and 15 grandchildren. She is up to date on the popular culture of today, but she can also easily tell us about the way things were because, unlike many people at the age of 96, she has not lost her ability to bring forth her memories.
I’m looking forward to spending an afternoon with Grandma someday soon. We will have a lunch of peameal bacon and tomatoes on toast with mustard, potato chips and gingerale. We will get out the box of photos and I will listen to the stories that each one brings forward from Mabel’s memory bank. I have my favourites. Maybe this time she will tell me some of hers.
Happy Birthday, Mabel. May your 97th year be happy, healthy and full of beautiful surprises.
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Mabel with Paulina at her wedding - photo by Elenora Luberto

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