Interviewer: Now did you ever have problems with, ah, wild animals on the farm? Speaker: Not really. Back in them days there was no wolves even. Interviewer: No? Speaker: Now we're overpopulated here. Interviewer: Now why is that? Speaker: Well, ministry brings them in here.

Speaker: If you wanted to buy a pig, you could go to dad or, any of them around, eh? Interviewer: Uh-huh. Speaker: They all had pigs. You wanted to buy a little pig or you wanted to buy a cow or whatever, eh? There was everything out on the farm them days.

Speaker: That was your winters. You had to do it. There was no thing, strawberries (inc) in them days. Speaker 2: N-- nothing like that in the store, you-know? Speaker: Back in them days no (inc). You went and got your own. But you didn't grow, you went and picked her, eh?

Speaker: I've got movies in there. (inc) the bear, when I was pushing, bear's taking the garbage right off the blade, bags of it. Interviewer: Really? Speaker: Yeah. Me sitting them on the dozer, wide open, no cover on or-nothing back in them days. Speaker 2: Yup. Interviewer: So are there a lot of bears around? Speaker: Yup. Interviewer: Oh boy. I was up at the um Echo-Lodge apartments yesterday, doing a couple of interviews and there was a big sign on the door, "Residents, watch out, there's a bear on the premises." (Laughs)

Interviewer: And so what people would do is- they would take this syrup into town and they would get a credit in the store for it? Speaker 2: Mm-hm. Speaker: Back in them days it was- Speaker 2: And I think there's deer-hide- they got- they can take those to the store.

Speaker 2: He- he was born dead. I remember Henry's mother saying that she looked in a dresser drawer one time and there was a dead baby in there so that's probably it. Interviewer: What?! Speaker 2: Yeah (laughs). Speaker: Back in them days, they used to take a- kid was born you-know dead- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: They usually never went to the cemetery, they buried him in the yard. Interviewer: Really? Speaker: There's a place up in Harburn. What they call a Harburn. You heard- tell her that yet?

Speaker 2: So the war would be on, nineteen-fourteen to eighteen. So they probably had to give to support the war, eh? Interviewer: Something, seventeen cents to support the war. Speaker 2: (Laughs) That wouldn't even hardly buy a bullet, would it (laughs)? Speaker: Back in them days, it would.

Speaker: I remember that dog today. You-know? Interviewer: That's amazing. You see, that's- Speaker: Well you'd want a story on that? Interviewer: Yeah I do! Speaker: Used to be an Italian worked on the municipality. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: Back in them days, they drag the roads out here for the drag. And the old Italian, he said that daddy says, "Your dog is a good you-know?"

Interviewer: That's a long way, how many cows are you herding down there? Speaker: About twenty-five to twenty-six. Speaker 2: And the dog had to keep them from- Speaker: Off the road. Speaker 2: Straying off the road. Speaker: Back in them days, you-know there was no pavement. We went down the Oldovers-Hill not the one you come up.

Interviewer: "How many of our readers will remember Joe-Birk?" Beaver pelts. People- people- Speaker: A trapper. Interviewer: A trapper. Speaker: Back in them days, yeah. Interviewer: Well, can you tell me anything about trapping? Speaker: Like what? Wolves? Speaker 2: (Laughs) Speaker: We snared wolves when we were- oh that was back in sixty-one, I-guess, sixty? Speaker 2: Trapping ah was one of their livelihoods.

Speaker 2: And the house was cold, you-know from that (laughs)- Speaker: (inc) you never had no heat on, well back in them days. You come in here and the bed was just like ice, eh?

My grandfather, an old (inc) lived here in town. He was a Salvation-Army guy. They started the legion hall in Haliburton. I can't tell you what year it was, I think its in the- (inc) up there. They started the legion hall in Haliburton back in them days.

Interviewer: Who's Ned-Surge? Speaker: He's dead long ago. Speaker 2: But now see- Speaker: He was a city slicker. Come up here and brought logs up to the mill. He had a place up here back in them days. He got stuck- cut to build with, eh? I tail-sawed in that mill, I tail-sawed- I was there that day, I was working on the mill when he come up there and took these pictures.

Speaker: And I was invited into the square-dance. Interviewer: Hm, what was that like? Speaker: No different than what we had. Interviewer: Hm. Speaker: Oh we get the same call and-everything eh, back in them days. Interviewer: Do you remember any of the calls? Speaker: Oh yeah. All on the left and the corners all (laughs)- eh Pat? (Laughs)

Speaker: So the main thing was the- the lumbering then. Speaker 2: Mm-hm. Interviewer: At the sawmills. Speaker: Yup. Interviewer: 'Cause there was a lot of- Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer: Good trees up. Speaker: Back in them days it was good timber here. Interviewer: But the p-- the farms didn't do too well. Speaker: No.

We had everything. We never did without a meal, never. Back in them days, you-know meals were hard.

But he never took the chance because you lost a lot of money, that was your bread-and-butter in them days.

Speaker: We used to put ah molasses- had a barrel of molasses- Interviewer: In a barrel? Speaker: Barrel, yeah that's how you bought it in them days. Interviewer: What did you do with molasses? Speaker: You put it on their turnips. Interviewer: (Laughs) Speaker: Oh did they ever smack their chops for that.

Interviewer: Very nice. Did your mother knit that? Speaker: Yup. Back in them days everything was hand knit, your mitts and-everything. Interviewer: I know. Speaker 2: Henry learned how to knit.

Interviewer: And what kind of work did you do? Speaker: Well we farmed. Ah- I- my job was looking after hens. That was the main thing. And of-course we had no electricity them days you-know, so.