An Emotional Day

Today is Wednesday, March 03, 2010. One year ago we lost Mom. When I mentioned this to Jack a few days ago, he said, “I can’t even think about that week. It makes me feel sick.” We really did push Jack that week and as much as I tried to get him to stay at his mother’s house, he wouldn’t. He paid the toll when his body started attacking the good red blood cells. Luckily we got through that.
So as I share with you my wonderful finds today, maybe it was a little understanding that I sobbed in the library and at a grave yard.
Today I went into Christchurch to the central public library. The library is in downtown Christchurch and for the first time I was in a metropolitan city. I think it is only about 10 blocks square. I parked on the north side of Hadley Park. In the center of Christchurch there is a park about the size of the metropolitan part. The park consists of a golf course and botanical gardens. They are busy getting ready for their annual flower show that starts next week. From my car to the library was about one mile.
There are several schools in the area and students were walking every direction. The schools here all have uniforms. Today I followed a group of 14-16 year old young men in white dress shirts and ties. They were wearing dress dark shorts with knee length white dress socks and dress black shoes. As I was listening to them talk, I began to imagine myself in Harry Potter land minus the Griffindore scarves and quiditch brooms.
I got to the library and immediately the assistant had me looking in the religious cemetery records. She got me the name of my Great Great Grandfather and mother and where they were buried. This was the first time a began to cry. I had actually found a place to look for them. She then showed me where the card catalogue was and I spent several hours looking up the names of all family members, getting births/marriages/deaths for most of them.
I finally had to leave and grab something to eat. I drove to St. Paul’s Anglican church, build in 1851…yes it is still there and a working church…I began wondering the grave yard. This was the church where Jane and her sister’s were christened. In fact, Emily may have been married there; still checking on that one. After walking all through the grave yard (the church was locked), I started looking at the list of people that were supposed to be buried by Charles Watson and Hannah Parkes Rowntree. Not all graves have stones on them or grave markers that could be read. I went grave by grave until the second to the last on the row. It was covered in lichen and unreadable. I grabbed a credit card out of my wallet and started scrapping it off and found “Rowntree”. I had found them…this was the second time a sat and bawled. Of course this was the day my camera battery went dead, but the grave marker said:
In Loving Memory of
Hannah Rowntree
Died 28th Nov. 1915 aged 74
Also her husband
Charles Watson Rowntree
Died 28th Aug. 1925 aged 85
At rest”
There was an interesting note in the bottom right hand corner. “Original headstone vandalized – replacement stone financed by descendants in NZ and USA.”
So tomorrow, March 3rd will be a beautiful day for those of you in the US. We get to remember Mom. I hope she would be proud of us and be pleased at how we have taken care of Dad and each other.