I still remember the one ah fellow that was helping him ah he was chasing us. We ah swung over top of the wire fence and he didn't realize and he was coming full tilt after us and he tried to jump it and his feet caught and how he didn't break his neck because he just went (non-lexical sound) right up (laughs)-

Speaker: ... and we'd just- and there was a stile at the back fence into the ah- the schoolyard, so you'd climb up over the stile and there you were. Interviewer: Explain what a stile is. Speaker: What a stile is. Interviewer: Yes. Yes. Speaker: Yes. Okay so you have the wire fence, and that's really awkward to climb over. So they would build ah wooden steps up one side and down the other.

Speaker 1: That's where the water was, that's where they put the well. Speaker 2: Yeah, they could witch wells, you-know. That's where they found it.

Speaker: Yeah, and if you're not, drill it where you want it. But I'm not saying in certain parts of the country, you shouldn't witch. Interviewer: What's that word? Speaker: Witch. Interviewer: Witch? What does that mean? Speaker: Well maybe it's witchcraft, I-don't-know but my wife and I and my cousin and his wi-- ah, were out visiting some relatives out west in nineteen-seventy and they were drilling- going to drill a well out there.

McLeech's have been the same place for seven-hundred years, they weren't all sons you-know. If a girl, the one that married the McLeech-girl, he takes her name, McLeech. That's funny but, that's women's lib and they had it way back in those days. It was only right, too, you-know. You-know it saved a lot of fighting in the family, perhaps them bad uncles would grab for it ...

Interviewer: Interesting there's that perception. I mean is that true of the larger business world? Like, is there men's jobs, women's jobs-? Speaker: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Women's lib never happened, plus- but if you- again, if you go back and look at the skills, okay, they are- it's is- yes, there's a significant portion that's business skills, but a lot of it still is that nurturing, interpersonal, communicating ...

Probably relatively okay but it's very macho sort-of- so Tim would be a little more macho than one might wish he were and Linda's quite you-know, relatively you-know, women's-lib sort of thing and, anyway. I don't know if you got anymore questions to ask me?

Speaker: But I wouldn't have gone anyway because I don't- I guess I'm old fashion enough to believe that I don't think a man should have to travel around because his wife has a job somewhere. Interviewer: Hm. Speaker: I-guess I'm not women's-lib. Interviewer: Aw (laughs).

Yeah it's really fun. Like we were playing (inc)-Michener. We wonked them. But Iroquois-Falls we were neck-to-neck the whole time so (laughs) yeah.

Yeah yeah. Another puzzle part that you won't know is last year- well I'm licensed through the Canadian-Co-operative-Wool-Growers. And all that means is to take the wool off a sheep in one piece and leave as much skin to grow next year's, eh?

In the spring of the year the sheep would be clipped and the fleeces taken (flips the page) to Carlton-Place to the wool-growers.

And then you'd roll them all up into a ball and keep each- each fleece separate. And then the what they call in Carleton-Place the wool-growers, you've maybe heard of them, eh. And that you'd sell out there, get a better money for it.

Money was very scarce but that was one way to contribute. Many other folks in the area helped in other ways also. Work-bees were also held during the winter to cut fire-wood for the manse and the church building.

So there's- but you didn't go and ah do the- the hard labour of s-- pick- picking stones or the hay or you-know, and the- and then of course in fall the fall you would ge-- you would be getting into ah um you-know harvesting your grain, and then you'd ah, ah what we call the ah thrashing day right, which you'd bring the grain and- and you'd end up getting everybody ah as a- as a work bee and- and they would all chip in their work, you-know to- to ah a thrash this to- to separate grain from the stock and whatever and bag it and then- then put it into storage. But that happened on every farm so the thing is you figure, oh you're done, no well you got to help the neighbour because the neighbour was helping you. Yeah work- work bees were- were a big thing yeah so.

Oh yeah, you'd have to walk, you-know, that's ah- and of course, people then were so conservative with everything. Like, when- when you were- went to one of these work bees, that was half a mile away and you took the horses and wagon, you'd have to walk the horses home on their lines so you wouldn't wear the wagon out, riding on it.

And before the money would come we wouldn't have no money for food so you would buy peanut butter, molasse, that would be- corn st--

Speaker: You-- you 're lucky my mouth is shut for t-- two months. That 's why I 'm yacking. Seriously. Interviewer: No, no, I wanna hear, I wanna hear. Speaker: I can 't believe my voice is still holding out. Um, so yeah ah- my craft is really coming along and um, I made a whole bunch of stuff and I did sell some stuff to friends

Speaker: I've kept you a long time !Interviewer: No! Speaker: Get- get yacking away (laughs) Interviewer: No, I going to say before, I've got ten hours of- of space on here.

You-know especially if you have teenagers and mine are kind-of semi-grown up now but if you have a party and you're f-- three-feet from the next house or even a get together. When my sister-in-law got married, we had a party here. The whole neighbourhood could hear the music and the people yacking and...

And ah so we had our coffee and yacked about stuff. And ah so we went back in the h-- cottage and- and he said d-- "I'm making some toast," he said, "I'm going to get in and get shaved." Well all of a sudden I heard this