Chapter 91

From the Journal of Honey Sutton Dec. 25, 1938

… That first Christmas after Jack died, Grace did everything she could to make it as joyous as possible for me and the boys. When Bob had to beg off because of the press of work at the mine office, she persuaded Ollie to take her and the boys into the bush to find a tree. I remember the excited smiles on Hub and Henry's faces as they showed Mother Bailey and me the huge spruce they brought back. Ollie had to do a fair amount of trimming just so it would fit through the front door.

After that, Grace spent most of Christmas Day slaving in the kitchen to produce a feast for us. Not content with her kindness to her family, she helped out with Christmas dinner at the mission for the unemployed. At least she let me pitch in there.

I hate to think of her alone in a foreign country with her mother sick. She should be at home with friends and family after the loss she has suffered. I can't imagine what an awful Christmas she must be having.

At least Harry Schmitz is back from Spain and celebrating Christmas with his parents. Johann and Ida have been overjoyed ever since they learned that he was safe and would be coming home to them. Their faces shone with love and pride when Harry walked off the train on Thursday. Since he got back, they can't do enough for him, including fixing his favorite dishes. I've never heard of fried chicken for Christmas, but, apparently, Harry hasn't tasted his mother's for over four years.

I wish things were as easy between Hub and Max and me. It was hard enough to accept that Hub will not be continuing his studies for the priesthood. What he wants to do instead is even more troubling. I am still not sure that I should have let Max talk me into giving him my blessing, even if he's right about there being nothing I can do to stop him.

If Hub weren't going to stay with a respectable Catholic family I might have refused. At best, his new plan means that he won't be going back to university until the fall. That he will have a job in the meantime is at least some comfort. It was bad enough when Max said that what Hub is doing is nothing to be upset about. He didn't have to add that when he was Hub's age he was fighting with the Canadian Corps at Passchendaele. …

From the Journal of Maisie McGinty Dec. 25, 1938

I still hate it that Anna stole Hub's heart, but I am glad that she successfully evaded the RCMP dragnet and that her parents are also safely out of the Reich. No one deserves what Hitler and the Nazis are doing to her people. I hope the other refugees that Inspector Wells and his friends are seeking also made their escape. I lit a candle for them and for Anna after mass. Hub thought it was a good idea and lit one too.

He's still down in the dumps over losing Anna. I should feel sorrier for him than I do, but I'm still furious at him for saying that we can only ever be friends. At least he did apologize for being blind to my feelings for so long. I know he never meant to hurt me, but he still did, and I still feel it. I don't know what to do knowing that he doesn't love me the way I love him.

I know that Dad is right in saying that I can't force him to feel what I want him to feel. It was kind of him to tell me that I won't always hurt this way. I just wish I could make myself believe him. Maybe I should go to Dr. Barlow's office tomorrow. Another look at Mayor Poole's burst appendix might cheer me up a little.

From the Journal of Honey Sutton Dec. 27, 1938

The news from Grace in London was a bolt from the blue. I still can't believe that she is expecting a baby. I just wish that Van was with her to share the joy and the responsibility. It will be hard for Grace to bring up her child without its father. Heaven knows, it wasn't easy for me on my own after Jack died, even with Grace helping in every way she could. I was lucky to find a wonderful, loving man like Max with whom to share my life. God grant that Grace finds the same blessing someday.

Lunch with Toppy, Maisie, and Marjorie today. Marjorie couldn't have been more delighted to learn of Grace's good news. She had good news of her own. She and Ollie found an expectant mother willing to let them adopt her child. She is an unmarried college student hiding out on her aunt and uncle's farm in Manitoba until the birth which will be sometime in May.

Even better, Marjorie and Ollie's meeting with Alice over Christmas didn't go too badly. It seems that Alice is more accepting than her mother of their plan. It doesn't hurt that Marjorie has been working full time since last month and Jacob seems to be doing just as well as before. Neither does her promise to quit if her job interferes with her duties as a mother and find some other way to deal with the money problem.

It won't be easy for Marjorie to work and raise two children at the same time. However, Alice is willing to give Marjorie and Ollie a fair chance to make it work. She thinks that it will be good for Jacob to have a brother or sister.

Ollie is delighted at the prospect of becoming a father again. … He was interested to learn about the RCMP inspector's brief stay in New Bedford. It seems every time he goes out of town and leaves someone else in charge of the garage, he misses something important. Mr. Sainsbury made his escape from the work gang while he and Marjorie were off honeymooning. When they visited his aunt and uncle so that they could see Jacob for the first time, Grace met Van right across the street from his garage.

