Velma Irene Blythe

Portrait of Velma as a young woman.
Velma as a young woman.
Coverage Dates: 1933 to 1945
County: Grey
Township: Normanby
Lot: 3 Varney
Concession: 1
Gender: Female
Year of Birth: 1916
Year of Death: 2003
Ethnicity: English
Religion: United Church 
Occupation: Stenographer
Relationships: 
Father: Wilbert Gibson Blythe
Mother: Sarah Elizabeth Ritchie
Brothers: Elgin J., Lorne R.
Husband: Gordon “Laddie” Grant
Archive: Private: Courtesy of Barbara Bowman
Posted on Rural Diary Archive: Yes
Age During Diary: 17-29
Coverage: 13 years
 

Velma begins her diary while in high school in Durham and then attends Durham Business College, studying shorthand and typing. After graduating, she is commended for her work on Agnes Macphail’s election campaign (the first female member of the House of Commons) and works for Durham Hydro as a clerk/typist. She and Gordon begin courting while he is in Dental College. Throughout the war, she continues at Durham Hydro, volunteers for the Red Cross, has an active social life, and writes frequently to her fiancé overseas. She pens her final diary entry on their wedding day, July 21, 1945, at Village View Farm in Varney.

The covers of five of Velma's diaries
Velma’s diaries.
A sample page from Velma's diary showing her handwriting.
Velma’s handwriting: a sample page from September 1933.
Velma's farm with house on one side of the road and barns on the other.
Village View Farm built in 1905.
Aerial view of the farm.
Village View Farm.