Page 109 - With John J. and Sadie Theriault

ISSUE : Issue 50

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1989/1/1

(Now, I hear stories about getting togeth? er in the evenings, singing, making music. I don't see where you'd have the strength.) Oh, we did. He knows. We used to--Winston Fitzgerald--and Bob Fitzgerald used to play the accordion. And the New? foundland boats'd come in. They'd be an? chored in at the wharf at White Point. And we'd all go down to the wharf, a bunch of us girls. John; Big dance on the end of the pier. Sadie: And we'd have a dance out on the end of the wharf. After we did that we'd all--a bunch of them would walk down "' wouldnl be expanding into the US. if ACOA, wasn't working for us." "WeVe come a long way since we started up in 1984, determined to produce the Cadillac of plywood foundation forms. Today when a Maritime contractor pours the concrete for a new building, nine times out of ten he's using one of ours. But we still needed help when it came time to penetrate the U.S. market. That's why we're grateful to ACOA. Heather and Donald McLeod Proprietors, Superior Fornning Systems and Supplies Ltd. 'Thanks to ACOA, weVe moving into a bigger building and equipping it with the latest machinery. The increased productivity and efficiency will give us the edge we need to succeed in the States. And the ACOA people were just fantastic, very helpful and receptive to new ideas. So when anyone asks about ACOA, we tell them we know it's working for us." ACOA It's working. For all of us. A Atlantic Canada Agence de Opportunities Agency promotion economique du Canada atlantique Canada Mainland Nova Scotia-Suite 3000, "The Brewery", 1489 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS B3J3M5 1-800-565-1228 (Toll Free) Cape Breton Island-P.O. Box 2001,15 Dorchester Street, Sydney, NS B1P 6K7 1-800-565-9460 (Toll Free) to The Hill--White Point Hill--and back again. And walk over to what we'd call The Cove. Walk over there. Well, then it was bedtime. Nine o'clock was bedtime. Then you went home and to bed. (And got your 4 or 5 hours!) (It was a remarkable way of life.) It was beautiful. I'd go all through it again to? day, if I had to. Every bit of it. We were happy, and we were all together. (I see. Quite wonderful. You're not angry about it then, about all the work that you did.) No. No, my dear, I never regretted a minute of it. No. (But you can't blame her fa? ther for not wanting to give up.good help like that, can you?) John: No. No, that's true. Sadie: No, we never looked down on him, be? cause he was alone. And he worked hard. John: White Point, down there where they used to fish--there was Tom Williams, and (a) Ther? iault, and Joe Asseff-- three merchants. And all of them buying fish. Their flakes were all over White Point. White Point was flakes everywhere. And the fish was split on the stage and carried up to put on the flakes and dried. There'd be fag? gots, big piles of fish in the fall--all piled up, dried. Merchants would do good on that. 'Cause the fisherman wasn't getting any? thing. Joe Asseff was a great merchant.... Sadie: And there were three factories. There was Neville's factory. He was the first man that had the factory. And then Tom Williams had a factory, and Joe Asseff had a factory, a lobster factory. John: And Theriault had a factory. Sadie: I don't remember him. Joe As? seff and Neville and Tom Williams. (And the pay--when you worked in the factory, what were you paid?) 1 were paid $20 a month We 109

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