60 Avondale Cross Road
Submitted by Olwynn Hughes, current resident of 60 Avondale Cross Road, along with her brother Finn and father, Nicholas Hughes.
A few years ago my mom told me a story from when we first moved into 60 Avondale Cross Rd. My mom had hired a medium to check out the house, who said that the house felt “off”. She went over to a window facing the backyard and looked up at the well.
“Someone used to stand here and look up at that well” she said. My mom turned to my dad and asked if there was something he didn’t tell her about the house, and he told her this story.
A man came home to find his wife on the doorstep crying and holding their baby. It turned out that the mother had killed her two other children by drowning them in the properties well. They divorced and the woman was sent to an asylum. The baby was sent to live with Ralph Stillman in the house we were about to call home. This all fit what the medium had said, could it have been the baby, who we know as Ola, staring up at the well thinking of her lost siblings?
We know that Ralph and Ola lived in our house while some other community members went to school beside them. We know Ola was his niece. But this story stuck with me, so I’ve struck out to see if there is any truth to it. I started by finding Ola’s obituary, where I found the names of her parents and siblings. They had included the year of death of Munroe and Madeline, both 1933.
Ola was born to Prescott A. Harvie and Ethel Grace (Stillman) Harvie in 1928. They lived in Avondale, but I haven’t been able to discern where (information would be greatly appreciated). Madeline was then born in 1930, and Munroe in 1931. Then, in 1933, death certificates were made up for Munroe and Madeline, listing the cause of death as accidental drowning, and that they were discovered in a well. After that Ethel and Prescott divorced, and Ola lived with her grandmother, and then her uncle, Ralph Stillman, in my house.
Ralph was a blacksmith and a homesteader, and one of his wells provided water for the schoolhouse. He owned the Curry Field across the road, the land back to what is now Avondale Sky Winery, 60 Avondale Cross Road, and woodland behind the house. Curry Field was sold and my dad got his chunk that we still call home.
But to end our story, we may not know (unless you do) if Ethel was actually at fault like my dad was told she was. This story will continue to unfold before me with the help of the community and the world wide web, but especially the community.
Olwynn Hughes
July 8th, 2022
To read more about what Nicholas Hughes found onsite when he took possession of 60 Avondale Cross Rd, head over to our “Meet the People in our Neighbourhood” collection of interviews.
A few years ago my mom told me a story from when we first moved into 60 Avondale Cross Rd. My mom had hired a medium to check out the house, who said that the house felt “off”. She went over to a window facing the backyard and looked up at the well.
“Someone used to stand here and look up at that well” she said. My mom turned to my dad and asked if there was something he didn’t tell her about the house, and he told her this story.
A man came home to find his wife on the doorstep crying and holding their baby. It turned out that the mother had killed her two other children by drowning them in the properties well. They divorced and the woman was sent to an asylum. The baby was sent to live with Ralph Stillman in the house we were about to call home. This all fit what the medium had said, could it have been the baby, who we know as Ola, staring up at the well thinking of her lost siblings?
We know that Ralph and Ola lived in our house while some other community members went to school beside them. We know Ola was his niece. But this story stuck with me, so I’ve struck out to see if there is any truth to it. I started by finding Ola’s obituary, where I found the names of her parents and siblings. They had included the year of death of Munroe and Madeline, both 1933.
Ola was born to Prescott A. Harvie and Ethel Grace (Stillman) Harvie in 1928. They lived in Avondale, but I haven’t been able to discern where (information would be greatly appreciated). Madeline was then born in 1930, and Munroe in 1931. Then, in 1933, death certificates were made up for Munroe and Madeline, listing the cause of death as accidental drowning, and that they were discovered in a well. After that Ethel and Prescott divorced, and Ola lived with her grandmother, and then her uncle, Ralph Stillman, in my house.
Ralph was a blacksmith and a homesteader, and one of his wells provided water for the schoolhouse. He owned the Curry Field across the road, the land back to what is now Avondale Sky Winery, 60 Avondale Cross Road, and woodland behind the house. Curry Field was sold and my dad got his chunk that we still call home.
But to end our story, we may not know (unless you do) if Ethel was actually at fault like my dad was told she was. This story will continue to unfold before me with the help of the community and the world wide web, but especially the community.
Olwynn Hughes
July 8th, 2022
To read more about what Nicholas Hughes found onsite when he took possession of 60 Avondale Cross Rd, head over to our “Meet the People in our Neighbourhood” collection of interviews.
