what lpsoked to him like a corpse that he rushed out of the shop in a panic.

Chisholms stopped making caskets in the early 19005 and began to purchase their supply from the Montague Furnishing Company. Jim’s son, Heath, who continued the family business, later became the Island distributor for this company which offered an extensive line of caskets and accessories. Eric MacKinnon, one of the partners in the Montague Furnishing Company, remembers doing business with Heath Chisholm. Heath also imported caskets from Amherst, NS.14

Sheldon Dixon recalls an unfortunate incident in the community. A young man by the name of Willie Craig was working at the Nofih Tryon Butter Factory and after eating his lunch one hot summer day, decided to cool off by taking a swim in the pond at Ives’Lower Mill~ He got into difficulty in the deep part of the pond and drowned. Jim Chisholm, clinging to the side of a boat, went out and recovered the body from the channel. The remains were laid out at Will Hatley’s house and tubs of ice had to be placed under the casket because of the intense heat of the summer.

Many traditions associated with mourning have developed through the years. Older community residents recall the remains laid out at the deceased’s house where a black wreath was placed on the door. The funeral was held from the house, but if the house was small, the funeral was held from the church. The casket remained open for the service, and everyone filed past paying their final respects after the service. Neighbours brought food to the house, a practice that continues today. Men in mourning wore black armbands, while women dressed in black. The mourning period lasted one year. Neighbours dug the grave with a pick and shovel in summer and winter. Schools and stores closed for the funeral, and everyone in the community stopped their work and stood with hats in hand and heads bowed as the funeral procession passed by. Relatives stayed with the bereaved for an extended period of time because most likely they had travelled a long distance. The small number of floral tributes present were arranged by friends and neigh- bours.

The last diphtheria epidemic was in 1923 and the families of Fred A. and Nellie Leard and Parker and Minnie Delaney were both affected. Ethel Leard and Myra Delaney shared a double desk at school. Both families were quarantined. Ethel became very ill, but the fever and sore throat did not last more than several days. However, her brother, Edward, her sisters, Florence and Jessie, and her father, Fred A., were stricken. Edward Leard, Fred and Nellie’s only son, died on Oct. 1, 1923. Parker and Minnie's daughter, Margaret, died on Nov. 10, 1923 and son, Merle, died on Nov. 20, 1923. The epidemic struck during fall harvest and the Leards remember the assistance given to the family by their relatives and neighbours. Grandfather Fell, Uncle Tom Fell, Bowley Leard, Brent Howatt, and George Boulter took the small white

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