MERCY LORING
Mercy Loring

lives in Two Mile and is a dedicated

of the Homesober

Service.

Robert

~r.

Simpson.

Mercy has many

member

She was born in 1932 to Katie and

Simpson

worked

interesting

for R.S. Sargents.

stories

to tell.

One is of

Moose Foot Baskets.
"Well, you have to use the four moose
aunt makes

them in Kitwancool.

They ~~

feet, all four.

My

still wet when she

sewed them together.

They took the bones out, then sewed them

together

Then they just leave the baskets

right away.

there and they dry and get really hard.

She used net line

but they used sinew,

I think it was.

If it's a big moose

she says, you get a big basket

a small moose,

She makes great big ones.

she says you get a smaller basket.

have about three up there now.
She asks around to everybody

sit

and if its
She must

She has four more at the house.

going hunting,

'make sure you guys

save the feet now' and they save the feet.
"My aunt puts the lining
what she used on the inside,
flowered.

inside

the flour sack - that's

the flour sack.

Once the~ used to buy flowered

was to keep it 'when I die'. She said,
keepsake',

and I said,

for a keepsake'

Her wealth of stories

after she rubs you all over
I don't know who made the

had it then and it looked pretty near

like that already when I saw it.
on.

on her head, you know, when

and got fish in the shed and

she said the ghost follow you guys.

just been passed

Must be 200 years old!

I don't know who made

her that.

All I asked for was the rattles,

everything

in a medicine

bag.

That's

from before.

long time ago.

it.

It's

I didn't ask

but she gave me

That's what all that stuff was

in and all I asked for was the rattles.
to her mother

in her own words.

I don't know why she does that.

- that's

she went outside

She already

'You keep that for a

are more interesting

put a headband

Then she takes the rattles

headband.

She said I

That was in 1948."

she's going to be Indian Doctor.
with the fish,

bags,

"Maybe that's the only thing I will get

so I took it.

"My grandmother

It's already

That's

They passed

The rattles belonged

from my grandmother's
it on.

Anything

mother.

they had

2

they used to pass it on.

They don't do that ~

some people,

they don't care for things like

young people,

more.

that.

Same's your wedding

gown.

persons

getting

They don't do that no more.

married.

Got to passit

on for the next

it not right

if you go and use the old wedding

was a wedding

gown down at I think it's Mrs. Chancey

years old.

And there
past 50

my cousin, we corne out of school - that's

Jack, my Grandmother

she's my grandmother's

(I don't know what she'd be to her,

daughter's

and didn't

even ~

We played

around ang_pJayed·anund

house,

gown.

daughter).

horne to tell Mamma

cut, that used to be shortcut.

We left the school

I was going up there.

and finally

so we went up to the graveyard

decided to go to her

and went through the short-

I was about nine.

We went up

and I said to her,

"Look at those nice little houses.

go and see what's

in them."

said,

"There's

things

in there."

a trunk

in there.

I said,

I'll bet there's

a lot of good

"Well, let's go look."

She looked at

look."

dark then.

I said, "Alright,

side-by-side."

said,

I wouldn't

"Nope, we'll just go

get blamed, we'd both
"Oh!

Look at the

and said, "Look at the silk!"
I said,

She

"I'll be the man and

"Okay," she says, ~he puts on the wedding
Gt.

I help her, there was evenAnecklace
and

and I put it on her~she

got dressed

- we're gettin'

held mine and we walked

in there,

in that trunk,

"

she said to me, "Let's pretend

and then I got dressed and

this is a big street with lots

married."

So I held her arm and she

down - we walked

a long ways, you know,

and then we looked back and said, "Gee, we'd better
Somebody's

going to see us."

we walked

back and I said to her, "Well, we'd better

take it back.

We were still in the graveyard,

off and put them back the way they were."
them back.

dark,"

we'll both climb up and we'll both sit

"Well, let's get married!"

of people

it's gettin'

the trunk and I said,

She looked

you be the woman."
gown,

She said,

get blamed,

done it, so we opened
gown!"

when

We both held the lid, you know, when we opened

it so she wouldn't
wedding

"Gee, I don't think I should, cuz

says don't go near graveyards

and it was getting

Let's

We looked first, you know and she

me for awhile and she said,
Grandma

They think

It's been from one person to another.

"Me and Dorcas,
Dorcas

Like

And we were sittin'

So we did.

there laughin'

take them
We put

and lookin'

so

MERCY LORING

through

3

the trunk, you know,

in the trunk,
dark."

and she said,

She's a bit older,

said to me, "We'd better
They're

waitin'

"We'd better

not.

about nine months

It's gettin'
older and she

go, the old lady's going to get mad.

for me, cuz they're always wonderin

get orne they'll
go."

there was a lot of little things

send Gus lookin'

for me."

if I don't

So I said, "Well, let's

So we went horne.
"Granny,

close,

did you know what we done?"

When we were comin'

you know, and she didn't hear, she's blind.

lady's blind and she didn't hear and she said,
been?"

She said, and Dorcas

the ghost was followin'
She said,

said, "Why?"

"Where have you

"Cuz, I feel that

you all the way here,

"I feel it all through my system.

you, where were you?"

The old

I can feel it."
The ghost is followin'

So we told her about puttin the clothes

on.
"Get inside!"

she said.

going to Doctor you up!"

"I'm not feedin'

I thought

to slap us around or somethin',

you guys.

I'm

'well, maybe she's going

but I never said nothin.

I was

seared of the old lady, you know, cuz I didn't want to be - if
she gets mad at me she won't
"The ghost followed

let me go there no more.

She said,

you all the way to my door, right into the

house! . I'm goin' to fix you guys up."
the shed and she brought

So she went outside to

a piece of fish, just one strip, that's

frOh\ the shed - dried and she said, "I'm going to Doctor you
guys up.

I'm going to burn your clothes,"

she said.

And I

said, "How am I going to get horne?" She said, "Don't worry about
y c.I c
how
going to get horne. It's just to cure you, that's what
I'm worried
said.

ab (I.e.

Either

that, or you're going to die!" she

"They're going to take you away with them!"

thought

I better do somethin'

rubbed

it allover

then - she took this fish and she

our body - this dry fish!

there thinking, 'Oh, it stinks!
get through'!
hands

She rubbed

and my hair.

nothin',

I was just sitting

I'm gonna be so stinky when you

it allover

Oh, it was awful!

my feet and allover

my

And I didn't want to say

you know, she said she was doctorin'

up us.

took our clothes

off and she burnt it with the fish.

the fish, too.

She was talkin'

opened

So, I

And she
Burned

away in the fire when she

the stove and put the fish in - sort

of chanting,

sort

4

singing

to it.

After

same thing to Dorcas,
Dorcas

she burnt all the fish, she done the
she done me first and then she went to

and Dorcas went and got (we didn't use a nightgown

she went and got me some clothes

to put on.

then),

So, I wore hers

and she said why don't I stay for the night and she done the same
thing.

She rubbed

the fish allover

her again.

And she burnt her

clothes,

too, and after she made us sit down on the floor in

front of her and she was singin'

away with these rattles after

she had got finished,

She was singing

the spirit

away.

She said,

"Because

you know.

She said,

and chasing

"Now, you both sleep with me tonight."

if you don't, you're

just liable to die.

You're

not supposed

to do that cuz the people

they're

goin' to take you back down in the ground with them.

You're

just gonna drop dead!"

orcas

slept with her, too.

And I did.

I slept with her and

We both slept with her and just about

on the floor, the bed was so low.
and you can go horne," she said.
and I changed

at the graveyard,

"By morning

you be alright

And Gus went and got some clothes

and went horne the next morning.

But she told us

"Never walk near a grave at night."
I got one big tumpline

and a wood box for

That one that I got had pictures
Morn's morn, my grandmother.
each.

That's

to you.
know,

But my grandmother

said I was always helpin' her, you

get around very good and I was always helpin'

Take

things,

so she said, "You

it horne. When you get big, you use this

box for pickin' berries."
poisoned."

They belong to

love you, they don't just give it

her to get her shoes and different
take this box.

it.

When we were kids they give us one

if they really

she couldn't

allover

keepsakes.

She said, "You use tin cans, you get

She showdd me how to tie the tumpline

We used long ones not a short one.
but it fits clean around

around it.

This is a short one I have,

like that and and goes right over like

that and goes to your head and you hold the box and it don't tip
or anything~

But you don't feel it when you're packin'

it on your forehead.

It gives all the weight

and you don't feel how heavy

it is.

you sure feel it cuz it's hittin'
put it on your forehead
don't

feel how heavy

ways with them.
down.

on your forehead

But you put it here and

you way down here.

and it lifts the box for you.

it is when you're going/you

You can feel it's heavy,

But you
And you

can go long

but it don't get you

MERCY

5

LORING
Last year when

I went to Stewart,

took the box and filled

it up.

on the Stewart Road, I

I had seven cases of berries

last year - all one time.

Went up one day and corne back with

seven cans the next day.

My, there was lots of berries

probably

lots this year, too.

in jars and pr

I preserve

sure cook them.

that dry berry.

them.

-

I put them

I was going to try to make

I was just going to see what

it looked like.

I've been gonna try it and I have to use that Thimb1eberry
leaf.

You put it all down on a table and then put the berries

on top; as they dry you keep pi1in', keep pi1in',
pretty

thick,

or nothin'
dryin'

some of those berries.

when you're

them.

dryin'

they get

You don't need

sugar

them, when it's really nice out

I soak them and eat them.

tear them off and chew on them.

Sometimes

you just

You take and squeeze them

with your hands and they all squash up and when all the berries
are squashed,
Vowe~l

you take and put it - Gr£dmother,

up at Glen

used to make a big pit in the ground

and she said, "

"Watch, you guys will be eatid fresh berries

in the spring,"

and she said,

"and you wouldn't

And I tried it from her.

believe

how good it is."

She goes and she takes them out of

the pit, opens it in the spring and it's just like berries off
of the ground.
puts

Oh, they're

it in this big thing,

homemade
really

one and it keeps

like them.

really good.
showin'

so squashed

- it's all

you know.

