Interview #75

Name: James ( Jim ) Augot

Sex: Male

Age: 67

Place and date of birth: Rencontre East, October 25, 1932

Education: Grade 2

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Carpenter

Number of children: 11

Names of children and where they live:

Tyson (Ottawa) Jennifer (Morrisville)

Daphne (Morrisville) Marguerite (Morrisville)

Wanda (Toronto) Cathy (Harbour Breton)

Ursula (St. John's) Jimmy (Morrisville)

Roger (Ottawa) Aloysius (Ottawa)

Gerard (Ottawa)

Phone: 882-2278

Place of interview: Morrisville

Date of interview: April 21, 1999

Interviewers: Leah Marshall and Trina King

Jim was born in Rencontre East on October 25, 1932 to Earnest Augot and Jane Baker. His father was from Rencontre East and his mother was from Jersey Harbour. In his family, there were seven children, five boys and two girls. He recalled that his house had four bedrooms and during the winter months, it was very cold.

As a child, Jim recalled many hard times and he did not have much of anything. Once, for New Year's Day dinner, his family had nothing to eat so his father went out and shot two partridges for dinner. Jim had to do chores around the house for his parents such as bringing in wood and water. Back then, there was no running water. His family did things together such as trouting and hunting. Jim also played the card games 120's and west.

Jim attended one-room school at Rencontre East that was very small. He said, "I liked school a lot but they took a teacher away from them and went to Roman Catholic school." There were two schools in Rencontre East, one Anglican and the other Roman Catholic. Jim went to the Catholic school for grade one and to Anglican school for grade two. Some teachers that Jim recalled in the Anglican school were Gladys Buffet and Hubert Dowding, who was the principal of the school. Ceta Jaovanin was the teacher in the Catholic school. There was only one teacher and no principal. Before school started in the morning, Jim and his classmates took turns bringing wood for the pot belly stove.

Jim remembered that church was very important back then compared to today. He had to go to church once a month. The priest was Father Kern when Jim was growing up. Back then, his parents made him go to church but Jim liked going to church so he did not mind.

During Christmas at Rencontre East, Jim recalled that was not as good as it is today. For example, for a gift all Jim got was a stick of bubble gum or an apple. Jim went to a scattered house parties and dances during Christmas.

Some diseases that were common in the past were measles, mumps and TB, which was the most common disease people got back then.

Jim stated what he thought to be good things to happen to Bay d'Espoir. He said, "The best thing that ever happened was when Confederation joined in Newfoundland. Before that happened, we only lived in poverty. Jim also thought that when Hydro came to Bay d'Espoir, it was one of the best things that happened.

Jim started his first job at the age of twelve. He worked for West Atlantic Products from St. John's on a herring plant. He packed the fish in barrels and sent them to The West Indies. He got paid twenty-five cents an hour. Whenever Jim made any money, he would give it to his parents. They gave him some when he needed it.

Jim lived in Rencontre East until he was seventeen years old. He worked at fishing until he left. One hundred men and women were employed because herring was a big thing at this point.

After Jim left Rencontre East, he went to work in Port aux Basques as a labourer and then he went to work as a cook for Micmac Construction. When he got laid off at Port aux Basques, he went back home to fish again. He fished for cod, herring, and squid.

Jim moved to Morrisville at age twenty-four in 1956. He got married in 1957 to Susie Marshall. After he got married, he went to work at the lumber woods in Glenwood and Corner Brook. He made four dollars and eighty cents for a cord of good wood and cut about four cords of wood a day. He stayed in logging camps, which were insulated with moss. In the winter months, it was very cold. Jim recalled that in the morning, he had to shake his sleeping bag off because there was that much snow. They were cooks at the camps and the meals were very good. He said, "We had plenty of beans but not much meat." Jim worked at Glenwood and Corner Brook until 1962 when he was twenty-nine years old.

After Jim finished that job, he started carpentry work, boat building, and truck driving in Camp Boggy for three years. He also went to Churchill Falls for a year to do truck driving. In 1977, Jim started boat building in Bay d'Espoir. He built sixty-five foot boats. He still builds "flats" today.

Jim Augot still lives in Morrisville today. He told us many interesting stories about the past. This brings to our attention how good we have it today.