12. Corinne Arsenault Gauntt

Corinne was born on 2 September 1902. She went to school in Maximeville and Abram's Village where she completed her grade 10. She then attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown for a year where she obtained a teacher's license at the age of 16. Corinne then immediately went into teaching but did not enjoy it and, in her words, she was not a very good teacher. Not wanting to get married early and have a large family like her mother, she left the Island for Chelsea, Massachusetts when she was 21 years old. There she worked for about two years boarding at the home of her Uncle Sylvére and Uncle Emile Arsenault.

One summer, feeling adventurous, Corinne and a girlfriend from Nova Scotia headed south to the Carolinas where they found work in a summer resort. From there, they landed in New York where Corinne went to work as a waitress and receptionist in a tea-room.

The Gauntt Family in 1959. Left to right: Robert, Corinne, Frank, Kathleen McCarthy and Frank E. (Billy).

-50-