Carragher, Lena and Joe Carragher

Paul Stordy interviews married couple Joe (92 years old) and Lena Carragher of Brookvale, PEI. They both start of by speaking about their family tree and Irish connections, and the communities where their families resided. Joe talks about joining the Army and his experiences during the First World War. He also talks about coming home from the War, marrying Lena, their neighbours, and farming. He recalls fierce thunderstorms and fires. Both Joe and Lena speak about wakes, dances, and weddings, and entertainment in the early days.

Interview

Stordy, Paul

Carragher , Lena and Joe

All content on this site is made available for personal research and private study only. Any other reuse, reproduction, or re-purposing may require the permission of the rightsholder(s); please contact the UPEI Library for more information on permissions/clearances.

1982-07-01

Held by UPEI Library — SMI-ARCH 1983-001. Series 1

01:52:17

Mentions that Lena's maiden name was Curley. She doesn't remember when the Curley's came to the Island. Her Father, John, went to Hope River when he came from Ireland.
Joe's grandfather came from Ireland.
Joe's father's name was Edward, and his grandfather was also an Edward.
The family had a farm in Hope River.
Joe has a hat from the Army, but they have nothing passed down from Ireland.
The priest built the house Joe grew up in.
Joe speaks about a house that was burned down in a fire.
Joe speaks about his father and grandfather.
Joe's mother was born in 1865, and she was from Ulster
Joe spent time in Ireland during the war.
Recalls being in Ireland for two weeks during the war; it was a nice and friendly place.
He went to [Belfast] while in Ireland.
In 1917, when he was around 20 years old, Joe joined the army.
Talks about farming for Johnny Stordy in Maine.
Remembers John P. [Stordy?], the older brother, who was wounded in the war (shot in the arm). He had a silver plate in his elbow. He couldn't put on a tie.
Joe speaks about what the war was like, the time off he had, and traveling by train. Mentions the Halifax explosion.
Joe speaks about his experiences in the war. Loaded ships couldn't get to land.
Tells the story of a young man (Kenny McCaffrey?) who hid in the woods to avoid the war, and the sisters and mother who would bring him food and feed him. He stayed there the whole year.
Discusses the theatre of war.
Recalls a German attack: ten German destroyers against their fourteen ships. Joe worked as a cook and had two open cans of soup in his hands when they were attacked. There was soup everywhere. Joe recalls heading to the lifeboats.
Recalls again that the German explosion caused soup to be everywhere. They (the Canadians) sunk a German submarine. The submarine had fired on Joe's ship but they missed. Recalls that German submarines came as close as Halifax harbour. Relates a story about a German spy at a lumber camp who poisoned soup. He was caught.
Joe remembers delivering milk by horse. Joe had two horses, one for every other day, to deliver the milk. To learn the milk route you had to go with the previous delivery man for a week. When he left that job he had to train the next person for the route.
Recalls taking milk to the dairy to be made into cream. Joe also delivered ice. One woman would give Joe a bottle of beer for delivering ice. Joe was in the war between 1912-1914. Two of Joe's sisters died when he was away at the war.
TAPE One side A ends
Talks about Joe's Farming
Speaks of the old house behind the barn.
Joe and Lena were married 1928.
Talking about the first night he stayed in the house he is in now, and the telling of ghost stories. Recalls story of a fallen hen-house.
Tells the story hearing the frightening sound of rattling chains in the middle of the night. It was a dog stuck in a fox trap, dragging the post and chains of the trap behind him. It was a kind dog. Joe rescued him and the dog stayed with Joe for a few days.
They met after Joe came home from the war in 1919. They were married in 1928. John P. married Lena's mother's sister, Thora McDonald. Lena's mother was Mary Ann McDonald Curley. Joe and Lena were married on the 15th of February, in the middle of winter. Lots of February marriages in the family. Ten in the family: 5 boys and 5 girls. Discusses various family members and a house fire.
Louis was a handsome well-educated man dying of cancer. His wife was younger than him.
Fixing the roads caused a lot of apple trees to get cut down. Speaks of Jack Robertson and Barbara. Comments more on the illness of Louis. Louis and Father Kelly went to college together. Speaks of local residents and what houses they lived in.
Lena tells the story of a local, fatal, house fire.
Tape One Side b ends
Talks about Margaret Stordy, (Joe's aunt / his mother's sister).
Margaret was married to Johnny Stordy. He ran a mill.
Recalls bad winters
Talks about thunderstorms.
Remembers a thunderstorm which caused a barn to catch on fire.
Lena talks about the most terrible storm she had ever seen: a bolt of lightning struck the barn and set the barn on fire; the pigs and calves were killed.
Recalls one of the burnt pigs that survived the fire.
Remembers a storm when the Stordy's came from Boston.
Parents met at Green Bay. Dad from Kelly's Cross and mom was from Green Bay. Joe remembers that they would take wagons to church and sit on them scoping out the ladies.
Lena thinks her parents could have meet during dances, but their houses were not far away from each other.
Tape Two side A ends
Speaks of dances for entertainment and weddings which lasted from morning to the next morning.
Recalls dances and partying. Story of elderly gentleman, Willie W? who baked bread.
Talks about the old stoves (The Old Waterloos) and how they worked. Baking bread on the old stoves. Speaks of Albert and Annie Smith. Recalling wakes in Boston, lots of drinking.
Talks about the wake for Old Peter (Peter the Great), where they had a lot to drink, and did something to the casket. Talks about the lengthy wakes. Speaks about clay pipes.
Tells the story of Father Hammill, who spoke about drinking, and fell asleep at the wake. They took the dead person out the casket and placed the live person in the casket. Talks about farming and the old house.
Tape Two Side B ends

Held by UPEI Library — SMI-ARCH 1983-001. Series 1