Interview: MOnika TreleavenInterviewer: Michelle Treleavan, Grade 9February 2004Question: What is your name?Answer: My name is Monika Treleaven.Question: How old are You?Answer:I'm 51 years oldQuestion: How long have you been living in Digby County?Answer: I have been living in DIgby for the past five (5) years.Question: Where abouts, in Digby, exactly do you live?Answer: I live on Warwick Street across from Sobeys and Canadian Tire.Question: Right in town?Answer: Well, it is a little bit out of town, it's not considered to be downtown but yet, it is still in the town, in the town of Digby. Question: Why did you move here? Answer: Because of work.Question: What appeals to you about the town? What's your favourite thing that made you decide to move here?Answer: Well the favourite thing was manly the work, we have our own business, and that caused us to move to Digby, but uhh, also the ocean, the sea is very attractive.Question: And uhh, what is it exactly that you do?Answer: I'm a motel manager.Question: Are you active in the community?Answer: Yes, I am.Question: How so?Answer: Well, I'm doing alot of volunteering in the church. I'm doing chaperoning for high school children on their trips and I am also a member of the Glee Club.Question: Tell me a little bit about your family? Ummm your parents or uhhh, do you have any family in Nova Scotia?Answer: No, I don'tQuestion: So what were your parents names?AnsweR: My parents names were Theresa and Rudolph Concensni (?) and they are both German people, as well as I am. I was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to Canada thirty (30) years ago. Question: Well, that's a long time.Answer: Uhhumm.Question: Are you married?Answer: I am married with one child and two stepsons.Question: So ummm, do you live with your whole family right now or...?AnsweR: No, I, I, the boys, the two stepsons, they live in Ontario, they have their own family and our daughter is living with us here in Digby, and she is going to Grade nine (9) in Digby High School. Question: So, originally you are from Germany?Answer: Yes, I am.Question: Is Germany and uhhh, and Digby the only places you ever lived or where have you lived before?Answer: I also lived in Ontario, in Ottawa, as well as in Toronto.Question: Does anything of DIgby remind you of your hometown, or the places that you lived before? Any simularities or...?Answer: There are some simularities, especially to the people in Germany, like uhh, this here, Digby is a small town and everybody knows each other and that basically was the same in my home town. Because I was born in Frankfraud which is a big city, but yet every district, ummm, has its own Municipality, and they have their own activities and, ummm so you basically keep close to the district that you are living in and you know each other there and everybody goes to the same shopping mall, and you meet always the same people at the butcher or the bakery. Thou it is some sort of a small town, ummm, image that you have over there as well. And that reminds me a little bit of Germany when i'm here in Digby. I did not have that in the big cities of Toronto or of Ottawa. Everything was melted together.Question: Did you miss it? When you were gone? The fact that you knew everybody, or...?Answer: Yes, I did.Question: So you didn't like seeing strangers everywhere you went? It was nice to familiar faces?Answer: Yes.Question: So, are you planning to stay in Digby?Answer: So far, yes!Question: So do you find it easier to live in a small community like Digby or in a larger one like Halifax? What are some of the differences? Like the biggest things that you notice that you prefer or you dislike a little bit?Answer: I like the smaller communities because its very easy to get around. Especially when you have smaller children you don't have to worry about driving them long distances all over town like it was in Toronto. Like if you want ot go to a special program or a special childrens activity then that they were sometimes spread all over the town. We had to travel all over the town which meant probably about an hour from uhhh, uhhh, from the house that we lived, and this, the nice part about here in Digby is that you can basically walk to it, all the activities and uhh, you don't waste so much time being on the road. Question: So you have had some experience having children growing up in different communities. So do you like...What are...I'm not sure how to say this... Is there anything that's good about raising a child, other than the fact the distances aren't so great, and it's easier to manage to be able to go to all the activities in a small town? Is there anything else that stands out?Answer: With regards to raising children?Question: Raising Kids? Yeah.Answer: I don't know, there is an other factor, which is the security. I always find that in the bigger cities you have to street prove them, You have to do that here in Digby as well, but it is much easier to let them walk in a group to school. Where in a big city usually the parents went with the child to school. There was more supervision required. So yes, it is easier to raise children in a smaller town. Question: Less worring?Answer: Less to worry. I don't know what will happen during the teenager, teenage time because (LAUGHTER) I think uhhh, then some worries come up with regards to driving a car and in the country but I will deal with that when it comes. Question: So, what are some changes in live style that you have noticed when you moved to Digby? Like is there a difference in how you do things here in Digby versious how you did them in Toronto?Answer: The main thing is shopping cause here in Digby there is hardly any clothes shopping available. And if you want to buy something special you have to go to Halifax or to Kentville which was out of town and uhhh that was a certain change of lifestyle that I under-went. I really had to plan my shopping trips, while living in Toronto I didn't have to plan I just went off to the mall. And the same thing with movie theatres, you just went to a movie theatre, a movie, whenever you felt like watching it, but now we really have to make an effort and plan it. So it is quite a lifestyle change.Question: So, ummm, what about memories? I mean you must have lots of memories of Toronto and all these places you lived in and since you have been here for five (5) years you must have quite a few of Digby. Is there anything that really sticks out in your mind? One of you favourit memories and your best time.Answer: I would say the friendliest of the people in Digby. And the peace out here, it's somehow a combination of the ocean, the water, and uhhh, it's a certain serrinity in this area that I really, really enjoy , away from all the hassle and bassle of a big city. Question: So it's more layed back, more relaxed.Answer: It is more relaxed.Question: Less hectic?Answer: Ohh, no hectic at all.Question: Is there something you remember doing maybe when one of your childrens, or stepsons, or another member of your family or friends came to visit you. Is there something you remember doing with them that ..., somewhere you went maybe or something you saw that just really sticks in your mind? Answer: Well, I think what we always do is we tell them, show them the town, show them the marina, show them the Pines, the Golf Course, and the lighthouse and the beauty of the nature and of course some trips out to the beach on Digby Neck or even a little bit further down Yarmouth. Uhhh, it's always very fasinating for people that are coming out of a big city just to enjoy the nature of this area. Question: What about the area around Digby? Do you find...Do you travel quite abit around and out-and-about?Answer: Yes, we do quite a bit of travelling and we don't mind travelling. Ummm, our, our live does not end in Conway, we, our live bascially is between Halifax and Yarmouth and that's the area that we move around, that's the area that we have a lot of friends and we visit back and forth and go to theatre outside of town as well. Question: Great! So I think that's it. Thank you very much!Answer: Thank you for having me!