the Vokes family. Mr. Vokes was a partner in the Victoria Beach
Company, and his wife and family spent summers camped in the
tent. There was a terrifying thunderstorm one night and Mrs. Vokes
knew I was there alone. She was concerned and sent down to see that
I was alright. A very kind lady; I was glad indeed to have company.

In the early days Mother stayed at the Beach with the children
all summer and my father would come down every Saturday. He’d
go back to the city on Sunday night and on Monday morning, before
he went to work at the Free Press, he would drop in at a fruit and
vegetable store on the corner of Portage and Carlton. There he would
fill up a suitcase with vegetables and fruit which you couldn’t get at
the Beach. He’d take it and ride a street car down to the Union Station
then he would put the suitcase in the smoking compartment of the
first car on the train. Later that day when the train came in at the
Beach, I’d be there, board the train, go to the place on the first coach
and pick up the suitcase with our provisions for the ensuing week.
My father did that for the family all summer long.

We had been living at the cottage for only a month or so when
one of the city dairies began sending fresh milk to the Beach in bulk
on the daily train. We used to go down to the Falls’ store across from
the station after the train came in, carrying our milk jugs, and Mrs.
Falls would ladle out the milk to us.

In the old days the basis of social life at Victoria Beach was the
arrival of the train. Nearly everybody at the Beach went down to
watch it come in. At the station you saw all the people, met your
relatives and friends, arranged your social events. If you missed the
train you didn’t know who was down or what was going on.

My father was chairman of the Victoria Beach Club’s railway
committee. Every spring he would meet with senior C.N.R. officials
to discuss our service. After a few of these annual sessions my father
was able to influence officials to put on a through train to the Beach
at 1:10 pm. on Saturdays. It arrived at the Beach at 3:15 pm. and
proved very popular. Previously most of the trains to Victoria Beach

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