Getting Ready for Winter

Weston resident Mary Louise Ashbourne was young, there was a very important room in her grandparents' house – the basement storage cupboard under the stairs.

Once rhubarb appeared in the spring, the process of preparing for winter began. Mary Louise talks about the jams and preserves her mother made, the apples from the family farm in Madoc, the root vegetables, cheese and honey that all could be found in the little storage space. Even eggs were squirrelled away in a very special way! Mary Louise remembers!

Mary Louise’s family lived at 7 Joseph St. in Weston, which almost backed on her grandparents’ house at 78 King St. (the address was changed from 88 King St.), where she and her parents moved in during the Depression.

Mary Louise Ashbourne as a child
Mary Louise Ashbourne as a child
Winter in Toronto circa 1930s
Winter in Toronto circa 1930s
Copyright © 2024 Back Lane Studios. All rights reserved.