Page 5 - With Lottie Morrison from Gabarus

ISSUE : Issue 40

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1985/8/1

In front of the Morrison home in Gabarus, left to right: Hired Man, Angus;Lottie's sisters Lena, her father Roderick with Lottie's sister Per1e, mother Melinda with Lottie. Cassie, Nan, Isabel, room, and he would walk through that to the dining room. And I happened to be in the hall when Sir Charles was coming. And he stopped, and he said, "What a pretty little girl! Will you give me a kiss?" And of course I kissed him. So when I go and talk at Conservative parties I tell them I'm the only woman in Cape Breton was kissed by Sir Charles Tupper. So after he went back he sent my mother a portrait. So I'm still a staunch Conserva? tive. People were very much against card-playing and dancing. But in my home, my father wasn't. Father would play cards with us. Our house was sort of an open house. Peo? ple came to our house. We didn't have to go out for our amusement. We could play cards. We could roll up the rug on the liv? ing room floor; we could have a dance. And that was, of course, the devil's work. Oh, terrible. Awful. But Mother would never play cards with us. My father--it was fine. I think my father and mother, for their time, were so far ahead of the time. (But your mother wouldn't dance, would she?) Oh no, no. See, there were 6 girls and not any boys. My father always said we could entertain, and he always--"I know where my girls are." Anyone was welcome. There was no dividing line. Rich or poor, poor or rich. Fisher? man and farmer. (But now, did any of your sisters marry any of the local boys?) No. We had friends. But oh, no. My mother objected when cer? tain boys would walk home and come to the house. But there was nothing highbrow a- bout my father. Mother liked to be dressed up all the time. Entertaining--that was Mother's life. Oh, I never saw my mother take the broom in her hand to sweep the floor. She always had people. And those help, some of those people would stay 10 But they were part of the and 12 years, family. Hallowe'en was something. They'd play tricks, you know. They'd go and upset out? houses. They'd perhaps take a black horse and whitewash him white. They'd take some? body's carriage and turn it upside down, or remove the wheels. Or remove the gates from the hinges, and things like that. No great harm. Then of course, at home, we would have Hallowe'en parties. And you'd mix up rolled oats or oatmeal and cream. In it you put a ring. And people came. Eve? rybody in the party'd take a spoonful, and if you got the ring, you were going to get married. You'd take an apple and you'd pare it, you know, get the whole thing off in one piece. Then you'd throw it over the barn, or some building. And if it formed an initial, that was their initial. Person you were go? ing to marry. Or they'd take a ball of yam and throw it over the bam, things like that. Whoever was to catch it, that was the fellow you were going to marry. The boys'd be on that side, the girls'd be on the other side. , (And a girl would throw.,,) A ball of yarn. (And this was mostly at Hallowe'en?) Oh, it was always Hallowe'en, You always had a birthday cake, and birth? day party. In the birthday cake there would be a piece of money, there'd be a ring, there'd be a button. And whoever got the ring was going to be married first. Whoever got the money was going to be rich--they were never going to want. And the button was--you were never going to marry--old maid or bachelor. That was very important, the birthday cake. And birthday presents--you'd have a little party, same as they do today. It was always in your house--whoever had the birthday',' it was in that person's house. (5)

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