Cape Breton's Magazine

ing to be a storm--the Americans had a lot of fishing vessels, what they call sein- ers--they'd come in here out of a storm. I've seen 40 or 50 of them at anchor here, waiting for the storm to pass. They'd buy some supplies here, too. Sick sailors were put ashore here. The cemetery has a number of them that died. (Were the sailors themselves welcome here in town?) Oh yes, always. (Well, what did we have to entertain them?) They wouldn't be here long. Those Americans--just as soon as the wind would go down, they'd be off again, probably wouldn't be more than two days. No, there was no entertainment for any of them. Oh, there were illegal bars. Down just below where the railway tracks are, along there--Rum Road, they called it. There wasn't much liquor drunk in those times. There was one house, a kind of a bawdy house that fellows used to go to. It was near where my father's store was, so we'd see them going. But I think only the captains went there. And the ships that stayed here all winter, they had to have supplies. The men would be aboard them all winter. Go skating or do something else for exercise. Two or three of them married here. The odd one j lamped ship. There was a house in George's River that used to hide them till the boats would be gone. They'd find out this place; they'd go there and hide there. Two or three married here. The young people of the town would be out skating on the ice, the wintertime--oh, it was heavy ice, you know. One of the fellows aboard one of the English boats had his eye on one girl--she was a pretty woman; I knew her as a woman-- he'd be skating around, he saw her. He was a gentleman, he wouldn't go up and speak to her. But one day when she went ashore, he went ashore--and at a distance followed her to her home, saw what house she went into. So he went to the door. He rapped, and the mother came. He introduced himself, told her who he was and all about himself. And he said that he saw a young woman sev? eral times out on the ice skating, and he followed her ashore, she came to this house. He wondered if he could meet her. So, the mother invited him in. And he mar? ried her! One of our best families. Another store, Thompson's Hardware Store, a big store. In fact, there were two good hardware stores flourishing. And ship's brokers. There was a lot of business here. Coal trimmers worked hard. You know where Leitches Creek is. I knew a man lived right at the end of it. He walked to North Sydney, trimmed all day, walked home at night. Five miles to work, five miles back. And stood there in that dust all day, trimming coal, (And not earning very much,) Oh, no. But everybody seemed to be con? tented those days. My father used to supply a lot of the trimmers down there in the fall. They'd put in their win? ter's supply of potatoes, a barrel of meat, a barrel of fish, other groceries. They'd be buying in the summertime, and they'd be idle all winter. My father, he had a large meat and provision business. But be? fore he had a store, he used to go to Margaree in the month of March, with 3 or 4 other merchants in the same line, and buy the winter's stall-fed cattle in Margaree, and drive them home to North Sydney, Sometimes the ice would still be on the Bras d'Or Lake, and EVERYONEWHOWANTSTO SAVE HOT WATER,STAND UP The energy it takes to stand up is worth it. For half the hot water and half the price of a bath, you can have a shower. Put a 'water saver' on your showerhead and you're further ahead. Turn the thermostat down on your water heater to 60?C (140?F). That's plenty hot enough to get your family and dishes sparkling. Ressources Canada . Mines and Energy Two words of advice on l'' insulating your water heater. Do it. A good fire resistant insulating jacket can cut heat loss 80 percent. it's also time you fixed that leaky faucet. Save enough drips _ . and you could have a bath. Better PUf YQUr Bnei' IlltO vet, a shower. ' 'rM?.%5v.?.mmr. saving some yet, a shower. they'd drive across the ice to Boularderie and down Boular? derie. Oh, pretty hard times getting there sometimes. When they'd go, it'd be a race to see who'd get there first, to get their favourite cattle feeder--the farmerr--to get his cattle. Oh, I went later when I got up to my teen age. I worked with Father for years, when I was young, He was the first one to start delivering (39)