It's a box.

in there.

It doesn't

It's a

spoil.

I

That was the first time I tried it and it was

She only had the one out here - she was just

us you know.

"I'm gonna die pretty

"and you guys wouldn't
learn now, before

know how to do it.

it be too late."

sometimes

soon," she said,
You guys

better

We used to pick soap berries,

too and put out on the - real shiny barks,
kids make

juice but she

you see.

I see the

and it's really tight and thick and you put

the berries

right on them - made out of roots and that.

the berries

right on there and dry.

going to make the basket
1eaks.She

said,

I see her makin'

- Edith McDougal

Put

them.

I'm

knows how and it never

"I'll show you in the spring.

It won't leak."

",I'm going to learn in the wintertime.
In the wintertime

Grandma

gets a great big dish, this great

6
big deep bowl, puts whole bunch of snow in, takes some ooligan
grease

and sugar and mixed

really

cold on the hand.

what

it's like.

'em like this, you know - it's
I tried it, already,

9ust to see

You mix it with your hand and it just looks

like ice cream.

You mix the ooligan grease

together.

the way my grandmother

That's

when you're mixin'

it, it's not thick.

and the sugar

used to make it.

And

It's not thick when you

start, you know, how fresh the snow is and you just mix and mix
and mix it until
icing sugar.
Then, after
center.

it gets to a - it just looks something

It's not runny.

It's almost

like

like soft ice cream.

it's ready then you put a hole like that in the

You put the huckleberries

or blueberries,

they use, and you eat it like that.
used to like it.

that's all

Oh, I'm tellin' you, I

I don't know what it's like now.

so many years since I tried

it.

little bit of grease

I must try it.

here.

It's been

We'll have to try it - I got a
I got some from my

sister.
"We did the smoking
jerky.

and drying of fish and meat - like

We'd go out with Richie

and get some fish.

put out the net - Oh, I see 89 to a catch sometime,
catch.

William

goes with us, Lillian's

uncle's

fishing ground.

fish back here and hang
not the thlinble berry
see purple

flowe~s

That's past Cedarvale.
it up.

leaves,

not supposed

wash the fish.
you're

leaves,

We bring the

You pick a whole bunch of

too, and we'll just put it all in

to wash them.

I said "Why?"

not supposed

and it's my

it's just those long leaves you

the tub - they told us we're not supposed
You're

120 to a

But you have to get those - it's

on - Fireweed!

them and thimbleberry

husband,

You know, we

to wash the fish.

They said it's not right to

to Lillian.

to because

Lillian

said, "Well,

it don't get soft and you put it

in the water too long and the fish is hard when they, when
you~re

srookin' it and it's dryin'

really

hard, not soft.

soft when you're dryin'
eat it, it's soft.

If you don't wash it
it.

Lillian

brush for it.

too much it stays

You know, after it's dry you can

For goodness

wash them, even scrub them,
scrubbin'

it, really dry, and it gets

sake, but before we used to
the scrubbin

Lillian

brush, buy a

says "that's not right."

takes that up in Kitwancool.

And she shows us whensAe

7

MERCY LORING
comes here.
And I've smoked
smoked porkipine.
porkipine.

said,

"No, it isn't."

it up on the road and brought
"Oh, boy.

for a necklace.

wouldn't

have picked

take all the quills

it up.
off.

I don't.

It was good!

the reason.

Otherwise,

I

They make pretty

necklace.

Just

all the quills.

There was nothin'
there.

It's really

Yvonne makes the

I'm not too fussy with

wrong with

it.

It was just

So I picked

it up after this,

good eatin', porkipine,

smoke it - I don't like beaver
fussy with that.

see - I wanted the

And me and Edith, we smoked the porkipine.

to see it sittin'

if I see it.

I said,

So I said to her I want the quills.

and I were pickin'

necklace,
waste

That's

it home.

That's GOOD eatin'."

But, gee, I just couldn't

quills,

Yvonne

I've smoked fish, I've

One time, you know, the car run over the

I picked

Edith McDougal

fish over here.

it.

fresh.

I've tried it fresh and

Same as bear meat.

I like it smoked.

beaver, you

I'm not too

I smoked bear meat, and

moose meat - deer meat, porkipine.
They put the fish in fireweed.

When you take the fish out

you wipe the fish, you wash the fish when you bring it out of the
water.

You can't wash

it again before you hang them up.

wash them when you take them out of the water,
you clean the fish.
that.

enough.

You
When

But you can't put them in the water after

It's hard when you dry, you have to put it amongst the

leaves.

It can stay there for oh, three-four

It never

spoils.

You think

can stay right - that's
spoiled,

it's out of the refrigerator.

the fireweed

even if it's hot weather

there amongst
summertime

the leaves.

days in the leaves.

leaves.

It

It never gets

- a real hot day - leave it

Sometimes

you hang the fish in the

when it's too hot ouside and it gets hot in a smoke-

house and the meat just falls off with the sun shinin' on the
smokehouse

and the meat will falloff

seen it fallin'

right off th

when it's hangin'.

skin and just the skin hangin'

there.

That's how hot.

amongst

the leaves and it'll keep.

If it's too hot you can leave it
I've done that last summer.

I kept it in leaves and it was real hot.
put the fish up.
I said,

I've

Wait till tomorrow.

"And by that time it be stink!"

William

said, "Don't

Keep it, it won't hurt."
"Oh, no it won't,"

8

he said.

"I seen Mother

tomorrow

I'll hang

hole through

do that."

it up.

You

the fin so hang

and so I thought, well

.hang by the tail, you put a

it up by the tail.

it the way it is, cuz it's already

sliced

Just leave

in half.

You just

take a day's catch and smoke the whole works

and you smoke

them for about six weeks

I had to move

mine out to Kitwancool,
couldn't

do it.

- for good drying.
make William's

It takes too long.

mom finish dryin', I

Too much holding

you back.

You wan+~go pick berries and got to be sittin there watchin'
. h
whai- gran dmot h er saId,
.. "FIrst soon as the flS
. h
th e flS.
T h at's~my
come in the spring,"
~.

fish.

she said everybody

Get all your drying

When the berries

done, smokin'

and everything.

come, you forgot about the fish.

with the fish, eh, then ?ill yo
see she's right.

get to work and get at
You finished

work on is your berries."

And you don't put salt on nothing.

put no salt on fish.

I never

Some of them do, but I don't see any

It does taste better with salt in, though.

difference.

I

I

like it better with salt.

We salt fish, we dry fish, we can

fish, we can smoke fIsh.

So, we do lots of things with fish.

I never put salt on moose

or deer.

pretty

good when they do it.

brine,

for a little while

Some of them do and it's

You know, you soak it with salt

and hang them up.

If you haven't

got salt, you can get by without

it.

guess

I don't think they knew or

Indians

used it.

didn't have salt.

In the olden days, I

They just left salt right out of their food.

There was a lot of trading

done with the coast Indians.

You know, well, they come up with some seaweed
and ooligans
they want,

and we trade them with - well whatever

if they want soapberries,

take soapberries
but mostly

and fish eggs

and huckleberries

soapberries.

They're

mostly

soapberries.

so crazy over soapberries.

really wantin'

seaweed

is really - they want $20 for one gallon

for their seaweed,

Boy!

So, I give them two jars of soapberries.

worth

it.

know.

Just even trade them.

They'll

be red.

It's quite a bit of a job pickin'
Soapberries

now.

Like

of seaweed.
I figure

it's

them, too, you

are green right now.

You see lots of little red berries

and be just lots of them.

They

- not very much huckleberries,

They're

10

berries

I'm goin' to be pickin'

hanging,
some next

MERCY LORING
week.

9

You can pick them when they're green.

when they're

red.

it when they're

When they're

green!

red!

Oh, it's really

tonic.

I know when

green

it's more ...
- Oh , I like

It's not as bitter
good!

It's supposed

I used to pick 10

You can pick them

as when they're
to be good blood

and Art and I, we used

to take the juice out.

You take dried meat and hammer

it out and just into powder

and you can eat it just dry in your hand.
just eat it dry like that.

Take it in your hand and

It's really good!

Or you can make a

paste out of it with mayonnaise

or you can use a little ooligan

grease,

I like when I make sandwiches

whatever

with mayonnaise
salt on it.

way you like.

and it is really good.

It's really

good like that.

Used to go to the old hospital.
Used to be Dr. Wrinch.

You don't have to put
Not this one they got now.

I was sick a lot when I was little.

used to go there when he was there.

He was really good.

I

He

said any time I got sick I was just to go right away because
had kidney
kidney

trouble.

He said he was gonna have to remove one

when I was 12 years old, but they never did.

on to Yvonne.

I

She's got kidney

kids they would get it.

problems.

I passed it

They said if I had

They go to school - oh, sometimes

go to school one or two weeks

and go in hospital

they

one or two weeks

or three weeks and they'd go home and do the same thing allover
again.

Just not too long at all.

When I was going to school

they used to give us Cod liver oil.
sick.

They'd

line us up outside

so they don't miss nobody,
Sure didn't
taste,

like big spoon to me!

get

the school and as we came in,

and they gave you cod liver oil.

like the taste of it.

this cod liver oil!

They said we wouldn't

This is really a terrible

One teaspoon

they give you!

Looks

When you come in the door and they give you

one spoon of cod liver oil and we used to go to our cups and get

MERCY LORING
a dr

10

a drink of water.

Be all hittin'

for the water.

fin cups.

cups all on the wall with our names on.
where

the Anglican

Church

You don't use nobody

else's

It's a silver tin cup.
That's

is.

what my grandmother

I got sick.

That's where

and she said to me,

Your name's on it.

oil better

used to give me.

I know when I was really,
Well,

That's

I used to go to school.

cup but your own.

I like oOligan

They had our

than that.

OOligan

really

this Mrs. OakeS,

grease when

sick one time

she's some relation

to my Dad - I don't know what she is to him.

She comes down one

time when

She come down and

I had double

pneumonia

and the flu.

she put onions at my feet.

