Charlottetown, like Prince Edward Island itself, was being transformed in the 1950s. The period in the early years after the end of the Second World War was characterized by Island historian David Weale as “the break,” when the 20th century seemed to hit the Island all at once. “A revolution has occurred in the green and gentle countryside of Prince Edward Island,” according to Weale. Up until the Second World War, very little in the province had changed. It clung tenaciously to its traditions and way of life. Then, after the war, everything changed. Socially, economically and culturally, Prince Edward Island was entering the 20th century.

Just as a revolution was occurring in the countryside, it was also taking place in Charlottetown. The changing economy had helped to precipitate the population shift from country to town. After the war, the growth

in government and service—sector jobs brought waves of former rural residents from the farms and fishing ports to urban centres, where

those jobs were primarily located. By the end of the 1950s, fully one— third of the Island’s population would come to live in urban settings; half a century earlier, more than 85 percent of Islanders lived in the countryside. The population of Charlottetown rose to more than 18,000 people.

The face of the city was changing as well. Former farms on the fringes of the city were being sub—divided, and the omnipresent bungalow soon ringed the city. By the late 1950s, the two new towns of Parkdale and Sherwood were home to more than 3,000 people and growing. From practically nothing, they became the third and fourth largest municipalities in Prince Edward Island. In the northwest part of Charlottetown where the Murphys had built their home with few neighbours, new subdivisions began sprouting all around them. Streets were paved and renamed, services installed and sidewalks linked the various neighbourhoods.

Women across North America were staying home to raise their children in the midst of the baby boom. Charlottetown was no exception. Although women were entering the labour force in record numbers, they did so primarily before and after raising a family. For the most part, suburban women remained at home while their husbands drove off each day to work.

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