Community as Family

Because prior to 1949 we had nothing.  If you got up in the morning and that, you had neither bit of butter, you go to your neighbour.  Sing out, “Belle” that’s Aunt Belle, “have you got either bit of butter to lend me, “yes” and then perhaps 15 minutes after that Belle would be coming down, “I wants a bit of sugar”.  See this was the relationship, it was a real family relationship in the whole community.

But now see after ’49, I can remember, Daddy was working over in Stephenville, and when he came back, that’s when we joined Confederation,  that’s when  unemployment insurance came in. Then well see, Tom Dunphy used to have a little store almost where Calvin Murphy got  his boat taken  there in now, that cove there. That’s where it used to be, right where the road goes through now.   Daddy would go over to Tom’s and have a yarn but he would come home with nothing because he had no money to buy it.  But after UIC came in, the first amount of money that they got, you used to have to put out the calendar, I suppose the same thing as now,  was 29 a week.  But see it was a $29 that would come  every week. So  after daddy started getting his unemployment, then when he would go over to Tom Dunphy’s, when he would come home, see he’d normally bring back a pack biscuits, a tin of fruit or perhaps something else. We would all sit down and have cup tea. Prior to that we never had it.

That’s when it all changed, after Confederation. That’s when you started seeing more toys coming around, you started seeing people going cutting Christmas tree and this type of thing. But prior to that …  At that time we used to live right where Ambrose Hickey’s house is now, we used to live  in a bungalow house. After that Daddy built a new one right where Alec Murphy has the garage now. But prior to that, no, I can’t remember.  Christmas  Eve was suspicious, it was. Because where was this barrel, that was our survival.