From A Name and Five Faces

When we first took over Glenlochie Lodge, John left for Asia for a month.

So it was just me…

the house…

and mounds of wallpaper to be removed.

Room by room, layer by layer, I worked — trying to uncover what the house had been.

And at the same time, trying to understand who had lived here.

All I had was one name.

Sandy McVean.

No face.

No family tree.

No clear place to begin.

Just a name tied to a house that clearly had more to say.

I spent an afternoon at the Dresden library, not really knowing where to start.

A bit of this, a bit of that… nothing quite sticking.

Then somewhere along the way, I came across another name — Bill McVean, Oakville.

There was a phone number.

So I called.

Bill turned out to be Sandy’s great nephew, and he had spent time in the house as a child with his grandfather, William McVean.

Before long, his wife Catherine joined the conversation.

They were both incredibly kind.

I explained that we had purchased Sandy’s house, and that I was trying to learn who he was.

To put a face to a name.

For the first time, it felt like things were starting to connect.

And not just within the McVean family — but to the wider story of the area, in ways we were only beginning to understand.

That’s when Catherine mentioned a photograph.

The only one they had of Sandy…

and it included all five McVean brothers.

Five.

I asked if she might be able to send me a quick picture of it — even just a screenshot through a text message.

She gently explained she wasn’t very comfortable with technology.

She was 93.

Bill was too.

Ninety-three… and still taking the time to help a stranger understand a piece of their family’s story.

We talked for quite a while that day.

And then… time passed.

About six months later, John picked up the mail.

There was a package.

No name on it.

Just the address of the house.

Inside was a framed photograph.

All five McVean brothers.

And on the back of the frame, they had attached a photocopy of the same image — carefully labelled with each man’s name, so I would know who was who.

The photograph had been hanging on Catherine’s wall.

And now… it was here.

I just stood there, holding it.

From one name…

to five faces.

That photograph now hangs in the foyer.

And it’s one of the most meaningful pieces in the house.

Because sometimes, all it takes is one call…

to connect you to everything that came before.

Glenlochie Lodge

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