Interview #81

Name: Paul Benoit

Sex: Male

Age: 54

Place and date of birth: Hay Ground Cove (St. Alban's), May 27, 1945

Education: Grade 8

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Heavy Equipment Mechanic

Number of children: 5

Names of children and where they live:

Norman (St. Alban's) Kimberley (Conne River)

Diane (St. Alban's) Paul John (St. Alban's)

Joanne (St. Alban's)

Phone: 538-3195

Place of interview: St. Alban's

Date of interview: April 28, 1999

Interviewers: Carla Collier and Dale Willcott

Paul's parents were John Benoit and Sarah Drakes. His father was born in Bay du Nord and his mother was born in Gaultois Passage. They lived at Hay Ground Cove in St. Alban's.

Most of the chores Paul did were bringing in wood and getting water. His parents had a well in the garden so he did not have far to go. He played a lot of cowboys and indians growing up. In the winter time, he would beat up wooden barrels to make sleighs or skies. He said, "Sometimes if you found a bit of canvas, you used that." Paul recalled when he had a pair of woodstocks with a buck saw blade in them. He said, "That was okay except they would always break off and you were gone then. You usually fell down but after a few minutes, you would be ready to go again. Just drive another piece of the bucksaw in the wood again."

Paul said that his family never did many activities as a family because they were always too busy with the wood or another chore. On Sundays, they would probably visit people out Long Shore. His family lived in Barsway but many of his relatives lived out Long Shore. The next Sunday, his relatives from Long Shore would come to their house. He said, "Mother and father always strung behind the whole crowd of us. Really enjoyed all that." In the summertime, his family went swimming in Swanger's Cove Brook. They also went fishing and berry picking around the same area.

Paul said that the house his family lived in was pretty rough. There were only three rooms for fifteen people. The room Paul slept in had two beds. He and his brother Aloyious were the oldest so they slept in one bed while his four other brothers slept in the other bed. He said, "That was the only way you could stay warm. The blankets you had on was unreal. It was nothing strange to wake up with your hair froze to the wall."

Paul's father was a trapper so he was gone from home a lot. Paul and his siblings had to do most of the work. His father was gone trapping for the winter and when he came back in the spring, his wife was dead. His four kids were given to relatives. He did not know about his wife because there was no way of finding him out in the country.

Paul recalled some diseases that existed in the past. He said, "TB was a bad one back in them days. You always had some kind of flu. I suppose it was from the cold. You know you could see out the walls in some places." There was also chicken pox and measles back then. Paul recalled that when he had the German Measles, he really got sick. He could not recall what people called what he drank for it but he knew that there was sheep manure in it. Paul said, "I said 'I'm not drinking it.' Now look out! You weren't going to drink it, someone would hold your arms and someone would hold your head so you couldn't shake your head while someone else poured it down your throat. The next day it was all better."

Paul remembered that while living out Hay Ground Cove when he was young, he cut his foot on glass. Aunt Rose Poulett was the doctor there and she came down with the bottle of iodine and put it on Paul's foot. He also recalled that for sores, people put black sab or black mud on it and turpentine was used to cure cuts. Paul said, "I still use it today when in around the camper or woods."

Paul said that church was really important and people had to go. He said, "You never missed Mass on Sundays. Sure every day of the week, you had to go when you started school. That was the first thing you had to do." Paul recalled that Father Hayes was the priest and the Church he went to was called the underground chapel. In later years, when he was coming out of school, construction was started on the church in St. Alban's that is there today but it was not finished. Father Hayes was a good doctor, the law, and the priest. Paul recalled when Father Hayes pulled his teeth. He said, "He gave me four needles. The last needle went right through my tongue and was pinned to my gums." Paul recalled that in the past, people not only had respect for the priest but also the elders of the community. He said, "Half of the community around us now I still call them uncle or aunt out of respect."

Paul had some good times and some bad times in school. He recalled that the teachers were pretty strict and they had big straps. Paul spent his first day of school in the corner on his knees. He said, "I never learned much that day I tell you." Paul had one teacher from Carbonear named Ms. Hoskins and she was rough. He said, "Back then, they didn't care where they hit you. I never liked going to school back then but if it was today I probably would. The teacher never taught you much. They gave you something and you had to do it." Paul went to school in the old primary school. Every room had a stove and someone would bring splits while others brought an armful of wood. He also remembered the old school out on Birchy Point that burned down but he never went to that school.

The first job that Paul had was on a schooner owned by Ben Collier. He was fifteen years old and he got paid one dollar per day, which totalled seven dollars per week. He gave his mother four dollars and he kept three dollars for himself. The first thing Paul bought for himself was a pedal bike for sixty dollars, when he was eighteen years old. That was when he worked for Shawmount. Paul said, "In 1966, Camp Boggy started, so I went to work with Shawmount. I got married that same year." Paul worked a year and a half at the fish plant in Harbour Breton. After that, he worked for Perry's Wholesalers for twenty-six years.

Paul said that the roads being constructed was the biggest change in Bay d'Espoir. He said, "The road was there but it wasn't very good, a lot of mud. That was a big change. The boats even stopped coming in. Before the road, the wharf was full of boats." Paul thought that Hydro was good too. He said, "Before that, all we had was lamps."

The only television that Paul remembered was the one owned by Sam Collier. His father would go out to watch it. Sometimes there was a fellow on the roof turning the antenna. The only big storm that Paul remembered was when the roof blew off the town hall.

Paul said that the weather has changed a lot over the years. He recalled being at Long Pond years ago and trying to get a drink from the pond. He said, "I started chopping with an axe. I went down one handle length, then two, and then three. Never got a drink first and last." Paul said that even the summers back in the late 1960's and early 1970's seemed hotter than it is today." He recalled swimming in the month of May.

Paul remembered his mother working very hard when he was a child. He said, "When the men were off working, the women had to do everything. They had to get the wood, bring water, laundry, and cook supper."

Paul's father was married twice. He had four children with his first wife and eleven children with his second wife he had eleven. Paul had some interesting stories about the past. He was a great help in preserving the past of Bay d'Espoir.