Cape Breton's Magazine

of the house • for peeling potatoes, peeling turnips and all that. Some ladies woUld take home a pot of meat. There wasn't enough room to cook everything at one house. Just to give you an idea • February second • we got into there at 3:00 in the after? noon down at Marcellin Doucet's. That was one of the last ones in the district done in the old way. My brother Arthur and I were playing the violin. Those were the hun? gry thirties, mister, and times were hard. We left with each our fiddle, and for our cases we had a white pillow case. We landed there at 3 o'clock. They were waiting for us to get the dance going. So we danced till about 5:30 and then we stopped for supper. It would only be for the parents • the head of the households. The teenagers would be arriving about 7:00 to dance. As it was they were servii' 75 to 110 people. And you didn't stop playing the violin for the whole of the supper. We were the first table to eat. And listen here, at that time, when you went to a place like that, and once you entered the dining room and saw that table • well listen here that would make your eyes open mister twice as big as what they were. It was the Depres? sion, and let me tell you that tables loaded with food the way these Chandeleur were presented • to see the food that was on thereI Well they'd take off the potatoes and the meat, parsnips, carrots, chow, turnips and all the rest and then they'd come on with the pastry:pies, cookies, cakes, donuts • homemade donuts • well listen here were you ever fulll Charter to seven then get started back on the violin. Till about 11- 11:30. Then there was another big lunch:meat sandwiches and sweets of all kinds but the meat sandwiches were the ones you'd go for. Why? Because at a party like that • at that time you didn't talk about going to the liquor store. Everybody knew that this Chandeleur was coming. Everybody would get a gallon of molasses, you know, and make his own home brew. Molasses, yeast cake and water • that would only take you a- bout a week to get a five gallon keg. Others made their beer in December and they distilled it for moonshine. And some thotightful residents had made some homemade wine for the ladies:beet wine, blueberry wine and another they used to call "chas- pareille" which had a good kick in it. Mister, all the stuff to drinkI This big lunch and you'd stop for an hour and get right back at it. Round 12:30 the dance would continue. They were dancing in two rooms • one set in one room and one set in the other • and drive 'er Maclver. This went on till 5:30, but about one o' clock some of the elderlies would start leaving • but some of thera were going home to get a few hours sleep in order to get back there about half past six in the morning. We played till half past five and then stopped for breakfast. And after having been Gentlemen's Choice in HAIRSTYLING 390 Charlotte St. 562-3336 Tom's Shell Service & Restaurant Louisbourg 733-2616 A.I.. MacEACHimf TRiULIR A CAMMR IMAIIIiPACllillliW Ln. station Street, North Sydney Manufacturer of "Ranger," Travel Trailer. Pickup Campers, Mobil Hones & Otfices and Toppers Complete Service and Repairs All Sizes and Makes Complete line of International Furnaces and Parts Alsp Service Center for DOMETIC AND MORPHY RICHARDS Refrigerators THB LARGEST COMPLETE TRAILER SERVICE IN THE EAST Location: Florence Bras d'Or Highway in the Village of Bras d'Or Write P.O.Box 121, Sydney Mines Phone: 736-3200 CAPB BRETON'S MAGA2INB/4 Warren K, Cook Christian Dior Botany 500 Gino Cassini I .* mm ocnin 303 Charlotte Street Sydney