She rubbed me allover

and oOlisan

my chest and my back she put onions

grease,

at the bottom

of my feet and she said,

soft by morning,
bottom

allover

she's gonna die!"

"if these onions are not

She just put the onions at the

of my feet and tied it on with a cloth.

with - she'd use that - I don't know what
I don't remember
grease,

it is - electric

she is to my Dad.

it all the time.

She come down every day.

I got better.

of my feet.

are soft she says I'm gonna die.

but not as real soft as she figures.
grease

know, because

She says that if the
They were soft, you know,
She said,

You watch and see!"

I drank it.

She

I was always scared, you

it was such an awful taste.

Really bitter with

I always got bette~

I just got to grade three.
was only in grade three.

John was born when I was 14.

was in the hospital

I

They never let you take no books out of

or it's just what you learn in school

If you miss the school,
But when

She rubbed me with

to drink and she mixed ooligan grease

with coal oil and sometimes

school,

She was at

And I got better!

too long she'll be better.

gave me ooligan

coal oil.

I don't

grease mixed with coal oil and she rubbed me and

she tied onions to the bottom

"Oh, before

oil?

This is Mrs. Oakes.

know what relation

onions

She'd rub me

what kind of oil, but I know she used oOli9an

and coal oil to - to rub with.

this oOlisan

with coal oil

is what you got.

you just miss out.

I seen when Yvonne

that time in Vancouver,

they brought books.

I was sick that time, nobody came with a book or anything.

You just have to catch up when you go back to school or else you don't pass.
I worked

That's

all!

in Port Edward

for the herring

season.

I was cleaning

11

MERCY LORING
them.

You squeeze

them and all that stuff corne out.

to fill these big boxes,

you know.

bigger

than that box there,

herring

before

You have

It's not very small.

It's

and you have to fill them with the

you even get a punch on your ticket.

When each

one"s full, then you get a punch,

and if it's not full then you

just get that one punch all day.

So you got to work to be able

to get a punch.

Two boxes per morning,

and get the same.

Sometimes

and work all afternoon

you get overtime

and you

work at

night and you might get another box at night - if you work overtime.

And it was big pay for us then.

I don't remember
got when

in the hospital.

I was only getting

take off, well,
cleared

It was $30 a month.

31 days you get $31.
floors.

I was working

in

a day, and then they

I would be there by the month.

and they'd

in the laundry.

When

one dollar

the hospital
$15.

I was working then,

what they paid me, but it was more than what I

I was working

the hospital

When

I stayed at

take off $15 for my room and board and I
It was a dollar a day.

I was cleaning

Sometimes

I figure, well,

I worked

that's

and I was sometimes working
on the floors, cleaning

lots of money for me.

to give Dad half of what I got.

For

I used

I figure, welL I got lots when

I keep so much, cause Dad buys my clothes

anyway.

I didn't have

to buy any.
My Dad was Robert
28 years.

He priced

Simpson.

everything

He worked

at R.S. Sargent's

down there.

He said to me when he

was going to school that when you go to grade three
at me.

I only went to grade three myself

store.

Sure, it's what you do with yourself,

push yourself

along and learn at horne.

-\~ell, look

and I'm working

in a

cuz you just gotta

You can't just sit there and

say well,

I only went to grade three and it's not gettin' me

nowhere.

"

He said,~But

I picked

it up myself."

and there was

just stacks of books all the time and even lawyer books.
21 years
Archie

ago, on April

He died

Cuz Archie was born after he died.

will be 21 tomorrow.

I worked

as a cook in New Town, but I don't like gettin'

tied up in the kitchen!
summertime
It's

17.

for

It's too much!

when I was doin' that.

~arly in the morning.

It's too hot in the

I sure didn't

care for it.

I don't mind gettin'

up early in

12
the morning

- it's just you get so tired out!

I tried every-

thing where

I could.

ask you for

education.

You could try anything

They ask

Long time ago they didn't

'What grade are you?'

say that.

you wanted.

But long time ago, they don't

They just say, "Well, you come and work and if you can

do it, you just go ahead and take the job."
you can't do that.
get a job.
around

Today they do.

But today ....today

But long time ago I used to go anywhere

But you can't do that today.

I've been lookin'

and I can't get a job.

It's better money

at the coast.

all the time and he built himself

I sent money home to dad

a house.

I came home in the

fall and helped him tear down the old one.

And we used the

lumber from the old house

for the new house.

the strippings.

I sent him, he bought

The money

the house and the ceiling
we used the old lumber

But I bought

it was kept warm.
had two stoves.

for the outside.

W~ lived in it about 15 years,

cuz there's

insulation.

the walls,

I guess.

and a stove

Dad didn't say we had

We did put sawdust and shingles

inbetween

Just here and there, where we

But we didn't have insulation

and we lived in it.

It was long ago and they said it's too cold for my Mom.
a new house now.
and kitchen,

Brand new one.

bathroom

We

Well, we never noticed

no insulation.

but not all that much.

could get it.

I don't know how

We had a stove goin' in the kitchen

the difference,

for

Was no insulation.

in the livin' room to keep warm.

to have

stripping

all

tiles - the inside for the house - but

That's why they tore it down not too long ago.

goin'

and

Three bedrooms

and a basement.

She got

and livin' room

Helen Green and her kids are

living with her now.

Costs too much stayin

in that house.

to pay for the furnace

all the time, oil.

She'd never do it on

just her pension.
When
Memorial

Have

I was the only one in my family, and my Mom.

I was born, my Mom was sick and I stayed
Hospital.

in wrinch

I was born in April and in August, well, my

Mom went out just about three or four days towards

the end of

July.

When she came back again, on the 5th of August,

she was

sick.

She had double

all this

time.

I stayed

August

- four months

pneumonia.

in the hospital,
I stayed

I was in the hospital

well, April, May, June, July,

in the hospital.

in again and she had double pneumonia

before.

Then my Mom came
Well,

she had the

13

MERCY LORING
double

pneumonia

before,

when they let her go.
kept me there.

but they thought

she was all better

They said to come back right away, so they

And she asked before

if someone would want to

take me - like her relations and tha~
My Mom's name was Katie Brown.
yet.

I'm going to get registered

office.

They're gonna

these papers

I haven't

at the government

swear me in and register

from the hospital

got the right year, too.

here.

agent's

me.

I just got

They took it back and I

I told them what year to look for

and they got it - it's all written

on the paper.

do is take it down and get registered.
I was born

been registered

in 1932, April

10th.

All I got to

I've never been registered.

I have never been registered.

I said my Mom put down on the paper that Kale Brown was next
of kin to her.

I guess

she didn't have nobody

guess they had me up for adoption
then.

She died in August.
Dr. Wrinch

Someone

mentioned

So they turned

the hospital

And he said,

for a girl."

this is my Dad's first wife
"Well, they have an adoption

And she said,

up at

"Well, after you get off

Go and see her."

And that's what they

When he got off work at supper time, they hurried up and

they ate supper and they went to the hospital
didn't

realize

Simpson

was

- never had

Simpson

adopted me.

Agnus

around and adopted

at the store to my Dad, so he went home at

work we're goin' to look.
did.

My Mom died

put out a notice that I was up for adoption.

lunch hour and told his wife
Agnes Simpson.

at the hospital.

She was in there, you see I was only

four months when my Mom died.
me out.

to take me and I

it was me.

she died of cancer.
I got now.

to see me.

They just adopted me then.

no/~~~ of my own!

He

Mrs. Robert

So they adopted me.

And she had me for three years and

She died with cancer

And then he married

her after.

so Dad hired this Mom
She was just workin'

for him and I guess he said it cost too much for a housekeeper
so he turned
brother

around and married

there was just the two of us.

~rom a different

family.

different

too.

family,

My brother,
in 1967.

her.

Robert

Only brother

Cuz he had me and my
They adopted him too,

And my sister's
Simpson,

I had.

adopted,

too, from a

died in Wenatchee,

Washington

We were raised

together.

My

14

second Morn adopted my sister, Mary Simpson.
my Dad.

I had no complaints

for me.

When

I was workin'

took his whole paycheck
When

about him.

I was workin'

I was happy with

He did a lot of things

he used to ship groceries

down.

It

to keep me and his own horne goin'.

in the cannery.

First time when I went down

to work, he used to send me groceries

in a box.

Cuz he didn't

want me to starve, he said.

I could get them down there, but he

decided

I guess.

he should send them,

store and he figures
supposed

it's better

to eat, and he figured

He was workin'

for me.

He knows what I'm

if I just go and eat cake and

pop and stuff like, that it's not right.
and sardines

- something

from work.

I was 14.

at the

And he'd send me soup

fast, you know, to eat when I carne horne

And he used to ship me groceries

was really happy and pleased
sent him the whole thing.

with it.

and I

The first check I got, I

It was $200.00!

Well!

The second

check I got, I sent him the whole thing and he sent me back
$20.00.

He sent it back

in a money order.

I just signed my

check and sent it to him.
I was staying with Sarah Gunanoot
old lady.

She used to tell me stories at night.

would knock on the door,
right now!
he knocks,
thought

"Are you up!?"

Oh!

another
The boss

Right away you jump,

If you go back and lay down a few more minutes
you've had it.

"no more!"

He was really good.
to work

at the cannery,

Stay sleepin'.

I done it once.

"Corne on, it's time to get up!

Time to go

He always gives us half an hour.

Yeah, he used to be Harry - gee - I forgot his last name.
know his name was Harry.
when

He said,

I

I seen him down in the cannery the

I was down.

He don't look any older and that's

years and years ago and he still looks the same.
too.

I

I get up right now when that door knocks.

in half an hour!"

summer before,

after

"I'm retired

I told him,

long time ago and I'm still at the

cannery."
I lived with Sarah,
to tell me about it.

the wife of Simon Gunnanoot.

What

life she had to go through.

to stay in the bush and make a living.
haven't

got it hard yet.

a tough life.

She used
She had

She'd tell me "You

You should be there when

And then you'd say you have really

I used to have
tough goin'",

15

MERCY LORING
to me she'd say that.

"This is easy life with you guys.

don't know what it's like."
husband.
cranky

She went to hide with him, her

She was really nice.

to me or anything.

