Interview #8

Name: Ron Hoskins

Sex: Male

Age: 79

Place and date of birth: St. Alban's, December 29, 1919

Education: Grade 1

Religion: Catholic

Occupation: Woodsman, Logger

Number of children: 4

Names of children and where they live:

Joyce (St. Alban's) Ann (Corner Brook)

Bert (Ottawa) Theresa (St. George's)

Phone: 538-3163

Place of interview: St. Alban's (Bay View Drive)

Date of interview: January 18, 1999

Interviewers: Sheri Peters, Pam Organ, and Carla Collier

Ron recalled not having too much money so at the age of eleven, he decided to work on a wood ship. He would receive seventy-five cents a day while his father made one dollar and fifty cents a day. The boats he worked on came from Germany. The wood he cut was sent to other countries. The last load of wood was shipped in 1935. After this, he would cut wood himself and get one dollar and fifty cents for a cord.

Ron recalled playing football with a man named Jack Collier. Ron said, "He was a very good player." The priest at the time was Father St. Croix. He gave the kids a curfew of nine p.m. In school, the kids used slates instead of exercise books that we have today. Students in all grades were in one school room with one teacher for all grades. A lot of the teachers only had grade eight but still taught. At the time, the priest would take students out of school and put them to work.

Ron was ten years old when the tidal wave hit. He recalled that two weddings occurred on that day. The couples were Jim Hoskins and Dorothy Hoskins, and Victor Collier and his wife.

Ron remembered that some of the doctors around Bay d'Espoir were Dr. Tom, Dr. Brendon, and Dr. Scott. If someone got sick, they would use home remedies such as cherry bark. The inside of the cherry bark was boiled and the sick person would drink the liquid. This would heal the sick patient. Turpentine would be used to stop bleeding and help heal wounds. A poultice was also used. Bread was soaked in scalding water then put on a cloth. The cloth was then put on the infected area to draw out the infection. Ron recalled that a man died at the age of thirty-three because his appendix busted and there was no doctor here at the time.

Ron recalled that the first church was where the fire hall is today. The priest's house was also located there. Ron and his wife got married by Father Hayes in 1947 at that church. Following the church service, they had a house wedding at his father's house. Even though there were hard times, most men had their homes built before they got married.

During Christmas, Ron remembered making homebrew but liquor had to be ordered in from St. John's. People were only allowed to order three bottles at a time. If there was a wedding, more bottles of liquor could be ordered. The liquor was one dollar and fifty cents a bottle.

Ron's family had their own vegetable gardens growing up. They had cows, sheep, hens and chickens. They would kill the sheep in the winter for the meat. They would use the sheep's wool to make socks, underwear, and sweaters. Ron's family would save up their eggs and on Easter Sunday they were allowed to eat as many as they wanted.

For clothing, Ron's family would buy material and get Aunt Jessie to make suits. Back then, a suit costed fifteen dollars, a good pair of shoes costed two dollars, and a pair of joggers costed one dollar and fifty cents.

Ron recalled having a gas washer to wash clothes and kerosene lamps for light. There were no pole lights outside but he said, "we didn't miss what we didn't have." Meals were cooked on a wood stove. The stove was also used to heat his home. His family had their own well but it was located 700 feet from their home. Ron still uses a well to get water.

Ron remembered that Bill Hartery gave people rides to Swanger's Cove for twenty-five cents. Back then, the weather was very harsh and people never had suitable clothing, such as winter jackets, for this type of weather. During the summer, Ron's family never had any meat

because they didn't have a fridge to store it. In the fall, the sheep were killed so they would have meat to eat for the winter. Ron said, "if you had fifteen dollars worth of food, you had plenty."

Ron remembered going to dances at the hall where the old doctor's office use to be. They would use coupons instead of money to get into dances.

If someone was sick, they wouldn't have much of a chance because there were no doctors or phones at that time. A boat would come in once a year and would be anchored a little further from the shore because there were no wharfs. "You would have to use a dory to get to the boat and get supplies," said Ron. A Christmas seal boat also came in once a year to help out for medical attention. During the winter, the boats couldn't get in pass Roti Point because everything was frozen up. People would take a horse or ox with a sleigh and go out to the boat to pick up supplies.

Ron stated that Kathleen Morris and Isadore Snook were the first couple married by Father Hayes. Ron recalled the names of some people that worked in the post office. They were Mr. Fiander, Vera Willcott, Martin Davis, Jim Kearley, and Jenny Collier. They used telegrams to deliver messages. Ron also recalled a number of midwives. They were Aunt Joanie Collier, Aunt Cecilia Collier and Aunt Eva Collier.

Ron remembered a lot of stores around such as the Co-Op store which opened in 1937 and was owned by Mr. Goodyear. It was located at Birchy Point. It closed in 1939. People could purchase a 100-pound sac of flour for two dollars and 200 pounds of beef for sixteen dollars. Ron and his family would go through five sacks of flour a month. Food was only in sacks and barrels. Mr. Garland and Sammy D. Collier also had stores. Ron said that anyone who had a sawmill, would also have a small store because if people could not pay with money, the merchant would trade lumber for food. George Hoskins had a sawmill and a store located at Long Shore. Another store that opened in the early 60's out Long Shore was what today is I.G.A. Ron said that the stores were stocked up during the winter months.

Ron said logging was the main occupation in the past. He remembered two other sawmills owned by Robinson and John Kendall. Ron carried lumber on his back and walked through foot paths. He would sometimes walk down around the bottom (St. Veronica's) when he went to Conne River. He would have to walk across the causeway because there was no bridge at that time.

Ron said the best thing that happened to Bay d'Espoir was when Bowaters came because it brought jobs to a lot of people. When he worked for Bowaters, he would get three dollars and sixty cents a day for ten hours. He would use a buck saw to cut his logs and he received two dollars and ten cents for a cord of wood. In 1927, Frank Howse introduced the first buck saw to St. Alban's.

All the information that Ron has given us has been very useful in helping us preserve Bay d'Espoir's past.