CLARA PATON

 

Clara Patton (Randall)

Born -----------------------1925

 

Father: Roy Randall,

Mother: Melvin Theresa

Sister: Dorothy Randall (Salo)

Date: February 7^th 2006

 

What brought your father to Nipigon?

My father was a black smith and had to find work. We came in 1939; I don’t know if he came in 1939 as he was already here when my mother sister and I came.  He may have been here in 1938 I don’t know.

 

You came here from?

Okay where were we living oh Mafeking Manitoba. Oh and we lived in Barrows too, we lived in Barrows before that maybe that’s where we moved from, probably that’s where we moved from.

 

Who came with you?

Mother and Dorothy.

 

What was your Mother’s name?

Melvina Theresa

 

How old were you when you came to Nipigon?

Well I was born in 1925 that would make me 14, Dorothy was born in 1934 that would make Dorothy five.

 

Where did you live?

First we lived down by the CN tracks, over there under the bridge in a shack. I don’t know how long we were there I don’t remember being there in the winter so I think we moved before winter.

 

Did your Dad work for someone?

Well he came here to look for work he was a blacksmith he’d have to work in the bush he worked for Don Clark that I can remember.

 

You know that house where a Borsk girl lives (Marcia) that is where Don Clark lived.

 

 Then I don’t know who he (Dad) worked for after but he worked on the boats down there at the dock. Dad always wore an engineer cap. Mac McCullough would be an operator and Carl Ringham would be a machine operator. We are looking at an old picture of a boat and a few men, one that is Clara’s Dad.

 

Did you go to school?

I went to school in Mafeking but didn’t go to school when I came to Nipigon. I stayed home and worked, did the work in the house.

 

 Mother did leather work and she made jackets. She had to use sinue and square needles they were triangular had three sides she did bead work too. She was a very talented seamstress.

 

Was you Mom Native?

Yes she was, she was my adoptive mother and so was my natural mother native. She was dark so she had to have some native in her she came from Treherne Manitoba. Her last name was Bruce.

 

I worked at Zeckner’s and I was a cookie out at a camp in the Black Sturgeon some place for one winter then came back to Nipigon.

 

How did you meet your husband?

Oh he came back from the army. I guess I used to go down and visit Mrs. Patton before that. They lived down there in the area where Smutylo’s(101Railway) live. There used to be quite a few houses in that area. There was Gordon’s she used to be a nurse. His name was Stan Gordon I can remember his name but I can’t remember her name.

 

 I can remember Clyde and I were married already. Clyde’s Dad his name was John and his Mom;s name was Emma. Mrs. Patton and her sister came to Canada, they I guess the family couldn’t look after them in England so in those days I guess they were shipped to other places, kids were. Her last name I think was Stern. The sister I think her name was Ann; Clydes sister was named after her.

 

 Clyde’s sister Ann lived in Cameron Falls her husband worked for the hydro then he was transferred to Oakville and he committed suicide. We used to go visit them in Cameroon Falls they had a house there everybody rented, Ontario Hydro built houses out there.

 

Tell us about work Clara?

I started at Bell in 52 I remember because I got married in 52. Dorothy Dumas was the chief operator it was Bell telephone at the time and I don’t know what it was before. Yaw I know Vera Atkinson we worked together. Dorothy Dumas used to live in the house across from Silvia Lamay the big house like the story and one half, I don’t who lives there now.  I guess when they finished with operators at Bell that is when they went to automatic.

          Once we were done at Bell I went to work at Zechner’s.

                                  

 I think I was hired in 1975 at the plywood mill I can’t remember; I had my accident in 1979. I went back after my accident I had a hook still have it in the drawer I don’t use it any more though I don’t need it.

 

You retired in?

 

 

What was it like down town?

Of coarse all the bars were booming there was the Nipigon Inn, International, the Ovillio and The Normandie. That’s where we went a lot when Clyde was living the Normandie. Clyde and I and the Rasks, we chummed around quite a bit. Pete Prete owned the Normandie at the time.

 

 

 

What Year did Clyde die?

I don’t remember I know he was in that bedroom in there and he was not feeling good. I guess he lay down and I heard a noise or something and I called the doctor because he would not answer me.  I forget who the doctor was a tall skinny guy probably Workington, he lived some place up there (points up towards McKirdy. Probably it was Dr. Workinton because Dr. Harvey was here at the time. Then they took him to the hospital and I drove there and they looked at him and he had a ruptured artery going into the stomach or something. They could not fix him. They took him up town and I drove behind and by six in the morning he was gone. I drove up by myself then Archie and Dorothy came up because I called them.

They came and then Dorothy drove my car and Archie drove whatever they had. I think it was 1975 when he died.

 

Claira lives at 126 Seventh Street Nipigon with her dog Ashleigh. Claira also owns a camp at Stewart Lake where she spends most of the summer.

 

Claira has two nephews and one niece through her sister Dorothy (gone) and bother in law Archie Salo. They are Ron and Jim Salo and Lori (Salo) Davies. Claira also has relatives in Manitoba through her biological mother.