First New Year’s baby a symbol of hope, in any year
Donald Loney was the city’s New Year’s baby 75 years ago. Jayden Anderson was the first baby born in 2021, the year residents hope they can leave the pandemic behind
Both of these Hamilton babies were born on the first day of a desperately awaited new year full of hope and uncertainty — and 75 years apart.
Jayden Anthony Carter Anderson was the first baby born at Hamilton’s St. Joe’s hospital in 2021, entering the world during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown just before 7 a.m. at a healthy eight pounds, 14 ounces.
Donald Loney was Hamilton’s first New Year’s baby of 1946 when he was born at the Salvation Army hospital on Jan. 1 — just months after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively ended the Second World War. A photo caption in a 75-year-old Spectator story about his birth claims to have caught young Donald on film as he “surveys the Atomic World.”
Jayden’s tired-but-elated parents, Sierra Johnson and Anthony Anderson, said by phone the New Year’s birth will be “the high point”
in a story of COVID challenge they’ll one day share with their youngest child.
“It’s hard in many ways, especially with family,” said Johnson, who regretted having to keep a “large, supportive” family at a two-metre distance during pregnancy, attend ultrasound appointments alone and nervously navigate a medical system amid rising local COVID infections.
Anderson is hoping Canada’s COVID vaccine rollout — which has just begun — will make the pandemic more story than reality by the time his son is old enough to hear about it. “We’re just hoping the pandemic goes away soon,” he said.
Loney is cheering for the same outcome.
“It’s a strange world to be born into, that’s for sure,” said the Grimsby lawyer, who agreed to chat with The Spectator after his family forwarded a reminder of his front-page-news birth from 75 years ago. “Hopefully, he was born lucky ... and we’ll get rid of COVID before he is even aware of it.”
Loney was born in momentous times, too.
The Second World War killed more than 45,000 Canadians, including hundreds of Hamiltonians — and also made “essential workers” out of many people at home.
That included Loney’s father, who often “slept at work for weeks at a time” as the Hamilton steelmaker pumped out material during the war. “I was lucky, because lots of fathers didn’t come home,” he said.
The Winona family was also yearning to leave fear and uncertainty behind when young Donald was born in 1946 just a few months after the war ended.
By and large, those hopes came to fruition — although Loney never became a Christian minister as predicted in the 75year-old newspaper story celebrating his birth. “I’m sure my mother would have been thrilled if it had happened ... but if anything, I’m agnostic,” he said, laughing.
He believes better times are ahead in 2021 for Jayden and his family, too.
But when it comes to “first baby” swag, Loney figures he’ll always have the competition beat. Jayden’s parents were gifted a basket of baby items and a gift card from Toys “R” Us to mark the occasion of the hospital’s first 2021 birth.
By comparison, Loney’s parents made out like baby bandits.
The Spec story from 1946 lists a plethora of gifts from local businesses to the newest Hamiltonian that include $50 in war savings certificates from Zellers department store, 100 bars of Ivory soap, a mirror from Lloyd’s Glass Company and a free Regal Taxi ride home.
“I’m astounded at the amount of stuff,” he said, laughing. “I don’t remember any of it, but it must have been very interesting for my parents.”