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Annie Stewart GentlesMy Scottish Grannie Bell
Annie Stewart Gentles, my Grannie Bell, was born in Uphall, Scotland in 1881. Her father was Archibald Gentles (1855-1926) and her mother was Ann Stewart MacDonald (1858-1944). As a young woman, Annie attended business college sometime around 1898, while her parents lived in India. Her father was sent to India to oversee the building of a new Shale Oil Company plant. She later emigrated to Canada with her family in 1903, and they homesteaded in Alberta, near Dog Pound. She lived with her mother and sister, Margaret, in a drafty covered wagon the first winter while her father and younger brother, Robert, built a comfortable log house and slept in a shack nearby. In 1906, Annie married Ernest Leopold Bell (1863-1936) and homesteaded thirteen miles north of Cochrane near the Beaver Dam Creek. There, they ranched horses for sale to the RCMP and raised their four children. As one of the famous Steele's Scouts, Ernie had fought in the North West Rebellion in 1885. Though he was just under six feet tall, he was nicknamed Shorty, being the shortest of the famous group, and was rated by some its most expert plainsman. Ernie had trekked overland to the Klondike gold fields in 1898, but most strikes had already been made before he arrived at Dawson City. He did pan a few nuggets, though, and when he wed Annie, he had a Calgary jeweler craft their wedding rings by combining the Klondike gold with a gold ring that Annie's parents had brought her from India. Horses became less in demand after the First World War, and the Bell family sold their ranch and moved to Ontario in 1918, where they settled on a farm just east of Peterborough. Grannie lived in the other half of our big fieldstone farmhouse, so I came to know her quite well when I was a youngster in the early 1950s. She was Scottish through and through, and an excellent cook. Whenever she baked, I knew to stay nearby. She would take a golden scone warm from the oven, carefully split it with a table knife, then dab a wee bit of her homemade marmalade on it for me. I can still remember the marvelous taste. And her homemade oatmeal cookies were to die for! Grannie cooked mostly from memory so not many of her recipes survived. However, several are featured on this site and for that we are very grateful. TOP of Annie Stewart Gentles RETURN to About Us HOME to Dessert Recipes
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