07-03 Then There Were Four

Peter was born January 1948. This picture is in front of our home on Richview Avenue. Mother is bringing him home from the hospital.
It was a big deal, coming home from Ireland in May 1947, for Mother to announce that she was expecting a baby. Ian asked if it was a girl. I remember explaining things to him. Then Mother said, “Your grandfather would put us in a double bed.” Dad thought that was pretty funny. Ian and Robert did not know what she meant. But, as a seriously mature 13-year-old, I caught the implications.
It was about seven in the morning when a call came from Mother in the hospital. We all crowded around the phone. I heard Mother say that it was not a girl, but that the baby had red hair. It was grandfather Bulloch’s red hair, something that none of his seven children inherited. It was a big deal, and the fair colour can be seen in the baby photo, where Peter is five months old.
When I came home from school, when Peter was a baby, my first duty was to take him around the block in his carriage. I was 17 at the time. This was a huge chore for me, and something I resented, until a girl my age came out to look at Peter. She was kind of cute as I remember. Every day I strolled around where she lived, out she came. She actually wanted to talk to me. Suddenly my chore was something to look forward to. In the photo, Peter looks quite intellectual. A family can always make good use of a kid with brains.
Peter and Ian were relatively calm and collected compared to Robert, who was seriously wired. Peter was athletic and as a little squirt, loved to ride his bike at full speed up and down the street. I love the photo of Peter on his bike with a couple of neighbours.
At our wedding in August 1955, Peter is looking through our father’s legs. He was seven years of age.
When we were married and living in Dundas Ontario, Peter visited us, and on his own, went walking all afternoon along a rail line that went through the town. He was fascinated by trains, and was soon called “Train Brain” by the family. Mary was known for her sour cream raison pie, which became Peter’s favourite food as a young boy.