INTRODUCTION

   The  reason for this booklet was prompted by recent newspaper articles promoting the movie “Maudie” which, unfortunately, omits Maud’s early years in Yarmouth from where most of her subject matter, in her paintings, originated.

   Along with my older sister, France, we still enjoy reminiscing about the 1920s and 1930s, when Maud and her parents were our neighbours.  It seemed a pity  to keep silent about the artist’s developing life, as  there now seems to be a growing admiration of her and her paintings.  These lines are intended to give an accurate, instead  of a fantasy, account of her early life and the events that influenced her inspirations.

   Bear in mind , also, that  the 1920s and 1930s witnessed the aftermath of WWI, the crash of the Banks in 1929, and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Those  who lived in that period, will agree that little was spent on fads, but rather on essentials.  In spite of her infirmities, Maud lived a rather fulfilling and happy life, in Yarmouth, with loving parents, a fairly large , comfortable home, beautiful flower beds and shrubs in her spacious yard, respectful neighbours, and interesting events occurring within  sight of her home.

   This description  of her early life seems to conflict with that  of her harsh life in the Digby area, as is often suggested in recent  newspaper  reports.  Her family , in Yarmouth, could easily be rated middle class.

                                                               

NEIGHBOURS  OF  MAUD AND HER PARENTS                        

 
NEIGHBOURS

   This writer became a  decade-long neighbour  to Maud Dowley (now known as Maud Lewis ), when my parents, Jeffrey and Lillian Thibeau, along with my older sister Frances, took ownership of the property  at 4 Forest Street, which extended  around the corner  to Hawthorne Street, where my father opened an Auto Repair Garage, he being one of the early such craftsmen in Yarmouth. That would be around 1925 when Maud was about 22 years of age.

THE FIELD

   Adjacent to the garage, on Hawthorne Street, was an unused, grass-covered field, measuring some 75x75 feet, which separated the Thibeau property from the property of Mr. And Mrs. John Dowley, (and Maud) at 4 Hawthorne Street. The Thibeaus  and the Dowleys  became  friendly neighbours.  When her father died in 1935, then her mother in 1937, the family moved from Hawthorne Street and we lost touch with them.  I mentioned this empty field that separated  our properties, because it allowed both families an unobstructed view of one another’s homes. The field would provide  recreational space for the Thibeau children whose numbers  had increased to seven, by 1935, aged 1 to 14  years of age.  Maud could often be seen looking from the curtains in her house, in cold weather; and from around her grounds, in warm weather, as the children amused  themselves there.  Was she thinking of the youthful games  that eluded her, due to her infirmities ?   Many of her paintings portrayed children at play, and these would likely be the only ones she had occasion to see at play.
  
That field, by the way, belonged to the Baker Bros. Who owned and operated the L.E. BAKER & SONS.  LTD., coal dealers  and owners of the large wharf on the edge of the harbour, at the foot of lower Forest Street. Their office and coal sheds were adjacent to the wharf. (All of which is now part of the Ferry Terminal). My father approached the Baker gentlemen, on several occasions, offering to buy the field, but in vain, although they had no objection to our stringing clothes lines , extending from our building to a maple tree on the edge of the Dowley property. This clothesline provided occasions for my mother and Mrs. Dowley to meet and chat.

   The Dowleys’ property was surrounded by a well-kept picket- fence, of medium height, which did not block  the view of one another’s homes.

HER OTHER  NEIGHBOURS

   Our property was on the South  side  of the Dowley house, and an elderly McCormack family  lived on the north side. They were a rather quiet couple and did not relate, to any extent, to neighbouring families.

THE THOMPSONS 

    Across the street,  from the Dowley house, on Hawthorne street, lived an elderly widow, a Mrs. Thompson, with  her adult daughter, Margaret.  Her husband had been a successful Yarmouth merchant, operating a business up the hill, on the corner of Main and Forest Streets,  just above their home.  They owned a large field across from their home  ( now the Tourist Bureau), as well as the large barn on Hawthorne  Street ( now the Farmers’  Market), and, of importance to this writer, he was the owner from whom my father bought our property. There seemed to be little activity  at the barn, during those years, but , on the few occasions when the large doors were opened, one could see a number of wagons and equipment of earlier vintage .


THE BELVUE HOTEL  

   Across the street from  the Thibeau residence, at 5 Forest street, a Mrs Wallace operated the BelVue Hotel, featuring a large verandah, giving  her guests a clear view of the activities along  Hawthorne Street and the Baker wharf. Our home, though,  partially shielded the view of the hotel from the Dowley residence.
  

