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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-20 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Language Lab Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Description An account of the resource Lakehead College, Language Lab. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/410c47f63b3093a416dc18cf4dcb14e3.mp3 50d9889c7e2c2e2d5594d9fac554b494 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/0bf9bda3bc2e6ca1787dcf4464679786.mp3 b91e4e5becfe39eff6d039225d2e78a3 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/5da075abefd2ebfa02058a1a555de252.pdf cbabafa68b879647067d3c3b15adc946 PDF Text Text T / j HERSTORY PROJECT Mrs. Peltier interviewed by Helen Lovekin - Q. ~hat year were you born? A. 1896. Q. How long have you lived here in Atikokan? A. Since Q. When did you move up to Northern Ontario? A. In 1923. 1923. We went to Keshabowieand there were 13 houses at that time including the school, the Post Office the store, everything. Q. What brought you into Northern Ontario? A. Work - we couldn't be were we had no work. You see we were close to Winnipeg and it was the time of the Depression and a man that comes from Montreal and goes and settles in Saskatchewan with crop failure year after year will sell it. Q. Did he work on the railway? A. Yes, there is where he started when we moved close to Winnipeg, he was laid off in the fall because he was a new employee. All winter long we had no- thing to eat - just what I could squeeze so hard in the summer time, we just barely lived. Q. So you grew things in a garden? A. Of course, we had to, we had to do something. All the berries we could get at least for at Christmas time - that was the least we had to have. With time and application, each time there was an opening at some place on the CN, he kept applying until he got the job at Kashabowie. Q. How did you feel about leaving Montreal? A. I didn't live in Montreal, my husband was from Montreal. I think it must have been a hard time for him too. Q. Are you from Quebec or ... ? A. No, I am from Manitoba. Q. How did you feel about the change? A. I was glad as long as I got something to eat and feed my children with. There was not much of a future but at least we knew we would have something to eat all year round. When a man worked frcrn April to October and then he is laid �off and not a dollar is coming in. "' No matter how careful you are you have to have a few clothes for the children, you have got to get a pair of shoes now and then - it was no life. I would have gone anywhere, anyplace as long as we were earning our daily bread and I didn ' t believe in going "on the town" and I was too proud to go and ask for help like that, so it was rough. Q. For the sake of being independant, I was willing to go anywhere. There was nothing I wouldn't do to better myself. q When you came to Kashabowie you said there were 13 buildings - how many children did you have with you at that time? A. Three, I went over there with a three week old baby. The other two were tugging at my skirt, and a bag of diapers and a few cookies for them because I had 12 hours of train ride. I never forget when I arrive over there my heart went down so low. Q. A. Why? r \'1\ .Q..'() l • Mainly becaaee) they don't trust us too much sometimes. .. 1J IYI 1, He told me about a nice, white little cottage that I was going to go to, well, I was so happy and I looked forward to that white cottage. It was on a hill alright, but it was an old cutter ' s shack only partly whitewashed.. Q. When your husband was working in Kashabowie what sort of things did you do? A. Entertainment, you mean? Q. Yes. We stayed there four years and the only thing that we could do was at Christ- A. mas time when they had some kind of Christmas Concert~y the children who were going to school, in fact - e ¼:c was one of the pupils, she did her first year, Outside of that, they were all Finlanders and there were maybe two or three families that 1,eren 't - two Francais and the others must have been English. those Finnish I'm telling you it was lonely and they would invite us women, and they were very nice and very entertaining with their baking, ver-J generous. But they all speak their language and us, we were just sitting there like a bump on a log. Actually it was boring for us but for the sake of seeing somebody - you get to a point in places like that - I guess you go backwards instead of forwards. You think more of your problems than of something brighter. Q. Uhen you were with these women, and although it wa-s boring because they didn't speak any English, was it more for the sake of being with the company of women? �3 A. Yes, it Has for company's sake. You Even if it was boring, it was still something. were g etting dressed, you took time to get dressed, put on the best dress you owned, fix your hair, you made your girls as pretty as little dolls and it was something to do apart from cooking the cheapest way and' scrubbing those bare floors and carrying water, like I did by the pailful. pail up the hill. Pail after It was a change that was really helpful al though it was boring to sit there and not know what was being talked about. Then every- body lmitted in their own way - the Finlanders don't hold the needles like we do and do they ever go fast and the beautiful knitting. They were won- derful women and wonderful workers with the exception of the language problem. Q. Did you have more children while you stayed at Kashabowie? A. Yes, I had two more and each time I moved back home to have them. Q. You never had them in a hospital? A. Never. Q. Who helped you with the children? A. A neighbor - there was always an old neighbor, somebody older than I was, Who helped you as a midwife? Everybody did it, I helped you today and tomorrow you helped me. it myself too after I was older. I did Not for money, at no time did we take money. And then the entertainment - I've seen at times if somebody who could sing came, it was a singing party. Q. A. lhy did you come to Atikokan? 