[Harold Town?], Interviews with Mrs. Margaret [Thomson] Tweedale, Sept. 6 — Oct. 16, 1973

Mrs. Margaret Tweedale – telephone conversation – Sept. 6, 1973

[…] On the subject of Thomson, she knew him better than any one else. Mentioned the Maclean’s article and said it was pretty bad. Said she phoned the magazine people, talked to the girl who answered the phone, saying the magazine can be sued as well as the person who wrote the story when they write something slanderous. She said the girl told her that the man who wrote the story was a relative of Winnie Trainor’s. Said, she wasn’t in her right mind, you know. Met her once at the Exhbition – wanted to get some information out of her but she couldn’t. She and her neice Jessie (Mrs. Fisk) met her. (Mrs. Fisk told me she met her once and said she wasn’t impressed, that she was unbalanced.) They met her at the CNE – thought it was the best place to meet her, that she’d know where it was. This was after Tom’s death and when I tried to pinpoint it, thought it was the same year of his death – so it would be at the CNE Sept. or August 1917. Was angry again about the Maclean’s piece, said she would not stand for slandering his character, that nobody was as perfect as he was, he was wonderful person, he has a good character. […]

Mrs. Tweedale – on the phone – October 16, 1973

[…] When I mentioned getting together with her again she was rather hesitatn and then said she didn’t like being interviewed about Tom, that there were so many wrong things that were coming out and a lot of lies being told and if anyone wants to find out the real truth all they have to do is look at the old articles and newspaper stories written about the accident. Tom had a fine character, nobody had a finer character than he did and there was no mention of suicide. I get so peeved it really makes me sick – and a person seems to helpless against it, there are a lot of people trying to make money out of the articles they sell. (Re the article in Maclean’s.)

Got three letters from Winnie Trainor, somehow she found out that Margaret was interested in finding out a few things about the accident and Winnie Trainor wrote to her and she wrote back, at the dismay of her family, who told her not to write because Winnie Trainor was not in her right mind. (As for the three letters she received) I never saw such confused letters in all my life. I didn’t know what she was getting at, I was anxious to find out anything I could, but I couldn’t make hear nor tail out of it. I didn’t kep them, I suppose I should’ve but I didn’t. You couldn’t understand what she was driving at, she was anxious to be a friend of Tom’s. I knew some of the girls that Tom used to see and they were very nice in every way. But he wouldn’t hold anything again her (Winnie Trainor) if he knew she wasn’t in her right mind. My newphew George contacted, somebody got him in touch with her guardian and he said her mind was gone. She went to my father (when Tom died) and wanted a share in Tom’s estate, no one who was in her right mind would do a thing like that. She was entirely out of her mind, the guardian said. (Re the article in Maclean’s again) People would think it was the truth and it’s all lies. […]