The Social Scene

There was a Sons of Temperance Hall…the Sons of Temperance and Orangeman’s Hall.  The Sons of Temperance had the downstairs part, and the Orangemen had the upstairs.  Of course, they met at different times.

Did you belong to either of those groups?

The Sons of Temperance, oh yes.

What was the group about?  What was it like?

Well, it was to get people in—the young people—and to keep them from drinking, see.  Total abstinence.  And of course, if they broke their pledge, they’d have to take it over again.  But not many of them did—when they started going, they kept it up.  And we would have entertainment, have concerts to raise money.  And I went to the Temperance people, you know.  Aunt Nita was secretary there for quite a while, and I was secretary for a little while.  Of course, she was somewhat older than me.

Who else belonged to the Sons of Temperance lodge?

A lot of folk belonged.  Have you heard of Harry Latham?  He used to go.  And Mr. Flick from Drum Head, he was the Worthy Patriarch.  And there was the secretary and the treasurer.  And then, we’d have a supper to raise funds, and the concerts.  It wouldn’t be big money in those times, but it was amazing to see what they could do.

And the Orangemen, they had a picnic every year, and somebody had to ride the white horse.

The white horse?

Oh, yeah.  This horse was…King William’s, was it?  King William?  Yes.

As you were growing up, besides having fun and going to school, what kinds of activities and chores were you involved in?

Well, we had a little club.  Geraldine Johnson—she lives up in the seniors’ apartment in Isaac’s Harbour, she’s there yet, she’s three years older than me—but she got this club up, and it was called the Pollyanna Girl’s Club.  And we’d have a meeting—I think it was every month—at the girls’ houses, you know.  But what that comprised, I don’t know now.  But we took up an offering—it wouldn’t be very much—sometimes ten cents we’d take, or a quarter.  Yes, quite a few of us belonged to that.

Then as we got older, at the church we had the YPU, the Young People’s Union.  Sunday School, of course.  I always went to Sunday School.  And we had a women’s group to raise money for missions at our church here.  So, there was always something to do, even though it is a one-horse town!

Were you ever involved in any musical things yourself?

No.  I could follow a tune, and I used to go in the choir.  I could sing along with the rest, but I wouldn’t sing a solo.  My daughters, both of them, play the piano, and her mother—I guess you met Meg—well, she plays the organ in one of the churches up around her home.  They both took piano lessons.  And my other daughter, she lives over in Sonora, near Sherbrooke, she plays in the church over there.  She plays the piano.  Right now, she’s on a trip to Alaska.