1 For a better living again. From Kashabowie, of course my husbaJ1d kept bidding for the section foreman's job and then we went to ------- for year but he couldn't handle the work so we got transferred to Emo. one I wanted school by that time for the children. Q. They were old eno,ue;h to go to school? A. He had two of school age and then I wanted school because I didn't have all the schooling I lrnuld have liked to have and I didn't want my children to be in the same boat. So we went to Erno and we stayed there 28 years so the children all got their education there and of course in Fort Frances soon as they went into other courses. I came here after my husband retired, you have 8 children and small ch~cks all the time, in fact I always tried to earn money myself outside to make up. All he had was a $40 pension per month and we couldn't pay ta-xes, we cou:1dn't pay fuel, we couldn't pay hydro, we couldn't eat/and the work over there was not good enough for me. �Q. What were these jobs? A. No, in the hospital. Cooking in camps? Anyway I decided we should come here and I '11 get a house and I'll keep bo\ders because mines were still in full swing. of the mines - this was 22 years ago and the That is w-J:nt I did, I caine here, and I bought a house for 9 thousand dollars and I had almost 2 thousand dollars of furniture because I had to have a large freezer and leaving a place where I had no electric appliances, I caine here and I needed those things. In seven years, I was clear - I didn't owe a dollar to nobody. Q. For both tmms, Erno and Atikokan, when you moved to Emo, was it already an established toim? A. Yes, but it wasssmall, about 700 I think. Q. Not, like Kashabowie. A. No, at least there was a four room public school and there was a two room high school and there were three churches. There was a better future for my children and I wanted my children to have better than what I had. Q. In again,- Atikokari, what was it like 22 years ago? A. Not too many sidewalks. Q. Was it like a hole punched in the bush? A. Not, really, it was better than Emo. Better grocery stores, better schools but then I didn't need those things then because my children were all gone, in fact, my twins had just finished their courses. self. So I was really for my- I had three grandsons that were that age besides my own. Then they were teenagers so they were not small as to tie me dmm, so I was free to ) work. Q. You are very strong about the idea of improving your life for your chttdren, from the interview from Mrs. Uebber she has mentioned that you are deeply involved with the Catholic Church? Was that a religious conviction, a pers- onal convic:tion to work for your children? My parents were Catholics and I was brought up a Catholic. But there was always something - I don't know - not that I think it is the wrong religion, but some of their rules to me were man-made rules uhich I dirln 't agree with. I'll take from the Bible, I'll accept it but from another man, it'sllike I read from some of today's books. Sure it is a beautiful story but it is still a man's stOT'IJ. There was aCatholic church over there but they had a priest only sometimes and then sma.11 group of people like that who are poor, no matter hou honest you are, you are always the little one. There were always the ones better off who we had to look up to and I resented that very much. Myself, I believe in equal rights. �5 Q. Do you believe equal rights for not only classes but from the standpoint of A. men and women? Yes, and no. I like to be independant from men, I'll admit - I don't like men to boss me around. They're not going to tell me what to do - I know what I have to do and I'll do it. And if I know I can't do something, I'll say I can't do it or I don't care to do it. I don't like to ~e pushed around. I think I am a queer woman sometimes, but ... I have been fortunate and I am at this time, one of the most fortunate senior women that is living I am sure. Q. A. Why? How do you see yourself fortunate? I look at all of the wonderful things there are in this world. I have the nicest friends and it is not because they are poor women like me - as far as money is concerned they are far better off than I am. They have the ed- Q. ucation that I don't have. I never learned English at school myself. Did you find it a problem when you moved to Manitoba, not speaking English? A. I was born in Manitoba and I was raised on a bush farm. enjoyed it but I don't think my mother liked it too much. money was as scarce as it has been for us now and then. Of course, us kids In those days We were fortunate that my mother was a school teacher, so she taught school there. Not through the government like