A Cottlesville love story: Letters, cards open tale of war-time romance

A yellow shoebox sits on the table in front of Lindy and Lloyd Rideout.

Postcards and pictures dating back to 1912 spill out on to the kitchen table inside of the century-old family home.

The postcards tell the love story of Sidney Rideout and Elsie King, both from Cottles Island now Cottlesville.

"We've known about it. It's been there for years," said Lindy Rideout.

"But to take it out now...That shoebox contains a lot of information. We may not have all the pieces but we certainly have enough of the fragments to put that story together."

Sidney left to fight in the First World War one of seven men who fought in the Great War from the small outport town of just over 100 people.

His brother Cadiz also enlisted.

Throughout the war Sidney and Elsie kept in touch.

"Here's one he sent," said Lloyd Rideout. "(Elsie) was courting Sidney and she always sent him cards."

There aredozens of postcards with Sidney's scrawl on the back."I wonder if you miss me sometimes," reads one. "You must be kissed," reads another.

But one day Sidney's cards stopped.

Death in battle

"He was killed in Beaumont-Hamel," said Lindy. "So these are powerful postcards."

But Elsie continued to get cards signed by a Rideout.

"And this one was from Cadiz,"Lindy told me. "And this one says, 'Merry Christmas.'"

In a twist pulled from a love story, Cadiz began courting Elsie.

The story is still being pieced together as Lloyd and Lindy sort through contents ofthe shoebox, which also includesletters Cadiz from hospital in London, where he was treated after beingwounded at the battle in Monchy-le-Preux, France.

"Had a good day yesterday," writes Cadiz on Sept. 10, 1917. "Met some friends. From Cadiz Rideout."

"That's my grandfather, your father," Lindysaid to Lloyd.

Love lost, love found

Cadiz recovered and eventuallycame back to Cottles Island, where hestarted a family with Elsie.They had three children, theyoungest of whomwas Lloyd.

"He didn't talk to mother about the war," recalled Lloyd. "Cadiz never talked about it. He'd just get off of the subject. When you talk about it he'd talk about something else. He never wanted to talk about it."

Cadiz died when Lloyd was just seven years old.

The shoebox pulled from the attic is all Lloyd has to find out about his father's service in the war.

But he still has memories of how hard life was after the war for his family.

Life after war

"My oh my, wasn't so bad as they had it in the war, I guarantee you," recalled Lloyd. "But we didn't have no picnic."

"We had it so bad in the house here that we had second-hand books," said Lloyd.

"We couldn't afford two lots of school books so the teacher but me and Ozwald in the same grade. It wasn't fair to put Ozwald back so they put me up with Ozwald. And this is why I'm so stunned, I never had a chance."

Lloyd laughed as he continues the story of how his mother survived on $5 a month.

"The only tight place in the house that didn't leak was under the table. We learned our lesson under the table," said Lloyd,as he pounded on the table inside the very same home he was raised in.

"I'll never forget what I used to go through."

Cadiz died in 1945, buried with his medals pinned on his lapel.

Elsie died in 1962.

"She died of a heart attack. She was 64. And she died of a heart attack," said Lloyd. "On Nov. 11. Remembrance Day."

Lindybelieves his grandmotherdied of a broken heart.

A pilgrimage to Europe

Now the father and son are retracing the Rideout brothers steps nearly a century after the brother's fought in World War I.

Where these soldiers spent their last few days and hours, I'd like to see that.- LindyRideout

"To be in the spotI want to experience the same geography, the smell the place were all of this took place. I want to visit all of these places," said Lindy, who named his son after his grandfather,Cadiz.

"Where these soldiers spent their last few days and hours, I'd like to see that. I'd like to experience it for them."

Lloyd is 80 years old and has never been to Europe.

"I want to get to Monchy-le-Preux. We're going to Beaumont-Hamel. But I gotta get to Monchy-le-Preux. Suppose I have to walk and it's going to take two days because I'll be left over there because Lindy will [have] comehome," joked Lloyd.

"I have to get to Monchy-le-Preux, because that's where father was wounded. And that's why it's important to me."