CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
FAREWELL LOUISA
Lying on the verandah with the afternoon sun streaming through the shutters, Louisa reflected on the years after Sugar Loaf Inn. She had moved on after John’s death. There were just too many painful memories there.
The 1890s had seen her as the Publican of the Bank Hotel. Gunnedah had changed over the years. Where once there were dusty roads and a sprinkling of buildings, there now were buildings lining the streets on both sides.
At the turn of the century needing to slow down she decided to purchase the Imperial Hotel and run a lodging house from it. She had employed a Publican this time, as her days of serving behind the bar were getting too much for her. She would continue with the lodgers though, with the help of staff, all she really had to do was take the money.
She remembered with pride writing the advertisement she had placed in many newspapers over the years, word for word:
1915 was a year of unease, there was a war overseas and more and more young men and not so young men, were joining the ranks of fighting soldiers.
Louisa prayed daily that none of her family would be involved.
She feared that it wouldn’t be long before Peter signed up. His restless spirit and eagerness to see the world was calling him to greater things. He lived in Western Australia now, no doubt getting ready to enlist.[23] At 41 years of age, she thought he would be content to stay at home, but without a wife he had never settled, as the others had.
She was proud of her working history. She had made a good life for herself and her children.They were spread around the country and district. She no longer saw them as much as she wished. But memories stood her in good stead.
Drifting in and out of sleep, she remembered the warmth of her Alfred’s smile when he came home from the goldfields. Then the sparking blue eyes of her August, when he poked fun at her. All of her babies sweet laughter. Her gentle John’s concern for everyone around him and his devotion to Ethel. She remembered her gift from August, her last child, Frances.
She remembered the heartache of loss and hard times and hard work. Most of all she remembered the joys of family.
She was so tired today. Maybe a little nap might be in order.
Louisa was found later that day, 4th December, 1915, unconscious with a smile on her face. She was taken to Gunnedah Hospital, where she later died of a Cerebral Embolism.[24] Those of her children still in the area were at her bedside.
She looked at peace with the sweet smile still on her face.
Her death certificate, stated her age as 66.[25] Not old by any means, except maybe for her hard life.
22 Advertising (1900, May 26). The Worker (Wagga, NSW : 1892 - 1913), p. 6. Retrieved May 27, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145904515
23 Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), http://www.ancestry.com.au.
24 NSW Death Registration Transcription, Ref No 1915/15291, Louisa Engstrom,Ref No 879450 Printed 27 September 2016, http://nswtranscriptions.com.au
25 NSW Death Registration Transcription, Ref No 1915/15291, Louisa Engstrom,Ref No 879450 Printed 27 September 2016, http://nswtranscriptions.com.au
She remembered with pride writing the advertisement she had placed in many newspapers over the years, word for word:
GUNNEDAH IMPERIAL HOTEL (late Mrs Breen’s) Barber St, Gunnedah. Mrs Louisa Engstrom Proprietress. Commodious commercial rooms. First-class accommodation for visitors. Private rooms for families. Good stabling, loose boxes and convenient accommodation paddock. A free bus to the hotel meets every train. [22]
1915 was a year of unease, there was a war overseas and more and more young men and not so young men, were joining the ranks of fighting soldiers.
Louisa prayed daily that none of her family would be involved.
She feared that it wouldn’t be long before Peter signed up. His restless spirit and eagerness to see the world was calling him to greater things. He lived in Western Australia now, no doubt getting ready to enlist.[23] At 41 years of age, she thought he would be content to stay at home, but without a wife he had never settled, as the others had.
She was proud of her working history. She had made a good life for herself and her children.They were spread around the country and district. She no longer saw them as much as she wished. But memories stood her in good stead.
Drifting in and out of sleep, she remembered the warmth of her Alfred’s smile when he came home from the goldfields. Then the sparking blue eyes of her August, when he poked fun at her. All of her babies sweet laughter. Her gentle John’s concern for everyone around him and his devotion to Ethel. She remembered her gift from August, her last child, Frances.
She remembered the heartache of loss and hard times and hard work. Most of all she remembered the joys of family.
She was so tired today. Maybe a little nap might be in order.
Louisa was found later that day, 4th December, 1915, unconscious with a smile on her face. She was taken to Gunnedah Hospital, where she later died of a Cerebral Embolism.[24] Those of her children still in the area were at her bedside.
She looked at peace with the sweet smile still on her face.
Her death certificate, stated her age as 66.[25] Not old by any means, except maybe for her hard life.
22 Advertising (1900, May 26). The Worker (Wagga, NSW : 1892 - 1913), p. 6. Retrieved May 27, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145904515
23 Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), http://www.ancestry.com.au.
24 NSW Death Registration Transcription, Ref No 1915/15291, Louisa Engstrom,Ref No 879450 Printed 27 September 2016, http://nswtranscriptions.com.au
25 NSW Death Registration Transcription, Ref No 1915/15291, Louisa Engstrom,Ref No 879450 Printed 27 September 2016, http://nswtranscriptions.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment