Petit Pitts, aka Sonny, Cherry, Richard, Dick, Dad, Grandpa

On March 4th of 1927, the Citizen carried a most interesting story on its social pages. Interesting not so much in what it said, really, because it was quite typical of the stories that are captured for social pages:

“BIRTHDAY PARTY - Mr. and Mrs. T. Cherryholmes, 413 Gloucester street, were hosts to a number of friends who gathered to celebrate the birthday anniversary of their son, Master Richard Cherryholmes. A buffet supper was served and there was music and dancing of an informal nature. Those present were Mr. & Mrs. G. M. Sinclair, Mrs. W. T. Sinclair, Mr. and Mrs. S. Watson, Mrs. J.W. McCarthy, the Misses H. Huggenz, M. Ryder, A. Stone, L. Gallagher, C. MacDonald and M. Sinclair, and Messrs. M. O’Farrell, J. P. Sullivan, J. P Foy, G. Baker, R. B. Morley.”

The birthday being marked was the child's first birthday.

How do I know?

Because the child, Master Richard Cherryholmes (the addition of the 's' on the surname in the above article is another example of how genealogical research errors are generated) was my father and he was born on 2 March 1926.

Finding the above clipping was such a delight for me because never in a million years would I have thought that my grandparents' lifestyle would have merited mention on the social pages of the Citizen newspaper.

I wonder who all those people were who attended my dad's first birthday party? None of the names is known to me.

My father was six years younger than his older sister.  An infant son had died the year before my father was born so perhaps his parents were especially celebratory of his presence in the household.

Whoever all those people were, I'm quite sure they enjoyed the festivities of the day; I doubt that my father  had any recollection of it.

My father was obviously given the middle name 'Romeo' in honour of his godfather, whoever he may have been.  His godmother was his mother's sister, his Aunt Yvonne (my grand aunt).  In no other papers have I found reference to his godfather's name.  Until I found the baptismal record, I had no idea why my father's middle name was Romeo.

He had managed to become somewhat indulged by his mother and older sister by the time his twin brothers joined the family six years later.

Raymond, Jeannette, Victor, and Richard Cherryholme   c1968

When he was only twelve years old, he met the young girl who would later become his wife and the mother of his eight children.  He completed grade 10 at Ottawa Technical High School in 1941, receiving his Intermediate Certificate for completion of the required course of study.

After marrying my mother in August of 1943, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in October of the same year, serving as air gunner for two years and five months, including one year in the United Kingdom and India. He was discharged on 15 March 1946, having been awarded the 1939/45 Star, the CVSM and Clasp, and Air Gunners Badge.

Richard Cherryholme is sitting in front, second from left.  c1946
(The man standing in back at the far left was my boss in the
federal department of Public Works in the 1970s)

That first year of his marriage, while he was in the Air Force, I'm guessing that he must have wanted to do something a little "special" to mark his new wife's birthday (December 3rd).  In amongst my father's papers was a most intriguing document:

Near as I can tell, it's a contract for a four-man vaudeville team to perform for four hours on the evening of Sunday, December 1, 1943 ($50.00 included the rental of the hall).  My mother's birthday was December 3rd so I'm drawing the conclusion that the event being celebrated was her 18th birthday.  (On the back of the document is written the name of the man who was my boss in the 1970s; he may have arranged the event to preserve the secrecy.)

I also came across a photo card that appears to have served as a place setting for what I now know was a popular night club in New York, 'Sammy's Bowery Follies.'  I'm fairly certain this visit occurred several years after the 1943 Vaudeville incident because I would guess that the photo was taken some time in the late 1960s.

My father always loved schtick comedy (Red Skelton was a particular favourite); I guess I now know from where he got a lot of his material!

Their first baby came along very quickly and my mother lived with her in-laws, caring for my older brother while my father served during World War II.   But he certainly kept in touch with his young wife.

That last one, dated February 1946, says he'll be home soon (he was discharged from the Service on March 15th).  He made it home safely and their second baby (a girl) arrived in January of 1947.

Two more girls were added to the family, in 1948 and 1949, before my parents moved to Aylmer with their growing family of four children in 1950.  I joined the gang in August of that year.

Bonnie tries to grab her father's nose, 1951

By 1954, our family had expanded by another girl and another boy.

I'm not exactly sure why my father was in Saskatchewan in 1955 (I vaguely recall hearing that he was 'out west' at the time).  And I don't know who 'Beef' was who would have given him word of the news that was sending him home in a hurry when he sent this message to my mother:

The news he would have received was that his eighth child, a sixth daughter, had been born on the 11th of May!   Obviously, he was anxious to be home.  'Beef' may have been a nickname for my Uncle, and if I had to guess which one, I would pick my Uncle Bob, who was a rather large man (he was married to my mother's sister Joan and the four of them were tight as thieves).

