Videos

Home Movie Clips

I wasn’t kidding when I described finding old home movie footage showing all the things Dad did with us. The clips are short – often less than a minute – and unfortunately most have canned music added by the person Mum hired in the 1970’s to transfer her spools of film to video.

From time to time I’ll add new ones, so check back for updates!

Miss Lightbourn’s School, 220 Reynolds St., Oakville (1958). I believe this is a graduation ceremony of some sort – perhaps across the street at the former Victoria Hall? (I am the second to last of the Grade Eights – as usual – and my brother, Chris, is waving at the end). Some kind of parents’ reception follows. There is very little on the Internet about Miss Lightbourn’s School which eventually amalgamated to become St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn, so I am posting this historic footage. Miss Ruth Lightbourn, who founded the school and was much loved, can be seen coming through the gate wearing long white gloves and there’s a close-up of her later in a blue hat with a white corsage.

Here is a clip of Dad pulling the antique roller.

Here he’s teaching us to fish.

See a production of The Princess Who Never Cried in our 1954 ‘Feather Theatre’ in the basement. Many in the “audience” are wearing their holsters. We had the princess peel an onion to elicit real tears, and made the audience stand at the end to sing God Save The Queen. My brother, Chris, stars as the polka-dot court jester, I am the King, Susan is the Queen, Diana is the princess and Bambi is the prince.

In 1959 we’re running through the garden in gangs. Boys had their “Pirates Club” and girls had their “Orioles Club” – each with separate clubhouse and rule books.

One summer we created a gold mine called, “Strike It Rich.” We painted lake stones yellow, buried them under the house, and then set up an Assay Office to weigh the gold nuggets.  It was dynamite!

In the summer of 1959, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip came to Canada on a Royal Tour. The St. Lawrence Seaway had just recently opened, and their Royal Yacht, the HMY Britannia, sailed right past our house. Everyone raced down to the lake to see it go by.

Granny’s  music box is an antique automaton. When the crank is turned, porcelain dolls play with their toys on Christmas morning to the tune of the German Christmas carol, O du fröhliche. It was purchased by my great grandfather, Emil Otto Nolting at FAO Schwartz, New York, in the 1890’s we believe.

After Mum died, Tashi showed me how to clean all the Oriental rugs the Tibetan way. Watch how we did it.

We had the house beautifully painted by the 360 painting team. They performed death-defying feats high up on the front of the house – and laughed all the time.

When my brother Robin came up to stay with me to help sort out Mum and Dad’s papers, he sometimes dressed in his kilt. Here he is in the pantry, loading the dishwasher, explaining why he keeps a pen in his sock.

This is historical footage of the main street of Oakville in 1959, during a Santa Claus Parade.

Mum playing tennis at the Oakville Club in 1953. Whenever we needed her, we could always find her there!