they do today, she did it for the sake of the children and she liked to help out. That is how come we got out French but we didn't have English - she knew English but those Frenchmen - you had to be so French and it is drilled into us to be French and we are. - When I left home to go and work I found it difficult and I was lonesome and I was amongst Englishspeaking people, but I was determined to work and to make my living. Q. Did you encounter discrimination in your wages or in your positions because you were a woman? A. I don't think so. Q. A. For instance, the differences in paychecks? Oh, yes. Q. Was it a great deal or was it just a little bit? A. It was not that much - of course with the work I was doing, I was not a professional and I was just cooking. a man does. Maybe us women get away with more than Q. What do we get away with? A. Let's say a crew of men that you are cooking for will expect more from the man than they woul d expect from the woman. �In time they might cat er to us and to take too, to what the cook will say. Q, A. Q. A. That is important in a bu;3h camp,ci It was not in a bush camp, I never cooked in a bush camp, just in the hospital and the railroad. How did you feel after p~tting so much of this tremendous energy into giving the children the best that you could possibly give? After they erew up, how did you feel when they were gone? I was happy. They turned out to be good women, every one of them. They are all living, I got my eight girls and they are all living, and they all finished something and they are all able to keep themselves above board and better off tha.n I ever was. I am alright now, I have got plenty to eat and I don't have to worry, I don't have a palace but I like it - I like old things, I am old and I like old things. I am happy with my girls, they are all good to me. Q. So, your family hasn't left you, they are still around. A. Oh, yes, they are all here and generous and so are my son-in-laws .. Q. So it was an accomplishment to you? A. Yes. And you found all the effort was worth it? Q. A. Q. A. Yes, I'm repaid for it. It must be very gratifying. Yes, of course there is religion involved too. I guess I preach sometimes too because some of my girls are ver-J close to religion too, some are not so close and their husbands too. But they are all good men, that is One thing I am thankful for. When I hear somebody say something about mother-in-laws, I don't like that. I have no difficulties with my son-in-laws - why do others have difficulty? I don't Imow. What more do I want in life? Right now I couldn't ask for any better - I don't: live in luxury but I like it. I keep my house as clean as I can and of course I am busy. Q, Do you feel that when you had this large family, did you feel like a pioneer? A. No.I tried to get to the top, that is all. Q. And this was a place to do it? A. Really what I had in mind was the future of my girls and I wanted them to have better than what I had, at any cost. time, no sacrifices. I wouldn't back up on no work, no I would have done without shoes or stockings, or any- �1Q. A. Q. A. thing to let them have it so they could go on. It is nice that all of your girls grew up well and they still come and see you and you a.re vecy happy with them. You mentioned about being French and how you loved being French. So what I go for that I believ e in is to lea:rn to speak it well, use the proper words and your proper grammar. So you don't like the Quebecoisi.J;c.,.\e<..~ 1~ Not too much. When we were small a funny thing happened. There were some Quebecois but the kids were always tormenting us because we were French Belgian, you see, my father was from Belgium. They kept hounding us and calling us "The Belgians" or something like that and at one point we went to Mama and asked her why they kept calling us that name. We were proud to be French Belgians you Imow. You see, my father's parents were from France and they had to imigrate to Belgium after or I think before my father's time. My mother just said "Call them Green Canadians" and of course we went out Q. A. like a shot and if after they said anything about our being French Belgian, - I don't know why we resented being called that because that is what we were - of course we called them Green Canadians. Did you find that this pride was a spiritual need in you? No, I think it is more the French feeling - and old country French - and that is home and country. You die for your country - you lay down your life for your country first of all - and I think that is what it was. Although my mother was a Canadian born and my father was old country French and their mother was from the U.S.. My mother never really talked that way to us, but of course we had old count:ry French people too and then our relatives were all older than my father was and without hestitation you lay down your life for your countcy and your flag was .. that's it. Q. Did you find any of these feelings lacking because you lived in these small communities in Northern Ontario? A. Q. You mean lacking in me or in other people? From your sur-.coundings . A. Yes. . .......... Nobody has the same interests. Maybe they would if they were in another country. I don't think people really talk about it or are interested the same as we were. Because most of the people of my father's generation were from the old country and that is what makes the difference and maybe �t r:. ~lk.r c...; '"1"?.