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Note: Helen grew up on Kirk Farm in New Brunswick and came to Montreal in about 1937. When she married Bert and he went overseas, she spent the war years back on the farm in N.B. helping her parents. Back in Montreal in 1945, Bert and Helen rented rooms at 6 Campbell Ave in Montreal West until 1947 when they rented a summer cottage at 8 5th Ave, A Ma Baie. Dave (Helen's brother) and Margaret Thomson, newly married, rented the one next door. There was a severe housing shortage after the war and so, when Dave found a house at 69 O'Brien in Saint-Laurent in the fall of 1947, Bert, Helen and Diane moved in with them until February 1948 when the Allnutts were finally able to move into their new home at 442 St. Germain Blvd in Saint-Laurent. The number of the house later changed to 1480. Helen was a busy mother of 3 with the births of Robbie and Alan. She became very active in Home and School at Parkdale Elementary and at St. Andrew's United where she was General Superintendent of the Sunday School as well as one of the first female elders. She was president of the United Church Women and several times was chairperson of the Official Board of St. Andrew's - Norwood after the two congregations merged in 1971.
She was a loving, encouraging, interested mother and grandmother, always willing to help out. She entertained the family often and every summer the backyard at 1480 St. Germain would be the location of many delicious meals.
Some early memories by Helen Allnutt: There are 3 early events in my life that remain like clear glimpses of life on Kirk Farm. All must have happened when I was between 2 and 4 and the only reason they seem to have made an imprint on me was that each time, Mother was afraid.
The earliest, I believe, is when I was sitting on the front step and I was warm. The baby pram, a high-wheeled wicker one with a hood, was on the level piece of ground at the foot of the steps and the baby was asleep. That baby was Dave so I wasn't many months past 2. Tommy and Jimmy started rocking it back and forth and suddenly it went hurtling down the grade, ran over the big root of the Lombardy Poplar that was above ground, fell over on its side and baby and blankets were on a pile on the grass. Mother came off the verandah steps with a yell, "Do you want to kill your little brother?", bundled up all the blankets and baby and, with her free hand, administered a smack "on the dock" to the boys. And there the memory ends.
Maybe older members of the family can put a date on one of the other memories or it may be my imagination that works along with having heard Dad tell how 2 of his cattle were killed by lightening in the pasture. It seems to me that the pasture fence ran from west of the spring down to the road but did not include the dense alder bush stretch from there to the boundary of the farm. We were on the verandah and Dad said, "I do believe the young cattle have been struck" and Mother called from inside, "For Lord's sake, Tom, bring those bairns inside."
Then there was a fire set by the train and I think it was in the little field that was owned by Hazen Benson and part of Caleb Northup's. Mother took me up on the pasture hill to see if we could see how near it was as the air was heavy with smoke. There was a heavy black cloud going up into the sky and Mother hoped it would not turn windy. I think that was the only time we felt danger from a forest fire even though we were surrounded by woods.
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