SWEENEY’S  GENERAL STORE

   Immediately below the hotel, adjacent to Water Street, a Mr. Walter Sweeney owned and operated a large general store, catering to fishermen’s needs, on the ground floor; and his own family residence on the upper floor, featuring a large verandah along the street side of the building.  Walter Sweeney’s son, Lawrence, eventually  became the owner, building  up a huge fisheries business, including  a fleet of fishing vessels. ( This property was also sold to the government as part of the Tourist Bureau).


ALONG HAWTHORNE  STREET

There were dwellings  ,along Hawthorne Street, north of the Dowley and Mc Cormack properties,  but  the Dowleys seemed not to have established any relationship with those, although Mrs. Dowley and Maud  walked by their houses, on their way to the movie theatre, at least three evenings a week.  On these occasions, Maud always wore a scarf or a high collar, concealing her malformed chin.  Mr. Dowley, also walked along the street to and from his harness shop on Jenkins Street. Without  a car or horse and buggy, the Dowley property was conveniently  located, just a short walk  from his   workshop, the movie theatre and grocery stores.

HAWTHORNE STREET: ITS UNIQUENESS 

  Hawthorne Street was a unique street of Yarmouth. It was just two blocks long, but ran parallel to both Main and Water streets, halfway between these two thoroughfares. The only such street in the Town. It was primarily a residential street, at that time, with homes lining both sides of the street.  One large exception, was the very large barn, a warehouse, facing the Dowley home, on the opposite side of the street. ( It’s now used as a Farmers’ Market, and it’s front door faces the former front door of the Dowley residence).

SHIPS’  BALLAST

   The actual roadway itself, gives Hawthorne Street  a distinctive character.  Being one block  up the hill, from the waterfront, it is said that the former  sailing ships, which arrived empty, to take on exports, would unload some of their  ballast, depositing it on Hawthorne Street, forming a firm basis upon which road gravel was spread, resulting in a mud-free road every Spring.

STEEP DROP-OFF BEHIND HER PROPERTY LINE

   Another special feature of Hawthorne Street,  was the steep drop- off, of  some 25 feet, at the rear property line of each property,  to the level of Water street below,   where large warehouses  lined that street. Over the previous decades, when the Yarmouth Port  boasted  of having its sailing ships trading around the world ( 1870s – 1880s), these warehouses  were said to house precious cargos.    This drop-off applied to Maud’s house as well.  In fact, at the rear of her hose, there was an entrance to her cellar, and, above that door was a small balcony,  large enough for a small table and chair where, in fine weather, she could be seen applying her talent.  From that vantage point, Maud could see over the tops of the buildings below, with clear sight  of the harbour, the fishing vessels arriving and leaving, the comings and goings of the ferries, the seagulls swarming over  boats unloading  their catch.  Many of Maud’s paintings show birds soaring high above the landscape, like the seagulls above Bakers’ wharf. This appeared to be Maud’s den of peace.

TRAINS TOOTING

   From her small balcony, Maud had a clear vision, between warehouses below, of the shunting - trains along Water Street, delivering freight to the businesses established there.  At some point, the engineers noticed this young lady, high   up on the next level, and when they saw her shyly waving, would give a toot! toot! in response.  If my brothers and sisters heard that train whistle, we would look at the rear balcony of the Dowley home and see Maud waving.  We  used to think that her nice little gesture, enriched the lives of those engineers, confined  to their seats near the combustion chamber of those steam engines , especially on warm days  of summer.

HANDSOME HORSES

   Maud frequently included horses, in her drawings, hauling sleighs or wagons  filled with happy people.  It seems very likely that her inspiration concerning horses, grew from her experience watching them at a business near her home.   Immediately  below the Dowley, Thibeau property lines, on Water Street, a merchant ,by the name of Bill Philips. owned and operated a moving company,  not with trucks, which were quite rare at that time, in Yarmouth, but with horses. They were strong, work horses, some, it was said, came from the prairies. These, especially, were handsome and full of energy.
Their wagons, in fine weather, were long, flat-bed carts, hardly a foot above the ground, which  delivered goods around town, especially canvas bags of coal, which was the heating fuel of most homes.  If there was snow, the horses were harnessed instead to wagons with sleds. These horses often stood idly,   in their parking lot , awaiting new consignments.    Being close to the Bakers’ coal sheds also made good sense, because much of their business  came from that company.

