Frouws Family fonds
https://collections.galtmuseum.com/en/permalink/descriptions95978
- Date Range
- 1931-2009
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession No.
- 20191038
- Physical Description
- 26 cm of textual records; 57 photographs; 1 digital audio recording
- Scope and Content
- An oral history interview (20191038/024) was conducted with Carol Darmody. The content centered around family photographs and family history. Below is a brief summary, for more details see item 20191038024 Oral History Interview - Carol Darmody. During the interview that was conducted in 2019 with…
- Date Range
- 1931-2009
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Creator
- Frouws Family
- Physical Description
- 26 cm of textual records; 57 photographs; 1 digital audio recording
- History / Biographical
- John Jr. Frouws and Irene Nagy both grew up in Southern Alberta. The Frouws family moved from the Netherlands in 1925 and eventually settled Lethbridge in 1928. The Nagy family moved from Hungary to Taber in 1905, and settled in Diamond City in 1908. John Jr. Frouws and Irene Nagy met in Lethbridge as teenagers and began a 70+ year love affair, with each other and their community. Irene Nagy worked as a hairdresser during the 1930s in Calgary, Lethbridge, Chicago, and Windsor. Meanwhile, John Jr. Frouws stayed in Lethbridge working in the Galt Gardens for the City of Lethbridge. Keeping in touch throughout this time, Irene and John reunited in Lethbridge just before WWII. John Jr. enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces and served in WWII from 1941-1945, while Irene stayed in Southern Alberta. Throughout their separation, the couple exchanged letters. While John was on military leave in 1943, they married, and he returned to England days later to receive demolition training. After the war, Irene and John Jr. Frouws were reunited and settled in Lethbridge, where John worked for the City of Lethbridge as a streetcar motorman and bus driver. In the same year, the Frouws’ purchased a new veteran’s home at 134 Dieppe Blvd in Parkdale, and started a family with two daughters, Carol and Diane. John Jr. retired from the City in 1977. Throughout their lives, John and Irene Frouws enjoyed tending their garden, which won multiple Lethbridge and District Horticultural Society awards through the 1950s. Dedicated to their family, their community, and to each other, John Jr. and Irene Frouws donated generously to local and overseas organizations.
- Scope and Content
- An oral history interview (20191038/024) was conducted with Carol Darmody. The content centered around family photographs and family history. Below is a brief summary, for more details see item 20191038024 Oral History Interview - Carol Darmody. During the interview that was conducted in 2019 with Carol Darmody, daughter of Irene and John Jr. Frouws, Carol spoke about the importance of the strength of John and Irene’s bond. She described how both of her parents came from poor Southern Alberta families, and that it was their modest upbringings that united the couple. Their family experiences and similar lifestyles provided the foundation of their relationship and their own family values. Carol stated that a central element of their relationship was their mutual love of gardening and the Southern Alberta landscape. After purchasing their 134 Dieppe Blvd home in Lethbridge in 1945, John Jr. and Irene Frouws tended their prized garden. The garden won numerous awards during the 1950s, and Carol emphasized that it brought their whole family, and community, together. During the summer months as the girls were growing up, all of the neighborhood kids from Parkdale would come to play, and tend, the Frouws’ garden; endearing the Frouws’ to their community. 2019.1038/001: Frouws Family History, background information on the Nagy’s, the Frouws’, and Irene and John Jr.’s lives. 2019.1038/002: Photographs of the Frouws family home, 134 Dieppe Blvd, 3 photographs, ca.1947. 2019.1038/003: Newspaper articles about 134 Dieppe Blvd, including the Frouws’ Horticultural award winnings, and John Jr.’s canning winnings, 1950-1951. 2019.1038/004: Frouws family photographs Part 1/3, Irene and John Jr., 16 photographs, 1850-2003? 2019.1038/005: Frouws family photographs Part 2/3, John Jr. at War, 9 photographs, 1940-1943? 2019.1038/006: Frouws family photographs Part 3/3, John, Irene, Carol and Diane, 21 photographs, 1949-1980? 2019.1038/007: Nagy family photographs, 6 photographs, ca. 1921 -1942 2019.1038/008: Miscellaneous Articles on Frouws family members; includes the Lethbridge Herald John Jr. Transit Superintendent, Your Foundation John and Irene Frouws, Lethbridge Herald 60th Wedding Anniversary Announcement, War reflections articles from John Jr. 1945-2006? 2019.1038/009: Irene Frouws’ Diary and Autograph book, 1931-1938. 2019.1038/010: Irene Nagy’s Hairdressing Notebook, 1938. 2019.1038/011: John Jr.’s Miscellaneous Wartime Handbooks; including Soldier’s Pay Book, Standard Tests of Elementary Training, Clothing and Equipment Statement, Dependents’ Allowance and Assigned Pay slip, 1942-1945? 2019.1038/012: Irene Nagy’s Hairdressing Manual, 1955? 2019.1038/013: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 1/8, 1940-1941. 2019.1038/014: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 2/8, 1942. 2019.1038/015: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 3/8, 1942-1944? 2019.1038/016: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 4/8, 1943. 2019.1038/017: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 5/8, 1943-1944. 2019.1038/018: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 6/8, 1944. 2019.1038/019: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 7/8, 1944-1945? 2019.1038/020: Letters from Johnny to Irene during WWII Part 8/8, 1945? 2019.1038/021: Miscellaneous Letters; Letter to Irene Frouws from Vera Reesor, 1945. 2019.1038/022: Letters from John to Irene, Carol, and Diane at Peace River, 1951. 2019.1038/023: War Diary Presented to John Jr. Frouws 1942-1945. 2019.1038/024: Oral history interview with Carol Darmody 2019. 1038/025: Agreements for Sale of Land, and Live Stock and Equipment, 1947.
- Accession No.
- 20191038
- Collection
- Archive