Oh it was- was just this- this girl that ah- she's retiring from the- from the auxiliary but she's- she's got a really nice touch with things. And ah it was beautifully done. She even had tea cozies. Do you know what a tea cozy is?

Oh there's dances, we had afternoon tea dances and dancing- dances at the night. Not late dances or-anything-like-that, but they had quite a few formal dances. And um I debated and I and I- I can't- I- I think- I did a few things, but I- oh I- I was in ah one- I was in ah Romeo-and-Juliet, I had a taste of acting and I loved.

Yeah. And um- oh we used to have tea dances. We called them tea dances. Started at five in the afternoon and you got all dressed up. I remember some of the dresses I had and the hairdos I had and I always liked to dress up nice and ah um- and then we'd have ah- Friday afternoons

Yeah. And um- oh we used to have tea dances. We called them tea dances. Started at five in the afternoon and you got all dressed up. I remember some of the dresses I had and the hairdos I had and I always liked to dress up nice and ah um- and then we'd have ah- Friday afternoons

Speaker: We need more. There's no ladies clothing store here hardly. There's teeny-boppers stores, jeans and-stuff. Interviewer: Mm. Speaker: There's no kids clothing. Where am I going to buy my kid something, Giant-Tiger?

So they had to allow us two- i-- it was a long row of house ah- but they call them tenements at that time.

So we had to- we- they ga-- allowed us two tenements. Because there were seven children.

Interviewer: Did you get a chance to travel when you were growing up? Speaker: Um, back and forth to Sudbury to visit Dora and Toronto couple of times, North-Bay, Nova-Scotia, been to the Sioux. Interviewer: Okay. Speaker: Ah, been to the States. Interviewer: Oh yeah? Where? Speaker: Just like Sioux, Michigan.

Speaker: And so I had no- no debts when I graduated. Interviewer: Great! Speaker: And ah when I look at today you-know how- Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: How ah- Interviewer: It's a lot- lot more expensive. Speaker: Yeah and how kids- now I read like in the States the ah- it's like when by the time they get out of university they- they got a mortgage (laughs). It's not a house.

Interviewer: Sounds like you did a great job. Speaker: It ah- and people- people from- they came from right across Canada to come to it. Down in the States. Interviewer: All people that had been- grown up here or? Speaker: Yeah they lived here. And so they came back for it.

Interviewer: Did you ever get a chance to go outside of Canada? Speaker: Oh yes. Interviewer: Oh yes. Speaker: We've been to the States a few times, we've gone back to Italy on trips. Interviewer: Oh.

... sometimes instead of coming back home through Canada, we would cross through into Sioux-Saint-Marie, Michigan, and then drive through Michigan and come out at Detroit, near Windsor and then come home that way, like we'd never driven down into the States other than Florida and the Napa-Valley but um we've done that, just go across and border cities.

So we can't travel, but yes we took ah the kids to the States like about maybe seven times. I brought them twice to New-York-City and then of-course, we lived in Schenectady and went there about five times with them. And ah no, I never got out to the west other than out to Thunder-Bay-

Interviewer: So overall, no regrets about spending your life here, great place to grow up in (inc)? Speaker: Well, it took me a while, I always hoped I'd go back to the States for- Interviewer: (inc) Speaker: For quite a few years- yes.

We-- this was the first- some of the first skidoo racing- was- this was one of the first places that they had actual money prizes for skidoo and my mean- and I-mean, they came from all over place. They came from the States. They came from all over the place-

He ran his own show. I re-- I-- last week I was watching Alan-Thicke do an interview with a guy in the States, in California, and he spoke about our T-V station, and how he remembers coming home to visit ...

He was hiding it you-know? Because you could- you could buy things much more cheaply in the States. Some kind of- whatever tool it was he wanted.

He's in Toronto, on Avenue-Road and he's ah keeping well, but I think he's lonely um because his daughter is in Manitoulin-Island. He's got two sons down in the States and he hasn't anybody else you-know? So I think he's kind of lonely there.

People just abandoned- but price of gold was really low. I d-- I don't know what it was and ah- ah, it's a different story. But you- you got to realize that in- in the States in some areas of k-- you-know, Canada they're like- there- there was a huge recession-

Another chap too that's ah one of the younger fellas, he didn't go or get overseas but he was an American and- and ah ah when the Korean-War started, he didn't go back to the States. When the Korean-War started, he had no service in the American army so he was drafted. And he was killed in Korea.