So it would seem that my father was out of town for the births of both his first and last children; the family's growth stopped at six girls and two boys.

We only lived in Aylmer for seven years, but my father must have been eager to be active in the community.

Throughout our years in Aylmer, (and, as I found out from the newspaper archives, for a few years after we moved to Ottawa), my father was a member of the Lions Club.  I can recall the many community activities we attended in the centre of town and I've had great fun retrieving newspaper articles reporting on the events (soap box derbies; hopscotch and marble tournaments; beauty pageants; beautiful baby contests; costume judging; and of course, picnics). 

In the photo above, my father is blowing up a balloon
while I (ever curious) peer into the box.   1954

I haven't been able to verify which year my father joined the Lions, but by 1953, he was certainly a member:

1954 June 21:  "Presentation of perfect attendance pins to ... Dick Cherryholme ..."  (This proves his having joined in at least 1953 in order for him to have received that pin at the 1954 annual charter night.)

1954 Sept 7: "...Richard Cherryholme headed the events committee ..."

1955 May 19: "Claude Burns was elected president ... directors ... Dick Cherryholme ..."  (Surprisingly enough, I remember Claude Burns.)

1956 Apr 16: "... is asked to call ... or Dick Cherryholme in Aylmer at MU 4-5806."

And by 1956, he was President of the Aylmer Lions' Club:

I also have very fond memories of George Taylor, a dear old blind gentleman who, in spite of never having seen any of us, recognized each of us by name merely by the sound of our footsteps.  We all loved him dearly and delighted in accompanying our father on visits to his home.

1956 Sept 4:  "... was presented bouquets by Lions President Richard Cherryholme's daughter Linda ..."   (Another sister, Wendy, tells me that she recalls presenting flowers once too but I've not been able to find a clipping that reports that event.)

1956 Nov 7:  " ... Lionettes held a sherry party in aid of the club's welfare work.  Assisting were ... Mrs. Richard Cherryholme..."  (Not normally comfortable with this type of setting, I guess as wife of the president, my mother had an obligation to participate in the Lionette's activities.  This must have been one of those memorable occasions when my father babysat us.  Oh, the stories we heard!)

1957 Apr 29: "...On hand during the contests were Aylmer Lions president, Richard Cherryholme ..."

1959 May 28: "Lions Install New Officers: ... directors, ... and Richard Cherryholme. ..." (We had moved to Ottawa by September of 1957 but obviously my father remained a member of the Aylmer chapter.)

Although he was baptised Catholic, my father was not a religious person.  But he supported my mother in her devout Catholicism so we were educated in the Catholic school system and were made to go to Mass every Sunday (yes, I said, "made to go to Mass" -- I guess I'm a chip off the old block).  

Catherine Bonnie Cherryholme' s First Communion, May 1957

My father had been working at the Department of Munitions and Supply following his discharge from the Air Force.  In July, 1957 he took a job with Railway & Power Corporation (later called CanRep Ltd.).  That's when we moved to Ottawa.  He eventually became Eastern sales manager, and he was on the road more than he was home, but the family thrived under my mother's management. 

He was, however, home for important occasions in our lives:

 Wendy Cherryholme's Wedding

In 1973, my father's job took them to Montreal and a mere two years later he was relocated to Toronto.

My father didn't take much interest in infants while they were squirming, crying babies but he sure did enjoy them once they were toddling and could interact with him.  And the kids loved his antics!

Grandpa sleeps while Natalie plays, July 1979

Apparently, it's true:  the more things change, the more they stay the same.  My mother always told us that whenever my father babysat us, she came home to a household of pandemonium.  My father would be laying on the chesterfield with the newspaper spread across his face, and at least two of us would be bouncing on him while he slept.  The rest of us would be doing God-knows-what (read, whatever the hell we wanted). Thirty years later, he could still sleep while children played on him!

Throughout his life, my father was known by many monikers. 

In his youngest years, his parents called him "Petit Pitts."

As he got older, he was known as "Sonny" in his family and that carried through as that is what my mother called him, his sister addressed  him that way, a few of my aunts and uncles called him that, and some of my cousins called him Uncle Sonny.

Naturally, because of his surname, he answered to "Cherry" and he was Uncle Cherry to most of his many nephews and nieces.

And yes, he did answer to either Richard or Dick, if addressed that way (note the varying uses by the Lions Club, above).

But in our home, he was just called Dad or Daddy.

Eventually, he also answered to Grandpa.

Richard Romeo Cherryholme

2 Mar 1926 - 14 Dec 1979