File: macintyrestewart-oh-farmlife_M.mp3
Speakers:
SM – Stewart MacIntyre
KP – Curator Ken Perlman
KP: If you lived on a farm when you were young about how many hours a day would you be working?
SM: There was really no such thing as as hours, it was sunrise till sunset. My father was in charge of the Coast Guard station and we had no land of our own. It was hard on us, we had to go and help out the farmers around.You couldn't very well refuse. That was the tone of the times, you helped your neighbor and he helped you. And I can remember when we were quite young on the farm; I remember the first time – The chap who farmed next door, he was supposed to be a little tight with money. My sister and I, she'd be about six years old and I wouldn't be more than 8, and he got us to plant potatoes for him. But he wouldn't plant more than an acre those days. So we planted potatoes all day and in the evening. And we were warned before we left don't take any money, he's a neighbor and you can't charge. We protested, but he pushed the money in our pocket. It was twenty five cents apiece, I think. So, I suppose when we got home we looked guilty, and it turned out that we had the money and well they didn't know what to do. They were going to send it back with us first; then they decided that the old chap might think that he hadn't given us enough, so they confiscated the money and give us a lecture, and that ended it. That was the tone of the times. You helped your neighbor, and he helped you, and I don't think people would have been able to get along otherwise. Because there was no money in farming whatsoever. In those days – I can remember, the local town was Souris, and each farmer would have about five hogs and he'd have, probably have two or three acres of potatoes, and grain and barley and wheat, and any excess that wouldn't be used by the family, they would sell it in town, you see. You'd haul it in, and believe it or not, you had to go down – You went down along the shore, went through the runs see and then into Souris, that was eight miles. You would leave home about three o'clcok in the morning; you wouldn't get back till nine o'clock that night. You would get – For oats, you would get half cash because it was a very popular – Island oats, they used to ship it to England for their horses, and it was in strong demand. You would get half cash for oats, for potatoes you would get nothing, for poultry you would get nothing, or anything like that.
KP: What do you mean by nothing?
SM: You'd get no cash, it would go onto your account, which would run for the year, see.
KP: Oh, they would just give you credit?
SM: Credit
