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Wooden Shoes for a Favourite Niece

online resource
posted on 2024-06-05, 18:09 authored by Their Finest Hour Project Team

At the end of the war, my great uncle Pete Marceau was billeted with a family in the Netherlands after spending six long years fighting overseas. They discovered he had a beloved niece Mary Lou (my mother) back home in Canada and crafted a pair of wooden shoes for him to send to her. Despite having almost no food themselves, they still managed to stuff the shoes with candy for the little girl. This act of generosity and appreciation still chokes me up to this day. A few years ago, my mother gave the wooden shoes to my daughter Holly with a letter describing them as part of her heritage.

History

Item list and details

A pair of wooden shoes sized for a girl aged 10. They were sent back home to Canada in the spring of 1945.

Person the story/items relate to

Pvt Peter Marceau, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

Person who shared the story/items

Robb Johnstone

Relationship between the subject of the story and its contributor

The person who sent the wooden shoes was my great-uncle Peter Marceau. The little girl who received the shoes was my mother Mary Lou Marceau.

Type of submission

Shared online via the Their Finest Hour project website.

Record ID

90274