52

Mary MacIsaac

Mary MacIsaac was born on July 13th, 1919 in the Codroy Valley, located on the Southwest coast of Newfoundland. She lived there all her life except a few years she moved to the mainland to work. After that, she moved back to the Codroy Valley, where she still resides in her own home.

Mary's parents farmed for a living. The vegetables that they grew were used to barter to get items that they needed at the store. They always had cows, sheep, and hens. They also always had their own butter. Mary's father use to tan hides to make shoes. "You don't know it could go back to that again." The first telephone that came was a crank telephone. "If you were calling long distance you had to call Mrs. Downey. She was the one that had to send it for you." There was a mail service in the Codroy Valley. The post office was in Doyle's.

Mary says that there were many doctors in Port Aux Basques. The first doctor that she remembers is Dr. Barlow. They also had a nurse who was from England. After Dr. Barlow, Dr. Weatherbee and Nurse Mayor were in residence. There was also Doctor O'Brien and Doctor O'Leary. Mary says that Dr. O'Brien operated on her on her very own kitchen table. There was a hospital fairly close by in Port aux Basques but it was very difficult to get there sometimes due to weather conditions.

As a child, Mary would have lots of fun. "We use to play pippy, hopscotch, and round ball. Pippy was played by digging a hole, placing a short stick across the hole and flicking it out with a long stick. It was a lot of fun." When Mary got older she used to go to dances. Mary attended school until grade seven.

For Christmas as a child Mary would get an apple, an orange or maybe a doll in her sock. "There was no such thing as fruit cakes when I was growing up." Mary would go mummering during Christmas. "That was fun!"

Mary would go skating for fun when she was a child. "When we were kids we use to go down to the pond by our house." They would not have skates like people do today. They would have what Mary describes as "scotch skates." The scotch skates were a block of wood with a blade on it and there were straps that you would just tie to your boots. "We had lots of fun, you would never hear anyone say they were bored."

Mary worked as a serving girl in Halifax at the Victoria General for almost two years. During the war she made twenty-six dollars a month doing this. "Not much eh, things were cheap then."

Mary remembers that the ferry Caribou sunk in October 1942. She was on the ferry in August of that year. The Caribou was told not to carry troops. The government did not listen and the ferry was sunk. Mary remembers a man who worked on the ferry that made a bed on the floor for her and her friends. He was lost when the Caribou was sunk.

Mary worked at a hospital in Halifax when the war was on. She remembers being wakened from her sleep one night when there was a ship on fire in the harbour. To prevent an explosion from damaging the harbour the authorities sank the ship. Mary said that she wished that she had not been woken up because if there were an explosion she would not have known about it.

Mary tells us that during the Depression everyone was poor. "They just lived of the land." "We got by, we grew our own food, we always had a couple of pigs to kill in the fall, and then we probably had a lamb. We use to go in the countryside and kill a caribou and stuff like that. People would do a lot of bottling, put up preserves and all that stuff."

Mary married her husband when she was twenty-five years old. Her husband was a guide who took American tourist salmon fishing in the Codroy Valley. Mary and her husband had twelve children. Only two of her children were born in the hospital, the others were born at home with a doctor and nurse. " We had good services as far as doctors and nurses were concerned. We had good doctors and good nurses."

Mary had a lot of household chores after she got married and had her children. She would have to clean, cook, and take care of the children. She also did a lot of bottling, which she still does today.

Mary's most vivid memories of living on the Southwest coast of Newfoundland was that they had a lot of hard work to do. Mary says, "When you raise twelve children, it is not much fun."

Mary says she would not change anything about he life. "I am quite happy the way I am." She feels it was harder for women growing up in her time than it is for women today. She says that they were happier because there was not so much stuff going on like today. "There are a lot more luxuries now, but there is a lot more crime now as well." Mary feels that the things like computers make life go to fast today. She also feels that you can't do things like you could one time. One time if you wanted a fish, you could go get one. Now, every time you turn around, someone is telling you that your not allowed to do something.

53

Rose Francis

Rose Francis was born to Bill and Phoebe Collier in 1914 in Fox Roost, located on the Southwest coast of Newfoundland.

Rose's parents, Bill and Phoebe, lived in Fox Roost all their lives where they raised seven children. Bill was a fisherman and Phoebe only ever worked as a serving girl. There was no running water so they would get their water in buckets from brooks and ponds. They would use a big washtub for a bathtub that was used on Saturday to bathe in. Clothing was washed on a scrubboard in a washtub. Before electricity came through they used lanterns and kerosene lamps for light and a woodstove for heat.

As a child, there were many types of games Rose would play for fun. She attended an Anglican Church and there was a minister there to hold the services. Rose attended school until she was in grade five. She says that even though she came out of school in grade five, school was considered important. Rose would do whatever chores there were for her do to help her mother when she was growing up.

When Rose was a child, she would get an apple or an orange along with some other little thing for Christmas. Rose had lots of fun taking part in the famous Christmas tradition of mummering.

Rose married Emmanuel Francis at the age of fifteen. They had six children; two boys and four girls, only one born in the hospital. The rest of the children were born at home with the aid of a midwife. There was no hospital or doctors in Fox Roost at the time, so if someone needed a doctor they would have to go to Port aux Basques. Emmanuel worked as a fisherman and Rose worked at the fish plant. Emmanuel fished for someone else catching codfish. The fish would be prepared to eat by drying, frying, or boiling. Rose would help her husband with the fish he caught by drying it. "We used to eat a lot of fish." Rose and Emmanuel had a garden where they grew cabbage, turnips, carrots, and potatoes. They also had sheep. Rose helped plant and harvest the vegetables and feed the sheep. Rose would spin her own wool and use it to make clothing for the family. The family picked up any groceries that they needed at a local store. Rose did not find it hard to raise her family back in her day.

When asked if she would change anything about her life Rose says that she would not change anything. She feels that women growing up today have life a lot easier compared to when she grew up.