Edna Bear

1922 - Bef 2009  (< 86 years)

• Name	Edna Bear
  Born	20 Aug 1922	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-54804
  Died	Bef 2009
  Person ID	I54804	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

• Photos

  A trio of photographs from the Waterloo Region Record newspaper 19 Sep 2009

  
  

• Notes

  Acting outside the box Mystery trunk of Kitchener native inspires Impact play Edna's Archive Inspiration can come from the unlikeliest places. The trash, for instance. The trash is where, several years ago, a Chilean immigrant in Toronto discovered a very inspirational cardboard box. It wasn't the box itself that sparked inspiration, but rather its contents: hundreds of photographs, letters and keepsakes dating back to 1922. The items encapsulate the entire life of a Kitchener native named Edna Bear, from her first words ("No no no" and "Daddy is a bum") to her vivacious dancing career and her more sedate senior years. Why such personal and irreplaceable items were thrown in a dumpster was a mystery to the woman who discovered the box, so she kept it. She couldn't bear the thought of the biographical archive rotting in some landfill. The box was passed from person to person until it found its way to Lisa O'Connell, a Waterloo based-playwright. That's when inspiration struck....... The five women in the cast will each represent Edna Bear, though they have used their own interpretations and impressions to fill the gaps of uncertainty about Bear's life. What they do know is that Edna Bear was born in Kitchener on Aug. 20, 1922. She was an energetic child whose love for dance turned into a career when she entertained troops in England during the war. She danced at a cabaret club in Montreal for several years, married three times, was a social butterfly and never, ever shied away from the camera. Dozens of black-and-white pictures depict her posing and smiling like the kind of Hollywood starlet she evidently aspired to be. The Waterloo Region Record September 19, 2009 By Colin Hunter

  
  

• Sources

  [S602] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - The Waterloo Region Record (March 2008- ), 19 Sep 2009 - Acting outside the box Mystery trunk of Kitchener native inspires Impact play Edna’s Archive.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 20 Aug 1922 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth