front of us. And then, on the side, in the front seats, we’d usually put any funerals, pallbearers and those. The first seat was Moore’s: Mr. Moore, J.St.C. Moore, and Mrs. Moore, and Emma. And then directly behind them was Abby MacEachern’s father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. MacEachem. I can remember her. She’d come into church and she always had a hat with long feathers on it, green and black feathers. And she’d bow, you know, over the seat and the feathers would fall, and come back when she’d sit down again. I can remember that as a kid.

MacLeods sat directly in front of the pulpit, D.A. MacLeod; and Putnams. Did you ever notice that the Putnams always sat there? And then, to the left as you go in, the MacTavish family, and the Dixons, Joe Dixon and MacLean [Dixon]... . That was their seat. They had one seat.

My, there must’ve been a big congregation then.

Belfast Tea

That was the time [of year] you’d be baking for a week. They made cakes to sell, fruitcakes: and everyone was trying to get the biggest fruitcakes. Almost every woman in the congregation would make one, wouldn’t they? We had a recipe that was sort of a family recipe. Some would bring light fruitcakes. No, they wouldn’t sell [for] as much.

You can’t imagine what it was like... . The tables were set out in the grove outside [St. John’s Church]. Now, they have it cleared away, a lot of the trees taken away, but the tables were set there.

I can remember four [tables] quite plainly. And I can remember the women. Mrs. Johnny, Johnny MacWilliams’ mother, she always made the tea. She and Mrs. MacDonald, Mrs. Matthew MacDonald. My job was usually washing dishes because I don’t like waiting on tables; afraid I’d spill something. Aunt Belle loved to wait on table down there at those teas.

They always had chicken; I can’t remember turkey so much. Chicken and ham and sometimes roast beef. And salads. Mrs. Blanche MacDonald, she used to stand at a table making salads. She would make them there. She used to say herself sometimes they brought the potatoes without being peeled to her... . She’d make the salads and she’d do them so fast.

Oh, pies, yes. Your dessert came then, after. The table’d be loaded then with cookies and squares and all kinds [of pies]. Mostly apple and lemon, I guess. They used to put the pies in an egg crate. Have you ever seen an egg crate...? The old-fashioned egg crate.

Then they’d have like a big washtub packed with ice to keep the milk and cream sweet for the tea. A lot of work to it.

202 BELFAST PEOPLE