That Was Then, This Is Now (1)

                                        Photo dated on back: May 2, 1948.

                                Edith Sweeney Morrissey outside of 11th Avenue cottage.

                            Ivy Lewis Morrissey and her son, Herb Morrissey, dated 1948.

                            My Uncle Alex and Auntie Ivy (late 1950s).  ; that was then ...

                                                                 ... this is now.

From the mid-1940s to the late 1960s various members of our family had summer cottages in St. Eustache, now a half hour commute to Montreal. In the top photo, my grandmother is outside of the cottage on 11th Avenue that she bought with my Uncle Alex. In the summer my grandmother, Aunt Mable, Uncle Alex and Auntie Ivy lived together, escaping the heat of the city. My parents had a summer house built for them, but after my father died in 1956 the house was sold and my mother rented a cottage across the street from my grandmother's. They were happy summers surrounded by family. I was warned to never return to St. Eustache, that it is unrecognizable. They were right. The summer cottages have been winterized, the trees that lined the street have been cut down, and where we swam at the bottom of the street has been made into a park. Instead of summer cottages and country, the area (north of Montreal) is now expressways, big box stores, and suburban housing. What we had is gone forever.