house, Gertie Morrison, was: “We don’t need a radio. If we want entertainment, I play andJimmy sings!”

Frances Roberts Recalls Village Life

Chisholm ’3 Corner was quite a community in the late 19305. Not many villages had a general store, blacksmith shop, school, electric light plant, funeral parlour, saw mill, and grist mill, all within walking distance of the corner, not to mention ponds for all to skate on in winter, or fish and swim in during the summer months.

The school was one room at first, but in the 19505 another room was added.Jessie Craig and Annie Howatt taught longer in North Tryon than any other teachers. Under their dedicated teaching, the children were drilled in the basics of education and were more than ready to go on to further their education in such fields as nursing, teaching, missionary work, law, and yes, farming. Professor BillJones taught and trained the children in music and spent hours practicing and drilling for the music competitions usually held in Summerside. Professor Jones’ wife, Hope Ives, trained the children in elocution. Mary MacK— enzie, the Presbyterian Deaconess, contributed a great deal to the community life with her annual summer daily Vacation Bible School, as well as her many variety concerts, Christmas Plays, and parties for the children which they enjoyed very much.

Pop Chisholm was the local undertaker, assisted by his son, Heath. Pop had a horse called Edgar, who pulled the hearse as well as the express wagon. Edgar often took the youth berry-picking or hay-riding. Pop was a man of many talents. He sang in the choir with a beautiful voice and could he ever tell a story. Oh, how his eyes would twinkle. “My Law Harry”, he’d say, “these children with all their school books today. All I had when I went to school was a broken slate and I forgot more than they’ll ever know.” Later when Pop had a motor—driven hearse, the youth persuaded him to take them to the Charlottetown Exhibition. Other transportation was not available. What a sight to see all those happy faces peaking out from the back of the hearse. Never was a hearse used for such a happy occasion before or since! Mom Chisholm taught me to make homemade soap, the boil method. I took many a prize at the Charlottetown and Crapaud Exhibitions. I still have the iron pot that Mom gave me. Another Comer resident also entered her soap in the exhibitions. One year prior to the Crapaud Exhibition, she came home to find her husband attempting to fry eggs for supper in an iron frying pan. He had taken a dish of what he thought were drippings from the fridge, poured some in the pan, heated it on the stove, added the eggs but could not understand why they were foaming. Unknown to him, his wife had placed her home made soap in the fridge to set so it would be ready for the exhibition. Enid and Clayton didn’t

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