Interview #20

Name: Florence Kelly

Sex: Female

Age: 78

Place and date of birth: St. Alban's, April 2, 1921

Education: Grade 3

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Homemaker

Number of children: 10

Names of children and where they live:

Cecil (Milltown) Bill (St. Alban's)

Don (Toronto) Kevin (Conne River)

Mike (St. Alban's) Marge (Edmonton)

Anthony (Halifax) Albert (Toronto)

Mary (Head of Bay d'Espoir) Jean (Edmonton)

Phone: 538-3457

Place of interview: St. Alban's

Date of interview: February 15, 1999

Interviewers: Trina King and Sheri Peters

Florence was born in St. Alban's and was christened by Father St. Croix. Her father was from St. Alban's and her mother was from St. Pierre. She said that her father went to St. Pierre on a schooner and met her mother and brought her back with him so they could get married. When her father took sick, her two brothers had to support their family of twelve.

Florence remembered going to school where the old doctor's house used to be. There were four or five people sitting together on a table and she recalled using slates to write on. The students carried wood to school for the fire. Every grade was in one room.

Florence remembered playing doll house for fun when she was a little girl. She did not have much time to have fun back then because she had to help her mother with daily chores. She would sheer sheep, card wool, and knit. Most of her spare time was spent berry picking. Florence recalled having to be in at nine o'clock p.m. because her parents were very strict on curfew back then.

Florence's father bought her first dress and she was very excited. She got her first pair of shoes when she was fifteen years old. The shoes only cost two dollars and her father bought them at Conne River. Her mother made her a dress out of a flour sack and dyed it purple. Florence thought it was the best thing that she ever had. As a young girl, Florence remembered that her mother wore only black and that women were not aloud to wear slacks.

Florence had a friend named Mercedes Snook. Mercedes was a little better off than Florence because she had sneakers and Florence had moccasins. Florence was embarrassed because her family had very little. She was very poor when she was young and her family did not have much food in the house. Florence recalled that Paulie Cox brought her mother flour and rice to help them out. Her father also went to Bay du Nord to get flour. During the week, they would not get butter for their bread but on Sunday, they might get a little bit. They sweetened their tea with molasses. Pea soup was cooked without any beef because they saved it for the men after they came out of the woods. Her family mainly lived off the land eating moose, caribou, and rabbits. They never had any chickens to eat. They would kill a moose or caribou and bring it out by boat to Gaultois. They sold the meat for food such as butter. Her family grew vegetables in their own garden such as turnip, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. In the fall of the year, fishermen would come in and trade a bucket of fish for a bucket of potatoes. They also traded logs for food.

Florence said that the two priests that were around in the past were Father St. Croix and Father Hayes. They were very strict but at times, they were very helpful. Father Hayes pulled out thirteen of Florence's teeth at one time using a local anesthetic. At one point, she had an affected leg. Father Hayes gave her some "black sab" to put on it and it cured the infected area.

Florence remembered having mumps and measles when she was younger. "I just had to wait it out," said Florence. To cure these diseases, people would inhale tar that was boiled on the stove to make them feel better. To heal sore lips, people would scrape the inside of the bark of a spruce tree and place it on them. Moonshine was used on a toothache. Florence said, "These home remedies actually worked."

Florence recollected that there was no form of birth control in the past. That is why there were many large families. If Father Hayes knew a married couple was not trying for a family, he would not give them absolution. Florence had ten children that were all delivered at home with the help of midwives Aunt Joan Collier, Aunt Cissie Collier, and Aunt Eva Collier.

Florence emphasized that women worked just as hard as the men. They striped the rind from logs, dried it and brought it down to Milltown to trade it for other items such as food. She remembered that her kids could buy a can of drink, a bar, and a bag of chips for only 25 cents. Tea was bought loose in a tin for one dollar and forty cents. Yeast was bought in blocks and had to be soaked in water the night before bread was baked. Florence recalled that her daughter Mary once made a "bang belly" which was dough soaked in water. Pork and molasses were then added and placed in the stove to cook.

People usually got married in the morning and they fired guns. Then there was a lunch followed by a dance on someone's porch. As a gift, people would give a bar of soap or maybe a dish if they could find one.

Florence recalled that one night her and a few others were going out to Harbor Galley in a row boat. They got as far as Roti Point and the weather turned bad so they had to stay on the beach overnight with a fire lit. By early morning, they moved on.

When Florence's husband first worked with Bowaters, he worked for five to six weeks and got paid three hundred dollars. He had to support his entire family on that.

During the tidal wave of 1929, Florence was only nine years old. She remembered the water coming right up over the garden. "There was no damage done and no one was hurt," said Florence. She could feel her house shaking and there was a woman outside praying for help.

During the Christmas season, people would visit Florence's home and before they left, they would sing a song. They would celebrate the full twelve days. They would play cards in the daytime and go mummering in the nighttime. There were no turkey so for Christmas dinner, they ate geese and home-grown vegetables. One night there was a dance at Aunt Martha Cox's house. Father St. Croix showed up and kicked them out. Florence was so scared that she ran off leaving her snow shoes behind. On the day before Ash Wednesday, people believed that if someone threw water outside, it was like throwing it in the Lord's face. On Pancake Day, people would put certain items in the pancakes. If someone found a button, they would end up a bachelor. If a ring was found, the person would be getting married. If money was found, chances are the person would marry someone rich. During Lent, people would start saving their eggs for Easter Sunday morning.

"Even though times were very tough back then, people seemed to be quite happy and didn't do any complaining," said Florence.