Treasure

She was born in 1945, the youngest child of Bessie and Ern Smith of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Marie's parents were in their forties when she was born. This meant that as a young child, Marie had parents who were older that many of the parents of her friends and classmates.

It was as if she was raised by grandparents. In fact her oldest nephew is just seven years younger than Marie.

It is interesting to see the bank book which belonged to Marie's parents around the time of her birth. It shows that their bank balance was rarely more than $20.00, and many times they were overdrawn.

By this time, the boys in the family were old enough to work, so chances are they helped their parents. However, there were four other girls besides baby Marie at this time, and money must have been tight. Her oldest sister, Evelyn, told Marie that the day Marie was born at home, Evelyn took the other girls out of the house during the delivery.

As the youngest child, Marie was still at home when the other children were long gone. One by one, her older siblings left Corner Brook. Only Melvin remained and he was married with a family of his own. The others settled on the mainland or England, were married and had families of their own as well. Fred remained a bachelor but lived all over the world. Among the siblings, Marie was the constant at home with her parents.

Looking at the bank book, it is obvious that the Smiths were not wealthy people. However, they had a treasure in their youngest child, Marie, who stayed home and looked after them until they both passed away. A bank statement is a poor reflection of how blessed people really are.

Happy birthday, Aunt Marie! You deserve the best birthday ever!