Workers take a lunch break amid massive railway equipment.

This photograph shows a group of men taking a lunch break in the 1940s or 1950s at the Canadian National Railway Transcona Shops, just outside of Winnipeg. In the background is the massive cylinder wall of a railway steam engine that they appear to have been reaming out. Further back is the locomotive boiler with all its workings.

My dad, Andrew Davies, pictured far left, was always called “Andy” by his friends. Dad was a short and powerfully built man with biceps that resembled those of the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor — at least that’s what my husband said when he was courting me. In 1928 dad completed his fiveyear apprenticeship with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and that certified him as a machinist. In that profession, I think you would have had to have been super-strong, as everything about a railway steam engine appears to have been super-big.

My dad’s father, also named Andrew, came from Wales to Canada in 1892 under dubious circumstances. He had joined the British Navy, signing on for twenty years when he was only thirteen years old. When his older brother Edward, somewhat of a rogue, persuaded him to desert — and they then stole a yacht but were caught — he ended up back in the Royal Navy with a good whipping. Andrew had the scars on his back to prove it. His next attempt, though, was successful, and he arrived at his home, where he caused quite a commotion due to his own father being the local constable.

Fortunately, another older brother, Charley, was getting ready to leave Wales for Canada and had all the necessary paperwork. He gave his papers to Andrew, who shipped out and arrived in Winnipeg when he was twenty-one years old. Of course he lived with the fear of being caught — as punishment for deserting twice from the Royal Navy was a date with the hangman.

My dad and my mother, Lillian, survived the Great Depression and unemployment during that time. They had six daughters, and I was in the middle of the pack. Having no boys in the family to keep us ladies in order probably took a toll on them.