Name: Alphonsus Organ

Sex: Male

Age: 93

Place and date of birth: St. Alban's, September 28, 1906

Education: Grade 8

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Woodsman

Number of children: 6

Michael Organ (Deceased) Austin Organ (St. Alban's)

Eileen Burke (St. Alban's) Gerald Organ (St. Alban's)

Stella Barnes (St. Alban's) George Organ (Ottawa)

Phone: 538-3423

Place of interview: St. Alban's

Date of interview: February 17, 1999

Interviewers: Sheri Peters and Trina King

Alphonsus was born and raised in St. Alban's. He and his family went camping together out to The Island of Riches. While they were out there, they went fishing.

When Alphonsus was in school, he carried wood to school for the fire. Some teachers that he remembered were Miss Daily, Miss Hayward, Miss Curey, and Mr. Richard MacDonald. Every day after school, Alphonsus had to cut hay. When he had holidays at school, he went down Conne River and loaded schooners. On Saturday, he had to go in the woods so he did not have much time for himself.

Alphonsus said that attending church was very important in the past. If someone did not show up, Father St. Croix went looking for them. When Alphonsus got a little older, he brought Father St. Croix to small communities outside of St.Alban's in a row boat. Father St. Croix played the fiddle and Alphonsus was not allowed to speak until he finished playing.

During Christmas, Alphonsus remembered going mummering. There were dances in people's houses with accordion and fiddle music playing. At Easter, people saved their eggs for a whole year for Easter morning.

Alphonsus remembered some home remedies that were once used. People would boil cherry bark on the stove and drink the broth to cure indigestion. To drive out measles, people drank sheep manure.

Alphonsus said that there were plenty of moose and caribou meat to eat. His family grew their own vegetables such as carrots, turnip, potatoes, and cabbage. His family also had sheep. They would sheer the sheep and use the wool to knit socks and mittens. Alphonsus stated that some men worked at St. Pierre. Before they came home, they bought food such as sugar because it was cheaper to buy it there at two cents a pound.

Alphonsus stayed at Uncle Tom's the night of the tidal wave because the water was too high. There were twenty-eight people stayed there. "There was no damage done and there was no wind blowing which was a good thing," said Alphonsus.

When Alphonsus was old enough, he started working in the woods at Corner Brook. After he worked there, he went to Labrador where he fished on the schooners. He went to Labrador every Spring. Alphonsus also worked in a sawmill and received ninety cents a day and worked ten hour days. Shortly after this, he started working with Bowaters for one hundred and forty-eight dollars a month. He continued to work for Bowaters for fifteen years. After working with Bowaters, Alphonsus worked with a company called Foundation that was somehow connected with Hydro. He continued working with Foundation until he retired. Alphonsus remembered buying a pair of rubber boots for only five dollars when he got his first pay check.

At one time, Alphonsus cut logs and received only nine cents for each log. He received one dollar for a cord of wood. Once, Alphonsus and another fellow had to make a bid. They bid one dollar and fifty cents but another group of people bid only one dollar so Alphonsus and his buddy did not get the job.

Alphonsus was on welfare at one point of his life. He remembered getting nine dollars a month to support a family of six. Alphonsus thought that the best thing that happened to Bay d'Espoir was when work was plenty. Jobs were plentiful when Bowaters and Hydro started up.

Even though times were very tough, people like Alphonsus managed to live through it without doing much complaining.