\"'\J;~ if I were in another country myself it would make a difference. A •••••• And that is the only kind of wood she had in the winter time and she had only a cook stove. She had to keep on making fire all night long in order not to be cold because the little boy was not very old and the little girl either. So my kids found out on the way to school that they stopped so we went to see her and she told us_she had been up all night making the fire. her to come over I told and they stayed with us until I don't know what happened. Until she had something else to help her but the wages were all the men could get at that time Q. - was five dollars a month on the highway. Do you wish there had been more co-operation between the women in these communities or do you think there was a great deal of co-operation? A. I think the co-operation was as good as it could be, considering the conditions. If you have no work, what can you do? Iffyou don't earn any money - I know, I went through that after the First World War - you just can't do nothing. What can you do? You are raising children, poor little babies and you give them all you can and you are just barley living yourself. could tell you a true story. I When I just had Jean and Madelaine - that- spring was before my husband went to Kashobowie, he was out of work all winter long. As careful as I was to try to have something to eat, and all we had was bread and p:o:vrid.ge and brown sugar. And then came springtime so my husband left to go to Kashabowie for work there which was supposed to be a steady job which he gladly took, and then I didn't want to spend any more ~ money than I had to. When it came to the last of the brmm sugar I just cave them to my two little kids and I did without it with the porridge. That last month I wanted to spend as little as I could. That were the sac- rifices we did during the Depression along with so many other people. sure I was not the only one. Some were more fortunate of course - those that were established you know. thing. I am But when you just start, you start with no- It is just like a business, you start a business on small money. You do it but you have got to be careful and know that you get no wages for yourself and it takes time before you have enough to call your own. Q. A. Did you have any time fo:r yourself at all? With 8 children in less than 14 years? No. ·-"": and I washed diapers for 8 children on the board. on the board. \ I did my sewing, I did my knitting I washed for ten - e &us �Q. Did you ever think sometimes that you couldn't stand it any more? A. I felt there would never be · an end to it sometimes. I saw other people it was or-ay, it boosted me up. Not aJ.l the time, if If I didn't see people every week, or if I couldn't go to church - that is why I went to the United Church actually, that is what took me over there because by going there every week it gave me a boost. Q. What was the longest period you went without seeing anybody? A. I don't know, weeks or a month. Q. What did you do? A. In a place like that, you've got to carry water in to cook , to wash, to wash That must be very very depressing. I your floor, to wash your children, to do the washing, to do everything. is a lot of water to carry, and that takes a lot of us. That There is wood to be carried in, there is ashes to take out, there is water to take out, there a clothesline uas never· too close to a house as a rule. bread once or twic~ a week for that many people. You hawe to make You had to go and dig your potatoes if you had them, you have to go and work your garden .. You have to sew, in those days we patched, not like today. We patched clothes in those days so it was Monday; wash, Tuesday you did the ironing that we don't do today; Wednesday you mended and you mended socks until you couldn't mend them any more. You patched and sewed buttons. So you wash your dishes you wash the little faces, the little hands,put them back to bed and the next morning you ihook the covers and you made the beds again and you feed them and all that and you are busy. There comes a time when you want -t o see someone from outside. a Q.. You just have to get away for little while. A. Yes, you have to otherwise you uould just - you get so lonesome, you fe·e1 there will never be an end to it. It is as if you were caught in a trap. Q. So you did feel trapped sometimes? A. Yes, I did. If I saw somebody taJ.k to somebody, I was up again. I could break loose. As long as Break from the burden of the family where I was tied down and I i-ron 't leave them, they were my children and I stood by them at aJ.l times until they were about 18. There was joy and a lot of sorrow and dis- appointment. Q. Can you tell me about that? Hhat would make you particularly happy, aside from seein6 your children grow up happy and intelligent? �,o A. To Imow that your children are away and you see that they are going to do well for themselves. They grow up to be honest women. Uhat more do you uant? Q. A. That was completely fulfilling for you? Yes. What more could I wish :for? pies - they were reserved. Q. They choose good men, they were not .hip- They choose their company also. _ Do you believe there has been a positive change for women's roles in this ~ community, for say, your daughter? A. I think so. They are freer. In my time, women had