Grace Mainwaring to Honey Sutton Dec. 31, 1938

Happy New Year to you and Max and Hub and Henry and Violet and Zack. If I tried to say all of that aloud, I would be out of breath by now. I expect to stay over in New York for a couple of days before returning home, so this letter should reach you before I do. I'm sorry that Hub's studies for the priesthood didn't work out. At least he will resume his work towards a career in the mining industry when he resumes university courses next fall.

I know that it is hard for you to accept his decision to join the Hamilton Company of the RCNVR [Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve-Ed.]. It comes as a bit of a shock to me too. I had no idea that he was considering this when I met him and his friend Anna back in October although I could see that he was deeply disturbed by the fascists' continued successes.

I know you don't like to think of him possibly going to war. Neither do I. However, Hub is practically a grown man now and no one else can make his decisions for him. Even if you don't agree with this one, you can be proud that it sprang from love of country and concern for others. You and Max and my brother raised him well.

I am glad that you and Max have arranged to set aside a couple of hours in the early morning for Max to get back to writing on a regular basis. I have always enjoyed his work and look forward to reading whatever he produces when it gets published.

Mother has told me that she has a pretty good idea who will be the new vice president of the Silverdome Mining Company and her eventual successor. Of course, she won't tell me if it's Glenn Sinclair or Howard Dowling. I hope that whoever it is will keep me on as executive secretary. When I become a parent, I will need to set a good example of earning an honest living for my child. Who knows? If Hub ends up succeeding his grandmother's successor someday, I might find myself working for him.

Grace Mainwaring to Robert Bailey Dec. 31, 1938

When you come to New Bedford for Van's funeral, I would be grateful if you and Diana were kind to Honey. I can tell from her letters how worried about Hub she is. You and I both know that his chances of finishing his three years in the RCNVR without being called to active duty for a war are slim. I didn't have the heart to tell Honey that when I wrote her. She is clinging so tightly to the hope that the Munich Agreement means lasting peace. …

From Grace Bailey - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Surveillance File 1936-1984

Inspector Samuel Wells to Superintendent Howard Masters Jan. 2, 1939

… I am as disappointed as you are that all the aliens enabled by Professor Coburn and his co-conspirators to enter Canada illegally have so far evaded our dragnet. … I am virtually certain that the wealthy gentile with connections to the International Brigades who provided the $10,000 in cash to pay for the operation is a member of the Bailey family. May Bailey and her children, Robert Bailey and Grace Mainwaring were all in Toronto in June when our informant believes the transaction took place.

Their grandson and nephew, Hubert Bailey, was a friend of one of the suspected aliens. All three have access to sufficient funds. However, examination of their financial records shows no loans or withdrawals of cash even approaching the necessary sum.

My instincts lean towards Grace Mainwaring as the guilty party. She has the necessary connections and nerve. She is the member of the Bailey family most deeply involved in organizing support in Canada, alongside Jewish left wingers, for the International Brigades and the Spanish Republic. The trip to Spain to recover her husband's body at the risk of her own life was her idea. Whatever else can be said about her, she does not lack courage.

Still, the same question comes up again and again. She didn't use her husband's power of attorney. She didn't borrow legitimately. She doesn't owe any loan shark as far as I can determine. That being the case, where did she get the cash?

If we can't answer that question, we may as well forget about pressing charges against her. Given the growing feeling against Hitler and the Nazis in this country since their anti-Jewish rampage at the beginning of November, I am not certain that we could obtain a conviction if we did have the evidence. Even if we could, we would only spark agitation for her release.

Remember Tim Buck. [Tim Buck was the head of the Canadian Communist Party. He was convicted in 1932 on trumped up charges of sedition. A strong campaign against the verdict by civil liberties advocates forced his release two years later. Neither Grace nor anyone else was ever prosecuted for their part in the conspiracy to provide refuge for German and Austrian Jews in Canada in defiance of Canada's immigration laws. As for the source of the cash, that remains an open question to this day. It is possible that Grace's husband had a stash or stashes of runout money hidden away from his days as a con artist in case he ever had to flee from the law. He may have revealed the locations of these to her before leaving for Spain for the second time. - Ed.]

Next Week: New Bedford New Year. Judgement on the high seas.