On Dec. 1, Isabelle Vincent celebrated her 100th birthday, and she feels overwhelmed by the outpouring of support she’s received.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Vincent, 100, immigrant and retiree.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I’m from Glasgow, Scotland. Believe it or not, I lived in the shipyards in Glasgow.
I always say, I was born in the shipyards in Glasgow, and I’m going to die in the shipyards in Collingwood. (laughs)
I think it’s a great thing.
Q: What brought you to Canada?
A: I married a Canadian.
I met him during the Second World War, when he was 18 and I was 19. Fred was a tail gunner in the Lancasters. He lived in Cabbagetown (neighbourhood in Toronto).
We met in the typical way people my age met each other: at a dance. We did ballroom dancing.
Fred’s brother was also in the air force. His name was Thom. I called my son Thom because he was killed in the war, so I wanted to do that for him.
I met Fred in Edinburgh.
When I finished high school, I was not educated. I worked in factories, and gave the money to my mom and dad. I was the oldest of three.
I learned more about life after I moved to Canada than I did in Scotland, because we were poor. I’m more street smart than anything. I had a whole different life there compared to what I have had in Canada.
When the war ended, I kept writing to Fred for more than a year. I came to Canada in 1946.
I married Fred here in 1947. I had only been here for 10 days when we got married. I knew nobody at the wedding. He was 20 and I was 21. I married a younger man. (laughs)
We had no money. A friend knew about a job as a journeyman photo engraver on Jarvis St. in Toronto. It took Fred six years to get his papers. He became a great engraver. The work was at night and Fred didn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone at night.
His friend asked if I’d work nights too at the engraving company dealing with negatives. We took the jobs and worked from 4 p.m. to 12 or 1 a.m. at night. Our house was infested with rats.
At one point I started to feel sick, but I didn’t know anything about sex. Shortly after that, I had Thom.
My kids are the best things that have happened in my life.
When my son Thom was four years old, a friend of ours brought me up here to show me the mountains.
Q: When did you decide to come to live in Collingwood?
A: It was in the early 2000s.
My husband and I bought a bungalow next to the shipyards. There were no big buildings then.
My husband had been sick. He had his first stroke at 59. The day I was coming to Collingwood, during the night I heard a noise in the hallway. I got up and my husband has fallen. He cracked his ribs. The guys were coming to pick up all our furniture to bring it to Collingwood at 6 a.m. I had to rush him to the hospital in an ambulance, and they said he had to stay.
So I had to rush back home in Scarborough. I phoned my youngest son in Texas and he flew up right away to help me. I came up by myself because he had to go home again.
I was on my own then in Collingwood. The nicest thing happened though and I’ve never forgotten it.
I didn’t have groceries and the house wasn’t even finished.
I could see the Loblaws sign from my house so I walked down.
I was standing at the lights to cross. It was a Sunday in November and the sun was shining. A young man was crossing at the lights and came to cross me and he said, “Hello there! How are you? Isn’t this a beautiful day today?”
I was so taken aback. It was my first day in Collingwood. I turned around and stared back at him. What lovely feeling I got. I fell in love with this place as soon as I came.
When I was at Loblaws, I got my groceries. Shawn Cooper used to work at Loblaws. I asked him if I could get a taxi.
He asked me where I was going.
I said, I didn’t know my address. I knew it said Water-something. Watergate?
He didn’t know me then, but he phoned the taxi company for me and said I lived in a place that started with Water and they looked it all up and kept him on the phone.
They asked if it was Waterside, and it was. The taxi came and took me home.
With him, I felt like I found another friend. I never forgot that.
To this day, I still see him. When I see him now, he still asks me if I ever found Watergate. (laughs)
This town took me in as a nobody and it felt like I was finally home. To this day, when I look at the Terminals building, I get goosebumps. People are different here.
My husband was in Sunset Manor for eight years. He died 10 years ago.
Q: There was recently a party held in your honour to celebrate your 100th birthday on Dec. 1. Can you tell me about it?
A: There must have been 80 or 90 people.
My whole family dressed in kilts, even my great grandchildren.
I was in a dream world. I couldn’t believe it.
Q: Now that you’ve hit 100, what life advice would you like to impart?
A: I believe in the Ten Commandments.
My granny used to take me to church every Sunday.
Some families dwell on how they look. Beauty is just a word to me. To me, beauty comes from the heart. If you don’t give from your heart, you shouldn’t give.
I love talking to people. There’s some good in everyone.
If there’s good in your heart, it’s the best thing you can offer.
Also, to me, women change their minds many times throughout their lifetime.
When you’re young, you try to prove who you are. Then you have a boyfriend, you’re trying to prove it to him. When you get married, there are things you bring into a marriage you maybe didn’t consider before because of his lifestyle. When you become a mum, your mind has to change again.
It’s a woman who changes her mind for every step she goes through. A woman goes through a lot to keep a family together. Men just go through it.
I’ve had so many things happen to me in my lifetime.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: All my life, I’ve worked hard, physical jobs.
I’ve never really had a hobby because I worked. We lived day-to-day.
I do like making my Scottish Shortbread.
Baking shortbread is the biggest hobby in my life. I made it for my children.
For years, I sold shortbreads at the Collingwood market. I gave all the money to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital.
I read an article about children saving pennies for the hospital because they were trying to raise money for a new machine. Thom came to me and I told him about it. He knew someone at the market, and he set it up.
I did it for years. It would be gone in an hour. I couldn’t understand why it took off, but I enjoyed every second of it because I knew it was helping the hospital and the community.
Sometimes, when I walk downtown, people will say, “Oh, you’re the Shortbread Lady!”
One time in Walmart, a young man came up to me and said, “I know they call you the Shortbread Lady, but I call you the Shortbread Queen.”
Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: I never found myself until I came to Collingwood.
Now I know who I am.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