I really

liked her.

She wasn't

As long as I got up in the morning

I run home ahead of her and get my meal.
then, you know, but she didn't
her age, she, you know,

You

and

She was really old

look that old, cuz you know at

she's old.

her, hurry up and put something

Yeah, always run ahead of

on - water

first, have to have

tea.
I met Art when I was gonna go to the dance in Hazelton.
He was goin' to the dance,

too.

"I'm going back to Houston

to work," he said,

back."

He was there quite a lon~ime.

And he came back.

must have stayed

in Houston

"Oh, I'll come back," he said.
"but I'll come

for about three years.

He

And then we

moved up here.
I've helped
sayin'
you

a of of kids.

I was goin' hungry

get a bawling

Well,

or anything

I had six - myself.

Not

like that, but you feel if

out from your Mom and you feel that you just

got no place to go - it's pretty hard for you to decide what
you're

gonna do.

My Dad, I was pretty pleased.

without.

Me and my brother,

apples.

Those were our main food in the house.

we always had like oranges and

candy - not for a long, long time.
and apples.

Sometimes

outside

Dad would throw it all outside,

All our friends

and we'd be running.

them outside

came.

you know,

a whole bunch

Then he'd dump the bag

The same with peanuts.

They're

really good for you.

He'd throw

All that stuff

good for you.

I had a lot of kids to help.
Norman

Lawson,

too.

He's got two little boys.

before.

get

and we'd go to pick up what we can pick up and that's

what you can get.
is really

We couldn't

He'd always give us oranges

and we see who's gonna pick the most - if there's
of kids come in.

We were never

Lottie

There was Carl Foster and

and Rosemary.

Oh, I had lots of kids.

the right name" because

Then I had Frenchie's

They used to go to school here
They used to say "Mercy's got

I always had mercy

always got room for them.

kids,

on the children

-

Always have so many kids all the time.

I feel sorry for the kids you know.

:!ile

";une

25,1976:

'Well you have to use the four moose feet,

all

four ,

'.:.his is

8n

1

o f :;ercy

a lDPC

Loring

'~iV()

Ny aunt makes them in

Kitwancool.

'"t

sId: Ili lwl .tn!

~bOY~

-,jSi Ell red::. ---

- aAJl.

hey

still

.¥:ea+t ~hey

wet when she sewed them togather

took the bones out ~

~

-

they sewed them t.ogarher

.amt
baskets
it

sit

there

and they dries

t9 tb7 _~ r MiaE
they _

~e6h
j

li, ~e

basket

makes great

and if

its

and get

'C! ¥!a!d -

it Rwa, t:lp ltere

She used net

big ones ,

If

She must have about

house.

She asks around to everybody

no\'1'{and they save the

three

feet

-- Git1 aunt put':)the Hnning

0!:L

the
w

but they used ~

do

a big moose she says,
a smaller

now.

"s mekes

you get a big

basket.

JJ~~!.!!!!44¥Ii=l~a~t~?>~

She has four more at the

'make sure you guys save the

Jii'nfs ~ttfu!,

the flour

t!,

--~

\

going hunting

inside

a

away - ~
leave

the eae:s Lilian

up there

-- <Ny

right

then

line

a small moose, she says you get

~j~

feet

its

'*".11

tpK

REALLY hard.

cu~ - the!! ue

-

Bwt thqr

and of course

sack - thats

~e

what she used on

th e ins ide - the fl our sack - .,..j"i.eacssi:j;!~1"-=.....t:tJ;bl;fal-tt:1!8>""'w"'ll'l!i al'lt!!"""'l!Sftol"lC!!""'1:tlt19!t'1C!!'IdRO:RLf'Fl
.t~it~9~fe!i!!!i
jj~i!~ar,erIts
~ags -

..eAl:p?

11tli

already
§@

hUIl8s

- ~ce

flowered
sa~

tilat!i

•• ) d:

8fte

tlseEi4.Bd.Qe

they used to buy flowered
-

as~r.

8

'I: Ii!

!Re;&2u1is52 'lid: to )jOtt? Yes she said I was to keep it
I' you keep that for a keepsake' and I said, • maybe thats

'when I die'

she said,

the only thing

I will

too for

a keepsake'

59 that %70,,1$. he

~/8

a?

"

so I took it

right

I

I~t

get

2

Town.
about
be

u

~').

~~

IMY grandmother, she puts ~
shes going to be Indian Doctor.

on her head, you know, when

~~:,;.;~
•.•.
-•.
pu-=t.s;;.=:t....;:,;h'.;;.;a:;.;":;...,.;;;.;.:;.;;;:;;;~=.;::.

=:.d,;;;,7
I dont know why she

does that - then she takes the rattles - thats after she rubs ••
r~iea,,81~s
you all
over with the fish - she went outside and got fish in the shed, she said the ghost
follow you guys

---- &!if" !eye;;yfitn e

then - 1t looked pretty mear like that already when I seen it - e.lld i"8 all ~

s§;; it 1m18t. ee e.~ufldreEl
years old.

years

old LOh, ~st

be TWO HUNDRED

It's just been passed on - I dont know who made it - I didnt ask ~

that - all I asked for was the rattles - but she gave me everything in
bag :t!)P ~~~

y~

~a~~~~~~~~~~5he

S;~

pi Sir!

2m'! 1 H her!

and

~he Z6etr-eS I!!GQ,?

rattles belonged to her mother from before.

~Cib=:ii~I!!'~~

tats from my grandmother's mother thats long time ago - they pass it

on - anything they had they used to pass it on ~ before ~~ey
more -~~

dont do

that no

Like some people, young people , they dont care for things

like that - ~~~t
.go~

a medcine

thats what all that stuff was in ~

all I asked for was the rattles Ohh, that8

8~&'·

~

-~es

g ip <liiM !!Ii !$at -

your wedding gown-got to pass it on for the next

persons getting married they dont do that no mo~e. ~1hey

think it not right

1f you go and use the old wedding go\~.And there was a wedding gown down at
\.

'-','

I think its Mrs. Chancey past 50 years old a~~~
one person to another.

~

Its been from

~pd.

3
Me and Dorkis my cousin, we come out of school --~

thats Defk~eAd~ck

- my Granmother - I dont know what she'd be to her - shes my grandmother's
daughter's daughter -

We left the school and dldnt even

Mamma I was going up there.

We played around and played around and finally

decided to go to her house so we went
shortcut, that used to be shortcut.
was

about 9.

went home to tell

up to the graveyard and went thru the
~u

~0?~'

44'ere

I

We went up and I said to her, "look at those nice little houses

lets go and sce whats in them".

We looked first, you know and she said ItThere's

a trunk in there, I'll bet theres a lotta good things in ~here", she

said, I said

"Well lets go looktt she looked at me for awhile and she said "Gee, I dont think I
should, cuz Grandma says dont go near graveyards when its gettin dark and it was
gettting dark then.

She said "Nope, 'we'll just go lqok" she said.

right, we'll both climb up and we'll both sit
you know, when we opened it so she wouldnt
both done it, so ''Ie opened the trunk

side-by-side ftwe both hold the lid,

get blarecd, I wouldnt get blamed, we

and I said "oh! look! at the wedding gown!"

at the silkft! She said, "well let's get married.1t

she looked, she said "look
<C.1m:ek198i

I said, "al-

1 Ilghs) I said, uI'll be the man and you be the woman". Ito_klt,she

says, she puts on

the wedding gown, I help her, there was even necklace in there,

in that trunk, and I put

it on her she got dressed, and then I got dressed, and

she said to m~t lets pretend this is a big street with lots of people - ware gettin
married. 'eftt1elEle9-pad

9HM9

1

pe

she

t-ello='d.:t8)

So I held her arm and she held

mine and we walked down --- we walked a long ways, you know, and then we looked back

and said "Gee, we; d better take it back, somebodys going ---- It ;r.ii!·i'I~Ii~8~'!i!II§~~'~'
!1V:.!i!!n
the ••.Bl'8C 3\

i£l<e7

e were still in the graveyard, so we walked back and

I said to her "we ll, we better take them off and put them
So we did, we put them back.

back the way they were".

And we were sittin there laughin and lookin through

the trunk, you know, there was lot a little things in the trunk, and she said':we
better not, its gettin dark"she said ---- ~6
about 9 month older, ~
lady s going to get mad.

she aldCE

t~R

¥ou7 She's bit older,

and she said to me, she said, "We better go, the old
ttTheyre waitin for m~' she says, ucuz theyre always

4
wonderin if I dont get home they'll send Gus lookin for me " she s~id, so
"well, lets go." So we went; home.

I said,

"Granny, did you know what we done?" when we were

comin close, you know, and she didnt hear, shes blind.

The old 1adys blind, and she

didnt hear, she said, "Where have you been??" she said, and DorMs

said "Why?"

ncuz 1 feel that the ghost was followin you all the way here, 1 can feel itit,
she said, "1 feel it all through my systm " , she said,

"The ghost is followin

you, where were you?tt So we told her about puttin the clothes on
"Get inside!". she said.

"I'm not feedin you guys, I'm going to Doctor you up!1t

1 thought 'well maybe shes going to slap us around or somthin

but 1 never said

,,?
nothin I was scart~the old lady you know, cuz I didnt want to be
mad at me she wont let me go there no more.

if she gets

She said, "the ghost follow you all

the way to my door" she said, "right into the hou se" Itl'm goin

to fix you guys up"

So she went outside to the shed and she brought a piece of fish, just one strip"

A f~tIl

~i

the shed - dried -

&~

,

ts n,gt :ki::aiZdi"e

Smokeftouse-- thats from

, and she said,"I'm going to Doctor you guys up,

I'm going to burn your clothes" she said,.

And 1 said, "How am I going to get

home?1I She said, "Don't worry about how you going to get home," she said,"its
just to cure.you, thats what I'm worried about either that or youre going to die!"
she said.

ItTheyre going to take you away wi th 'them I"

So I thought I better do

sumthin then -- and she did she took this fish and she rub it allover
This dry fish!

