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Remembering Pauline McCague

July 4, 2013   ·   0 Comments

Dear editor:

June 12, 2013: Good afternoon everyone. Today we are gathered together in the presence of God to remember, to reflect upon, and to celebrate the life of our loved one, Pauline Lilias Margaret McCague Stewart, who was born on June 19, 1920, and who passed June 8, 2013. To me she was Aunt Polly.

Aunt Polly was born to Andrew and Hattie McCague on the family farm on the 9kth line of West Gwillumbury, along with her older brother Grenville, and her younger siblings Bernice, my Mom Ruth and Angus, the youngest. As the eldest of the 3 girls, it became her role to assist Grandma with the house responsibilities especially in the kitchen. Under Grandma’s wing so to speak, she was able to develop many skills that she utilized throughout her whole life, cooking, baking, pickling, preserving, knitting, crocheting, sewing and gardening, all of which served her so well when later, she and Uncle Fred raised their own family in their Centre Street home in Beeton.

Uncle Fred worked on the railroad and was often away many days at a time. When he was away, it fell to Aunt Polly to take care of the kids and all the house needs. When they were small, Dorothy, Donna and Bob were joined by our cousin Joan, who lived with the family for several years. Joan became their sister, and Aunt Polly became Joan’s second Mother. Soon the family was completed with the arrival of the youngest in the family, Valerie. I am told that Aunt Polly had an innate ability to make each of the kids feel like they were her favorite.

As well as caring for the family, Aunt Polly began to provide daycare for families in her home. Through the years numerous children in the community were taken care of by her in this way. This was not an 8 to 5 operation. Some kids were there for a couple of hours, some all day, and others a week at a time. The younger kids would be with her the entire day. When the school age kids returned after school she would make sure they did their homework, and that they had their supper before being picked up by their parents.  Aunt Polly also liked to exercise almost every day, and when she did all the kids, and even their big dog Muffet, would get down on the floor and participate. That was a long and busy day, and she did this for many years. Aunt Polly loved children and had an ability to connect with them making each child know that they were important and special.

In the home Aunt Polly was very handy at fixing things, like rewiring lamps and small appliances. She could be very resourceful. One time the bathroom sink had a crack in the drain pipe that needed attention. She had Donna and Bob sit on the bathroom floor chewing bubble gum. The assignment was to keep chewing until there was enough gum to seal the crack; she then covered the gum with tape and then painted it with white paint. The pipe held up for many years, right up till she sold the house. Sounds like she was an earlier version of Red Green.

At one time, Aunt Polly used to drive. One night she and Uncle Fred where returning from the Tottenham Legion. Even though her driver’s licence had recently expired, they decided it would be safer if she drove. However, when coming in the 8th line of Beeton, at night she hit a cow. Suddenly they were faced with a dilemma as to who should sit behind the wheel when the police arrived. This was Uncle Fred’s favorite story and he often teased her about it.

Aunt Polly was a member of the Beeton Horticultural Society for many years. She loved gardening and could make anything grow. She grew enough potatoes to last into February. She grew various types of fruit trees and even did some tree grafting. It was recalled that one of her neighbours, Tommy Jordan, was astonished when one day he discovered a walnut growing on one of her rose bushes. Many benefitted from her gardening and generosity by receiving gifts of plants and flowers. For example my sister Maria still has a Bleeding Heart plant given to her by Aunt Polly some years ago.

When her kids were older Aunt Polly began to branch out into activities that were surprising. For example, though she hated the cold of winter, she joined the afternoon curling club in Beeton and curled for many years. She loved the game and almost never missed. As well, though there were often card games in the Stewart home, she was never one to participate, she would always just watch. That is, until one day she joined her ladies’ Canasta Club which met every month. It was a wonderful social event that she enjoyed for more than forty years.

Aunt Polly loved music, dancing, and singing. She was also an avid reader. She was always reading a book, usually something with historical content, but only when she was not busy with her many other activities. She also enjoyed crafts, she would collect pine cones and make Christmas wreathes and centre pieces. One day she was looking at a drawing of an animal and told her friend, June Watson, that she wished she could stitch that type of picture on a pillow. June challenged her to look at it deeply to get all the colours and details right, and from there she became a painter with thread. She became so skilled that the Tiffin Conservation Centre commissioned her to stitch a black and white rendering of a great horned owl sitting in the moonlight. They were so pleased when she donated the picture that they gave her an original print.

One thing Aunt Polly was passionate about was politics, and the importance of participating in the political process.  Her mother told her about a time when women had not yet acquired the right to vote. When Grandma eventually did have the right to vote, she never missed an opportunity to do so, and neither did Aunt Polly. To her voting was not merely a privilege but a responsibility – not to participate for her was unthinkable.

All those years ago, when Aunt Polly would spend so many hours with her Mon in her childhood home, they developed a very close bond, and it was not too long ago that she was heart to say how much she missed her Mother.

Aunt Polly was a devoted wife to Uncle Fred who passed away in 1976. She was a wonderful mother, as well as grandmother to Jennifer, Donovan, Brian, Cheryl, Andrea, Melissa and Joline, and great grandmother to Jacob, Hazel, Evelyn, Lily and Aya. Her love for her family was clearly evident from the many pictures and other mementos that adorned her home.

She was also a devoted member of Trinity United Church, and a member of the Women’s Auxiliary. Aunt Polly was especially know and appreciated for the pies she contributed for important events and suppers. She believed in prayer, and dearly loved her church.

Our many thanks to our cousin Paul Catania, for writing and delivering this eulogy.

Paul Catania

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