Mildred Catherine Hovey

Mildred Catherine (Caldwell) Hovey 5 March 1911- 14 July 2011 Mildred (or Millie) was the daughter of Harvey and Sara (Taylor) Caldwell of Pomeroy Ridge. The third of ten children, including two sets of twins, she was predeceased by her brothers, Ralph (Vira), Roscoe, Harold (Hilda), Philip (Marjorie), and Maurice (Lois) and by her sisters Marion (Ralph) Bartlett, Lillian (Maynard) Dick, Julia (Acker) McNabb, and Phyllis (Phil) Weatherby.

In 1928 at 17 she married Alex Hovey (1905- 1963) of Canoose. Mildred is survived by daughters Marjorie Graham of Mount Forest, Ontario, and Carol Cunningham (Jack) of Fredericton; daughter-in-law Annie Hovey of Old Ridge; 13 grandchildren - Neil, Lynn, Carl, Gordon, Mark, David, and Tim Hovey, Kathy Myring, Sheryll Veidemanis, Sandra Campbell, Mike Graham, Gary Colford, and Linda Arseneault; 17 great grandchildren, and 10 great great grandchildren (with twins on the way).

In addition to her husband and siblings, she was predeceased by her children Murray (1929-1984), Leonard (1939 - 1968), Melva Colford (1930 - 2009), grandson Joseph Graham, and infant grandson Steven Graham. Like many of her era, her life was defined by work. In early years, for instance, she did washing for the famous Richard Crooks family who summered at Loon Bay. She carried water from the well, heated it in a tub on the stove, and washed and wrung out the sheets by hand. She earned 10 cents a sheet. In the late 1940's she cooked at Longfellow's Loon Bay Camps on the Maine side of the St. Croix River, about six miles from Canoose. She would cross by boat at Loon Bay, which, of course, was illegal even then. After getting caught on that side, she began working as cook at Welock's Loon Bay Lodge on the Canadian side. She spent most days and nights there from April when fishing season opened until the end of November when hunting season ended. She would be up at 6 a.m. to make breakfast for the guests and pack their and the guides' lunches. Dinner was served at 7 p.m. with cleanup ending about 9 p.m. Those nimble fingers were ever moving - kneading dough, shaping cloverleaf rolls, crimping pie crusts. Her pies were spectacular, her meals a large part of what kept the guests returning year after year. "Millie" even made the New York Times in guest Jack Randolph's column. She worked at Loon Bay for about 25 years and had wonderful friends among the the guides, the guests, her co-worker Hilda Scott, and the Welocks. She was never idle. She loved to quilt, sew, crochet and braid rugs … a mender of the worn and torn. She knit many sweaters for Cottage Craft in St. Andrews; there are certain to be sweaters still with the label "Handmade by Mildred Hovey." She loved "berrying" and preserving. She belonged to the UCW and the WI and was forever baking for suppers and food sales. The work done by women like her in support of their local churches can't be overstated. She dearly loved her home in Canoose and spent 70 years there working tirelessly painting, papering, patching, and planting. No job was too "manly" for her to tackle; from mending a roof or chimney to painting the exterior of her house.

After Alex's death in 1963, she closed up the house for the winter months and worked as caregiver for the elderly. She was a keeper of records and journals and news clippings. She kept a record of all guests at Loon Bay Lodge, the room they stayed in, the guide they had, and how much they tipped. She left a priceless gift of diaries from 1938 until the late '90's when her eyesight began to fail. They chronicle day-to-day life on a small subsistence farm, the deaths and births in the area, and when she first heard the peepers each spring. They paint a picture of the work required as the seasons changed and the surprising amount of visiting that was common in days of poor roads, rickety vehicles, and no telephones. There was no mention of the sorrows and hardships, which were many. She enjoyed poems, especially those with a good rhyme and a good story like "The Cremation of Sam Magee." At 96, she surprised her family by reciting a 180-line poem no one had heard before - "Margery Grey, A Legend of Vermont."

Following cremation, there will be visiting on Monday, July 18, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at The S. O. Mehan & Son Funeral Home Ltd., 23 Main Street, St. Stephen. A memorial service will be held at the Oak Hill Church, 733 Route 745, on Tuesday, July 19, at 2:00 pm. with interment following at the Oak Hill Cemetery.

Mildred was very partial to the colour red, so those attending should feel free to wear some red item in remembrance of Millie's red geraniums, red berries, and red sweaters. For those who wish, donations can be made to the Charlotte County SPCA, the Charlotte County Museum, or charity of choice.