Remembering Charles Dymond

Lenisha Dymond speaks about her family connections to St Peter’s Anglican Church in Springhill (New Brunswick), and her memories of her grandfather, Charles Dymond.

Transcription

Standing outside of St Peter’s Anglican Church in the church cemetery, with their backs turned to the viewer: Lenisha Dymond on the left and Mary Louise McCarthy-Brandt on the right.

[Mary Louise McCarthy-Brandt (MLMcC-B)] Okay so we’re going to move along to Saint Peter’s Church [Springhill, NB], which is in front of us, and can I ask how your family is connected to this church? 

[Lenisha Dymond (LD) – seated in St Peter’s Anglican Church cemetery, with the church in the far background; a bouquet of flowers beside her on a table] This is actually our family church. I (at one of our family dinners), I wasn’t sure if I was fifth generation or fourth generation to this church, but apparently, I’m fourth generation to this church. So I have been confirmed at this church, my dad was confirmed and baptized at this church, my grandmother took all of her children to this church, so my dad’s mom (my Nanny) and her family, and her family before that on both sides, I guess, used to come to this church,

[Lenisha and Mary Louise are shown walking through the cemetery. Lenish points to the church as she speaks]

…and even myself with my kids. [Seated in the cemetery, with the church in the far background; a bouquet of flowers beside her on a table] I have two little boys, and they’ve both been baptized here, along with my cousin’s kids too! So it’s, a it’s a tradition… 

[MLMcC-B] seated beside Lenisha, reading her interview notes; a bouquet of flowers beside her on a table] And do you know anything about the history? Like how the church was built and… do you know anything about [it] in particular? There’s supposedly a unique stained glass window. 

[Interior view of St Peter’s Anglican Church, showing the altar area. The camera slowly pans in]

[LD] Yes, yes… I remember many many times, sitting with my Nanny in this church. We used to come almost every Sunday actually… and her always telling me the story about George Leek,

[Close-up view of the church’s stained glass window depicting George Leek and his neighbours building the church]

…and how that stained glass was reminiscent of a memorial for what the Black people did to build this church. To show the public that came to this church about how… what the history was. The ancestry… 

[Interior view of St Peter’s Anglican Church, showing the altar area]

…who went here. She talked about it a lot actually, and I think probably all my cousins know the story. 

[Close-up of Mary Louise, seated outside in the cemetery, reading her interview notes]

[MLMcC-B] Right… and so can you tell me a bit about your Dymond ancestors… like in terms of… I know you said your Grandfather… had Uncle Charlie passed when you were quite young? 

[Close-up of Lenisha, seated outside in the cemetery, a bouquet of flowers to her left]

[LD] Yes, in 1981, so I was only about a year and a half when he passed away. Okay… But I mean I have lots of stories of him, and how funny he was, and how if you made a bet with him that’s just what it was. We used to always play cards with him, and if you didn’t have money, he would play you for your toys. And if you lost, he took your toy, and he really would not give it back to you! So when he passed away, my Nanny had a huge trunk full of all of our toys that she handed back to the kids!