to be so careful not to look sideways - you' re talked about - or you don't have to do nothing but'. people will think something. You didn't dress like I am dressed now. matter hoH hot it was you had to have stockings on. free - they are so lucky. Q. No Today the women are so Oh, if I had the chance that the girls have today. If you did have the chance to be my age, what do you think you would like-to do? A. I would travel and I would go for mission work. Q. Hhy mission work? A. To help the less fortunate. Q. So, you like_giving things. A. Right now, I bet you I am the only person who does what I am doing right ·:.1 now. Q. A. What are you doing? Of course I work with the hospitals, I donate good things, new things or almost new things. Sometimes they have too much and what can they do with that but pack those good clothes and have them burnt. should make quilts for the poor with that. six quilts. One day I said we So far this year I have made All it costs me is just 2 or 3 dollars to make and if I have quite a few on hand sometimes and if I sell them I usually turn the money over to the hospital. Q. So you would like to do missionaI'J Hork in Canada? A. Abroad. Q. Any cot1ntry in particualar? A. In the days when I just would have loved to go to school, I would have went to China. Q. I hav~ been to China . .fl A. Have you? Ue have a Chinese girl here. I would do the work here, but as:"l ong as I help somebody less fortunate than I am. I don't like to give to people �uho can afford to buy. Somebody that needs it, regardless of colour or' creed. Q. Do you think that you got this attitude because of your childhood - of giving and sharing and hard work? A. No, I think it was more the Depression. In the Depression after World War I, we were not the only ones who were hard hit. It is like when we were small we went on that bush farm - there were other settlers also- but I don't think they were much better off than we were. Q. Do you think that your mother taught you a lot of things that were valuable Hhen you had a family? A. I was not close enough to her. Q. You wish you had learned more you mean? A. No. I wanted to: .look out for myself, I was a bit independant. told that many times and I believe it now. Q. I have been --What You must remember the time that they brought in the vote for women? did you think about that? A. I think it uas good. the work. Why shouldn't we have anything to say, we do half I believe it is right. think what the, what it is. •r hey don't care. I don't think the men really stop and If they vote, they just vote and that is it. And I guess some women too. When I vote, I vote for that man because I think he will do something . Q. You wouldn't like to get deeper involved in politics though? A. Not now, I would have once upon a time. Q. What did you wish to achieve? A. I would have liked to have been up there and give them my opionion on some ___.--, things. Q. ~Then was this? A. Durine; Depression time . In the 1930 's. It was a time when my girls were studying to go to high school and they had to write exams. ll ell, we had to pay for that - that one dollar meant so much, and of course I d:ldn 't like that. I thought some of my girls would be school teachers but they got into anything else but teaching. Q. Did you teach them to be independant and stand on their ,os.m two feet rather than depend on someone? A. I must have because they are all independant. Some of them, my goodness. The same with me, the smaller ones are so spunky. that they are all honest women. Uhat I am happy about is And they are all hard workers. When they �do something they do it well, they work better than I do • .Q. A. Q. Well, you must have taught them something. I guess I started them, but, it is like if they are knitting or crocheting, it has to be perfect when they do it. Is there anything that you would like to see done within your society? Anything about people's rights that you would like to work for? For instance the Women's Movement? A. Q. A. I don ' t Jmow. Other than missionariJ work, and you do do a lot of work for the hospital. Uhat I regret, maybe in a larger center it was like that a long time ago although I uas young then, but if it was, if such situations existed, then I don't know, I wasn't in the gang. I regret so much - you see some young people with all their lives ahead of them with nothing to do. I have tried because sometimes I had to help some of the women with a group of girls to do something in their clubnork, and they have nothing to do. I say that they should learn to sew, and that I would show them if they wanted. If someone wants to learn, I'm right there - or knit. But they don't seem to be interested. And it seems to me, at least with my sisters, and cousins, we had something that we were working at. we even had work we could do. At noon hour and recess at school We were at it and we were so ambitious and tta t was the case with everyone, but you don't see that today. And another thing you notice at school, I don't say everyone is like that but that is what. I saw, when they learn their sewing at school, they put something crooked or something wrong, they don't want to undo it and start over again. Undo it and start over again and then it will be well done. If I had been a teacher I would have been too strict I guess - I would have expected too much. Q. It is a hard life and I don't think you can train people too much to go out and face what goes on in the irnrld. A. And then, it seems to me that we were so busy when we were that age and I Q. don't think that the kids have that today. We had a group of girls for a couple of years, that the school sent to us if we wanted them. llho is "we", what organization is this? A. The school teachers. In a way they were to do some work for us. waited for the day they were allowed to come out to do our work. So we Try to see �.