Storydello: Mona's Daughter

Mona's daughter was full of life and laughter. A year after her mother's death, she wrote a chatty letter to her grandfather Archie:

"My friend is having a house party. There are going to be nine girls.... We will take turns cooking. I'm afraid I'm not much of a cook but I can manage breakfast all right... Please congratulate Aunt Phyllis for me, she must be a very good golf player..."

Posted today on Storydello

Storydello: The Accident

Three years after Mona's singing performance for the Governor-General, tragedy struck. On a Saturday night during the Christmas holidays, she was driving home when her car hit a patch of ice. It spun around and crashed into a taxi. Mona was thrown against the steering wheel and died from her injuries.

Left behind were her husband Herbert and three children: Archie (17), Barbara (15) and Philip (9).

Posted today on Storydello.

Alphadello: S is for Swan

What graceful bird is this? It is a SWAN. See, how she bends her long neck and spreads out her great wings to catch the breeze. Swans pass almost all their time swimming in the water.

The text is from the book Stories about Birds, For Little Folks : Twenty-three Engravings, (Franklin Toys) [after 1855]. Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted today in the ABC of Birds on my blog Alphadello.

Storydello: Mona and the Governor-General

In 1927, Mona gave a singing performance for the Governor-General (Viscount Willingdon) and his wife during their visit to Vancouver.

Posted today on Storydello.

Storydello: Mona's Children

By 1921, Mona and her husband were running a busy household in Vancouver--with three children, a French nurse, and a Chinese cook named Wing.

Posted yesterday on Storydello.

Alphadello: R is for Robin

Birds enjoy the spray from a sprinkler or even from a hose...Further, a trickle of water in the right place may create the mud that is needed by robins and swallows in building their nests.

Attracting and Feeding Birds, Conservation Bulletin No. 1, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (1972). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Posted today on Alphadello.

Storydello: Mona's Music

The newlyweds went to live in Vancouver, where Mona's new husband ran a successful law practice. Mona, who was a talented and successful singer, continued to study and perform. She was soon known as "one of Vancouver's outstanding vocalists."

Posted today on Storydello.