Grandchildren are a vital part of Kathleen’s life — and she of theirs. She never missed a special event in each of their lives. All looked forward

to a visit to “Grammie’s” house, and a lively game of cards and other entertainment. Because all members of the family were frequent visitors to the home on Riverview Drive, the grandchildren quickly became part of a large and growing extended family.

The Wednesday lunches provided a unique opportunity for Kathleen and her grandchildren to get together. This was their own special time. Since most attended nearby schools, like Spring Park in the elementary years, and Queen Charlotte and Colonel Grey in junior and senior

high school years, they were all able to come on their own. Over the course of the lunch hour, the younger ones might play in the basement, while the older ones congregated in the kitchen and the family room. All came together to eat. Over time, as many as 10 to 15 grandchildren would crowd around the kitchen table and at another table set up in the adjacent family room on Riverview Drive, happily chatting with their grandmother and with one another. Those Wednesday lunches with Grammie became one of the most memorable and treasured experiences of their school years.

Lunch invariably consisted of a combination of hot dogs, french fries, American chop suey (hamburger, macaroni and tomato soup), or Kraft dinner, accompanied by copious amounts of Kool—aid (grape was a perennial favourite) or sundaes (chocolate) and chocolate cookies. If someone was having a birthday, Mary Jane would drop by with a cake to celebrate the occasion. At special times of the year, graduation for example, a pizza would be ordered in. Kathleen also kept a container filled with candies and peppermints that each would reach into for a handful before they went back to school. (It is very probable that the “sugar high” that resulted from those Wednesday lunches made for a more active student in the afternoon classes, perhaps to the consternation of their teachers.)

180 KATHLEEN MURPHY, MAITRIARC