I was born in November 1921, at Priest Pond. My father was a farmer; and my mother was an R.N., and nursed in the States for years. She came home, married and she raised nine children. She was a Maclnnis and she done a lot of nursing around the area. She brought a lot of kids into the world. I'm the third oldest in our family.

We had to help on the farm. My father was laid up a long time with a sore back and we had to keep the thing going, you know. It wasn't very easy. The oldest girl taught school, and the second girl was always great around home. Us young fellows were always around; perhaps going swimming and playing ball. We made our own fun at that time. I went to school at Priest Pond. We left down there - I don't know what year - and moved up here to North Lake. We had the little old school here at the corner. I worked at home and I worked out on a farm, too. I worked in the moss plant and the fish plant - you name it, whatever was going. The money wasn't too big then. I worked down at the lobster factory at North Lake and all we got was $32. a week. I worked at Campbell's Cove for near five years.

In the fall of the year there were a lot of ships lost along the north side at that time. During one storm - it was just a wooden boat, you know - they thought they were going around East Point and the captain ordered them to throw the anchor. It just pulled the boat right apart - one part of it was out and the other was grounded. The storm was so bad they couldn't get out after them. The Captain, himself - she was loaded with lumber - took a plank and he came ashore. He come up to our grandfather's place at two o'clock in the morning and all he could say - he was a Russian - was, "Branco vinto".

Next day, some of the crew were safe and they took planks and tried to get in, but other planks would hit them on the head and they were all killed. The Captain said he never knew one of the crew: he just hired them the day before sailing. I think that same fall about seven ships ran aground. There's nothing worse than the sea when it gets bad.