Page 8 - With Margaret MacDonald of Glace Bay

ISSUE : Issue 25

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1980/6/1

Margaret: Yes, I'd rub the soap on and scrub them out, and then I'd put them on to boil and that generally took it out. And if not, you put them out on the grass in the sunlight--and the sun would bleach them. I was careful. But people you read about, their lives were hard because the parents were careless. Didn't bother. (So you feel anybody could have had as good a life as you had?) Margaret; Definitely. Anna: Unless there was liquor or illness involved--then you didn't have too much of a chance. But I remember--we had a beauti? ful life. I look back on it and think that I'm a better woman for the life we did have. I can sew and I can make do. Not that we have to--but I can. You know, you should have been in Glace Bay the day my father was buried. He was a plain old miner, and St. Paul's Church-- they couldn't seat them all. And in those days you waked people in the houses, and the undertaker had to stand by the front door and let so many people in at a time because they were scared something might happen to the floor. Margaret: But the explosion we had two. three weeks ago--it brought everything right back. The next night I couldn't sleep, thinking of my husband and the oth? er souls. And in your afterlife, those things will come back to you. But I'm not a sentimental woman. I'm as hard as nails. After my husband was killed, I was younger, I was busy with the kids, I had lots of things to do--and I didn't think so much. But the explosion in 1-B, it made me think of everything. I realized what those peo? ple were going through, and how they'll fare out. These things don't end. When you bury your husband or bury your son, it doesn't end. Because when you hear of something, it comes back and you go through all of that again. You wake up. Many's the night I've sat at the window and thought of those miners • when they faced death, what was it like? We raised six daughters. No sons. It didn't make any difference to me. I had healthy children, I had good children. A lot of people said it would be no time at all before I'd be married again. Well?? I never go outside the door, never bother my head. I'm contented in the house, I read a lot, do the housework, work in my gar? den • and I'm very happy. I have no regrets. I'm satisfied with my life. BRIAND'S CAB VISIT C' Breton 564-6161 Fortress Louisbourg Graham Bell Museum Miners' Museum Gaelic College SEE THE BEAUTIFUL aBOT TRAIL 664-6162 MARGAREE: PHOTOGRAPHS OF CAPE BRETON by George C. Thomas A gentle, person? al portrait of a vanishing rural way of life. For? ty-eight black and white photo? graphs of a Cape Breton river valley. The author's photographs are in exhibitions, collections and , periodicals in the U.S. and Canada. 'h 1' ,r' ' fW' ? !s of Cape Breton Ijy George C. Thomas Limited edition: 2800 softcover 15.00 (13.00 US); 200 signed hardcover 30.00 (25.00 US). Add 1.50 for pack? aging and postage. Send cheque or money order to: THE HARBOUR LIGHTS PRESS • MARGAREE HARBOUR, N.S. CANADA BOE 2B0 Ladies' and Children's Wear 314 Charlotte Street Sydney CELEBRATING OVER 75 YEARS OF SERVICE NEWLY ENLARGED, LICENSED RESTAURANT OPEN ALL YEAR 'ROUND Harbour Restaurant • • . Telephone (902) 224-2042 ' • ' 'Jjef Dishes Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia '' request OiUdren's Portions Try Our Butterscotch Pie Phone (902) 79'-7251 Cabel. BRENNANS Teleac 019-351'9 Night & Holiday 736-8479 79'-3178 Brennans Travel Agency 158 QUEEN' STREET, NORTH SYDNEY STEAMSHIP • AIRLINE • RAIL AND. JiO'L_AG5QlQtOI)ATIONS (8)

Cape Breton's Magazine