An Interview

Edward Sharkey, age 94, interviewed by Sheldon Dixon in 1961:

Were you ever on the Bedeque ice when there was a storm? Edward: No, but I was caught out in quite a blizzard hauling mussel mud. It was a squall, it came up from the norwest. I remember we all had to scallifally for home, it was a dangerous thing to be caught on the ice in the wintertime. Some of them didn’t get home, the fellows from Kinkora and far away up that way didn’t get home until the next morn- ing, they stayed along the road so I was told. Father was awful scared that I wasn’t going to get home. I had a team of horses out there. He told me that it looked like a storm, and not to attempt to go out. I was used to yarding mud then do you see. It was coming on late in the spring. He said if it looked anything like a storm never be caught on the ice. I thought there was lots of time to make the extra trip, and went out. Well this squall came up before we could get the loads loaded and

get home.

When you left Seurletown did you come to North Tryon? Edward: Right down to North Tryon in 1888, worked with Edward Leard carpentering. Edward lived in that house that was moved away through to Bugtown the other year, where Fell’s lived. That’s the house I went to. I worked with Edward 3 years. I worked in Amherst, that was in 1885, for C] Silliker. I was only there about 6 months. I was living here then, the wife and family were here so I came back.

Did you ever work with the ship building? Edward: No, never did, my father did. He worked up around Petitcodiac handy Moncton. I wouldn’t be born then, no. He worked there for 2 years, and then he left the shipyard, that was the year the Inter-Colonial Railway was built between Moncton and Saint John, it was better wages, nearly all the people left the shipyard and went with that. Father remembered Moncton when there was only a few, very few houses

there.

Would French families live in Moncton then? Edward: I couldn’t tell you that, I don’t know what their nationality was. I guess they'd be like Tom Allen said. Big, wild Tom Allen, an awful character and ignorant you know. The harvest excursion was in full force in them years. They had 400 or 500- I remember working in Summerside with Paul Schurman when 600 went away on the boat one night- going out west to work at the harvest. They’d be coming back showing a few hundred dollars they made saying they didn’t have to work and everything like this so Tom got wise to go. Well for a few falls he didn’t go and one fall he picked up and went. When he got out there he found he had to work. Ah he cursed and swore something awful. Dear knows who he hired with, but to hear Tom tell what an awful character this man was that he worked for, oh there never was the likes of him ever born. Tom used to go to Herb Lord's store and he‘d be telling about what awful times it was and about this awful man. Herb heard him at this often so one day Herb asked Tom: ”Tom, for pity sake, what nationality was that man that he was such an awful character?”. Tom said: ”The bugger was a Methodist!". Tom didn't know religion

from nationalit .

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