In the summer, families lived on the beach. Their houses were built of boards and had windows in the sides. For heat and cooking the early settlers had open fireplaces located in the centre of the house. Since there were no chimneys, the smoke from these fireplaces had to escape through a hole in the roof. Items were baked in the fireplace by placing them in a pot with a top on it and placing hot brands on the top of them. In the winters, people moved farther back into the woods to be nearer to the wood supply. The " winter houses" were constructed out of the mud and clay and had windows, called skylights, in the roof.

Food in the early days of the settlement consisted mainly of flour, oatmeal, fish and meat. Clothes were made out of a fabric called "wincey" and blue cotton.

Winters were hard and they seemed to set in early. There was lots of snow and ice. People were usually getting low on their supplies by the time the schooner got in, in lat April.

Both men and women worked in the woods in the winter. They had to cut firewood and haul it by handslide since horses were not yet available. When spring arrived, people would go in their row - boats to collect kelp which were used as fertilizer for their gardens.