·,. . --·· ;, if you can ma;ke them do it. You show them how to go about it, and that is the way I want it to be done and that is the way it is supposed to be done. No way they would do it. That wasn't the way they did it. They want to do what they want and not what we want. When I went to work and I learned when we worked, we do what our mistress wanted us to do, they wanted it done that way and that was it. They don't always send the same girls and we must have had 8 or 10 girls, and if 2 from that 8 or 10 was willing to do the work, that was about it. teach. Q. A. Q. A. The kids don ' t like to learn, they want to Ihlearned that a long time ago - don ' t tell me you know how to work better than I do. I asked you what you would like to do if you were my age, you are obviously very active - what do you plan on continuing? As long as I can. You just want to keep doing. I hope so. I had one of my aunts from Belgium, She stayed all alone until she was '90 and that was in the country were there is no convenience - carry the water in, carry the ashes out - and she stayed by herself until she was And thn I guess came the time that she couldn't do anything else ..... . You just shoned us what you are doing, the beautiful quilts and knitting 90. Q. and . ... A. And my scrapbooks. Q, You have scrapbooks too? So you like to stay on top of things. In one of my books that I have, I have the first stamp of the hospital when A, there were only two rooms. Tha.nk--you Mrs. Peltier. I like. all history like that. � https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/d7078ae188dc5963689e890f8f82c25f.pdf 7654ee5ca4b41e0f85e235b9659c7584 PDF Text Text MRS. PELLETIER-Atikokan Mrs. Pelletier will be 79 in December 1975. She has lived in Winnipeg, Emo and Atikokan. She has eight children and has also raised two grandchildren. She is a deeply religious person, now she has four dogs and says she is very good at playing cribbage she has played since 1949. She would have liked to have more for her children when they were growing up, she said she was like the Old Woman In Th I Shoe, her children were always clean and ~ e never in rags. She always washed and ironed and patched all their clothes. In those days if you had to manage on seventy dollars a month you did. They paid $800 for their house and paid $20 a month with- out interest and of course she had her garden. nothing to anybody. Today she owes Inflation doesn't affect her to much, she says she is careful with her money and is used to hard times. She said as long as her children were fed and were comfortable it 4idn't bother her. She thinks you have to live from day to day and make the best of it, you've got to be willing and accep it. Her husband was different from her she was very outgoing he didn't like it but when she wanted to go out she did her work at home and slipped out. He never stopped her from going out. If she had to do it over again she said she would never live like this, she would have travelled or taught. had it rough and cried a lot but stuck it out. Shes had She never had t the pill so the babies kept coming and coming and she never had one of her children in the hospital. . �MRS PELLETIER ATIKOKAN old in December Mrs. Pelletier will Religion Mrs. Pelletier a de eply religious person states "So many things of course we think about it, no m~tter how we are r aised ............... . .................. some belief of our own even if wed 't about it or discuss it wj JJ:i nobody eJ se 01 1r f .lith grows to be ia such a wa ou k ow You believe and I believe and some things we don't believe and we think doesn't make sense and so·on. And it was like that with me, but I'm against certain things. If it's supoosed to be that way OK let it be, don't matter to me but, don't make sense to me so I let it go over my head." Mrs. Pelletier makes reference to a recent stay at Avila Center which she enjoyed. Dogs t Mrs. Pelletier has 4 dogs in the house, ..................... " My Baby sleeps beside me." Cri at it but I can handle On her pioneer life What I hated most was to wash his jeans and iron them and patch them, It had to be done, my dear lady, we WJuld have been in r~gs and it's something that no matter how little I had and how many children, ) ; ke the OJ d vyPWiU1,.__i_n ~ll.oe,_.my child-r.-.en ne~.r: -went with soi Jed cJ otbes. : the· -.....--=~=~,~...;..,;,c~- da but at ni In those days -=-~=-=!""'!!llli~~ be ironed, nobody went out with clothes that wasn't ---~:--did and you know some women Often wondered hov,1 I done it but it h;;id to be done. They wondered how I baked. My husb 1nd was working and I had to bake something for for his lunch that was better and of course with the children I had to. Pies maybe for Sunday. :.::.::..;:;.c....,....::.:.;;;~~::-,,r...;..;....~..