Story Told by Daughter Lorna Pearce.
My mother was born in Sussex N.B. to Beverly and Caroline( Hayes) Sharp on December 25th 1901. Her father was a druggist and owned Sharp's Drug Store..
Towards the end of the 1st World War (!(!$_1918), she helped in the store due to the shortage of staff . After the war she went to Halifax N.S. to study Pharmacy at Dalhousie University. That year 1919 . there were many veterans in her class along with a few young women. During that time she met my father , William H Pearce(BILL) of Darthmouth N.S> who had just returned home after five years in France.
They were married in 1923 and lived in Halifax for a few years and then moved to Sussex in 1926. They had 2 children , my brother William B (Bill) and me.My father went into business with Mr. W.Myles and they opened a men's clothing store-Myles and Pearce. He joined the reserve Unit of the 8th Hussars. it was a mounted regiment at that time and I clearly remember seeing a parade coming down Main Street with my Father on horse back.
Mother Has always wanted to study painting and she discovered a wonderful artist and teacher, Stanley Royal, at Mount Allison University - she went there for short periods and in 1935 joined a class he had at Peggy's Cove. The next year he was organizing a group to go to a small town in England. At the same time, a large group od Canadian Veterans were planning a pilgrimage to attend the unavailing of the Vimy memorial. These 2 events were taking place close tio the same time , so my mother took my brother and me and we sailed off to France in one of the five ships filled with veterans, wives, widows and families going to Vimy.
King Edward VIII and many other dignitaries from England, Canda and France were present for the Vimy unveiling ceremony. After the event ,we attended many more in Paris and London and eventually arrived in the pisturesque town of RYE in SouthEngland where we spent about a month, Mother painted most every day, sitting on street corners with her teacher, Stanley Royal giving her Toiutering.
Shortly after World War 2 started, Sussex became a busy military town with train loads of soldiers arriving from all over Canada and eventually leaving for Halifax to sail overseas. Towards the end of the war when he was old enough , my brother joined the army. After the war, and a few years in Toronto, he came back to Sussex to go into business with Father. He to joined the 8th Hussars and was very active in the Regiment.
The Picture"Sussex in June" was painted in the mist of the war and the place she sat was a field beside the road to Fredericton/ I was with her one day and we were surprised to see a police car parked on the road checking to see what was going on! Sussex in Wartime!