Cape Breton's Magazine

Would you be interested to take a trip to the States? I said, "I sure would be." (Were you going to school at the time?) No. I had quit school. I think this was during the summer vacation. I might have gone back to school , but I started on my own then; I kept at it. My mother didn't feel too good about it. She said--my fa? ther was working at the gypsum mines, and she said, "Wait till your father comes home." She said, "He might have something to tell you about that." When he came home she said, "I have news for you. You know," she said, "Paul wants to go on that Norwe? gian ship." "Well," he said, "let him go. He'll be glad to come back." So being a little stubborn, I went. I was seasick the first trip; I had never been at sea before. So, I stuck to it. (T SEAFLOWER F-' GALLERY Featuring Art Work by VIRGINIA BERGAN JEAN-LUC CHASSfi • LEO NAGLER JOE NORMS • DAVID STEPHENS REED TIMMONS • DICK TUTTY ARTISTS'MATERIALS NOWINSTOCK! LUCAS Oils, Water Colours & Acrylics Pastels • Charcoal GESSO 'LinseedOH* Turpentine KAMAR Varnish Spray Knives • Sketch Pads • Canvas Phone us at 295-1991 or 295-2386 or drop in! CHEBUCTO ST • BADDECK ACROSS FROM TELEGRAPH HOUSE =5' Then, that first trip that I made on the Dago, that Nor? wegian ship-- when we came back--we came through the Strait of Can- so, and it was a gale of wind. And there was a ship called the Orion that was lost, she went ashore. And the word had got in Cheticamp that it was the Da? go. So when we came out of the Strait of Canso, we went and took shelter near Sou- ris, P.E.I., on the lee side of the is? land, where we'd get smooth water. So we stayed there for 24 hours, hove through there at just dead slow speed. First (my parents) had heard the word, somebody had said that it was the Dago. Because we were due in Cheticamp. The news was not like it is today. The news had come that there had been a ship lost. (And what happened to the Orion?) Oh, she was a complete loss. Complete loss. I think she had a load of grain. Corn, I think.... Then, coming onto the end of the season (for) the gypsum, (the Dago) unloaded at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and then we went to Baltimore to load scrap iron for Norway. There were 3 of us. There was my? self and another fellow from Cheticamp and a fellow from Newfoundland, St. John's. And when we came back to Brooklyn, New York, there were Norwegian sailors that were waiting to be repatriated to Norway. So they said, "Well, we'll have to pay you off." So they paid the three of us off. So I came back to Sydney. On a boat called the Dominique, a passenger. And there was a small coaster running from Halifax to Chet? icamp which used to be an ex-rumrunner. And you could work your way back and forth. If you wanted to work, assist in working the cargo, you could get a free passage. So I knew that he was coming in Halifax on a certain day. I had gone to the Sailors' Home for a couple of days waiting.... So, when we left Halifax he said, "Can you The HIGH WHEELER Cafe * Deli Bakery QPaily Specials * Excellent Eating' 295-3006 ENJOY THE DECK IN THE HEART OF BADDECK! MACAULAY'S FORD MERCURY SALES LIMITED BADDECK • 295-2500 SALES SERVICE -

Cape Breton's Magazine