In Search of My Father
Whatever Happened to Charlie, the Home Boy?
by Winona Williams

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In Search of My Father: Whatever Happened to Charlie, the Home Boy? is the author's account of her father's life. Here, we travel with the author through not only her adventure in uncovering facts and details about her beloved father's early years, but about the context in which they took place - namely, the terrible legacy of the so-called "Home Children." Too late, she discovers the tragedy and hardships that her father experienced as a child. The ill-effects of the government's misdeeds remain long after they are committed, and the repercussions lasted in ways they never anticipated. However, this realization does enable the author to achieve a better understanding of the father for whom she has been searching, quelling her internal disquiet.

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Winona Williams lives on Nun’s Island in a private senior citizen residence. Prior to moving there, she resided in Montreal. For the first twenty years of her life she lived in an area known in Quebec as its Eastern Townships. She was born in Way’s Mills, grew up in Coaticook and attended Bishop’s University in Lennoxville where she acquired a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education. For many years she was employed by the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal. She taught English and History in inner-city schools to a student population which included a large number of migrant students. In 1963 she accepted the position of Social Science Teacher offered by the Department of Northern Affairs in a Residential School, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, which was located in Inuvik. There she taught Inuit and First Nations students. Upon leaving Inuvik she moved to New York city where she spent several months planning and preparing for a world tour, at the end of which she returned to Montreal. The Montreal Teachers’ Association invited her to represent it by volunteering to join a team of Canadian teachers, sponsored by the Canada Teacher Federation. She accepted and her team was sent to Mogadishu, Somalia, where they undertook helping Somali teachers improve their English language skills. Upon gaining its independence in 1968, English had become Somalia’s official language. When she retired in 1998, she became a member of McGill’s Institute for Lifelong Learning where she participated in creative writing courses. It was also here that she began her search for information about her father who she had learned several decades after his untimely death in 1958, was a Home Child.

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Contributors

Author

Winona Williams