Page 12 - Rod and Rheta Campbell, Marion Bridge

ISSUE : Issue 24

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1979/12/1

trying to keep that on the road, because it would give out. In Montreal we had a room with a day bed in it and a little kitchen off where you put a quarter in and got gas to get your meals. We lived very frugally, but we always had lots to eat. Got along very nicely. (% sense of Witnesses has been someone who works, earns a living, and then goes door-to-door, perhaps one day a week.) Yes, and they have children. See, if we had had children, we would have had to go to work in order to support them. The income we got would certainly not have kept a family going, but it did very well for the two of us. Rod; I ran this farm for years. We kept as high as six cows, and we always had a garden. Rheta; That's one thing that supplied some of our food those days. When Rod's mother was living, he wanted to be handy her, so we've just worked on the island of Cape Breton for a number of years now. We worked up all around the North Shore and up to Meat Cove, Capstick. We had a panel truck then and the road then was shale and I said, if it rains we'll never get back • the cliffs were steep right down to the ocean. Got as far as we could with the truck and Rod walked from there on to tliese families. And it started to rain. And I wrote a little note telling our names and where to send our bodies and put it in the glove compart? ment. Nobody knew us up there and the truck was licensed in Ontario. (This is the 1930s.) Yes. But we weren't the first down north. I doa't know how far Mr. Mar- chant went, the man who had called on my father. He was an old bachelor. He had a bicycle and he went up over those hills. Now that's another thing, many people o- pened their homes to us, had us sleep at their home. Even when we had the housecar, they would insist that we come in, give us our breakfast. Oh yes, people were kind to (You never found any anger?) Oh yes, we did. Sometimes • one house in Cheticamp, it was way off the road and I had walked up to it and oh, the man was wild, he told me to get. And he walked down to the road with me. And every so often he'd start to give me a push. I told him if he put a finger on me, I'd have him arrested. And he'd stop and then he'd swear. Kept on with me to the gate. And different places, they'd yell at you to keep away from there, they didn't want you. But within the last few years, we've found a great change. Rod; I know in North Ingonish, we would have difficulty in getting a hall or schoolhouse to give a talk. But after it smoothed over, there wasn't trouble there. Rheta; I came to a door and a woman said, "What do you have in that bag?" "Well," I said, "even if I had snakes in it, wouldn't you invite me in?" She started to laugh and said, "Sure, come on in." Dif? ferent times people would say they didn't want us in the house, and many times they would phone ahead and tell people we were on the way, not to let us in. (Was there ever really any danger for you?) I know in Inverness, the time we were arrested, the mayor there said I should stop because they might take sort of mob action. But he was just trying to frighten us. Only once in a while would you find people really vicious. One man told me, if I came back again he would shoot me. Well, I just wouldn't go back a- gain, I didn't want to get shot. Some would say, get, get, and once they set a dog on me • and I just got through the gate in time. As a general thing, I found peo? ple kind and good. We were arrested in Inverness. There were ten of us Pioneers working. I was picked up first and was in talking to the mayor and the town clerk • said I would have to have a license. That was 10 dollars a day. I told him we didn't take licenses out • this was benevolent work and we were al? lowed to do it. That's when the mayor told me not to do it. I told him "I'll have to be like the apostles, whether it's right Known for Quality Products and Careftjl Service • Jewelery and Gifts MacDonald Jewelery Limited 357 Charlotte su Sydney ?? 864-8318 IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, OR IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND WITH A PROBLEM, --''' • ??i'''r' THAT IS RELATED TO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS. *S -SM-/H(lll CONTACT US AT THE CAPE BRETON ADDICTION REHABILITATION CENTRE; V./V-lv>' I V'KJKJ 0. B. Addiction Rehabilitation Centre 1' Local Volunteer Committees assist in dispelling myths about ad? diction, making communities aware of facilities, etc. To join a committee in your area (or for help) call us at the 24-hour infor? mation contact number. DETAILED INFORMATION ON REQUEST. The Memorial Society of Cape Breton If you believe in simple final arrangements, planned before death, then you should know more about The Memorial Society of Cape Breton. Contact us for a brochure of our objectives; P.O.Box 934, Sydney, Nova Scotia BIP 6j4.

Cape Breton's Magazine