A Day to Remember – September 19, 1958 –Don White

On September 19, 1958 my family and I were invited to a wedding reception in the Perth Town Hall for Dick Warr and Shirley Code. My parents were unable to attend so it looked like another quiet Friday night unless I hopped on shank’s mare and walked the 5 kilometres to Innisville, the nearest village.*Enter fate, stage left*. Our landlord and his wife, Art and Lena McCall, were also invited to the reception and asked if I’d like to go with them. So at 9 PM that evening I was on the loose in Perth at the dance.The first person I ran into that I knew was Ivan Malloch, an acquaintance from Drummond Centre.

He was a couple years older than I and had a car. We stood around an listened to the music for a while and then the band announced that they were going to play a square dance.Now being a Lanark County boy, fiddle tunes and square dancing were second nature to me so I started looking around for someone to dance with. That’s when Ivan pointed out a lovely young lady, Helen Ireton, sitting along the wall. He said she was a neighbour of his and she liked to dance. She was wearing a red sweate, plaid pleated skirt and slingback shoes and from where I was standing she looked fantastic. So, young buck that I was, I sauntered over and asked this vision of loveliness to dance. And she accepted! We ended up dancing together for most of the night.

Helen says the thing she remembers most about the way I was dressed was: how shiny my shoes were. That was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted 60 years. That 60 years has included being married 6 years later, moving to Ottawa, raising a son, and for the most part just enjoying life together. We’ve had many interesting experiences and I imagine we likely wouldn’t change any of it. And through it all I can safely say, we’ve stayed friends.

So I’d like to raise a glass of wine to Helen, my friend and lover for 60 years. ***News Flash***: I had to make a slight adjustment to the remembrance. After reading the posting, Helen pointed out to me that she wasn’t wearing a red sweater that night because she didn’t have one. She wore a brown plaid A-line skirt with a matching fitted vest and a white blouse. So I guess it just goes to show, I’m not infallible. But then, what husband is? Hmmmm… I wonder who it was I knew that wore a red sweater?

Don White

Grateful We’re Not Dead performing, “Over Sixty Blues” at Orchard View Living Centre on February 24, 2015. From left to right: Bruce Penniston, Don White, Gord Breedyk, and hidden in and angelic glow, Al Owler.

Lorraine Reynolds Patoine
**March 24, 2020** ·
White brothers. Grampa Walter White far left no date

Here is the info I have on all the children of Robert White (1835 – 1904) and Ann Jane Dafoe (1849 – 1924)White, Cinderella ElizabethBorn: 1867-07-16 – South Fredericksburgh Twp., L&A County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1899-07-23 – Bathurst Twp., Lanark County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Frederick DanielBorn: 1868-09-09 – South Fredericksburgh Twp., L&A County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1957-11-10 – Plevna, Clarendon Twp., Frontenac County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Charles AllenBorn: 1870-05-27 – South Fredericksburgh Twp., L&A County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1926-11-17 – Lanark County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Robert BenjaminBorn: 1872-01-06 – South Fredericksburgh Twp., L&A County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1941-07-21 – Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaWhite, John Nelson Born: 1874-02-19White, James IraBorn: 1876-03-26 – Venacher, Denbigh Twp., L&A County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1935-04-24 – Brantford, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Isaac Hedley Born: 1878-09-08White, Walter AnsonBorn: 1881-02-10 – Miller Twp., Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1960-06-13 – Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Mary HesterBorn: 1883-04-02 – Miller Twp., Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1971-11-02 – Newmarket, York County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, George BruceBorn: 1885-08-08 – Wensley Settlement, Miller Twp., Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1963-08-20 – Perth, Lanark, County, Ontario, CanadaWhite, Lydia Emily JaneBorn: 1887-11-11,Died: before 1901White, Dorothy JaneBorn: 1890-05-27 – Miller Twp., Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1965-12-15White, Lillie AnnBorn: 1892-11-18 – Sudbury, Ontario, Canada,Died: 1953-11-15 – Watsontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.