__-= __,~ . _ _ �Question "Were .YAU eyer reaJ ly Pnbaooy wi r,b yo 11 t 1 ; fe?" Answer " I would h ave liked more for the sake of my children, I always wanted something. I would h ave liked enough money, but when I needed it, I ne~ded to buy a pair of shoes I could go and buy it, but I always had to wait, sometimes 'till pay day, 15 days maybe sometimes a month before I could go buy the pair of shoes and I hated like heck to go to the store and say "Well, could you wait 'till next payday so we c 3.n pay for th3.t pair of shoes." ••····•··•••·•··•····•••·•···••••··••····I suppose everybody was hard up but they and 2 children. Oh it was 40 below that morning, so cold so after my breakfast ............................. "She had been up all night just making fires, she had ~nly dry poplar wood to make fires, it's a fire that don't last and no heat. She had been up all night just keeping the fires, so cold. So I took them all in, her and her 2 little children and I kept them a couple of days." Question "Could Answer "When you h ad t~. you d~." Question nn· d OU h ave to ? n ~~.....:.i..~~----~~l\'g-~~==t:~~~~ Answer "We aid $20.00 a month on the house We pought it fqr $$QQ QO but they made it e asy. We f.).aid $20.00 and no interest. ..Q.f -uCPwc.s we h~d our arden too ~mprJ1-i o J;_bo.se...da.µ, 6 Packa es of seeds for 25¢ • ..... .... .... ... ........ ..... ..... ........ ... . ..... ..... ......... You have to do it. When you think exactly what you need. With my pension I live good, keep somebody, give them a cup of tea, what you like to do. Each day I'm above board, I owe nobody nothing, I want something extra ....... and I h ave still something in my pocket �QUESTION ?fl "Do y:ou find infl Answer " Not me personally, guess because I'm careful, I'm used to hard times. It's the best time in my life, the easiest time, because when I have my little babies as long as they were fed, dressed and I Know they were confortable, nothing mattered to me. _It didn't matter if I had one dress to wear. I'd take if off a night, wash it at night, let it dry through t ~e night and put it on the next morning, it didn't matter to me. I would h ave liked to have more, but as long as my baby was comfortable. . ....................... . Sometimes I felt there was not enough to go around, but I got something that had to be got. My husband was working outside, he h d to have clothes that wqs wann. It was far more expensive to dress him up th an anyone else. There was a few things that my mother gave me or my sister . gave me, I could always cut it to make a little dress for my girls ••..........•............. "knitted mitts, knitted sox and scarves for my 8 children, I don't know how I done it but I never stopped .. ... .. ... ... . . . . .. . .... . ........... ..... .. ...... .. ....... .. .. ....... "I t hink you have to live from d ay to day and you got to be willing to accept what comes and make the best of it." "We li veei in a small town, Emo. something for t h eir future" husband was not Ques tion "M ny gµ are All my girls h ad to leave home to learn mix.!~.,• ~ox t..ake p art-.in SQmething. a yer.,,._.r,.:~~~~~~a1:::ld!:'-" Answer "Yes I am. I'm the o oosite" Question nn•ct OU ou?" "Yes" "How did :t_OU live with it" '~0h you "Was he unhap py b~cause yqu were gute;ging?" Answer "Oh he was but for me to live out like . t .tlgt wbe,,q not that I leave to be done, when I see t~at it's done then I sli commi t _tee work. ---- �Question"Was your husband eyer mean to you becau se you went apt?" Answer "Oh he told me a oi ece of his mind." Que ~tion "He di dn' t s to 0 •..ro u from Answer "No I was too detennined • . .. ... .. ... . . . . ........ .. .. .. "My self ad -the chance • n life believe me I would have done nothin like I did do. I wouldn't h ~ve lived this,~.~~;~~~~~~been tre.vellin te '::. chin and in mi e. sion work but I didn't have that chanc I just h ave public school, in f act I didn't leArn Eng just picked uo EnglisJl: "I wish I could live another 10 years like I -=l_i _v___,.;:...,,......-;::;i,..... fun in that 10 years • ................. ... ... "I cut grass" (This was the first year she didn't dig the g Rrden twice a year herself) " t First it was hard." rt/ ou marr a man we think we know him but we don't. After we pa ere he's not the man that contract, he's you have some arguments too, I've shed tears and ha throu h h ard times. But I stuck tom ..... ........ .. Tbere was ·no_p_ill in that time and the b ~bies were coming just as fast as I could have them without all the ne The only time I was in the hospital sick in my life, not th at I felt good either, it was when I h ad a broken kne6w about 9 years ago. Question nyou never e bos.p-;Lt al?" Answer I won't know what to ex ect to ed home " "0 I think I neeaed those 10 days. �\ to sur:no~t ?. / \ ~- \J \ t I ~::..., l'l ·• doctJr in ful.l, 2.mi 1,-;ouJ..J -r.er:d assistance ir. sh·: ,•:[1.._- of ,1e ar<J situated on the Ct-: 11adlan iJatiom.1.l :(aih.,ra:,:s, the f j rst t9r:nln:1l '>'lest of i-'ort Art\rnr and hd.ve a large number of railway men runnini~ into this villag~ llncl 0ul te a nwnb~r of ernnloyeP.s in thr:' loca.l yards a;1d s!10ps. uur nearest doctor to t!1e east is located at i· ort .:1.rt . .1u', lL/' miles &.way, and to the west at Fort .r'rances, 90 ;n_~les dista:1t. l}.n· c•::ly rn-:: ar..; of trans Portation is a tri-weckly train service ,:.1.ch ·.,.r_..y. "e t1 ave !10 ~o.:..:.d::; or lligln-la:/s. in case of serio:1s illness we ·1us: Hn.i.t for two or t hr~-> iays or1 train service. de have created 0 oclr.