Tom Hathaway

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Biography

The following abbreviated biography was written by Donald Hathaway, Thomas' eldest son. Thomas McCullough Hathaway was born April 24, 1907 and he died on March 24, 1986. He lived his entire life near the hamlet of Dand, Manitoba, which lies about an hour southwest of Brandon, Manitoba. He was a dairy farmer whose pride and joy was his herd of pedigreed Ayrshire cattle. He married Evelyn Mary Hamblin of the same community and they raised a family of six.

It is tough to be the youngest male in a family of seven but such was the lot of the fifth child of Warren and Maud, named Thomas after his father’s favourite brother and McCullough to commemorate his grandmother’s family. He arrived in the spring of 1907, born on the homestead that his father had carved out of the Turtle Hills. The family moved shortly thereafter to the community where he would spend much of his life.

The “little house on the prairie” was exactly that, and Tom’s arrival made the roll call seven. There was solitude while ploughing a field but there was no privacy at home. He was small, destined to be the runt of the litter, a fact which encouraged him to seek the limelight whenever an occasion offered. He loved to entertain, telling stories or reciting poetry, and he was frequently called on to “do a turn” at community social events. His quick wit and insouciance led to engagements as an auctioneer and, although he was self-taught, he was an excellent salesman who produced great results for his customers.

His life was marked by three great tragedies, defining his world and his years with overwhelming power. First came the early death of his favourite brother only a couple of years his senior and his inseparable companion. He never stopped grieving Allan, whose name was given to my second son at Dad’s request. Next, the Great Depression swept over the prairies and Tom’s world like a tsunami, engulfing everything, destroying much of it. He was only 22 when the Crash of ’29 occurred and the nation’s economy went into a tailspin. The “Dirty Thirties” followed and even the area north of Whitewater Lake was engulfed by dust as tumbleweeds rolled across a land that lay parched and arid. Finally, there was the 1946 hunting accident that almost cost him his life, even as it sapped his future and subtracted years from his life. Tom was born into a tough spot in the line-up and it never got much better.

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Sources

1. ↑ Funeral Directors Statement of Death, Smith Funeral Home, Deloraine, Manitoba, March 24, 1986

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