| With the war over and the dust storms of the thirties a faint memory, life became more livable for the large Winters family. Clarke took up fishing and curling and a family cabin was built on land leased at Dorothy Lake in the White Shell area of Manitoba. Clarke and Iola with their ever expanding family which now included grandchildren spent many lovely summers there. In 1962, Clarke and Iola bought their first brand new car. A candy apple red Chevy II! In May of 1963 they took their first trip travelling to Europe with their oldest daughter and her husband. They visited Duisberg, the Rhine Valley, Rome, Venice, the Italian Alps and Paris, France. In 1964, a series of minor accidents with his bus led to the discovery of cataract's growing in Clarke's right eye hindering his eyesight. While waiting for surgery Clarke and Iola took a trip to Las Vegas, Disneyland and Vancouver, British Columbia. His surgery a success Clarke returned to work driving bus for the Winnipeg Transit. Their two youngest sons and grandson having joined the navy gave them an excuse to take a trip to Nova Scotia. They also toured Chicago and Boston. Selling their home in Charleswood Clarke and Iola moved to St. Vital taking a job as caretakers of the Bonita Apartments. They sold the house that had cost them $5,000.00 to build in 1945 for $50,000.00 some thirty years later. Ill health started to plague Clarke. He had to have major surgery on his neck because the bones were deteriorating. The shock of the invasive surgery brought on diabetes which affected his eyes. Again, more surgery. Clarke and Iola finally decided to move to Vancouver and took up residence with their younger daughter and family upon his retirement from the Winnipeg Transit. They purchased a trailer and travelled to Winnipeg in 1971. On the return trip home, just outside of Virginia City, Montana the trailer wheels dug into the soft shoulder on the side of the road while Clarke was driving. He lost control of the car as the weight of the trailer flipped it and was killed instantly. Nathaniel Clarke Wallace Moody Winters was buried in the Garden of the Good Shepherd, Forest Lawn Cemetery in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our most beloved father and grandfather. Iola lived the remaining years of her life travelling coast to coast visiting family. She loved to boast that she had a bedroom in every Province of Canada and this was just about the truth! She died in 2000 at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C. surrounded by family. Today there are over 140 living decendants of Clarke and Iola Winters branch of this My Irish Canadian Winters Tree and growing every year! |
| "What I remember the most from my youth is how much fun it meant to me to be with cousins. It gave me a sense that my family was something important. Every year on holidays, my aunts and uncles and their children all came to our grandparent's house. I could hardly wait until that day came. We played, ate and had fun together. I can close my eyes and still feel the joy of those times. My aunts and my uncles and my cousins have affected my life in such positive ways." |
Family of Clarke and Iola 1948 |
Clarke and Iola October 6, 1928 |
| Nathaniel Clarke Wallace Moodie Winters & Iola Victoria May Prout |
| Nathaniel Clarke Wallace Born - May 21, 1904 Moody Winters Strathclair, Manitoba Died - September 29, 1971 Virginia City, Montana, U.S.A. Married October 6, 1928 - Winnipeg, Manitoba to: Iola Victoria May Prout Born - May 24, 1907 Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Died - February 25, 2000 New Westminster, British Columbia Clarke was the first born child of John Wesley Winters and Annie McLean. His father, being a dedicated Orangeman, named his first son after "a great Canadian Orange evangelist!" Clarke attended Old Stone School in Strathclair at the age of seven and always remembered that his first teacher was a lady by the name of Miss Jean Ross. On August 7, 1912, the family moved to Poplar Point, Manitoba where he attended West Poplar Point School and Setters Methodist Church which later became a United Church. In the small prairie town, Clarke learned to play hockey in the winter, baseball in the spring and helped on the farm. In the spring of 1925, the farm was sold and Clarke went to work for John Lee, a neighbour. The following year he decided to seek his fortune in the big city of Winnipeg so he drove a team of horses there and got a job hauling fuel. The winter that year was mild so he barely made enough money to cover his expenses! Returning to Poplar Point, Clarke found a job hauling gravel for the first Canadian Number One highway that was under construction. In November of 1926, Clarke returned to Winnipeg to live with his father. He joined Orange Lodge #2311 and several years later became Grand Master for two consecutive terms. He also got a job driving a team of horses for a company called Arctic Ice. Clarke worked for a building contractor as well but when the work there slacked off he was hired on at the Lewis Cartage Company driving a truck making general deliveries. In May of 1928, he went for dinner at some friends house where he met their distant cousin, Iola Prout. After a short courtship, they were married in the Ministers Manse on October 6, 1928 in Winnipeg. Clarke left Lewis to take a job driving truck for Toupin Lumber and Fuel in 1929. In September of that year, their first child, a girl was born and eight more children were to follow! The family moved into a suite at 240 Des Meurons Street in St. Boniface and on June 1, 1932 Clarke and Iola bought a house on 223 Rogers Street in Norwood, Manitoba. |
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| Clarke At the Portage Fair 1915 |
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| 1925 |
1964 at Dorothy Lake |
| About this time frame (1939 - 1940), known as the "Dirty Thirties," work was hard to find and when the Second World War broke out in 1939, Toupins laid Clarke off. He tried to enlist in the Army but was turned down because of the number of mouths he had to feed at home. Had anything happened to Clarke, the recruiting officer reasoned, it would cost the government too much money to take care of his family! Rather than accept relief, he pounded the pavement desperate for any work that would help feed his growing family. Clarke was unsuccessful and eventually had to apply for relief with a heavy heart. The same day he was to get his first relief money, he found a job at Royal Transportation that paid $20.00 a week! It paid him sixty cents more than the relief cheque but it was earned money and not a hand out so he never did go and pick up the relief cheque. That September, Toupin Lumber offered Clarke his old job back but he had applied for work with the Winnipeg Transit Company. He was hired on for good pay and better yet overtime pay which helped his growing family a great deal! By 1944, eight of their children had been born and the size of their family forced them to make another move. In 1945, Clarke and Iola bought four lots of land in Charleswood. Clarke and a friend of his by the name of Bill Ritchie started to build a house at 108 Elmhurst Road. They built a large 12 by 24 foot garage first and the family moved into it on June 3, 1945. FINALLY, on Halloween night, October 31, 1945, the large Winters brood was able to move into their partially finished home. The war had just ended and building supplies were in sort demand so it wasn't until August 6, 1946 that the house was completed. Clarke was able to get the plastering done and floors finished. In February of that same year, the last of their nine children was born. Clarke and Iola now had four boys, five girls and a new house Iola surrounded with lilac bushes. Life was good in Charleswood, Manitoba! Their family flourished in the area. Clarke and Iola had a garden, a cow and even kept a few chickens which helped out with the family finances. As the family grew up and the district became more settled the animals had to be given up. |
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Annie, Clarke and Iola October 6, 1928 |
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Clarke holding daughter Shirley Daughter Elizabeth in background 1932 |
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Iola and Clarke 1963 |
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| 1955 |
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The Boys Of Summer July, 1967 |
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| 1965 |
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| 1913 |
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| Rogers Street House |
| 1918 |
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| Orange Day Celebration Ivan Winters, friend Buzz & Clarke 1935 |
| 308 Elmhurst Road Charleswood, Manitoba |
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| Garden behind the Charleswood House |
| New Years 1956 |
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| 1965 |
| 1966 |
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"Parent's are not perfect and any who think they are had better think again. When you stop making mistakes in life you are dead. As long as you learn from what you have done wrong the lesson was worth it. A real families love is forever. You get to pick your friends in life but your family is what it is. Stay close to one another, love one another, forgive one another when mistakes are made because life is short." |
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