Audio Recordings

Part 1a

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “My name is Mary Elsie Cuthbertson.”

Interviewer:  “And when were you born?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “7 April 1893.”

Interviewer:  “Where were you born?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Down on the farm there.”

Interviewer:  “Was it a large farm?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, one-hundred acres.”

Interviewer:  “Did you have milk cows?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, and horses.”

Interviewer:  “And you had your own milk and your own eggs?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes.”

Interviewer:  “And made your own butter?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes.”

Interviewer:  “You had to bake your own bread, too, eh?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, my dear.”

Interviewer:  “What was your father’s name?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Robert Hobbs.”

Interviewer:  “And your mother’s maiden name?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Isabel Stark.”

Interviewer:  “And where were they born?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Stark’s Corners.  My mother was.”

Interviewer:  “Can you tell us the names of your brothers and sisters?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “There was Ernest, Tom, Stewart, Jack, Bob, Harry, Bill, and Jeffrey.”

Interviewer:  “Any sisters?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “My sister was Edith.”

Interviewer:  “Where are they nowadays?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Ottawa.”

Interviewer:  “The whole gang of them?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, my brothers are all dead.”

Interviewer:  “Can you tell us of your earliest memories of your church?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, it was the Wesleyan.  It was a moving church down there on the highway by the Knox’s School.  It burned, and so afterwards they come up here into Shawville, and took the building behind W.A. Hodgins’s store there.”

Interviewer:  “And do you remember any Sunday school teachers?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “There was Mr. Black, and there was Mr. Bean.”

Interviewer:  “Tell me a little bit about your school.”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, it was a long way from home anyway.  We had to walk.”

Interviewer:  “Do you remember your teachers?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “There was Miss Wetan (?), Miss Armstrong.”

Interviewer:  “How many pupils would there be?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, thirty-five to forty.”

Interviewer:  “What subjects did you take?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, we didn’t have French.  We had English, history, spelling, writing.”

Interviewer:  “And did you finish school?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, my dear.”

Interviewer:  “What did you do after you left school?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Worked on the farm.”

Interviewer:  “Can you tell me anything about George Caters, the waterman?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, he was a very nice old man.  An old Englishman.  He would go around and sell water to people in town.”  

Interviewer:  “And would he go around from house to house?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “I think so.  He never came out in the country much.”

Interviewer:  “And did he go to the Fair in Shawville?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Not very much ’til I grew up.”  

Interviewer:  “And how much would he charge?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I think about twenty-five cents.”

Part 1b

Interviewer:  “Do you remember the first Fair you went to?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, my dear, I couldn’t tell you the first one.”

Interviewer:  “Well, could you tell me the earliest?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, it was nothing like what we have today you know.”

Interviewer:  “Did they have the horse shows?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes.”

Interviewer:  “Did they have cow shows, and rides, and food, and all that?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh yes.  We thought it was good because everyone carried into the Fair different kinds of pies and cakes we used to have.”

Interviewer:  “And did they have embroidery shows?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh yes.”

Interviewer:  “Did you ever enter anything?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, I never did.”

Interviewer:  “Did your mother?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No.”

Interviewer:  “How much did you have to pay for a meal?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, I couldn’t just tell you.  Maybe a quarter.”

Interviewer:  “Well, that’s pretty good.   Could you tell me anything about Mac McGuire and the Russell House?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “I didn’t know the man.”

Interviewer:  “What about the cheese factory?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I was often in the place.  (?) Hodgins used to run that.”

Interviewer:  “What about Ralph Hodgin’s brickyard?  Do you remember anything about the brickyard?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, I knew more about Wellington Armstrong’s.”

Interviewer:  “Why don’t you tell me about that one then?”  

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I was never in where they were making bricks, but I saw them carrying their clay and putting it into little shells to get burned.  That’s about all.  I thought the Armstrongs were a wonderful couple.”

Interviewer:  “Is there any particular story that stands out in your mind about early Shawville?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “We went into Shawville for our groceries.”  

Interviewer:  “Was there anybody who really made an impression on your life?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I can’t say except pastors, who I thought were wonderful men.  Otherwise, I can’t say.”

