The Castleton Massacre by Sharon Anne Cook & Margaret Carson

Author:Sharon Anne Cook & Margaret Carson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press

A.D. Hall’s Death

As long as A.D. was alive and well, Robert remained partially controlled. This uneasy balance shifted dangerously in 1956, almost a decade after Robert had first tracked Florence east and walked forcibly back into the family’s life. That year, A.D. had a serious heart attack and spent some weeks in hospital. He was rarely again able to summon the strength to intimidate and reason with Robert.

After Robert’s vicious beating of Pearl in 1962, and her mother’s and her departure for Vancouver to hide from Robert, A.D. cared for the children on his own. He was clearly very unwell, and Robert took that opportunity to come and collect the two older children on most weekends. He pressed the children into service in whatever building project he embarked upon, expecting the children to get their own meals and to otherwise care for themselves.

A.D.’s death in 1962 was the source of deep grief for the whole family. It left Florence both abandoned, with Robert at close hand, and destitute. Margaret and Brian were heartbroken and worried. But Patsy was the child who showed her distress most clearly. She concerned everyone with her response: her naturally quiet nature became almost dazed. Everyone noticed it, despite the tension in the home. Her school principal observed that both he and her teacher noticed Patsy’s sadness and anxiety, and that they tried to show her extra attention to bring her out of her shock. Neighbours, too, saw her grief at the deep loss in her life.

Florence and the children felt shunned by the Colborne community at A.D.’s funeral. On a visitation to view his body, Florence divulged to the children that A.D. was their natural father. In retrospect, neither child was surprised by this fact, since they had always related to A.D. as a parent. But they continued to call Robert “Dad” together with Pearl, even though they now were alerted that Robert was not related to them.

At the funeral, Florence, Margaret, and Brian were forced to stand at the back of the church, unacknowledged and ignored. They stayed for a while and then left in tears. Florence had not been prepared for this reaction, and it was a reminder of how fragile her social standing was within the community. No members of Florence’s family attended.

Now that Florence and the children no longer had any claim to the law office where they had been living, Robert arrived late one night and moved Florence with the remaining children back to Castleton. There was no choice. Because A.D. and Florence were unmarried, he feared placing her in his will. However, he did buy property around the province in Bannockburn, Castleton, and other locations as one legacy on which Florence could draw. Unfortunately, because of Robert’s menacing presence, she could not sell any of the land, and it eventually went to the various municipalities for back taxes.

Colborne, 1960. A.D. Hall’s law office was the last building in the row at the extreme right. The family lived in the two-room law office for three years.

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