I was just sitting there thinking Oh it stinks!

stink when you get through!
hands and my hair.
said she was
the fish.

(~)

she rub it allover

our body!

1m gonna be so

my feet and allover

my

Oh it was auful l An 1 didnt want to say nothin, you know, she

Doctorin us up.

And ahe took our clothes off and she burnt it with

~t~?

Burn'the fish too, she was talkin away in

the fire when she opened the stove and put the fish in

~~'7~,/).,~L1ter

singing to it? -~,-

Sort of chanting, sort of

she burnt all the fish she done the same thing

5

to Dorktts, she done me first and then she went to Dorkls,

and Dorkils went

and got (we didnt use a nightgown then) she went and got me some clothes to
put on - BO I wore hers and she said-why dont I stay for the night - and she done
the same thing she rub the fish all over her again? ~And

she burnt her clothes

too and after she maqe· us set down on the floor in front of her and she was
8ingin away with these rattles after she had got finished you know.
aLngLng and chasing the spirit away.

She was

She aaf.d "now, you both sleep with me

tonight" she said "because if you don't yours just liable to dielt she says,
Uyoure not suposed to do that cuz the people at the graveyard, theyre goin to
take you back down in the ground with them.
And!

Youre just gonna drop dead!" ---

did, I slept with her and Dorcas slept with her too, we both slept with

her, and just about on the floor the
"-1n~lg

,Oil'

she said.

a be l]r~7

bed was so low.

~~sAi~

"By morning you be alright and you can go

And Gus went and got some clothes and I changed

next mo rntng ,

home."

and went home the

But she told us "never to walk near a grave at nighttt•

1!§.:~~R.a-t--s-interesting -~ing.
<&nd-t.1:ie.

~1!4

time tQcL't

t.hetump-ID\e

~

got one

pictures all over it. Pid

3t:\9-tlrr=;5ee h6X

!;:he:r.:;::: keepsaiEes fo~ b!~

~~~wvv-d
big .Q;Jle
efts ...-esa
8!PP] 1

tla i

ona., ~hat one that I

ht¥1qn,g.Jo the famtty r:4EfjPh, they belong to

my Grandmother -- Gi;t?n::?zou @ _

Mom's mom; ~

got had

When we were

kids they give us one each, thats if they really love ya, they dont just give i~
to ya.

But my gra~dmother said I was always helpin her, you know, she couldnt

get around very good and I was always helpin her to get her shoes and different
things so she said "you take this box's tt Take it home'", she aafd, "When you get
big you use this box for pickin berries'! "You can fi11 it up" she said, Itits
the only thing you
po.1sioned'!
~he
Q

can use': she said, tt you use tin cans" she said, "you get

:e.e

o~s~!:

§i?h;:~12n:~,.,.t.Ra4

showed me how to tie the tump line around it.

jWUlhm%ox,

We used long ones not

short one, this ia short one I have, but it fite clean around like that and

6
and goes right over like that and goes to your head and you hold the box and it dont
~

tip or anything

when you walk --- ~

one::e{, .lh~g~berrtetL~

~.;:;cliii;;~5

@ --- But you dont feel

it when youre p ackLn it on your forehead.

It gives all the weight on your forehead and you dont

feel how heavy

it is.

But you put it here you sure feel it cuz its hittin you way down here.
put it on your forehead and it lifts the box for ya.

But you

And you dont feel how

heavy it is when your goin you can go long "rays with them, you can feel its heavy
but it dont get you down , ~
imes,..
Yep, last year when I went to Stewart, on
the Stewart Road, I took the box and filled it up I had seven cases of berries
last year~iW>
next day.

all one time, went up one day and come back with seven cans .the

~~~my

there was lotsa berries - probably lots this year too I preserve them.~

~ok

the~

~

~

put them in iars and pressure

-- I was going to try to make that --- Dry berry?~?

just going to see what it looked like.
Tkt!:lIbl$

~Cli*;)

e&f~

I was

I been gonna try it and I have to use that

Thimbleberry leaf, You put it all down on

a table and then put the berries on top as they dry you keep pilin, keep pi1in,
they get pretty thick,

~---nice

some of those berries.

= ~f7?f?~::!::Y~-zi,:~:k
;:~j!!!\?

Why you dont need no sugar or nothin when youre dryin them when its really
o~~

them and

them -- --e!!d=:S§t=hU!!~~
me~

somet!mesYOII just

~

put

e.at

rep -- ~th6iLct!ai!'!'

tlu~m in the ~ox and preserve tR:m' t£'%Te

?

eA ~;~

take and you squeeze them with your
hands and they all squashe up ~

and when all the berry squashed you take it and
~

you

put it --- Grandmother up at G1envowel1 used to make big pit in the ground And

she said II watch, you guys wUl

be eatin fresh berries in the spring" she said,

'~and you wouldnt be1eive;' ahe said how good it is -------

1
And I tried it from her she goes ans she takes em outta the pit, opens it in the
spring and its just like berries offa the ground.
oh theyre so-o squashed

~

~e~r

~)

--- its all juice but she puts it in this big thing, you know,

~

fts a box, its a homemade one - ~hin there it doesnt spoil ~8ard
no

~Q,

~

titie,

li~'

b;t:ie?

and it keeps

~k)C:~t

Hke

when

®- I really like them;1hat was first time I tried it-

was really good-- She only had the one out there - she was just showin us

yu know,

ItI'm gonna die pretty soon" she said, "and you guys wouldnt know how to do it" ----~!:I~~!!:!s:S!!!l~ar~~i:;:-1tyou guys better learn

wilts!

!oJ IV

"e~o::E&i §ij;~es?

no...,-t,
she says, "it be too l ate,"

We used to pick soap
¥..QQ.aaJh~·"-~~:!!a!.~::::'
~!::::.S~~~~;i;£pO!!.~_e~~~~.--

berries too and

put

~~e

real shiny barks you see, I see the

~,

out on the --- ~_~cv

------

,.

kids make somtime

the.tiAJtro.s

~?)

and tis really tight and thick put the berries right on them- made out of roots

and that - put the berries right on there and dry --

I see her makin them -

I'm going to make the basket --Edith McDougal knows how and it never leaks she said
she said P,ll -- 4-1( tlt€SpJing.

--- It wont leak she said

~d.. ~

I'm going to learn ~
/yId' you menuoned

show you in the spring

in the wintertime

-lj0u, e~~t

tAe bet t 1.eS - yoU Usee te

sReeiftl - the berries and have" nalHAns - duh,

"1!Tl\'Ke

these

Grandma gets a great big dish this

great big deep bowel, puts whole bunch a snow in - take some ooligan grease and sugar
mix em like this you know - its really cold on the hand, I tried it, already

,. Y~~4
to see what its like - ~Y6¥~~

with your hand and it just looks like ice

cream - ~ ~~errt-Rmd-@e

~

the sugar togather --

~,

~

- Just

you mix the ooligan grease and
~

!hats

to make it. AtS2 th6n;jB'N~h~ieB)jlQd

the way my grandmother used

And when youre mixin it its

not

thick 'its - its not thic~ when you start, you know, how fresh the snow 'is and you just
mix and'mix and mix it until it gets to a
sugar -- whet
Almost Hke

is

1

t7

••ql

kUG

80ft ice cream

Lkh:k 7

e

it just looks somthing like -- icing

@l SOh. LITing

"E\'"?'Py? No, its not runny its

and then after its ready then you put a hole

like that in the centre - you put the huckleberries

or

blueberries,

thats all they

8
use~

,and you eat it like. that.

Oh, I'm tellin you I used to like it, I dont

know what its like now, its been so many years since I tried it, -- ~~~aw~!§~~i¥~~!!!~7
I~~~~e~8~!:~~~~G~~~t~lal~,I~!~~~;~h3~ft;tgr;:t~9~t=T:¥~._i~~t~<~a~5~a!1~2i~='¥~ec~ahh,
we'll have to try it -- I got a
little bit grease here- I must try it - I got some from my sister -------Andlh$f
.,-m&ji!!

W~~
yosgngr

aki'dt

1

smoking and drying of fish and meat--~

the

like jerky

'pnfOlit

~>aahb..,.,--lIIw:ee-:;;EJ~g~'i'~d_~;SI~~gfIi"Gii¥~!liiia!lh~.
--- ~

go ou t wi th Ri chie and get s orne fish

You know we put out the net OR, I see 89 to a catch somtime 120 to a catch.
goes with us, Lillian's husband. ~
kh~

~ats

the fish back he~and

hang it up.

and its

past Cedarvale.
But you have

William

my uncles fishing ground.

.oU,_ oS-

'*

ph

~!

We bring

to get those -- its not the thimble

berry leaves, its just those long leaves you see purple floweres on -- Fireweed!

tee),

~h,

you pick a whole bunch of them and thimbleberry leaves too, and we'll

just put it all in the tub - they told us we're not suposed to wash the fish. Y~

.
~~

'V)u
--~

,ou not suposed to wash them - they said its

to wash the fish - I said WHY? to Lillian.
b~CaH8j

IJ .•.dOfft.

Lillian said, "vei i youre not suposed to".

because it dont get soft and you put it in the water too long

end the fish is hard when they -- when yur smokin it
and it gets really hard, not soft,

So~

For goodness sake

and its dryin it, really dry,
If you don't wash it

.do

too much it stays soft when your dryin it _)
eat it, its soft,

not right

~ou know , after .e+s dry you can

But - - er -- before we used to wash them,

even scrub them, with the scrubbin brush, buy a scrubbin brush for it.

Lillian

says "thats not r t gh t'",
And she shows us

Lillian takes that up in Kitw·ancool•.~~.
when she comes here.

And I've smoked fish over here - I'vw smoked fish, Ive smoked porkipine.
you know, the car run over the
home.

j

porkipine.picked

One time

it up on the road, and brought it

Edith McDougal said "Oh , boy, that GOOD eatin".

