Posted on by Susan Reaney

Goodbye to the Farm

August 2010 -- James Reaney's birthplace and childhood home near Stratford, Ontario.
August 2010 — James Reaney’s birthplace and childhood home near Stratford, Ontario.

August 15, 2015 — a sad day — we learned that the old farmhouse where James Reaney was born has been torn down. Our thanks to Laura Cudworth of The Stratford Beacon Herald for covering the story: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2015/08/22/the-childhood-home-of-renowned-south-easthope-author-james-reaney-has-been-torn-down

Fondly remembered by the Reaney, Cooke, and Chamberlin Franken families, here are photos of the farm as it was. If you remember the farm and have a photo to share, please get in touch.

 

Summer 1937 -- teh reaney farmhouse and the old barnyard (Photo by Elizabeth Crearar Reaney)
Summer 1937 — The Reaney farmhouse and the old barnyard.  The original barn was built in 1869, and the house was built in 1875.
Summer 1937 -- James Reaney's cousin Kathy Smith by the front garden (ECR)
Summer 1937 — James Reaney’s cousin Kathy Smith by the front garden.
ge 4) with his cousins, Elsie, Kathleen, and Mary, Summer 1930 near Stratford, Ontario.
Elsie, Kathleen, and Mary Smith with their cousin James Reaney (age 4) at the farm, Summer 1930.
James Reaney in the garden at the farm, July 1985 (Photo by Wilma McCaig).
James Reaney in the garden at the farm, July 1985. (Photo by Wilma McCaig)