Grand-maman Rose

Grand-maman Rose was born in rural Northern Ontario in 1908 and lived to the age of 91.  She lived long enough to see 100 direct descendants: 14 children pictured here, 35 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren.

Robert, Raymond, Gisèle, Gérard, Yvon, Yolande, Claire, Adrien, Grand-maman Rose, Grand-papa Ivanhoe, Albert, Micheline, Pierre, Michel, Muriel, Pierrette.

It was a rare moment when all her children were together.  Adrien, the oldest and an ordained priest, and Albert, attending the seminary, happened to both be home from their religious communities one weekend in 1948.  Grand-maman Rose took the opportunity to gather up her family, dress them to the nines, and have this portrait taken.

Not one of the girls had curly hair, and rags were used to create the look Claire, Pierrette, Micheline and Muriel all share.  My mother clearly remembers how efficient her mother was at twisting and tying the rags so the girls would be at their best on Sunday.  She remembers her father admiring all his girls in their finery, calling them his princesses.

In those days, there were no jerseys or rayons, no nylons or polyesters, no wrinkle-free synthetic fibres.  Your Sunday best had to be ironed. And if you wanted your look to last, you had to sit carefully on the skirt of your dress, hitch your pant legs just so, to avoid having a crushed or rumpled look.

This portrait is a testament to the rigour and discipline Grand-maman Rose held herself to -- and the discipline she meted out to her children often enough.  I have no doubt that all my aunts and uncles knew there would be heck to pay if a hair or a pleat or a collar or a sock were out of place, until the picture was taken.

As an army brat, I didn't live in Montréal with my slew of aunts and uncles and cousins.  Every visit was a treat: the noise, the laughter, the ready-made cousin-companions, the games, the food, the parties.  I think I ended up having a copy of this portrait because I wasn't always there -- that and the fact that Grand-Maman Rose was my god-mother.  I like to think she favoured me, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she found a way to make us all feel that way.