Subseries 04 - House Histories and Correspondence

• Multiple media

1.6 cm of textual records
1 photograph: col.

This subseries contains the historical summaries of the western houses in Edmonton, Alberta of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario from 1982 to 1989. This subseries contains the correspondence, insurance documents, house valuations, and floor plans primarily for two houses that were compiled by Sister Mary Laurene Bradley. One house was a nine-room bungalow leased from October 2, 1982, to March 2, 1983. It was located on 143 Street in the Parkview District within a 20-minute walk to St. John’s Parish Church, in the west end of Edmonton. Although it had an electric fireplace, chapel, a carpeted but poorly insulated basement, a small front yard and fenced-in back yard, it was considered a poor investment due to innumerable repairs. There is correspondence from 1982 to 1983 requesting to either renting or buying a new residence suitable for four to five Sisters, a request for furnishings, house insurance, real estate and mortgage plans, and the search and bid for a new house. The second house Sister Mary Laurene Bradley wrote about was the purchase of a split level four-plex condominium on 148 Street, on July 20, 1983. She chronicled the activities of the second house from 1983 to 1989. The topics include renovations, repairs, house maintenance, visitors to the house, donations to furnish the house, Sisters who transferred to new work assignments, new Sisters assigned to the house, celebrations, retreats, conferences and workshops, decision to not have a chapel in the house, Myrtle the pet goldfish, a theatre outing to see the show Cats, and a visit to Drumheller, Alberta. There are also invoices, valuation estimates, property analysis for improvements, floor plans, and a photograph of Sister Mary Laurene Bradley seated on a floor cushion in front of a decorated Christmas tree in January 1989.