Nina d/o James Archbald & Jenny Ryan was born in Flatlands, New Brunswick, on Apr 15 1896.
FLATLANDS
She passed away decades ago, but used to tell her daughters Norm and Dell bedtime stories about life back in Northwest New Brunswick. Nina insisted that being shat upon by a seagull brought good luck. We know she loved to skate across the frozen surface of the Restigouche. She was dancing in a hayloft during a halloween party and fell through the open hatch into a barrel of apples. Nina started playing the piano at church - the Presbyterians in the morning and Baptists at night - since she was nine years old.
On Sunday afternoons, the family used to go across the Restigouche to Jenny’s parent’s home. Both Nina and Ora Jane dreaded the ordeal. They were made to sit still, in their best clothing, while the adults talked. . Their grandmother Ellen "was a strict old lady, who believed children were to be seen and not heard", Nina once told me. Ora Jane added that, "She wouldn't let Nina play her piano!"
Nina was 15 and had managed to earn enough money from teaching piano to pay for her train ticket when Jenny took the family West in 1911.
ARRIVING IN VANCOUVER
After a brief stay in Bellingham, Jenny moved the family into the top floor of the house 672 Homer Street in Vancouver. She rented the downstairs rooms out to boarders.
As the opportunities arose, Jenny found her older daughters jobs. Nina initially dusted china, and then was hired by B.C. Electric.
Her two oldest brothers served during the First World War. Wesley was killed in a tragic airplane accident. Lindsay came back changed. He drank heavily and had difficulty communicating with people. His situation was complicated by venereal disease. Nina was so disgusted that she wouldn’t have anything to do with him!
MARRIAGE
The day her friend May Cross introduced Nina to her brother, Nina knew she wanted to marry him. Jack Cross the first time they met. He was a short, slender man, with wavy brown hair and blue eyes that often sparkled with a genuine interest in whoever he was talking to. Everyone liked him.
Only he was engaged to Elsie McAllister at the time. So when Jack asked her for a date, Nina said no. It wouldn’t have been proper. Then Elsie perished in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.
Jack and Nina were married in New Westminster on January 21st 1920. They honeymooned in Victoria’s elegant Empress Hotel, and would return there for every subsequent anniversary.
Money was tight during those first years. Jack went into partnership with his former supervisor Gus Cowdrey. One week Jack had no money left to give his wife for groceries. He came home unusually sombre, and, guessing what had happened, Nina put out peanut butter and crackers. They were both laughed about the incident in the years to come, and so it passed into our family’s mythology.
THE LARGER FAMILY
They stayed in close contact with the Cross family. Mae married Jon Ross sometime during the early 1920’s. Uncle Bill, who my mother calls the sweetest of Cross family, remained single. Jack employed him through by Dominion Machinery for a time, but primarily made his living painting houses. Olive’s husband, Bill Lee, was a clothier in Vancouver. Norm mentions her being very joyful and the mother of four daughters.
Nina didn’t like Barnie, the only one of the Cross family who finished high school. Neither did her daughters. They say he couldn’t hold his liqueur. He once came Jack’s, seeking an argument with his brother Bill, who was then painting the house. The two men had started screaming. Nina, worried because Bill had only recently been released from the hospital with a bleeding ulcer, attempted to intervene. Barnie struck her. The two brothers stated fighting, and soon Bill was pressed under the sink with blood pouring from his face. Nina watched, aghast, while Norm attempted to separate the two men. Barnie left, swearing that he would return, while Bill shouted he’d tell Jack about the entire affair.
Then there were the Smiths. Agnes’ father, John Henry Smith, came to stay with her sometime during the late 1920’s. He had been a widower since his wife Ellen’s death in 1918. John is said to have enjoyed a good stiff tot every night before retiring, and had a talent for picking out the winners of girlie shows. Both mom and Norm appreciated their spry little great grandfather. He died after being bitten by a Spitz dog. His death certificate states he was 87 when he inflicted by “septica caused by bite of dog July 16 1928." He survived another 7 days, before passing away in St Paul's hospital.