9

I said, "No, it isnt," I said, but gee, I just couldnt see -- I want the
necklace, thats the
reason otherwise I wouldnt have picked it up, they make pretty necklace.
\""O-H-;:-I.ql!eW~

just take all the quills off- so I said to her I want the quills,

Yvonne she -- Yvonne and I were pickin all the quills.
I dont. ~.

and me and

Yvonne makes the necklace,

Edith we smoked the porkipine.

It was good!

~

There was nothin wrongw'ith it - it was just was t e to see i.t sitttn
there.

~

So I pick it up after this if I see it.

porkipine, beaver, you smoke it - I dont like beaver fresh.

Its really good eatin,

t!V) !!$en \~o~ed

I've -ried it fresh and I'm not too fussy with it.

~~.
meat, 1m

not too fussy \'11 th that.I like it smoked.

e

Same as bear

I smoked bear meat, an

---~:!2E~~!!~~~~~~~~~~~]J~~'~i.~

moose meat -- deer meat, porkipine

•
wbtl~ ee tRey

~I

They put the fish

aa:, wUJ, 1!he fiz:§edo!;=e '!l:if1 PUd for wiftpL34e
in

~:m,

~en

you take the fish out you wipe the fish - you

wash the fish when you bring it out of the wa t.er,
before you hang em up.

e.t-ke.1l~

clean

when you takin em out of the water, enough.
you clean the fish.
water

~

£ter that. ~

leaves.

Us!!? 'IMtr;:::tto -

~f!t(fe!!l

~

You cant wash it again

them, you~~
~~I

Yez:l.,

You wash them

.ihe.nFYou ~sh~,
J eah.

But you cant put em in the

It hard when you dry you have to put it amongst the

It can stay there for oh 3 - 4 days in the leaves, it never spoil.

think its out of the refrigerator.
the fireweed leaves, ~

when

It CQn stay right --- ~9

~t~
{~t

You

--

it never gets spoiled, even if

its hot weather - a real hot day - leave it there amongst the leaves.
Sometimes you hang the fish in the summertime when its too hot outside and it gets

~wzd

hot in a smokehouse and the mea t just falls --(-if ~
."..-Yeah,~

too eeoke~, 111£e. -ellt

~

uh---

;Y~':'l!:" from

the sun shinin on the smokehouse and the meat will fall off when its hangin.

10

!F~:f~~~~~~ I've

seen it

fal1in

right

there.

Thats

If

its

too hot

you can leave

keep.

Cuz I've

last

summer.

I kept

dont put

the fish

how hot.
done that

,~Ft"?f;\i"Fitt

William said,

I said

keep it,

it

wouldnt

he said,

"I

seen Mother do that".

~l!

it "P la :t:k!$tai!",

~

so hang it

hurt.1t

~

just

I~

~

it

catch

to Kitwancool,

you got to be sittin
mother said, nfirst
work and get at

there

tail,

cuz its

thats

make Williams

mom

the fish.

Get all

come you forgot

about
It

the

fish

the fish.

we dry fish,

fish,

So we do Lot t s a things

with

n r

e

sliced

in half.

36 NilAn

96...

Rat,

T,hat'g

IE,

)cah.

fish,
fish.

~-d ~ - I mt;$UlQle you

does taste

A{d gp::aou
put saH

~you lu~t
I had

~I

dry

St·

And you

I couldnt

Thats

And I see shes right.

it

we salt

the fin

already

You finished

I like

salt,

t

done., smokin and everything.

It

Or

thru

up

do it,

- you wanna go pick berr1.es

of em do but I dont see any difference.

ryiii@~

you put a hole

come in the apr Lng" she s a.id everybody
your drying

wont,"

hang it

~I

fish

and

my grand.
get

to

When

the

~

and you dont put s a l t

eh,

put no salt

better

with

,owe

then

on/~some

salt

we can fish,

smpke

~

with

.No, I never

with

tommorow,

"Oh, no it

- ~a,nA~t

't.Q\L~?

better

till

hot.

tommorrow I'll

finish

you, back - ~

fish

your berries,

it?

"wait

be stink!"

well

and it'll

was real

~~~b~g~~~t~~1~5~L"SAb~iA~§~for
good drying.

watchin

soon as the

you work on is

nothing,

he said,

time it

is,

and smoke the whole works,

too long - too much holding

the berries

up",

and it

so that

the way it

six weeks?

amongst the leaves

in leaves

•.. _Ye~

to move mine out

all

Hand by that

and JUGt the skin hangin

it

then yo

leave

you smoke them for

takes

it

You hang by the

atT~

take a day's

the skin

and so I thought,

'r'l~')

up by the tail.

off

in

though.

we can smoked

bpIW9r "I: moose er

them or dcr-you - ?o'ttF'both.!!1.?

~rz,~

No, I never
do and its

put salt

on~

• .And-yau-4J..]u> H

pretty

good when they do it.
~
whi16f'~
. hang em up.
Ift~

~~c=y:Rtr,

some of them

You know, you soak it

with

salt

brine,

for

,

a little
h avent;

got salt

days,

I guess

Indians

didnt

ju

left

right

out of their

t

salt

you can get by

without

have salt?
food?~.

if you

e!~tf4¥?t@~;d~,
it.

Sur~ • .'to uS

I dont think

9~\oM

14ell 118

t!!!~in the olden

they knew or used it.

~er;r::::::?erxc;m:pa~::::>

They

~

11

-And the••...
yo: ""3dUa:itdzLrad~,
Indi ans , ~,

that therea a lot of trading done with the Coast

you know, well, they come up wi th nome seaweed, and fish eggs and

ooligans and we trade em

ith - ~

- well wha t.evar berries they \oIlnt,if they

want soapberries, mostly soapberries, they take soapberries and huckleberries,
not very much huckleberries; but mostly soapberries.
berries.

~s~t~~n~Theyre

Theyre SO crazy over soap-

really wantin lots for their seaweed, now.

Like seaweed is really - they want twenty dollars for one gallon of seaweed.
Boy! So I give oem two jars of soapberries, I figure its worth it; its quite a
bi t of

a Job

p Lck Ln

Sga'~-~

::'!~;?.:???~
4'W

Just

even trade em.

green right now, theyll be red.

th~ee

see lots of little red berries hanging, and be just lots of them.
pickin some next week • .....J flOBM t;;;];e-dpot lsF!'im 'fhat:

#ep. thena ~'
when theyre red.

you

tire y 106t nke

can pick them when theyre green.

You

I'm goin to be
-

i

QU pi els them

You can pick them

When theyre green its more -- oh I like it when theyre green!

Its not as bitter as when theyre red!

Oh its really good!

Its suposed to be good blood tonic.

to pick lots and Art and I we used to take the juice out

END

Side one Mercy Loring

I know when I used

1:4.

S4-de Two Tafle of Metcy

toting

And then you mentioned

the dried

tell

us about

~t:J<;

Yeah F~

that

it

just

that.

Its

really

J\it'\e

meat that

good!

Or you can make a paste
ooligan

grease,

- its

on it

'Wer e4J.Ytle

.~Jrwe~--J?Ehe

~~A

to go to the old hospital.
(iH'I!p!; y~

remember Dr. Wrinch?

~-s:aWe.

~,i-he

was just

to go right

good,

He said

~kiiJEill>,

I had kidney

trouble"

old,

but

problems.

~

they never

They said

it.

They go to school

- oh somtimes

1 or 2 weeks or 3 weeks and they'd

allover

just

Oil.

Sure didnt
ks

is

too long at
They said

really

~1~One

like

terrible
tap.

of it

taste,

they give
give

our cups and get

of water.

cups all

a drink

on the 'flall with

-

this

ARd, yet;: you 1fid

it

on to

Yvonne,

us up outside

BIEeD.aligan

oit?

big

spoon to me!

T in cups.

they used

you Cod Liver

Looks like

for

same thing

and they give

.•w.e11§ Iii!!

hittin

1 or 2 weeks

They line

Oil!

Be all

I

they would get

to school

Cod Liver

you one spoon of Cod live

our names on.

end )'OU

go home and do the

s Lck ,

~

Dh

I had kids

dont miss nobody,

you!

come in the door and they

get

<

he gonna have

did.

When I was going

we wouldnt

so they

the taste

all.

if

Yeah, used

I got sick

they go to school

and go in hospital

and as we come in,

He said

I pass

shes got kidney

the school

anytime

~~

and that

when he was there.

to go there

Jil:~

:J!!:£2!: It'etli

A!'le tJ.

I used

~,

NO._~l.

Oil.

II! hap'

Used to be Dr. Wrinch.

WaS really

not

that.

when I

one they got now.

~

agan --

- I like

thi~

when I was 12 years

to give us Cod liver

~

good like

•• a it.

with mayonnaise

A.tvl"-1 at d

good.

-

dry like

Jk1?It. .!J?1' lUte M=:1ney trouble

H¥

to remove on e kidney

~~

it

yeti -te the @l hoslZ!tal,-! WJfS"S!

away because

d~

eat

&iII'

toQ5?l!
~ot

:y~~~~~J)~~J

out of it

really

really

you were

powder and ).lse: is'

what ev er way you like

~ont

have to put salt

into

to

- you_know -.'

in your hand and just

it

and 1t is

YOti

to a powder like

dry in your hand" Aake

make aondwi ch e s with mayonnaise

when

Would you like

out and just

or you can use a little

t~a)'

19~:

you hammer it.

That you hammer it

~~.

25,

-.-taka it and hammer it

£QI'.

can eat

again?

Two Hne

kno,I,

Yeah.

i"5~t

When you

011 and we used to go to

the water

JC.s~

- They had our

J:l? ltidtli!! :~li~

~ Id .
~~~~~,

thata where the Anglican Church is.

Thats where I used to go to school

You dont use nobody else's cup but your own, your names's on.it.

0~

cup.

S~

Its a silver tin

th~aV~li~oQ9d~~

~~

~

I'd like ~

better than that.

Thats what my grandmother used to gve me.

001181

grease when I got sick.

I know when I was really, really sick one time and she sat

to me,

Well, this Mrs. Cakeo, shes some relation to my Dad I dont

know what she is to him.

