Older relatives speak Gaelic

File: macinnislargus-oh-gaelic_M.mp3

Speakers:

LM – Largus MacInnis

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

LM I remember my two grandmothers; they spoke Gaelic a lot.

KP Yes.

LM There was an old lady; used to live in Munns Road. She'd walk out. She'd call in. My two grandmothers was livin' with us. They'd - Grandma Campbell smoked a clay pipe, and her and the other old lady, they called her Big Daisy, she smoked a pipe, and they – And what they smoked was dried twist.

KP What's that?

LM You ever hear tell of Hickey's Twist Tobacco?

KP No.

LM It was manufactured in Charlottetown.

KP Oh.

LM It was chewing tobacco.

KP They smoked chewing tobacco?

LM Yeah, they'd dry it on the top of the stove.

KP I bet it was pretty strong.

LM Whoa! The smell of the smoke would pretty near knock a young fellow down (laughter). But they'd get those two old clay pipes packed with tobacco, dried twist, and get them going. There'd be just a blue fog of smoke going and they'd be talking away in Gaelic.