Interview #45

Name: Eva Collier

Sex: Female

Age: 65

Place and date of birth: April 8, 1934

Education: Grade 9

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Homemaker

Number of children: 11

Names of children and where they live:

Linda - Clarenville Regina - Bridgewater

Marilyn - Ontario Karen - Nova Scotia

Margaret - St.Alban's Helen - Ontario

Gordon - Nova Scotia Camilla - Nova Scotia

Debbie - Ontario Darren - Ontario

Craig - Ontario

Phone: 538-3465

Place of interview: St.Alban's

Date of interview: March 11, 1999

Interviewers: Leah Marshall and Dale Willcott

Eva Collier was born April 8, 1934. Her mother's name was Mary Jane and her father's name was Michael McDonald. Eva moved to St.Alban's in 1952, when she and Gordon got married. Father Hayes married them 8:30 in the morning. The house was packed until two or three o'clock in the morning. "We married on a Monday and Father Hayes made us promise not to do any work on Sunday. So we did everything Saturday evening." Eva said.

"Growing up was fun, I had my friends and that. Went to school like everyone else, I got as far as grade nine. Gordon would walk down every night to see me, it was three miles one way." Eva said. School would start at 9:30, and finish at 3:30. Her mother would make coco for her before she went to school. "Our house was cold, when you woke up in the morning you had to brake the ice out of the buckets that froze over night. We would never let the stove burn all night back in them days. I suppose we were afraid of fire." Eva said. Some chore's Eva did were cleaning the house, feeding the dogs, feeding the sheep, feeding the hens, bringing water, and packing wood.

Eva said that she had to go to church every day before school started. That was how the priest at the time, thought you should start your day.

Eva could only remember one thing about the war. Her father went down to Mr. Dick's house to listen to the radio. When he came back he said another war was starting. "I knew that the war was bad, it was going to hurt a lot of people." Eva said.

Eva's first job was in St. Joseph's Cove at the Co-op Store. "I was sixteen years old and made $16.00 a month. The first thing I bought was a coat for $31.00. I also did housework for $5.00 a month. That included bringing water, packing wood, cleaning, washing, and cooking, I would wash clothes on Monday, iron on Tuesday, and bake bread. I started baking bread when I was eleven." Eva said.

Eva worked as a receptionist for three different dentists. When she first started working with the dentist, she made $50 a week. That was just one week a month. And when she left she was getting $325. She worked for Dr. Maquire, Dr. Ball, and Dr. Trend.

Eva recalled her mother a couple of weeks before Christmas baking cakes. "We never had fridges so my mother had a box in the hallway, which was where she would put her cakes. You never dared touch them until Christmas. We would get little dolls stuffed with saw dust. Most of the things were something you could eat. There would be twelve days of dances and house parties and then there wouldn't be another dance until St.Patrick's Day. During Christmas the men got out drinking but most of the time the women stayed home." Eva said.

"Joey Smallwood was the savory for us back then because we got a family allowance. Every one thought the world of him. Things became a lot easier when we joined Confederation. He was here when hydro started, he said St.Alban's would be like Corner Brook but it didn't come. I think we got ripped off, I think we should have had more benefits. We shouldn't have to pay for our electricity like we do today." Eva said.