West

(from newspaper clippings and 2006 interview)

Eddie West (1918–2006) was born in Warwick Twp. He was raised by his grandparents, Walter and Sarah Morris. Eddie did not go to school; instead he went to work at the age of 14 for Cecil and Mabel McNaughton. He continued working for them until they sold their farm in 1979. He also helped out at neighbouring farms along the road.

When the McNaughtons sold their farm, Eddie purchased a piece of property with a small home on Confederation Line and lived there until moving to the Watford Quality Care Centre in 1983, after suffering a stroke. Eddie never learned to drive, so he walked anywhere he needed to go. He said his doctor told him that is why he remained in such good health.

When Eddie started working in the early 1930s people used steam threshers, horse drawn equipment, milked their cows by hand, pumped water by hand and used coal oil lamps for light. Later years brought more modern equipment, such as tractors, but Eddie never drove one. During the Depression Eddie remembered men wandering the countryside looking for any kind of work for as little as a $1 a day.

Eddie remembered Kingscourt. This was a stop on the railroad line between Sarnia and London. There was a store, several houses, and John McCormick’s tile yard. Bricks that were made at the tile yard were used to build many of the brick homes in Watford. He also reminisced about when Watford had four barbers. A shave and a haircut cost 25 cents.

Chapter 24 of 25 - West Family

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