Hi! I am Jacob and I am a twelve year old, grade seven student. I created this project and this web site for my school's Heritage Fair, which took place at Island View School in April 2012. I chose this project because it's about my family and it's a Saint John tradition. When my family and I began to research the Empty Stocking Fund's history and the founder, my great-great grandfather, there was little information out there. Google....nothing, but only newspaper articles with the same story that appears each year. I began a two month search into this project, interviewed people, searched through newspapers and death records on microfilm at the SJ Public Library, poured over provincial archive records, searched through census on ancestry.ca, dug through books and visited the Fernhill Cemetery, where Harry Ervin and his wife are buried.
I was disappointed to find Harry Ervin's tombstone laying on the ground and with no engraving, but the last name, Ervin. I would hope that with my efforts, that I will be able to raise the awareness and funds to have the founder of a Saint John tradition, Harry Ervin's gravestone repaired and engraved. (An update....the Ervin family has since had the stone repaired! Thank you for those who contributed!) I won first place at my school's Heritage Fair and went on to compete in the Regional Heritage Fair on May 12th, 2012 at the NB Museum. I was very proud to win first place in the grade five projects and the McCain Foundation Literacy Award for my research I conducted for my project.
In October, a reporter from the Saint John Telegraph Journal came to my home and interviewed me for an article, which appeared in the paper on Nov.2nd, 2012.
His tombstone at Fernhill Cemetery
My Family Tree
My Heritage Fair project
Me searching through the newspapers on microfilm at the SJ Public Library.