Letters written by William M. Leonard to Catherine and Wilford
| Date |
| Highlights |
| Nov. 10, 1949 |
|
Shocked by move to U.S. |
| Jan. 16, 1951 |
|
Funeral for Montie's wife Lena |
| Jan. 30, 1951 |
|
Not recognized by Leta/Robert in Boy Scouts/Betty excelling in public speech |
| Feb. 22, 1951 |
|
Wilford well and back to work/Robert's strange shy streak/Wesley's speach on The History of Marriage |
| Aug. 25, 1951 |
|
Wesley in Fiji, New Zealand/Douglas wields frying pan |
| Sept. 18, 1951 |
|
Betty about to marry/Douglas's feminine playmates/Robert and Jim shedding shells/preached to 4 on Sunday/Wesley bought motorcycle |
| Nov. 10, 1951 |
|
Douglas working as welder/Wilford talking about moving to Texas |
| Dec. 4, 1951 |
|
Children spoiled with too many Christmas presents/Clifford taking in Gordon/Montie in hospital/Wesley showing his color slides |
| Dec. 19, 1951 |
|
Alastaire & Jay romp when they ought to "Cuddle Doon"/Judith real smart, can read/deep snow |
| Jan. 3, 1952 |
|
3 foot snow drifts/Henderson visit |
| Mar. 3, 1952 |
|
Catherine studying Spanish/Montie's visit/Doug's car smashed, his Catholic girl/Jim moody with fallen arches |
| April 3, 1952 |
|
Grandchildren recovered from measles/offer to pay for trip to Minneapolis/Wesley in 250 voice choir, sent tape recording |
| April 26, 1952 |
|
Evelyn & Eric to move from Toronto to Ottawa/train to Minneapolis in May/Wesley has departed Auckland for Christchurch/Edith teaching English to Chinese boy/little preaching now |
| Sept. 19, 1952 |
|
Jim getting better grip on school work/Trilby singing feathers off/photos of changes in Chengtu campus, now in Communist hands, cruelty to Chinese Christians, suicide/Catherine's pretend radio broadcast in Fairground church/Warren's eyesight improving/Hildegards's froglike creeping |
| Oct. 6, 1952 |
|
Wesley seeing glaciers/their Mandarin not understood by Cantonese speaking visiting Chinese family so they used English |
| April 4, 1953 |
|
Robert's report card/Cowans plan move to Winnipeg/Henderson music in new Ottawa home |
| April 17, 1953 |
|
Douglas took friends to University of Life/Watson Park in hospital/Wilford weighs 142 lbs/thought too old to drive |
| July 13, 1953 |
|
Douglas getting Indian motorcycle/Warren grips keyboard when he hears a tune he likes/can't drive car/Cowans have fine home in Winnipeg |
| Aug. 26, 1953 |
|
Tour of Ottawa with Evelyn/car trouble/tried to sell Dodge for $375/Betty's prospective cherub |
| Nov. 4, 1953 |
|
Catherine's Christian Home article/Warren's accident/Wesley's bad fall/tried to carry everybody in church work for 12 years, found they liked to work a willing horse to death/Dodge up on blocks for the winter |
| Dec. 2, 1953 |
|
Clipping about Wilford on study wall/James' crystal set/Wesely has sewing machine |
| Dec. 26, 1953 |
|
Daily walk to post office, 3/4 mi. each way/Douglas home on Christmas leave from army/Wesley worries |
| Mar. 19, 1954 |
|
Wilford 17 days in hospital + 3 weeks home rest/fear Warren may have rheumatic fever/William on crutches, foot in cast/Hector broke arm in school tussle |
| Mar. 30, 1954 |
|
Cherub Linda/Eric buys the Dodge/Edith visited with siblings Evelyn, Alfred and Herbert at the Maples |
| April 13, 1954 |
|
Cast off/22 voices in church choir/Toronto Subway opened/more advice for Robert & James |
| April 24, 1954 |
|
Photos of Linda received/Murray's "original" mother visited |
| July 8, 1954 |
|
Betty and Murray depart for Fredericton/Douglas to wed in Colorado/recalls being in the Highland Light Infantry in Scotland over 50 years earlier/Edith attended college 50th reunion/Robert's deep voice/James interested in nature/Warren to be pianist/Wesley studying theology |
| July 26, 1954 |
|
Edith just out of hospital/Robert's operation/Wilford's health |
| Sept. 3, 1954 |
|
Concern over Wilford's hospitalizations/Henderson family visited with the Dodge/first preaching engagement in 15 months/Cowan's visit to Minneapolis |
| Sept. 22, 1954 |
|
Montie and his wife visited/Bert chief at CBC/Wesley seeking position as Mechanical Missionary in Solomon Islands |
| Oct. 25, 1954 |
|
Wilford well/Catherine's good health report/Wesley weighs 136 lbs. |
| Nov. 12, 1954 |
|
Catherine's Spanish, interest in going south/recalls getting on better with the Chinese when he knew the language better/Eric's field work in Labrador/no prostate operation/finishing 27" high, 3x2 foot table using walnut from The Maples for Edith |
| Dec. 15, 1954 |
|
Edith has cataracts/Alice painting/Wesley to go to Solomon Islands as missionary/non-Anglo Saxons and the movement toward a very undesirable dictotorhsip/Herb living at The Maples and driving nice Packard/just got $25.95 vacuum cleaner, a fine labor-saver for Edith |
| Jan. 14, 1955 |
|
Catherine's tests to find cause of illness/Edith's sciatica/William's hearing loss/Alastaire progressing musically, getting over tic/grandchildren skating/Wesley touring Australia before 21 days at sea to reach Solomon Islands |
| Feb. 5, 1955 |
|
Catherine's passing |
| Feb. 17, 1955 |
|
Moved by Warren's wee letter/wish to keep very precious description of journey from Chengtu to Chungking that Catherine wrote at 13/Catherine's poems |
| Aug. 30, 1955 |
|
"We are very much surprised to learn that you are to be re-married on Sept. 23rd." "We appreciate your motive in having such a partner to mother your boys thru their teen-age period." |