Cape Breton's Magazine

aer and lightning. And of course that lasted maybe an hour or so. And where they used to milk the cows (was) a big clump of big tall trees. When you'd take the cows home for milk, they'd get in amongst those trees and they'd milk them. When the boys came in off the road, they left a little gate open. The cows were in this clump of trees, and they went in, in the hay field. And my mother told one of the older boys, "Go out and close the gate." Because they'd ruin the hay field-- that time of the year. He went out, drove them out. And they went in the clump of trees' The downpour of rain, that was pretty strong. There was a bunch of (men) at the house. I guess there weren't enough seats for all of them. I know Roddy Nicholson told me he was standing near the door. And he said, "This clap of thunder come, and the lightning at the same time--just flash, and the blast at the same time, you know." That would be possibly overhead. And he said when it did stop, in a half hour or so--it calmed off and the rain stopped-- they went outside. And here, I don't know if it was 4 or 5 cows, that were in the clump of trees--they were all dead. The whole bunch. All that was saved was a lit? tle heifer, a 2-year-old. The reason he was saved, you know, the cows resented him, and they used to shun him, and chase him • And he got outside the trees for a little bit, and he was saved. He was the only one left. That was a real disaster. Mother had a serious ailment before the First War. I think I was around 9 or 10, We used to make hay on those places that they were after leaving The Rear. Stephen Maclnnis's farm--there was a lot of good hay. And my mother used to help, you know. She'd go out. It was all small hand-rakes that time. Just little scythes. There was no horse machine or anything. And the two older boys, they'd have a scythe each. Then my mother and Rachel--they'd go out and start to raking that in rows. And she was after doing this. And she was after making a big wash that morning, I guess, with the clothes out. That Maclnnis's place was about a mile and a quarter from us. And we started walking. And she took the rakes and went out. She used to make lunch for us, too, out there. Anyway, she worked raking all day. Then she came home. And she took ironing the clothes that she put out in the morning. And then she took this pain. She took this pain and she was hollering OFFICIAL SUPPLIER TO JOHN CUNNINGHAM LTD. Draperies and Home Furnishings 602 Jeux Canada Games"STSS'l'S: GEORGE ST. * SYDNEY 564-6444 Victorian Furniture * Custom Made Draperies or Fabric by the Yard or the Meter Cape Breton Finest pcKma RCSTilllKJlHT Enjoy the Finest Chinese Cuisine and Canadian Dishes in a relaxing and luxurious atmosphere DOWNTOWN SYDNEY A 5-Minute Walk from CENTRE 200 Take Out and Delivery 539-7775 Home of the PEERLESS 'O'hkn' SHOWPLACE 'VJCT/Leg <''' ADivisionof / Z' ''''' Provincial Flooring Lta. 'f iV' niiR NFW inr.ATTnN- V OUR NEW LOCATION 400 GEORGE ST., SYDNEY, N.S. Qo P.O. Box 1660, BIP 6T7 Tel.: 562-8453 THE# 24 HOURS Proud to Be Associated with the Canada Winter Games, 1987 "GO FOR YOUR BEST!" Briands Cabs Ltd. Operators of Cape Breton Tours DISCOVER THE BEAUTY OF CAPE BRETON Limousine Service Airport Service Taxi Fleet 564" 6200 Parcel Pickups 24 Kings Rd., Sydney