Local Lives Lived
Pearl Crawford, first daughter and second of eight children to parents Sam Crawford and Rose Young, was born July 27th, 1920 in Thornby, Quebec.
A rare fine gem: handywoman, designer, seamstress, knitter, woodworker, butterfly lady, teacher, soap maker, storyteller, author, historian, genealogist, social activist, rock hound, and nature lover, Pearl was an environmentalist before her time reusing and recycling anything and everything to make the most of what nature provided.
This would be attributed to her early life on the farm where life was a struggle. Her father, Sam, often worked away from home to support the family while Mother, Rose, did her best to adjust to country life. In those days, there were few, if any, luxuries. Nonetheless, Pearl and her siblings found ways to amuse and entertain themselves. Throughout her life, she loved all the things in her natural world and environment.
Quick and curious, as a child, Pearl desperately wanted to go to school. Of course, this meant walking long distances (probably uphill both ways). Eventually, she had to leave home to live with relatives to be closer to the school.
She met and married an Irish bachelor, Wilson McCleary, in 1941. Together they raised four children. She once wrote that her greatest pride and achievement in life was “Having helped to raise four first-class children”. Nothing gave Pearl greater pleasure than to be surrounded by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Whether you were related by blood or an honourary family member you were always welcomed by Pearl.
Fascinated by plants, she kept a beautiful garden for as long as she was able. Her gardens were always a marvel and she graciously dispensed the bounty they provided, Visitors seldomly left emptyhanded, there were always shelves full of pickles and preserves to be shared. Pearl was so very interested in plants that she began to collect them and keep records beyond a standard gardening journal, prompting her to eventually publish a book, a way to share her experience, called “Beauty Found By The Wayside”.
Never wanting people to forget where they came from or the people who came before them, Pearl researched and recorded genealogical information and shared her memories, remembered stories, and anecdotes in yet another book, “The Days Before Yesterday”.
By all accounts, Pearl had a curious mind and a life-long passion for learning. If she put her mind to something it seemed there was nothing she couldn’t do. She made soap the old-fashioned way with animal fat and lye. She designed and built a table because she wanted one to fit a certain spot. She could eyeball your derriere and custom make a pair of underwear from recycled material.
Pearl had a fascination with butterflies. She loved to watch a caterpillar form into a chrysalis and then metamorphose into a beautiful butterfly. If you were one of the lucky ones, you got a demonstration of this process in her kitchen. When the wings were dry, she would take the butterfly outside and set it free.
Pearl was taken to the hospital on November 18 after a fall at home where she lived alone. She was “set free” on, December 16, 2018. She was 98.
Submitted by Joyce Binder & Jill Nicolic
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