From Farmer To Teacher-Changing Times In one Island Irish Community
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- SpeakerRecording starts after the speaker is introduced. Overview: The speaker explains that his presentation is about growing up along Lot 7 Shore. (This is the third of three presentations he has given about Lot 7 Shore as noted at the end.)
- SpeakerThe speaker explains he has written two books, “Along Lot 7 Shore” and “Journey from Farmer to Teacher”. In his presentation, the speaker includes information from these books, as well as songs and poems of his own and others as he reviews the changes in the villages that make up Lot 7 Shore.
- SpeakerThe Irish settlers started to settle along Lot 7 Shore in the early 1820’s. Butlers, Daltons, Griffins, Howards, O’Hallarons, O’Reillys, and Doyles were among the first families to arrive.
- SpeakerThe first St Mark’s Church was built in 1844, with a second and bigger one built in 1879. It still stands today. The spire was hit by lightning in 1944 and was replaced with a dome. The spire was built by Ambie Dalton and the speaker’s grandfather, Johnny Doyle. They also finished the inside of the church.
- SpeakerThe speaker’s great great grandfather came from County Wexford and his great great grandmother, Alice Knowles, came from County Kilkenny. Their oldest son, James, was born in Newfoundland and their youngest son, Patrick, became a priest. Due to a lack of land on the shore, James established his farm in Glengarry.
- SpeakerLot 7 Shore was made up of the four villages: Campbellton, Burton, Glengarry, and Cape Wolfe. Still today, people in these villages are not referred to by their village, but as Lot 7’ers and the whole area is simply referred to as Lot 7 Shore. Speaker notes that recently the book “Letters from Boston” was written by “a couple of MacDonald girls from Cape Wolfe” about their uncle, Sandy MacDonald, who moved to Boston. In these letters the name Lot 7 was used rather than Glengarry.
- SpeakerThe speaker relates that he found his first literary reference to the term “along Lot 7 Shore” in a poem written by Larry Gorman. Gorman was from Tyne Valley, but fished along Lot 7 Shore. The speaker reads from Gorman’s poem, “Take Rielly”.
- SpeakerThe second literary reference of the term he found in a song written by the speaker’s father. The song was about a fight in Campbelltown between the Daltons and the Doyles. Laughter The speaker, who took the name of his book from this song, recites a part of the song.
- SpeakerThe majority of the people in Lot 7 Shore were Irish and Catholic. The family names found in each village of Lot 7 Shore included: Campbellton: Sullivan, Doyle, Murphy, O’Hallaran, McCarthy, Monaghan Glengarry: Gorman, Reilly, Doyle, Butler, O’Hallaran, Daltons, Rogers, Griffin, Howard Burton: Griffin, Dalton, Butler, Gorman, O’Hallaran Cape Wolfe: Howard, Bulgers, O’Connor, Reilly, O’Hallaran Many talented people lived along Lot 7 Shore including singers, musicians, step dancers and debaters. Debates in the hall are an early memory for the speaker. Speaker makes special note of Wilf Dalton, singer, Les Dalton, fiddler and Pat Bulter, singer.
- SpeakerMany people lived on a family farm. A great compliment for a boy was to have said about him that “he works like a man”.
- SpeakerThe speaker relates from his book three “tests” to determine when a boy would become a man namely, “his first chew a twist” of tobacco, being allowed to take the horse to be shod, and being allowed to lean up against the church with the fathers rather than going into the church with the mothers and the children while waiting for the priest to arrive. The speaker references the photo of St Mark’s Church on page 53 of the speaker's book “Along Lot 7 Shore”.
- SpeakerThe speaker describes some of the farming practices before mechanisation including his first ploughing experience on his family’s farm. He used a single plough and a team of horses to plough the five acre “Mussel Mud” field taking 5 or 6 days to complete. Relates a story about Frank Bulter of Glengarry experience with a tractor. Laughter The speaker also describes the planting and harvesting of potatoes, grain and hay before the use of tractors.
- SpeakerThe speaker reads from his poem “The Days That are Gone”, supplemented by anecdotes, to describe work and play in his farming community when he was young and Lot 7 was populated by large families living on small farms.
- SpeakerThe speaker continues with his poem and anecdotes relating to praying the rosary in the kitchen, reciting the litany during lent and coasting on Harris’ Hill. Laughter The speaker describes how the villages were busy places with the activities of farming and fishing supported by the church, village store, blacksmith shop, village school, and sometimes a sawmill or a factory. Today these important parts of the villages are gone.
- SpeakerThe speaker recalls his first two money making jobs, picking knuckles at the lobster factory and carrying the wood up from the cellar for elderly neighbours. The speaker recites a poem written by his father about him carrying up the wood for the neighbours.
- SpeakerThe speaker bought new rubber boots with his money and was pleased he could “walk through puddles and stay dry” unlike when he wore his brothers’ patched, hand-me-down rubber boots. Laughter.
- SpeakerA lobster factory opened in the summer which had a cook and a helper called cookie. The cookie was a young girl who was quite an attraction for the local boys.
- SpeakerThe speaker explains that Lot 7 Shore now has many fewer, but bigger farms with many of the farmers living outside the district.
- SpeakerThe speaker explains that there were both minor and major changes in Lot 7 Shore. A minor change was how locals disposed of their garbage. The speaker sings his song “The Waste Watch Song” to illustrate a minor change. Laughter Applause The speaker tells of major changes including school consolidation in the early 1970’s and the PEI Development Plan of 1969. The speaker explains why the loss of a local school was such a big loss to the community. The Development Plan took small farms out of existence to create big farms and that led the speaker changing from a farmer to a teacher.
- SpeakerThe Speaker explains how he acquired the necessary education to become a teacher by upgrading his schooling and then attending UPEI as a mature student.
- SpeakerThe speaker comments on the change in activities at the Lot 7 Hall from concerts, plays, and picnic suppers of the past to only having summer ceilidhs today.
- SpeakerThe speaker explains how the closing of the parish church takes “the heart out of an Irish community”. The speaker describes his recent experience of having St Mark’s church closed. The speaker notes that his grandparents built the halls and churches, had house parties, but now those like him are too old to keep the old ways of the community and speculates that maybe the youth can add the Irish flavour to the community.
- SpeakerThe speaker believes that Doyle Griffin exemplified the Irish. The speaker relates Griffin’s response to a representative of a large store wanting to open in West Prince just after Eaton’s closed as well as an anecdote about how Doyle felt when he walked into a room full of people talking and laughing. Laughter The speaker discusses his song “Along Lot 7 Shore”, a companion piece to his book of the same name. Recording breaks
- SpeakerSIDE A ENDS
- SpeakerThe speaker concludes his presentation by singing his song “Along Lot 7 Shore” which describes the people and activities of Lot 7 Shore of the past. Applause
- SpeakerQuestions. The speaker relates additional anecdotes including trapping raccoons and Jack Monaghan. Laughter. Applause. The speaker talks about how an elder (name unclear) in the community defined ”being drunk” when the speaker was a young fella. Laughter. Applause.
- SpeakerSIDE B ENDS