Keewatin’s Story Lady

Brad Holmes was the coolest kid in kindergarten at St. Louis School.

At that time, his mother Eleanor (better known as Nonie) Holmes was the Story Lady on CJRL. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Sister Bernadine suspended regular classroom activities and tuned in the thirty-minute children’s program.

“The kids liked it because they got to sit and do nothing,” laughs Brad.

And while it’s true, the program would have provided a welcome respite from schoolwork, it’s also true the children loved the stories and the way they were told by Nonie Holmes.

“She had a very expressive voice and she would do all the characters,” remembers Brad, “She was good at it.”

In fact, Nonie Holmes was so good she received a national radio award for best children’s programme of 1948.

The Canadian Radio Awards, sponsored by the Canadian Association for Adult Education, were presented in May of 1949 at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto.

In addition to her win, Nonie Holmes experienced another highlight during the event when she met and was photographed with legendary Canadian comedians Wayne and Schuster. “She had a marvelous time,” says Brad.

Nonie Holmes was born in Iowa and worked in an office before meeting her husband and moving with him to Keewatin in 1935.

She began the Story Lady in the mid 1940s. In addition to her radio show, Nonie Holmes also sometimes entertained at the Santa Claus Parade. Brad remembers that following the parade, all the children would congregate at the Paramount Theatre where they were treated to candy and a story.

As the Story Lady, Nonie Holmes delighted a generation of children. According to her family, she got just as much out of it as her listeners, “She spoke of it in her later years,” said Brad, “It was always a source of pleasure to her.”

Nonie Holmes, Keewatin’s Story Lady, passed away in 2000 at the age of 88.