Neighbors 87 the yard and gaze at them working, a routine the carpenters found most annoying. When it came time to sink a pump he went all the way to Moncton for a well-drilling unit. Before long he felt they were pulling the wool over his eyes and even with the job not completed he ordered them off the premises, murmuring that they would probably burn for a long time in some hot place! For a few years the Major showed considerable interest in the running of the Lower School and attended some of its annual meetings. Soon, however, he withdrew completely from that enterprise complaining of a general sloppiness in the way things were being run. For some years after his return home the Major was a quite heavy drinker but overnight he gave all that up without any apparent struggle. For many years also he was a chain smoker, three packages of Winchester cigarettes a day being the usual fare. Then one day he abruptly gave that up, too. Almost every evening he came to Joe Farrell 's to visit with the neighbors who frequently gathered there. Even here he found the drift of conversation difficult, especially the small talk, and soon he would swing the discussion around to life in the Philippines which completely bored his fellow visitors. Dad never found it difficult to engage in conversation but saw himself completely out of it on most of those evening excursions and would come home shaking his head at how yet another night was lost to the Philippines! The Major spent the winters in Boston or Washington , D.C. and so was Iona's first taste of a well-to-do summer resident. Even though he had few close friends and found it difficult to be a part of the community, he faithfully returned each spring until old age determined otherwise. All in all, he was a valued mem¬ ber of the district. The house he built was well situated back from and carefully shaded from the road. He planted an orchard and a number of ornamental trees. People approached him with care and he was generally well respected. Indeed his unique nature and giftedness were good for and even needed in the Iona of his day. At the extreme other end of the scale was Joe Farrell who lived next door to us and was the last of that family to occupy the old 50-acre homestead. Over the years his house was a favorite gathering place for a number of neighbors and the stone step outside his porch was well grooved by the passage of many feet. Half the downstairs was taken up for kitchen, back of which was a tidy parlor. The kitchen was never finished, the wall studs