   When ships, loaded with coal, arrived at the Baker Wharf, these horses, hitched to large dump carts, would load up near the ship, deliver the coal to the Baker weighing scale, then to the coal shed, and  head back to the ship for another load.  It was not unusual to   see some of these horses actually trotting back  for another load. . 

The same would be true, when ships arrived to load up pulp wood, different wagons were used , but the same  horses.  Several days  were needed to load and/or unload  each ship.  Oddly, too, when a newly arrived horse was added to the company, the smallest teamster  was invariably given the task of breaking it in, for a period of time.  

Maud had an unobstructed view of all these  recurring events.


MAUD’S WINTER INSPIRATIONS

   On a number of occasions, when the streets became covered with snow,  teenagers from across the town, would gather on lower Forest Street, with their sleds, for an exciting sledding experience.  This was a rather steep, downhill  street, when traffic abandoned it to the young people for some sliding fun.  It’s special appeal  was the length of the course, which  ended up, on a quiet day, on Baker’s Wharf. The upper part of the hill was shielded from Maud’s view, but she heard the excited screaming of the sledders, and would catch sight of them half-way down, speeding to the end. 


THE VALUED  NICHOL

   Approaching the mid 1930s, this writer was some 12 years of age, and an active Boy Scout, so , on the occasion of a large snowfall, I  offered to shovel the Dowleys walkway from the street to the front door, then to the side door.  When finished, Mrs. Dowley  invited me inside, while she hustled off to another room for a reward.  As I stood waiting, I took notice of the neatness of the well furnished room,  when I noticed Maud just inside of another room, where the door was partially closed, and Maud quietly standing there , showing a shy smile. When her mother reappeared, I was presented with a five cent piece, a coin of some value in those days, as the price of an ice cream cone, half the price of a ticket to the movie theatre matinee, or half the price of a bottle of soda pop. This was my only entrance to the Dowley house.

MAUD’S DISTRACTIONS       

   My Father’s auto repair garage, where different models arrived for repairs, along with their drivers, must have been a distraction to Maud although the garage  remained closed on Sundays.   All of his work was done within the garage, thus preventing noise on the outside.  Cars waiting for repairs, were often parked along the street, abreast  of the field,  so my father’s garage business created no noise  to the neighbours.  In spite of this closeness to  cars, in those days,  Maud  seems not to have  used  cars as the object of her paintings .

A STRANGE INCIDENT

   One evening, shortly after dark, my older sister and a younger sister named Margaret, were sent on an errand, likely to the grocery store a block away.  In a family of six children, this was a rather common event.  As they left by the back door of our house, they walked by a car waiting its turn to be serviced in my father’s garage. The car was an early Model T Ford, completely enclosed with side flaps, as protection against rainy weather.  To my sisters’ surprise, they spotted Maud, partially hidden, seated in the rear seat. So as not to embarrass her, my sisters pretended not to have seen her, and walked by,  looking the other way. The car, by the way,  was parked near the sidewalk, quite near to the Dowley fence, but it was still a surprise to see Maud doing this.    It seemed so out-of –character, for her.                      

BOSTON FERRIES

   Up until the start of the second world war, Yarmouth had regular ferry service to and from Boston.  (These ships were  eventually expropriated by the government as troop carriers).  From her small balcony, Maud had a clear view of these ferries heading  further up the harbour to their   terminal.  The ship’s rails were crowded with tourists, many waving happily, perhaps in response to Maud’s shy gesture?

SAILING SHIPS

   Sailing vessels, quite similar to the Nova Scotia Bluenose, often  docked at the Baker Wharf, and Maud would have had a clear view of these impressive ships.  These were fishing schooners, and many of them  had Yarmouth County men as crew members, even those registered at  Glouster, Mass.

   On one occasion, in particular,  twelve such schooners docked at Baker’s Wharf, as a shelter from  a major storm.  These were docked abreast  of one another, out  into the harbour- channel, as the pier was not long enough to accommodate all of them against the dock.

   This writer still has a clear memory of this occasion, because, one of the schooners, the Gertrude L. Thibault, came  close , on one occasion, to actually beating  the famous Bluenose in a race. Our family name, some generations ago, was also spelled Thibault.  Maud must have had many happy memories of her years spent with her family  in Yarmouth. From the time this writer was old enough to  actually bcome curious of this crippled lady, He never saw her looking sad, but rather so absorbed in her daily pastime of painting.
                