FIRST HOME
In 1924, the family moved into their first home. Prior to that they had always rented. Seven steps led up to the little porch and front door of 489 East 16th Avenue. They possessed a tiny yard, an attic and a basement. The largest room was the kitchen, but their living room held Nina’s beloved piano. Their two daughters shared a room and a bed.
That was the year that Jack and Gus launched Dominion Machinery on Granville Island. The only bathroom was a 4 by 4, concealed from view, but suspended over the waters of False Creek. My grandmother Nina probably never used it.
In contrast to Gus’ wife, whose advice was frequently sought by the two men, she had little involvement with the business. Her early visits to Dominion Machinery were primarily concerned with obtaining the car. Having taken a tram to Granville Island, she would then drive to Woodwards or, her favourite store, Spencers. Though “a cutie”, Nina possessed a dignified reserve which caused the same men who referred to her husband as “Jack” to call her “Mrs Cross”.
SECOND HOUSE
By 1928 Jack Cross was now earning enough to purchase a much larger house at 2726 West 29th avenue, close to the University Endowment Lands. The house lay perched on top of a grassy elevation. A rock wall held back the hillside from the street, and stone stairs led up to the lawn above. All of Vancouver’s rooftops seemed to unfold below. After moving there, the Cross girls were given their first dog, “Scrappy”. Nina wouldn’t allow him inside the house and never admitted that he wasn’t a pure-bred.
The Cross family acquired a radio. Nina kept it in the Living room, which was out of bound most of the time. On Sundays they would listen together, and Jack would roar at the antics of Amos and Andy. Dell didn’t think they were very funny, but enjoyed Jack Benny. She and Norm also listened to adventure programs like “The Shadow” during the week.
AFTER JACK'S DEATH
Jack and Nina bought a 40 acre parcel in Maple Ridge during1937 and eventually retired there in 1960. This is where Jack died in 1967.
The first year or two after Jack’s death, she would frequently break down into tears. She and mom sometimes went down to Reno. They used to enjoy taking in the shows as much as gambling. One of the highlights was meeting “the Ink Spots” at their table after one performance.
MY MEMORIES OF NINA
One of my earliest memories of Nina revolves around my first sports day. I was in line to do the standing broad jump and, being an underachiever, probably wouldn’t have done that well had Nina not approached me. She said that she had looked over the competition and it was obvious I was going to come in first. I believed her, and did it.
I was in high school when Nina gave me a Rolling Stones record for Christmas. I doubt she realized that the title song – “Satisfaction” – referred to sex, but she nicely did ask that I not play that noise when she was around. Words like “cute” or “nice” fit my grandmother, who smiled much of the time. Nina also tried to humour me, and often pounded out “If I had a hammer” on her piano. (She didn’t sound anything like Peter, Paul and Mary!)
GOING EAST IN 1977
Vera, Nina and Ora Jane went back east in 1977. One of the old timers immediately recognized them as the Archibald sisters, when they appeared in Flatlands. They must have visited the house where they grew up, for three years later Nina gave me Joyce Archibald’s name and address. Ora doesn’t seem to have known that her favourite uncle (Charles Archibald) had married, and the widow living next door was her Aunt Sadie. The sisters traveled on to Dartmouth Nova Scotia, where they met the family of Vera’s late husband (Arnold Hines).
LAST YEARS
Some of the family believed that Nina had the skill to be a concert pianist. She was in her eighties before she finally allowed herself to play publicly. She joined the merrymakers: a band of older musicians who played at local parties. Around that time, she was introduced as Queen Victoria’s direct descendant at a party. Her hooded eyelids and heavy jowls gave Nina a strong resemblance to the late queen, besides – Nina believed the story! Unfortunately, Nina was already feeling the effects of arthritis in her hands and was going blind.
Nina moved in with Norm and Stan during her final years and used to often visit her daughter Dell.
She died in 1982.