She comes down one time when I had double pnumonia.and th

Qu, she come down, and she put onions at my feet, she rubbed me allover
oil and 0011gan grease, allover

my chest and my back she put onions at the bottom

of my feet, and she said, " if these onions are not soft
die!t'~u~hem

with coal.

~;}ust

by morning, shes gonna

put the onions at the bottom
..J

of 01 feet

and tie

it on with a cloth.

I dont know what it is

She'd rub me with - shed use that -

_e_ Electric Oil? I dont remember what kind of oil, but I

know she used Ooligan grease, and coal oil to -- to rub with.
,p.el'son,
58 make

f~S

a~auf~d

toe: get Deiter

I dont know what, she some relation to
I got better,

my Dad. ~

She was at it all the time.

rub me with this 0011gan grease

AnrQx?<Ll,ot~tc.:pn
She come down every day.

mixed with coal oil and

She

she rubbed me an she

tied onions to the bottom of my feet, she says that if the onions are soft she says
shes goona die, ~~.fo.Qt~

They are soft, you know, but not as

real soft as she figures -------~~g~nils~~

And I got better!

She

say, "oh , before too long she be better you watch and

see!" she say - @QP~8

(~§l> She give me ooligan grease to drink and she mixes ooligan grease with coaloil and sometimes I drink it - I was always scared you know because it was such
an auful taste, ~-

really bitter \vith coal oil -

I always get better.

three - John was born when I \v8S fourteen I was only in grade three

~

you
~

~ey

-:4"?u eay £bWNI"el'

~lad --

?let

yg;g::::.§!'tst! y~

never let you take no books out of school or its just what you

learn in school is what you get.
"ilw

miss out - Bresna

they

J,£.plj¥¥.h:mt

-

if you miss the school you~, just

P"!.!!.'2ha."l!:::teeeh,e!s go to SChoOl, §JIB d1~~a..J.f.

I seen when Yvonne was in the hospital that time in vancouve~ut
that time nobody come with a book or anything - ~?

when I was sick

You just have to catch up

when you go back to school or else - you dont pass thats all!

~hei?you
~,

menti'iifEdd
that ~e:: *,/111'&

I worked in

1!l1jfi wUlked

t!~ ~QI t

~~,!~rd C~.

Port Edward for the I'.to&l~,..e
s~8son.,;t'lQt
seeheye, 9111\ !:tiding.'

-

..2/A/lUJ

find th~t_wa9 cleani~B~
stuff come out.

(~

cleaning them - you squeeze them and all that

You have to fill these big boxes, you know, its not very smal}, its

bLggaer than that box there - and you have to fill them ",i th the herring before you
even get a punch on your ticket. ~

Hhen each ones full then you get a

punch,

and if its not full then you just ge.t that one punch all day so you got to work to
be able to get a punch.

@Q.JJresltg

Two boxes per morning ~,

I,

'3d

;get Twn "eg ••• FlU 1~

..8.?'"

and work all afternoon and get the same.

Sometimes

<

you get overtime and you work at night and you might get another box at night -if you work overtime

and its big pay for us then.

~.@

EUY

pa~l'oU,

\+hen I was worktng then I dont remember -.•what they paid me - but it was more than
what; I got when r was wo rkLng in the hospi tal. ~1
hospital I was only getting one dollar a day ~

Hhen I was workLng in the
and then they take off, well,

I would be there by the month I stayed at the hospital and they take off fifteen
dollars for my room and board and I cleared fifteen dollaro.
a month.
~-or-

It was a dollar a day.

For thir~y one~~~ty

?feflning li~i~.!!l!ttlg

aWim thas1,_~

working in the laundry. ~~

It was thirty dollars
one dollars.

!M

)ioah, r was sometimes

Sometimes r work on the floors, cleaning floors.

r fig&ure well thats lots of money for me.

I used to give Dad half of what I got.

I figure well, I got lots when I keep so much, cause Dad buys my clothes anrNay.

/.JJ~
~~~

~.

I didnt have to buy any.

ye\!! ~81''''' R«Jte?Robert Simpson.

9h,

He worked at R. S. Sargent's for 28 years.
l(i:ke :f??I Hf§ik"Q*r,

fer

!t§~t'

BU9RCb9

he priced everything down there aad he "'88

I

OR, I !lee!

Hell!

('Me

eal1y=:; Re ullilo:ly

~~"~~~.C~'Fi~~~~~~Me
said to me when he was going to school - he said that when you go to

grade three he said, ~n~8~r~a~~~~t~e~n~h~e~rLee----aBtt-tt~ft.~e-gg~t~aee8e~tb&E£2eAe~
to aebeal

Uc",",",~~-"'-:¥-""'!!'!.Uoi.U--.b.-.••..••
-~g
t bat

~UY!S

~.

t:\cmftet e and

e9

to

bl

!mort

Y:e

see, but be said \;948Y i~

ftethillg

J:ie lIsed tote)] me that .be cant see why::;L ;cG..u.oat

only get to ~1=ade tbrQ:Q and

llnd1t!SAtand~in.

.goat

aU"lS¥QUgd

"Look at me, I only went to grade three myself and I'm working in a s tore," "Sure

its what; you do with yourelf." he said. "Cuz you just gotta push

,

yourself along

and learn at home!!!, he said, "you cant just sit there and say well I·only went

,

to grade three snd its not get tin me
said,

--- And there was just stacks of books all the time amd even lawyer books.

I(h;JMSDlOw7 ~H6]J!ng@.

@yQ ~~!

He died twenty-one years ago, .t~w.

t:"(ikty

•• 'tte::na~

()t/.)

I~"£-;PI·~

a- ~

in

e'"Town?

~--r~

~

on April 17.

you d

:Z;:;;:r

I dont like gettin tied up in the kitchen!
~

Its too much!

didnt care for it.

~~Sl

Archie be 21 tomorrow. ~t@.,

Cuz Archie was born after he died. ~

d 8S

s~AAed7

Q~-------

~

t~h~@@_--

e

"Bu t I picked it up mys el f ,." he

nowhere

~(Y

~~~e

Its too hot in the summertime when I was doin that.

I sure

Its early in the morning_-- I don't mind gettin up early in the

morning - itr.just you get ~

tired out!

B9 be

Lime Lhe da) is over'-

!~

--

ev~~~~h~i~~~~=~~C~Q~!1~l~d~~~r~y~t~o~;:g~~f~k~a~t~'~~X~?f~~a~!~~~
I tried everything where I could.
~ing

~er'fJe:£~d.

ask you for education.

!:MfA

PCb ?PjH!'I~

Long time ago

You could try anything you want.~~ll

t

5:RH Ii iiiri ""jli

they ask What grade are you?
time ago they dont say that - They

But long

OOW· But today today you cant

tJ,.. But long time ago I used to go anywhere and get a job • But you

cant do that today.

~

just say "well you come and work and if you can

do it you just go ahead and take the job.
do that.

they didnt

I bin lookin around and I cant get no job. AAd;::;

&) jey

5
u

m

~

~lts

better money.

I sent money home to dad all the time and he buil t himself a house.
in the fall and

I come bo:n(~

help him tear down the old one. and we use the lumber from the

old house for the new house.

But I bought all the strippings1[he money I sent him

he boughtstripping for the house and the ceiling tiles - the inside for the house but we use the old lumber for the outside.

Was no insulat~on.

Thats why they

tore it down not too long ago. ~
how i~ was kep t warm; ~!
W;R..~~M
~
about 15 years, I guess.
the kitchen and a stove goin in

I dont know

1 ! We had two stoves - we had a stove goin in
the livin room to keep warm.

Well, we never

notice the difference, cuz theres no insulation - Dad didnt say we had to have

~'<~

insulation. ~t

tf=iL was-rog it ~iff~

~t~.

If that was a log house that would be different~

We did put sawdust and shingles

.

~o,~~~~~~~~~

- in between the walls but not all that much.

Just here and

there where we could get it, but we didnt have insulation, and we lived in it. nodS"

gIP long ago and they said its too cold for my Mom. ~,
house now. @>I~

Brand new one.

room and kitchen

and

a~0".Z~

'~7

Helen~,

__ Shed

never do it on her pension.

~

O~e!

three bedrooms and livin

~em~~~

~~7

stayin in that hou ce, H~.

she got a new

liRa

~el'

hids.

Have to pay for the furnace all the time, oil,
~~e

~~ly,

I was the only one in my family, and my Mom.

Yeah, when I was born my
As a bnby7~,

Costs too much

~!

~

~

Mom was sick and I stayed in Wrinch Memorial Hospital.

I was born in April and in August well my Mom went out just

.
about three or four days towards the end of July.
the 5th of August --- _7

~a!

all

of

tltls

time? ~,

hospital all this time. ~~~~~

When she came back again on

She was s.ick.~
she had double pnewmonia.

~
I was in the

I stayed in the hospital, well, April,

May, June, July, August, four months I stayed in the hospital

~

6

~~~en

my Mom came in again and she had double pnumon1a before -

she had the double pneumonia before '1Ib\t" ene'
better when they let her go.
there.

well

but they thought she was all

They said to come back right away 80 they kept me

And she asked before if someone would want to tak~ me - like her relations

My Mom's name was Kattie Brown. ~
yet -- I'm goin ta get registered at the
agent's o f f Lce, theyre gonna swear

---I havent been registered

-----.Q~

at the government

me in and register me.t just got these papers

from the hospital here, they took it back -- ~e~u

?}r()~

and I got

the right year too --- and I told em what year to look for and they got it _•.
----its all written on the'paper all I got to do is take

it down and get registered.

I've never been registered. ~~
,.

April 10th.

~~h,

I
I have never been registered.

A b~

~t~

~

I said my Mom put down on the paper that Kale Brown was next

of kin to her ~d
to take

b~?

--- and I guess she didnt have nobody

me and I guess they had me up for adoption at the hospital~ ~

~~ss~'!~aU's;-~?
~

was born in 1932,

My Mom died then. ePQ,yo~

she died in August. ~She

months when my Mom died. ~

~

waB in there , you see I was only four

So they turned around and adopted me out ---

Dr. Wrinch put out a notice that I was up for adoption.

Someone mentioned at

the store to my Dad, so he went home at lunch hour and told his wife
is my Dad's first wife -- Agnes Simpson.