MAUD’S PARENTS

 
HER FATHER: JOHN DOWLEY

   John Nelson Dowley was born in Yarmouth, son of Charles K. Dowley and Isabel ( Crowell) Dowley, of Barrington, in 1872.  He was a harness maker, by trade, operating a workshop on Jenkins Street, just three blocks north of his  Hawthorne Street home.  This meant  that he had a rather short walk to and from work daily.  This may explain why the family had  neither a car nor a horse and wagon.  Due to the number of horses in Yarmouth needing harnesses, he would have  been fairly busy.  The annual agricultural exhibition, on the corner of Parade and Pleasant Streets, where farmers brought in their well-groomed horses and oxen, all with elaborate harnesses, one can presume that this was added work for Mr. Dowley. (The exhibition  buildings were  eventually destroyed by fire, and the property expropriated by the government for military huts). 
    As to her father’s physical appearance, he was rather short of stature, and slight of build; he, nevertheless, walked spryly,  and smiled easily. These were fitting  qualities  especially for his employment evenings. His son, Charles, was manger of the local movie theatre, and John Dowley  collected the tickets , at the door of the theatre, six evenings a week, from about 6:30  to 9:30 p.m.  This also explains  why Mrs. Dowley and Maud, possessing  passes, rarely missed a movie.  This extra job required Mr. Dowley to hurry home, from his harness shop, at the close of the work days, eat a hurried meal, change his clothing and walk  the rather short distance to the theatre,  before the movie-goers arrived.

MAUD’S MOTHER: AGNES MARY DOWLEY

   Agnes  Mary Dowley,  was  born in Digby, of John Germain and  Eliza (Porter) Germain.  She was a homemaker. She was somewhat of a taller stature than her husband  and carried herself with a certain dignity.  This was indicated when we saw her talking to our mother at the clothesline, or attending to her many flower beds, as well as when she and Maud left their home evenings, to attend the movies.  On these latter occasions,  Mrs. Dowley always seemed to be carefully groomed and attired, in the style, perhaps, of an earlier decade, that is, with large hats and garments touching her ankles.  Maud would be clutching her mother’s arm with one hand and hiding her misshaped chin with a scarf or high collar.  There always seemed to be a warm relationship between Maud and her mother.  Mrs. Dowley would usually walk to the theatre six nights a week, and return with her husband, while Maud would usually attend the changing shows,  three times a week,  remaining home alone the other three evenings.

CHARLES DOWLEY

   He appeared to be somewhat older than Maud, when we knew of him, and usually wore a felt hat.    He was already married, though separated from his wife. He lived in a rented apartment, above a clothing store, diagonally across from the movie theatre, where he was manager,  providing a free pass  to the movies to Mrs. Dowley and Maud. When he was not at the theatre, he could often be seen watching the comings and goings there from his apartment window.  Moreover, his father worked for his son, evenings, collecting the tickets to the movies, both at the early and the later showings.

   When his father died in 1935, he was the executor of his parents’ estate, arranging the funeral details with the undertaker.  This would be the case, too, when his mother died in 1937.  Both are buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Yarmouth.

   He immediately  put his parents’ property up for sale, which was purchased by a Mr. Ernest Shediac, a senior  carpenter at the Yarmouth Woodworkers, who was  responsible for the fabrication of doors, windows and cabinets. (It’s to be noted that this company soon had to hire extra help, in order to provide doors, windows and cabinets for the wartime  military  buildings  being constructed  near Pleasant Street, and at the Yarmouth Airport).

   What had to be of deep concern to Charles  Dowley, at this time , had to be a dwelling for his younger sister, Maud.  There seemed not to be  relatives in the Yarmouth area with whom she could dwell, and, due to her physical condition, she could not care for herself, so her brother  was able to arrange for her to live with her aunt in the Digby area. For Maud, the death of her loving parents, and the loss of her comfortable home on Hawthorne Street, plus the moving to an unfamiliar area, had  to be terribly unsettling, possibly traumatic.

   When the WWII broke out in 1939, Charles Dowley resigned his position as Manager of the movie theatre, called the Majestic Theatre,  then enlisted in the Military and left the area.

MAUD’S  HOME

   Maud’s home was similar in style to many middle class houses, in the Yarmouth area.  The pitched roof of the   two-story front part, was somewhat larger than the  rear half of the house.  The property was surrounded by an attractive ,picket fence.  Footpaths and well manicured flower  beds occupied the ample, enclosed grounds.  It had a nice, homey appearance to it, and Maud often , on sunny days, wandered about it, whilst her mother doctored the variety of flowers. The house, painted a darkish gray, with slightly darker windows and trims, was more than adequate  in size for the family. The interior of the house, as  this writer noted on the occasions he shovelled  snow from  the footpath, appeared to be comfortably furnished.

