Theresa Fama followed her heart song and created a quilt. Her heart beat so loudly, she wrote a book.
Both the quilt and the book Who Knew? Growing up in Thunder Bay Beach is about her childhood memories and the community as a whole.
The quilt took nine months to complete. There's squares representing her family home, children in the water, her dog Rusty and herself relaxing in a chair. When she finished the quilt, she started writing down her childhood memories of growing up in the idyllic cottage retreat area with the beach, a playground, baseball diamond, a forest and more.
The stories grew beyond her family to the entire Thunder Beach community. It took Fama 18 months to complete the book.
"I started with my childhood stories and the quilt, but it's so much more," said Fama (nee Lafreniere) who now lives in Coldwater. "I ended up paying homage to every family in the area, 30 year-round families, plus cottagers who made a big difference in our lives."
Who Knew? Growing up in Thunder Bay Beach is a 301-page hardcover book which includes close to 700 historical photos Fama sourced from local families, including her own.
A book launch is Sunday, Aug. 13, at The Club House at McNamara Memorial Park in Thunder Beach between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Fama will have her quilt there and books for $70 cash or e-transfer.
Readers might be in for a shock because Thunder Beach when Fama was growing up is not like today's enclave for the rich. This is a story of a family of 10 who were "poor financially, but rich in love," said Fama.
When Fama was born in 1955, the fourth of eight children, the family was living in a converted chicken coop, 14' by 16', with no running water or indoor plumbing. Only later did they build a second room on the back that became the sleeping area for the entire family.
Later, when Fama's parents, Solange and Pierre, learned of a cottage that was being torn down, her father collected walls from the cottage to build a third room that became the bedroom for the one son in the family. It doubled as the laundry room. Her father also later put up a partition in the one large bedroom to create a private area for the couple. But they always had a crib in their room with the youngest child, said Fama.
One of the cottagers that helped the family was the McNamara family. The family built a Catholic church across the street that operated in the summer. That's where Fama was baptized.
The church became a one-room school house from September to June for local kids in Grades 1 to 8. Fama's older sisters went to the school, but it closed the year before Fama started school. She attended Sainte-Croix Catholic Elementary School in Lafontaine.
"The McNamaras helped the community so much," said Fama.
When the McNamara children got new tennis racquets, the old ones were given to Fama and her siblings. When Mary Anne NcNamara outgrew her playhouse, it was gifted to the Lafreniere children.
"This was the best gift any child could ever hope for. We have so many great memories of the playhouse. The older girls slept in there in the summer months. It was not insulated or heated, otherwise we probably would have slept in there all year," she said. It was also the location of Fama's only birthday party.
Thunder Beach was the perfect place to grow up, said Fama. There were at least six other girls her age and they spend their days outside in the park and forest.
"All the families were large, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 kids," said Fama. "Most local families were financially poor but we were so rich. We had so much love. We had the best playground anybody could ask for. All of Thunder Beach was our playground. Nobody had fences."
Fama — who traces her history back to the original white settlers, the Labatte family — said there were hard times "but the good memories outweigh the bad."
She remembers the good times in their tiny home with a single couch, the size of a love seat. Today Fama marvels at how her mother did all the child care, gardening, cooking and backing in such a tiny home.
"The kitchen was everything," she said.
The title of the book came out of her experiences. She quit high school after Grade 9 and moved away from home at the age of 16.
"Who knew all this would happen? Who knew someone with a Grade 9 education would become an author?"
To get a book after the launch, contact Fama by email at book.whoknewbytheresa@gmail.