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John Wilson Book 1
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Mary (Polly) Hutchinson is born
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John and Polly get married (pg. 8)
The Hutchison family treated John as one of their own. Whomever Polly loved, they would love. John asked Polly to marry him in August 1906, in which people were relieved, because John once sadi if Polly didn't marry him, he would "blow his brains out." He gave her a nice little diamond ring, and they were finally married on January 1, 1908. This was after four years of knowing eachother and three years of courting. They spent their honeymoon in Dublin. -
John ruins his reputation by taking money out of the greenhouse business and his brother-in-law. The bank foreclosed in October 1911.
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John sails to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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John is hired onto a bridge and building crew
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Polly prepares for Elizabeth's wedding (pg. 15)
Polly and Elizabeth were busy preparing for Elizabeth's wedding. Polly dearly wished that John would be there to join her. Her family wasn't sure what to say about John ever since his scandal, which was uncomfortable, but that didn't sway Polly from missing him. If they could see his letters to her, they would know his true feelings.
In his recent letter, John spoke of a terrrible cyclone in Regina. "One man was in a tub when it hit and the wall of his house blew out..." John exaggerated. -
Helen (Ella) is born
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John joins the Royal North West Mounted Police (pg. 20)
As soon as John heard that war was declared, John headed to Prince Albert to enlist, but he was "rejected because of his weak lungs." That was his only hope to get back home overseas.
Two weeks later he saw that the Royal North West Mounted Police were looking for recruits. He passed the doctor examination, and was a member in August. By the time he joined, the force was manned mostly by new arrivals from the UK, who had been lured in by the idea of being a man in scarlet. John was grateful. -
John moves to Blaine Lake and meets Jessie (pg. 25)
John Wilson was a new arrival in Blaine Lake, along with John and Allison Patterson, who were farmers who moved there with thier four children. Jessie was one of them. The Pattersons' house was next door to the barn where John Wilson kept his horse. In the summer of 1916, he was invited to the Patterson's, where he met Jessie. He found himself gravitating toward Jessie. "Their feelings for eachother were becoming serious." Meanwhile, talk was surfacing that Wilson was a married man. -
John is diagnosed with tuberculosis (pg. 32)
As the war overseas raged on, John was fighting his own battle. He had been feeling unwell for months, and finally went to the doctor's to figure out what was wrong. The doctor gave him the final diagnosis of tuberculosis, which made John resign from his job. He had no place to go, in which Jessie took him under her wing. "She was good to me above everyone else," John would later say. At some point in her care, John asked Jessie to marry him. He told Jessie he was divorced, so Jessie said yes. -
Jessie moves to Prince Albert
Jessie is able to see John without worrying about upsetting her mother when she moves to Prince Albert. -
Polly finds Jessie's letter to John (pg. 57)
Polly had been suspicious about John's distant attitude for a while. Her suspicions were confirmed when she found a letter that began with, "Dearest Jack," in John's tunic. The letter read that a woman named Jessie and John were to be married. Polly decided she could not ignore the affair any longer. She went to the Station to confront John, but he got upset with her for appearing in front of all of his co-workers. "You had no business coming after me. I'll see you at home," he had said. -
"Tell me Jack, I have to know. Do you love her?" (pg 60)
Polly was finally able to confront John about the letter. She asked him how Jessie could think that the two of them were to be married. John said he had no idea what she was talking about, and that he had been trying to break things off with her for a while. He was just appreciative that she took care of him when he was ill, and she got too attached.
John was angry that Polly had come after her. "Tell me, Jack. I have to know. Do you love her?" He didn't answer. He left and smoked a cigarette. -
John plans the final details for the wedding
John describes in a letter that he will get to Blaine Lake on Thursday, and that he hopes to be married on the first of the month. -
John moves to Saskatoon (pg. 65)
John moved to Saskatoon to be in charge of a subdivision of the Military Police. He had thirty-four men under him. Once again, Polly was left behind. "Polly waited and worried and tried to write optimistic letters home." She did anything to keep her mind off of her situation. She began to make plans about getting the children to Saskatoon, which made her very excited. She was sure that things would return back to normal when the kids were back with them. Her days were idle now, she needed them. -
John tells his men he is getting married
John and his friends share a drink in celebration of John's future marriage. They do not know John's drinking has started to become a serious problem. -
Polly travels to Saskatoon to meet John
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John buys a marriage license (pg. 73)
John had been very pale and sickly-looking when he entered Wheatley's Jewelry store. He asked Wilfred Sales to buy a marriage license. Wilfred tried to joke around with John about marriage to ease the tension it seemed he felt, but John failed to take the bait. His voice croaked when Wilfred asked what John's marital status was, and he whispered, "Single." John refused to buy a gift or a ring for the bride. He was so dazed as he left, that he bumped into a woman without noticing. -
The murder (pg. 79)
John had been acting strange the whole ride to Blaine Lake. At one point, he had pointlessly shot a rabbit Polly had been admiring. Later, he shot a goose, and left it there to suffer and die instead of taking it. It was getting dark, and John kept his gun close to him. Polly noticed he was pale, and was looking at her funny. That was when John raised the gun to her, inches away from her face. "No, Jack, don't!" At that moment, Polly Wilson was dead, the baby inside her dead a few moments later. -
John and Jessie are married