   Maud’s Yarmouth home was a far cry from the humble dwelling she would later occupy on Highway One, near  Digby.

MAUD’S  YARMOUTH  FRIENDS

   These are the people who had reason to be in regular touch with the Dowley family ( Maud included) and shared experiences as described above.

MY SISTER FRANCES

   As my sister reached her teens, she and Maud began to chat more frequently with one another, over the picket fence separating our properties.  Though biologically much older, Maud did not appear to be  intellectually much older, if at all.  She admitted that her schooling was minimal, due to senseless harassment on the part of fellow students.  Her severe ailments, of course, would hardly promote self education.  Their conversations dwelt on the growing Thibeau family, the beauties of nature, the interesting activities around Hawthorne  and Water Streets.  This writer observed their chattings, but a boy in his middle teens, would not be likely to interrupt two girls chatting,  and he did not. Our family was never aware of any other young ladies ever visiting Maud, so we tend to think that our sister Frances was the only girl friend Maud had.
One detail, regarding these chattings, revealed by my sister, was that Maud did not deem it necessary to cover her chin, as she normally did with others, but she would lower her chin downwards, thus having to raise her eyes upwards, near her eyebrows, to address her whilst talking.

   The Thibeau family lost knowledge of Maud for some fifteen years, until, in the early 1950s, on his monthly trip to and from the Annapolis Valley, this writer spotted the small, oddly painted dwelling, on Highway  One, outside of Digby.  An  inquiry led to finding out that it was the dwelling of our old friend Maud.  One fine day, in the late 1950s, My sister Frances, by then a married mom, dropped in to pay Maud a visit. The front door was open, and my sister caught sight of Maud ascending to  her small loft.  She called Maud by name,  who immediately looked around to see the caller, and, without  hesitation, said: “Frances!”. She quickly  descended, warmly greeted my sister, and began asking questions about the Thibeau family, and the changing scenes in and around Hawthorne Street.  She had not erased, nor forgotten, the memory of her years  on Hawthorne Street.

   Everett Lewis, her husband, did not attempt to interrupt the two ladies, aware that they were discussing an earlier period of Maud’s life, of which he was totally unaware. My sister was pleased that Maud  appreciated her visit, but saddened by her living conditions.

GRETRUDE HERSEY

   This lady was an occasional visitor to the Dowley family, and appeared always to be a welcome quest, but the true relationship was not clear.  She was the saleslady at the Peter Nichol’s Clothing Store on Main Street, about a block from Hawthorne Street.  That store sold quality, womens clothing, the kind usually worn by Mrs. Dowley. So the relationship may have grown from clothing  choices.

JAMES AMIRAULT

   This gentleman operated a grocery store in Yarmouth South, throughout the depression, and continuing on for decades.  He made regular deliveries to the Dowley home, and assured this writer, during an interview, that he invariably would see Maud  absorbed in her painting, on a table, in foul weather, and on the balcony,  during sunny days.  She would look from her painting and show a smile. Like most observers, he said he admired her grit.

JOE BENT

   An electrician, by trade, with a store outlet on Cliff Street.  Somewhat similar to that of Mr. Dowley, he held a secondary job evenings.  He was the projectionist at the theatre, even before Charles had been hired as manager.  He continued during the stay of Maud’s brother, and, even after  Charles enlisted in the military.  Joe claimed to know Mr. Dowley personally, even visiting the harness shop on Jenkins. Street., finding it to be suitably set up for a harness trade.  He noted that Mr. and Mrs. Dowley were always carefully groomed at the theatre.  When Maud accompanied her parents, she also dressed fittingly, returning home with her parents around 9;30p.m.  At times, though, Maud attended the late show at 9.00 p,m. returning home alone around 11:00 p,m.  Joe regularly saw Maud arriving for the show, and described her as being childlike, and always showing a shy smile.
  
ERNEST HATFIELD

   This gentleman had the keenest memory of the Dowley family activities,  as they related  to the Majestic Theatre.  He was first hired as doorman to the theatre, greeting first John Dowley, then Mrs. Dowley six nights a week, and Maud, at the three changing features a week. At an interview this writer had with him in 2003, he spontaneously  noted that all  three were always carefully groomed and dressed.  He stated that Maud usually stopped at the lobby canteen to purchase sweets, and  shyly offer some to him.  He mentioned that he felt obligated to watch for her safety, especially when she attended movie showings by herself.  She , apparently, had a reserved seat in the theatre, where she would watch the movies without being  observed by the movie-goers.

   When Mr. Dowley passed away in 1935,  Ernest Hatfield was promoted to the position of  ticket-taker at all the movies, including the Saturday afternoon childrens’ showing.  Apparently, Maud never attended the Saturday matinees, for fear of being ridiculed by the kids.  By the time   Mrs. Dowley passed away in 1937,  Maud’s brother had sold   the Hawthorne Street Dowley  property,  and Ernest stated that he then lost complete touch with Maud and her family.

   When WWII  Erupted, Charles Dowley resigned as manager of the theatre, and joined the military.  Ernest Hatfield was then named manager by the theatre’s share-holders.  
    
   
                                               WHAT BECAME OF MAUD’S  YARMOUTH HOME ?                       

As mentioned  in another chapter, Maud’s brother, Charles, as executor  of their parents’ estate, sold the Dowley property to a carpenter, employed by the Yarmouth Woodworkers, a Mr. Ernest Shediac, who lived there for more than a decade.  After WWII, Tradesmen were being lured , by high-paying jobs, to Labrador.  Mr. Shediac was one of the many from Yarmouth, who accepted the offer, and, eventually,  sold the former Dowley property.

    A Mr. V. Pothier, employed by the Government Manpower Division, moved in the home with his wife and children, but was transferred to the Town of Digby, so the former Dowley property home was again left unoccupied for awhile.
A  Mr. G. Fougere, of Yarmouth, then took possession of the property, with his wife and children, remaining a few years.
Whereas Maud had a minimal education, the last dweller of the Dowley property was a dedicated educator, a Mr. V. Landry.  He and his family dwelt there until the late 1970s when they sold the property to Frank Thibeau, a younger son of Mr. Jeffrey Thibeau, Maud’s Yarmouth neighbour: Frank Thibeau. 

    Mr. Jeffrey Thibeau had retired and closed his auto repair garage in 1967, and moved to Albert Street,  turning over the Forest and Hawthorne Streets property to his son Frank, who returned from Dundas, Ontario, with his wife and children. The Thibeau property was replaced by  the Colony Restaurant.  The Colony Motel was added in the 1970s, and needing ample parking space, several properties along  Hawthorne Street ( including the Dowley house) were purchased and demolished for that purpose.  As mentioned earlier, the front door of the Dowley house, would  have been across the street from the present Farmers’ Market front entrance.
    Frank Thibeau was too young to have known Maud, but Maud would have seen Frank in his earliest years, as he played in the field with his siblings,   in the field separating the two properties.

THE RISING VALUE OF MAUD’S PAINTINGS              

CONTRIBUTED INFORMATION

   A Yarmouth couple, owning a summer cottage on Lake Annis, Yarmouth County, shared with this writer a conversation they had with an American gentleman, a Mr. John Whittiker, who  spent part of his summer vacation in his cottage near theirs.  He was on the staff of President Nixon.  Mr. Whittiker stated that, whilst driving along Highway One, near Digby, he noticed Maud’s small, brightly colored dwelling.  Curious, he stopped and noticed her paintings on sale.  One painting caught his fancy, purchased it, at a bargain price, and, when he returned to the White House, Washington, he hung it in his office, where the President noticed it, and asked about the artist.  He asked if Maud might do a painting for him, of a particular subject matter.  The following summer, Mr. Whittiker approached Maud, and she consented to do so.  When that painting eventually appeared  on Mr.Nixon’s   wall, the news quickly spread, and soon tourists wee purchasing Maud’s paintings at increasingly higher prices.

EPILOGUE

     This concludes the witnessed description of Maud ( Dowley) Lewis’  sojourn on Hawthorne Street, Yarmouth, by her neighbours, the family of Jeffrey and Lillian Thibeau, between the early 1920s and the late 1930s.  Other more qualified writers have already written or soon plan to write, about the other years of Maud’s life, but our family would not have been  witnesses to those events.

   In conclusion, therefore, we remember Maud as a determined lady who trained herself, as do many artists and athletes, to live a life as normal as possible, by intently applying  themselves to their talent, and succeeding, to a great degree, in  ignoring  their pain. Many such talented persons neglect their bodily health, and die prematurely from malnutrition.  This seems to apply to Maud.