~~~@~~]17

this

and he aaidg"well

they have an adoption up at the hospite'llfor a girl" and she said, "Well, after
you get off work were goin to look.

Go and see her." And thats what they did,

when he got off work at supper-time they hurry up and they ate supper and they
w.ent to the hospital to see me. &1teAt
they
I

just adopted me then. ~Mra.

that adopted you?

':&' ~

No -- they--

Robert Simpson was --- ~

the ones

Never had no family of my own!

~!

So they adopted me.

~

Agnus Simpson adopted me. ~

years and she died of cancer. ~%

Y9u 111SLh:tt~c.k.~

And she had me for three

7

She died with cancer so Dad.hired this Mom I got now.
her efter,

She was just workin for him

8 housekeeper

Cuz he had me

B\l~at

~Y~lia8

t~obert

Simpsor/l

and my brother

(JJ/i!ll!

They edopt.edhim too from a different family.

And my sisterts adopted too, from a different family too.

~~e]

-- and then he married

and I guess he said it cost too much for

os he turned around and married her.

there was just the two of us.

~

~

Is~i~

in Wenatchee Washington in 1967. ~

,~died

Only brother I had, we were raised ~her.
lIIff,~tlIMi-?
My second Horn adoPted~.

~~

~~

Mary Simpson.

im

n7

a

1.

----

s

.th@:s' ~

I was happy Hith my Dad, I had no complaints about him.

rot of things for me.

When I was workin he used to ship groceries down.

his whole paycheck to keep me and his
Wfls..- c'~~eI@u

W~

When I

box.

eGU-fdnt yo" 8!t t::hSf1?r;lg-~?

should send them I gue ss,

~

It take

~~e~~

sewu Lite e049€ -wt=tet ''''He Yflll?

1-.n

First time when I wen t down to work,

workin in the cannery.

he used to send me groceries in a
,-----¥cllt

own home goin.
w~o

~s

He done a

Cuz he didnt want me to starve, he said.

I could get them down there but he decided he

~rkiQ,@

~ett!-

~,

he was workin at

the store and he figures its bettcp for me -- He knows what I'm suposed to eat, and
~

He figures if I just go and eat cake and pop and stuff like that its not right.

And hed send me soupand sardine9 -- somthing fast, you know, to eat when
home brom work.. e~en;@,

c9-~

/-z.

12.u,,,ent?Y,a~edn~~1

.

w@~

I come

t}1er~~h~

And he u sed toship me groceries and I

was real i y ha ppy and pleased wi th it, I was --~ t":::=;Ijj!l3J him! JOllie -I got I send him the whole thing -- It was $200.001

the first check

Well! the second check I got

I send him the whole thing and he send me back $20.00 He send it back in a money
order,

I just signed my check and sint it to him.

Wa'S!Jier::i$fl
pFa"ce to

H..-' ~e

#~

8

~_

cr.~~«6Z2t--·-t--t-h~~;

J

.

I was staying with Sarah Gunanoot, another old lady,

She used to tell me stories at night • .£h! Was --- th~

hEfB~9 come

and 1thoct<Orithe doc

9~~n~t~h~a~v~e~!to2-jj.ul!.ssiJ;t;"-'-"-""'C:10:rri'lTil1ee-Ss-nn~b~6~U~L:!h~arllflhr0),u~r
you go ct..o-worR, ~ there was no
problem of get tin up.
right now!
had it.
now

""--~ ~.$Iu.- ~
~.

~

Knock on a door "Are you up?"

Right away you jum·

If you go back and lay down a few more minutes after he knocks, you've

~Stay

sleepin.

wh en that door knocks.

I

done it once, I thought 'no more!' I get up right

He was really good. "Come on , its time to get up!

Time to go to work in half an hourI"

t?ZW:the ce~

He always gives us

half an hour.

~#¥?

Yeah, he used to be Harry --- gee -- I forgot his last name------

I know his name was Har ry , I seen him down in the cannery the summer before, when I
was do~~ -- He dont look any older and thats years and years ago and he still looks
the same.

I told him too ,

He said, HI'm retired long time ago and I'm still at the

cannery" •
n Ii. 1

un
unnanoot? ~

",,.!to!.h~B~!:.::;--t.reub~~~l~e:..:?'®lf~~::::=:==~
S i.maR C~RR81i)0 t --I

used to tell me about it.
~

~he

1fjI, What life she had to go through.
.>'\

,,~ife:;:::-~'''''[:e.c:.~;,;;t,
had to stay in the bush and make a living. She'd tell me "You havent go
..
1-thard yet" she said,"You should be there when ~ ---- I used to have a tough life.
she says. And then you'd say you have really tough
This is easy life with you guys.

gain, to me shed say that ----

You dont know what its like

She w~nt to hide with
him.

~Y~!

She was realy nice.

;;he wasnt cranky to me or anything.As
home ahead o~ her and get my meal.

I really liked her. ~~l&~

long as I got up in the morning a nd I run

She was really old then, you know, but she didnt

look that old, cuz you know at her age she, you know, shes old.

Yeah. Al"Ways run

ahead of her, hurry up and put somthing on, water first, have to have tea,-------yMh)~ou

ha~~you

.

~4RU~!;;-m~e-t~-A~.
~T~~~~=-!::~~lI!!~E!
'=!~:]~t~~~t~';iI
;;.:!:a~u~po
se?

~~

Dance •. I~thilt

~ied

actr

and€2'!-errtbi~

I~

Yeah, I me t 1ft.m wh en I W8 S gonna go to the

::~1,1He was gain to the dance too.

lIoh. I'll come back." he S8t-

9

"I.m going back to Houston to work" he said, "But I' 11 come
..l__
H e ~Sil_

;;

~at
·,OTSc:::::::s;----.,,t;

~

,

~

l{ous~~.!.a~l~l~t~h~eL!.tiim!llf!fS'::::::~IIEo;\FOnwnai1s~c:t~
for
~'

He was there quite a long time.
about three y.ears,

back," and he came back.

He must have stayed in Houston for

:IJ:t. And then we moved up here.
hare of

I

well, I had six

myself. Not sayin I was gain hungry or anything like that.
-- get a bawling out from your Mom and you feel

--- but you feel if

that you just got no place to go - its pretty hard for you to decide what your gonna
do. _t think gettin older ~w
never without.

--------

My Dad, I was pretty pleased,

Me and my brother we were always ~

like

we were

oranges and apples ---

Those were out main food. in the house, we couldnt get candy, not for a long, long time
~

for

you a[!~.

He'd always give us oranges and apples.

Sometimes Dad

would throw it all outside, you know, and we see whos goona pick the most, if theres
a whole bunch of kids come in.

~AII

bag outside and we'd be running I~

our friends come.

Then he'd dump the

The same with peanuts.

He throws it

outside and we got to pick up what we ·can pick up is what you can get.
Theyre really good for you.
atl¥WN-hoH we-;

All that stuff is really good for you.

oae -- what we~Jbat-e-!le

?'lfh trGU..O-le? Carl.

Y~l

b2)' q~.z;::r;:r.::1JtJo~
BL.fet1! plAce,

Hell~l,~s

..-So
¥ecrl1-,1:here

lot of
t

u

-- that

-8h

T

I:!:ad

lhen

I had Frnchie's

kids too.
got two 11ttle boys.

They used to go to school here before.

h~ moved them-up to f1ie :leventh Day :1.9'1eA!:;!#! ~,

~eab:, yl!ali, aad

well T baAbgM

I.zo.

)

10
Oh , I

had lots of kids. ~

.J

used to say "Mercys got the r!£b..~..!!8_~e~
..because

_,

~

always ha~

.
mercy on the children - always got room for them. Always have so

many kids all the~

feel sorry for the kids you know.
Woody) I had him too.
er dfod? ':$+.

Thats afte~,",.~h
~

"*

~

~~~

~II

a

•

So what
I

r~eii't

are

you.t=- t:1toughts

always tell

Th e i r mot h..l~..l
gr ~LeU Vely
to

.~

the futur

e?

BRat

suaa en I?y

advice

- eo
Sh e
leall.

",01.119 yOy

kids today are very, very lucky.

I

gioveto
says,

"when I was a kid,1t I says, I used to have it really hard - I wouldnt say its that
tough but its pretty hard for me.

I know I didnt have this, I didnt have that and

Dad always tells me, he didnt h3.idefrom me that I was adopted and I didnt have no
parents and that.

He always told me and"I tried to do the best I could," he said.

"we ll, Dad, when I have kids, I said, "I'm sure lookin fan-lard to make them happy,

do everything I can to make them happy"

I'm happy at home.

disapainted too.

I (/Upos~t:he

I

supose

its the same

you.

The

I get pretty

biggest proMem with -jounp.

was their
they dont appreciate it.

But times

get too much and

more you give the kids today the less they appreciate

And if you give them less they appreciate it more. Y~d

crtlOW

it

-:-AIId

aet':Iig;;P)

~b~e~c~a~u~s!e~t~h!e~y~-:-~y~o~u~k~n~o~w~~-~-~]~o~v~~~~~~~!e~c§o~li!s~f!d!~~~~~~-~-~-~
When you lookin after kid~
you got to show you love em - If

y~~hOW

JtP~~

think nothin of you. ~

your love to them they they dont
she dont love us or anything s he dont

know -- .she aegsmt eare about us? She dont care about us and we dont care what we
do and I know I got some kids been like that. ~

And they come back to me and

say ItI got more love wh en I was wi th you than I ever did since I left here
~Nanys

the times that they come back and tell me that.

did. thets tihet T say

Voqr

PaE1C

; '"

SJ1'I:P

I

1'% @~e i1P "~.e.

r~g;Rt.L Kids, they need love and if they aint got

~ove, they just ---- if you dont show your love for

kids they just aint nothin -

they just dont care for nothin -- They just igno re you and --- but they do they
try to help you out the best way they can if if they figure you really showed it
for them - that you loved them - --t-ha L till £0d~ t.:U..em