74 It Happened in Iona

by purchasing a new green Chevrolet sedan which was to serve them for the next thirty years. This sturdy vehicle was treated with the greatest of care, much like a pet animal, was tenderly laid away in the garage each fall and driven on average no more than. 1000 miles a year.

Jimmy, much younger than Dad, assumed the main re- sponsibility for operating the farm following his father’s death. He was a steady and tidy worker, generally jovial and a tease, often putting us youngsters up to acts of minor mischief. A good neighbor, he was a shy and retiring person, at ease at home, but moving out only as necessary to grist and saw mills, country stores, within his community for labor exchange and to Charlottetown on occasion.

Sadie, just older than Jimmy, was really a second man around the farm operation since she performed practically all the tasks of yard and field. She had a special reverence for nature with a particular fondness for all animals, talking to them and having names on more than usual. It was always a sad day when a cow, young animal or lambs were sold off. Although such an outdoors person, she kept the house suffi- ciently tidy, always turning out generous and tasty meals. She never came to our house or had us leave hers without providing a loaf of bread, bag of biscuits or batch of molasses cookies. She was a jovial woman, an excellent conversationalist and possessed the remnants of a charming Irish accent with accom- panying rich expressions. As well she had a beautiful singing voice which was limited to times like separating the milk and other infrequent occasions such as while setting the table. Yet she remained very much a home girl, her social circle limited pretty well to church, her home and ours.

Josephine, the eldest of the living, left the Valley reasonably early in life. She had a brief stay working in Boston and another short term, less than a year, with the Sisters of St. Martha of Antigonish which group she joined on a trial basis. Most of her life was spent in Charlottetown where she did house work at Judge Hazard’s and later for over forty years at Charles Long— worth’s at 181 Fitzroy Street. This house is today the official residence of the president of UPEI. All of us visited her there many times, entering by the back door and stopping in the kitchen. She was a deeply religious woman taking in the main liturgical events at both the basilica and Holy Redeemer parishes. She talked and moved fast and always kept tabs on Iona and the Valley despite her long absence from both. Each