Holland, girls didn’t dress in jeans. So, she was wearing a skirt under her coat, which left her legs exposed. The piercing cold wind and snow soon made her change her mind about winter. The skirts disappeared, and jeans became popular henceforth.

The language was a barrier for them at first. Jeannette recalls that she loved to read, but couldn’t understand the English; so she had no choice but to learn the language.

The other children also experienced difficulty in communicating. One day, two of the boys went to the store to buy some gum. The Storekeeper couldn’t understand what they wanted and passed them some small flat sticks. He refused money and they left the store, happy to have gotten some free gum. They soon changed their minds when they tried to chew the gum only to find that it was a piece of wood.

Another time, Johanna sent Jeannette to the store for a pound of lard. With her broken English, the Storekeeper misunderstood her and gave her a bag of nuts. She was too embarrassed to tell him the difference, and returned home with the nuts.

Although Nuy had to work very hard to improve his farming operation, he still took time for a short rest after the noon meal. In the evening, he could be found playing the accordion, something he could do very well.

Seven years after Nuy came to Bear River, he became ill and died at the age of fifty-eight years. Although this man, who devoted his life to tilling the soil is not with us today, six of his children continue to live in Prince Edward Island.

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