Profile
William Donohue: Born: 1887
Ruby Granger: Born: 1895 - Died 1918
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William with his grandson Bill (abt. 1942) |
Jellybeans
The minutes blow by like a cold northern breeze,
Chilling me and reminding me that time is calling.
My heart skips a beat as I am forced to be human.
I want to yell but I just put on a sweater.
The hours float by like dark clouds overhead,
Forcing me to run and look for cover.
My heart beats faster as time keeps winning.
I want to scream but I hoist my umbrella.
The days drift by like leaves in autumn,
Trying to hold on I have to let each slip away one by one.
My heart beats slower as I tire and stop to catch my breath.
I want to lash out but I just pick up a rake.
The years roll by slowly like the first snowfall,
As each flake hits the ground its purpose is served.
My heart feels heavy like the cover of a thick blanket.
I want to sleep but I pick up a shovel.
My life howls at me like the welcomed spring sun.
There is a time for everything and everything is possible.
My heart breaths a sigh of relief as it continues.
The years, days, hours and minutes are gone in a second.
Each second spent with you is another lifetime.
February 2003
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uby Granger would have to be considered a very strong, independent and determined young woman.
She must have felt a type of unbridled love for a young William Donohue (born: 1887) that the rest
of us only dream or hear of in such stories as Romeo and Juliet. She followed her heart to the point
that she was willing to sacrifice all the things that she was sure of in life.
Ruby Granger was born into a family that was Irish Protestant. Then to make matters even more
complicated the Granger family heralded a strong connection to the Orange Order. As a family, with
such a strong political and religious belief system, the thoughts of their daughter with an Irish Catholic
must have been scandalous, appaling and unbearable. I am sure that all fathers want what is best for their
daughters. However this news would have been incomprehensible. The tide of hatred and distrust between these
two groups has always been strained, at best, but during this time period tension was perhaps the highest.
When William Donohue and Ruby Granger were engaged she became a Catholic. This would have to be considered the
worst possible deed that an Irish Protestant family of Orangemen could endure for that time period (still today
for some). Her family immediately disowned her.
The marriage was a success and saw Ruby and William blessed with a son and two daughters. However,
the end of the First World War saw the men return with an enemy that killed with more swiftness than any
German bullet. The foe, in this case, was the Spanish Flu. In reality it effectively ended the war since
there were not enough healthy soldiers to take the field.
Though called the Spanish Flu, this epidemic did not originate in Spain. It was first reported in Canton in
February 1918, and spread with amazing rapidity across the world-to Asia, Europe, North and South America,
Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. No country was spared. The first wave was relatively mild - symptoms
sufficient to incapacitate a person but with low mortality. It is referred to in some accounts as the Three Day
Flu. In May and June, the British First Army in France had 36000 sick. In March and April, during the German
offensive, they had suffered such a high number
of casualties that could not be replaced that they were withdrawn from the Front Line and assigned to guard duty
at Haig's HQ at St.Omer. During May and June, there were 22 cases of Flu and no deaths. In June, the British Army
in the U.K., had 31,000 cases, six times the number of the previous month. The German Army had been affected in
April as well. General von Ludendorff partly blamed the flu for the failure of the German offensive in July.
The epidemic seemed to subside over the summer months. It was not until late August when the Second wave appeared.
But this time there was a small difference in the fact that it was now lethal. When we think of plagues, we think
of AIDS, Ebola, anthrax spores, and, of course, the Black Death. Influenza never makes the list. But in 1918 the Great
Flu Epidemic felled the young and healthy virtually overnight. An estimated 21 million people died as the pandemic raged.
Children were left orphaned and families were devastated. And no area of the globe was safe. Eskimos living in remote
outposts in the frozen tundra succumbed to the flu in such numbers that entire villages were wiped out.
The Spanish Flu brought back by returning soldiers ravaged Canadians. Public meetings were banned, hospitals
were overwhelmed by wounded and the flu-stricken and in 1918-19 a further 50,000 died in Canada during the worst
world epidemic ever recorded.
Ruby put up a courageous effort to battle the bigotry and hatred of her family. However, sometimes even the strongest
of hearts must fall. Her loss to the influenza pandemic must have been devastating for William and the children. However, they were
not alone in their grief, as many families prepared to bury loved ones. Even in her death, a father or family that
had to endure the public knowledge that their little girl had married an Irish Catholic did not forgive Ruby. Her
actual death was never recognized (except for her sister Annie), since it was held that she died the day that she
married.
I have read enough about Irish history to know the events that have taken place in Ireland from the beginning
of English rule to modern day. I do not believe that the events are totally based on religion. I think that the
two religions provide for a means of drawing separation lines. I would not attempt to try to figure out right
and wrong in a history steeped in blood. However, I am ashamed, to learn that I have any type of connection
to a group such as the Orangemen. This group could easily show similar groups in the southern United States
a thing or two about keeping those boys in line.
I think that Ruby Granger was a heroine during a period in time when few women, or men, would
have chosen to walk in her footsteps. I am proud to know that such a person of such strength existed
in my family tree.
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