10 - 7 Donald D. Ross

Donald Ross is the “baby” of the book. He is one of four boys born to John RobertRoss and Florence Beaton ofFlatRiver. While serving as a captain in the army during World War II, he married Vaunda Robinson of Charlottetown, who died in February, 1983.

Donald lives alone now, but his only son Douglas, daughter-in-law Heather, and three grandchildren are close by. They provide the family attachments which are so important a part of his life.

I was born in Flat River on the 7th of August 1915, 1 12 years to the day that the Selkirk ship Polly landed at Halliday’s Wharf in Belfast. I lived in Flat River till I was just about 20 years old and I left at that time to go to college in Charlottetown. Never got back to Flat River on a permanent basis. I worked from the time I finished college — that’ll be 1935 — until 1939. When the War broke out, I joined the army and was away from Charlottetown until 1946.

The Blacksmith

Do you know that the first memory I have of being alive — now, I suppose everyone remembers something at the beginning of his life sometime along — but the first memory I have of being alive is being in the forge and my father hitting a piece of steel with hammer, and the big sparks flying. I can remember a lot of things since that time but that’s the first memory I have, of my father in the blacksmith shop.

I spent a lot of time in the blacksmith shop just sitting there watching him work. Some sort of satisfaction or pride somehow. I’ve watched him shoe horses and I’ve watched him fix things that you would think that were almost impossible to fix.

Donald Ross 85