>t:r rr.aintn.ins c1. J. small Red Cross Hc,spital nurs~. This would be an advantap;e __;i;rnP-d: .·:Lirk ,1hi teheaj ;~. Cho~/slwn :10 r~n-~I':' ."\. .:hn:..:s ,(. i-'arad.i.s ,., . u • Connell Glc.,:·"'nc~ Jefff!cy ; . 0hrdepuik J • tlcCutclleon °:,J.C. s.~. Gordon Sameron C. Gliver H. Ra.suck ·.--J .J. HcKonne;r ~. ~oy~o J. riaffyGlrnk !~. Sandalowich f·:eN~ t,.1 \·.rLer~ t!1 ,., a doctor. :•.l~~- ; v;;ter }'.. ~l;:iba F.t. 1-loore :...d.anta it. Jrni th Hi.~e Looa F. Au·r>cy A. Albert T .. :JF~d:1arsk:i U. 3krinsid. v.A. Otto. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Herstory Project Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Herstory: Grace Pelletier Subject The topic of the resource People Women's History Description An account of the resource Oral history interview with Grace Pelletier of Atikokan. Interview performed by Helen Lovekin, October 15 1975, as part of the Women's Decade Council Herstory project. The recording consists of two sides of a cassette tape, available here as two MP3 files. (Click on the speaker logo to play each file.) The transcript is available by clicking on the image thumbnails. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975-10-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Release form was obtained by the Herstory project, allowing the recording to be shared and used. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Audio Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Atikokan Canada - Ontario - Emo Canada - Ontario - Kashabowie https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/b834229cfcbb41dc93e0ece7789a14ab.jpg 0a21d60b329cc59960859863045f1aa9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-18 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Braun Building mural Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Arts Description An account of the resource Lakehead College. Artist working on mural in Braun Building outside Principal's Office. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/7162c08696db22bf4b77bfc93e8511c6.jpg 29fcf8e6b53bf08ce998cfee552a4695 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-17 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Braun Building mural Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Arts Description An account of the resource Lakehead College. Mural in Braun Building outside original Principal's Office. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead Photo, Port Arthur Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Port Arthur https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/687162a3f56a30b7d40f6e9b26ddf8ae.jpg d9e80ec0ec619716773199caaac43adb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-16 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: campus Subject The topic of the resource University Life Universities Description An account of the resource Lakehead College of Arts Science and Technology. Early campus. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/85dd4738ae3593d73873f23af727aa61.jpg b30d6725ce3287b6d9dfe92019310a72 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-15 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Mining Technology Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Description An account of the resource Lakehead College. Mining Technology, underground surveying, December 1959. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1959-12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/498f749dc1c072312d96fd49e962b184.jpg 7f217c7833c9badb1865facd66b932df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-14 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: materials testing Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Description An account of the resource Lakehead College. Tinius Olsen Materials Tester, Ed Mazurkewitch (far right). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Can-Car Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/735ff36fd6ce8fc7bf2da1e9ec812d85.jpg 11ff540c06da9edc40fb465961d68d74 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-13 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Biology Student Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Description An account of the resource Lakehead College, Biology student, Lakehead Technical Institute. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead University Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Port Arthur https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/7fe7c6b7ef3fd82960a8c01a9863f4aa.jpg 425d5c06ac99cf0e750447ebda25136e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Collection Description An account of the resource Photographs from Lakehead University's history: people, events, and campus. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context UG6-Z-I-11 Title A name given to the resource Lakehead College: Braun Building mural Subject The topic of the resource University Life People Arts Description An account of the resource Lakehead College. Mural in Braun Building outside original Principal's office. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead Photo, Port Arthur Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Type The nature or genre of the resource Still image Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Port Arthur