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autograph book

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumartifact7129
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Accession Code
BV985.407.6
Repository
Burnaby Village Museum
Accession Code
BV985.407.6
Description
Autograph Book - Booklet -- [1915]. Autograph book produced by Rose & Co at 44 Above Bar, Southhampton. The book was a gift to Mrs. Orman from the Teachers and Children of All Saints Sunday School, Eastleigh, Southhampton, upon her departure to Canada. The first four pages lists all the teachers and children's names. The front cover of the book is green with two painted purple flowers and "Autographs" embossed in white on the bottom right.
Object History
This accession appears to be connected to the Orman family. Ada Leila Orman was born June 2, 1901 in Eastleigh, Hampshire, England. According to the 1915 Census, the Orman family came to Canada in 1911 and settled in Calgary. Father Willoughby Henry Orman is listed there as working as a C.P.R. foreman, while mother Daisy Marie (Harklett) Orman worked at home. Older sister Daisy Hilda (Targett) Orman, worked as a stenographer. At five years old Leila began a long fight with a crippling type of rheumatoid arthritis. By the time she was thirteen, she experienced completely ankylosed joints. Her family travelled all over hoping to find a cure, but to no avail. While living in Calgary, Leila developed an interest in painting, knitting, and composing her own poems. She began writing news articles for the Calgary Daily Herald in the 1930s, and her first sonnet published was in that paper on August 28, 1934. She had a strong interest in the arts, often writing about music and the visual arts. While living in Calgary, she became a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club as well as a member of the Canadian Author’s Association. Three members of the family moved to B.C. when Willoughby retired, ca. 1938. In the 1940 BC Directory, the family are listed as living at 407 Campbell Street, Burnaby. Willoughby died in Burnaby in 1945. Daisy Marie died in 1955 after living 15 years in Burnaby. Her address at the time of her death is listed as 407 Rosewood Avenue, Burnaby. Leila was living with her at that time. Older sister Daisy Hilda married Edgar Harold Targett in 1922. They moved to B.C. from Alberta some years after the other three members of the family (ca. 1962). Daisy Hilda died in 1972. Her address at the time of her death was 7969 Rosewood Avenue, Burnaby. Leila wrote on a typewriter with two sticks to type out the letters. She was an avid reader and was able to turn the pages with a special stick with elastic bands wound around the ends. Canadian novelist Maida Parlow French became her lifelong friend and encouraged her to write her own autobiography - unfortunately it was never finished. Leila wrote “The Giving Heart” in October of 1948. By 1952, she was writing a column for the British Columbia Saturday Magazine entitled “Across the Board” with the intention of inspiring other “incapacitated folk” to live up to their full potential, “If [she] could reach a few people, and encourage them to reach up and out, [she] should feel the effort well worthwhile.” A member of the St. Alban’s Prayer Healing Fellowship group, Leila wrote the “Christian Manifesto for World Peace” in 1963. The Prayer Group met twice monthly at one of the members’ homes and undertook to pray daily for the sick and for world peace. After Leila’s mother died in 1955, Leila’s friend Jeanie Brown kept house for her and was her constant companion. Jeanie Brown and Leila lived together for over thirteen years until an accident sent Leila to hospital and later to nursing home where she died on February 16, 1976.
Subjects
Documentary Artifacts
Documentary Artifacts - Booklets
Images
Less detail