Interview #65

Name: Sylvester Benoit

Sex: Male

Age: 70

Place and date of birth: Conne River, May 12, 1928

Education: Grade 6

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Woodsman

Number of children: None

Names of children and where they live:

Phone: 538-3658

Place of interview: St. Alban's

Date of interview: April 9, 1999

Interviewers: Kerri-Ann and Pam Organ

Sylvester is the son of Frank and Mary Benoit of Conne River. Sylvester grew up in a family of seven children. Their names are Whalen, Susan, Veronica, Margaret, two deceased, and himself. He moved to St. Alban's when he was twelve years old and has been here for fifty-eight years. His grandfather on his father's side was Paul Benoit and his grandmother was Susan Haggerty.

As a child, Sylvester went to school in a one room school house that was very cold. They had to carry their own wood to start the fire. Some teachers he recalled were Tilly Collier and Mike Macdonald. He said church services were short and about once a month Father St. Croix would have mass.

If someone were to get sick or hurt they were treated by the old people in Conne River. Some home remedies used was cherry bark for measles, and yellow root for sore lips. The common diseases were T.B., measles, and mumps. The midwife down Conne River was Millie Joe.

The role of women while the men were working was doing housework, looking after animals, and bringing water from a brook.

"The price of food and clothing has changed over the years because we use to wear clothing made from flour sacks, and food was scarce. My parents would get the food from Morrisville. Most we would get was flour or butter." Sylvester said.

For Christmas Sylvester would get a piece of cake and sometimes nothing. For St. Anne's Day they would have a big dance and the celebration was down Cone River.

Sylvester went trapping with his father, his brothers, and Alyoisus Benoit. They would leave at the first of November to go to Ebby Bay, and return November 20. If they caught any foxes, they would sell them for $250.00 a fox. At the age of twelve, after he finished trapping he started to cut logs. He remembered cutting one hundred logs and got a suit of clothes for $12.00. He made seventeen cents a log. When he bought that suit he though he had a fortune. Then in 1944, he left logging and went with Leonard Long on the boat Wilfred Snow. They carried lumber from Grand Bank to Port Aux Basques and then to North Sydney. They would bring coal back from North Sydney. Sylvester was on Leonard Long's schooner when it went down. He was one of the three men who survived. All they had to eat was cabbage. Sylvester also worked in Goose Bay, logging for five years. He would get $2.50 a cord and $1.10 per hour when Hydro came. He also worked with Bowater's in Deer Lake, Corner Brook, and Glenwood.

Before roads came here, people always traveled by boat. Some would leave here and go to Port Aux Basques to work. The roads were built in 1957. Before Hydro came they would use a wood stove to heat their homes, and kerosene lamps for light. A scrub-board and scrub-tub to wash their clothes. Hydro started in 1964.

Sylvester remembered posting his mail in the post office operated by Steve Fiander. They would get coupons to go to a dance. They would have to go to the post office to send a telegraph.

In those days people traded logs for food. Garlands and the Co-op were the only stores around then. He remembered people sharing food because it was hard to get.

The best thing to happened to Bay d'Espoir was Bowater's and when Sylvester moved to St. Alban's. He thought it was a big city and he had more places to go and more things to do.

As you can see Sylvester has been a big help in preserving our past.