Interviewer:  “You’ve lived in this apartment for about a year then, eh?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, in October it will be a year.”

Interviewer:  “And how long did you live on the farm?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Sixty years I’d say.  I was twenty-one when I got married.”  

Interviewer:  “And did your husband build on the farm?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, he built the house.”

Interviewer:  “Before you were married?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, before I was married.”

Interviewer:  “And your children were born in Shawville?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “In the house.  I never came to the hospital.”

Interviewer:  “How many children did you have?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “I have twins; my first babies were twins—Elsie and Edith.”  

Interviewer:  “Did you have any other children?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “I have two boys—Clarence and Jimmy.”

Interviewer:  “Can you tell me a little about Mike Murphy?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, I can’t say much about the man.  I knew him; that’s all.”

Interviewer:  “Was he a likeable man?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Likable enough for anybody that wished to associate with him.  He was a country man; he wasn’t our kind of people.  My husband was very fond of him.  He worked real well.”

Interviewer:  “So then you remember about the murders then, eh?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, yes.”

Interviewer:  “What was your reaction?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “We felt very badly, but we found out later that the man had to protect himself, too.”

Part 2a

Interviewer:  “Do you agree with the verdict then, of him being a criminal?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I think so.  But I wouldn’t like to be in the position he was; I’d try to protect myself.”

Interviewer:  “Do you remember the boys?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, I remember them well.”

Interviewer:  “And how old would they be?  Were they children, like twelve or thirteen?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson: “Oh, no.  Like eighteen or twenty.  They were not children.”

Interviewer:  “What did you do in the summertime when you were a child?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, not too much of anything.”

Interviewer:  “Did you work on the farm?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes.”

Interviewer:  “Did you help your mom, or did you help in the fields?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “I helped my mother.  And I helped Father, too, when he come in with loads of hay.  I remember that.  Wasn’t life hard?”

Interviewer:  “Yes.  And what did you do in the wintertime for entertainment?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, there wasn’t very much.  We made snowmen.”

Interviewer:  “Did you go sleigh riding or anything?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, I went sleigh riding.”

Interviewer:  “Did you use to decorate up the horses with bells?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, no.”

Interviewer:  “Were there any hobbies that you can remember when you were a child that you can’t find today?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh no, playing ball, hide ‘n seek.”

Interviewer:  “What are the biggest differences between life today and life when you were a child?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “It was a different life altogether.”  

Interviewer:  “Do you think young people are spoiled?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I wouldn’t say they’re spoiled, but they have lots of freedom.”

Interviewer:  “Do you think they have too much freedom?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, I don’t know.  How would you change it?”

Interviewer:  “Well, let’s say you wanted the kids to get jobs and stuff like that.”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, they didn’t care any more for working then than they do today.”  

Interviewer:  “What do you think about the kids going out later at night?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Oh, it’s not good at all.”

Interviewer:  “Do you think there should be a curfew?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, then the older people would have a rest.”  (She laughs.)  “Or I suppose they could sleep in the daytime when they’re off somewhere.  But they do make an awful racket around here sometimes.”

Part 2b

Interviewer:  “Do you think if we had more to do during the daytime we’d be too tired to horse around at night?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Well, they didn’t have all the expensive cars.”

Interviewer:  “Well, they didn’t have all the modern machinery, too, eh?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “You were tired enough to go to your bed at night.”

Interviewer:  “What about the church?  Do you think people respect the church as much?”

Mrs. Cutherbertson:  “Well, we’re not as strict to be there for families today as we were then.”

Interviewer:  “Did you use to sing in the choir at church?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “No, there was no such thing as a choir.”

Interviewer:  “But everybody went to church?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “Yes, everybody went to church.”

Interviewer:  “What do you think about having the Fair on Sunday this year?”

Mrs. Cuthbertson:  “It’s ridiculous I think.  Well, I’m not going to it.” 

[At this point the conversation is very hard to make out, but Mrs. Cuthbertson says something about it being against the Bible and the Sabbath to do this on Sunday.]

 

Transcription by Sue Lisk