Clayton Ballum T1 [Tape One]

Interview

Thompson, Reg "Dutch"

Ballum, Clayton N.

2003-07-10

01:35:55

This interview is with Clayton Ballum of Tyne Valley, P.E.I. Clayton begins by telling about his family and his background. He then goes on to tell a little about the first time he had electricity, milk, and potato picking. He tells of waking up with a dead man in his bed, a story about looking for a job, his mother's cooking, and raising chickens. He then tells about mussel mud and potato farming, pesticides, harvesting grain, wool, binders, and sheep. Clayton goes on to tell about horses, homemade clothes, firewood, apples, and the Harvest Excursion. He then talks in great detail about working on Milligan and Morrsion's fox ranch and working as a driver for Dr. Stewart. He goes on to mention Christmas, the big snow of 1942, and the ice storm of 1956.

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Held by Reg "Dutch" Thompson

***Disclaimer - This interview contains language some may find inappropriate. SIDE A 00:00:05 -- 00:09:02 Discussion about his family and background, with mention of a trip to SummerSIDE And farming; farming, 1916, 1922, George William Ballum, Norman MacLennan, Sophie Henry, Ballum, Belfast, Harmony, Enmore, Tyne Valley, cows. | SIDE A 00:09:02 -- 00:10:15 Brief discussion about the first time he had electricity; 1952, electricity, lanterns, Mt. Pleasant Airport. | SIDE A 00:10:15 -- 00:11:31 Brief discussion about milk; Holstein, milk, cows, milk cans. | SIDE A 00:11:31 -- 00:13:13 Discussion about potato picking in Kinkora; sloven, potatoes, potato picking, Kinkora, wages, McKeever. | SIDE A 00:13:13 -- 00:14:02 Discussion about the Mt. Pleasant Airport; wages, 1942, Mt. Pleasant Airport. | SIDE A 00:14:02 -- 00:16:09 Discussion about potato picking continues, with a story about eggs; Kinkora, potato picking, McKeever. | SIDE A 00:16:09 -- 00:17:54 A story about finding a dead man in his bed; dead man, sleeping, death. | SIDE A 00:17:54 -- 00:25:02 A story about looking for a job and working with his brother, with mention of beef, pork, and poor people; jobs, beef, pork, poor, ice. | SIDE A 00:25:02 -- 00:27:31 Discussion about his mother's cooking and a joke about a minister and a rooster; homemade soap, Mary Caroline MacLennan, cooking, SIDE A 00:27:31 -- 00:33:06 Discussion about pigs and chickens; pigs, pig breeds, chicken breeds, Plymouth Rocks, White Leghorns, hens, chickens, eggs, egg trading, bartering, butchering chickens, clucking hen, egg circle. | SIDE A 00:33:06 -- 00:39:20 Discussion about mussel mud and potato farming; mussel mud, potato farming, fertilizer, potato scabs, potato diggers, beater diggers, McIntyre Blues, blue potatoes and herring, potato prices, fish fertilizer, lobster fertilizer. | SIDE A 00:39:20 -- 00:41:15 Discussion about pesticides and herbicides; Bluestone, Paris Green, pesticides, herbicides. | SIDE A 00:41:15 -- 00:44:21 Discussion about grain; grain, wheat, barley, thrashing, gristmill, shorts, Leard's, Laird's, Coleman, sowing grain. | SIDE A 00:44:21 -- 00:45:55 Brief discussion about sheep and wool; MacAusland's, adze, wool, woolen mill. | SIDE A 00:45:55 -- 00:47:46 Brief discussion about binders; grain, binders, custom binding. | SIDE A 00:47:46 -- 00:47:56 Discussion about sheep continues; sheep, Cheviot. | SIDE A ends at 00:47:56. SIDE B 00:48:07 -- 00:49:49 Discussion about sheep continues, with mention of sleighs; sheep, sleighs, Tyne Valley, ram. | SIDE B 00:49:49 -- 00:51:52 Discussion about horses, plowing, and his first job; horses, plowing, horse races, Percheron, walking, wages, 1930s. | SIDE B 00:53:21 -- 00:55:17 Discussion about working in the lumber woods; lumber woods, Maine, Thurston's Lumber Company, wages, credit, Holman's. | SIDE B 00:55:17 -- 00:56:25 Discussion about his family; seven sons, Air Force, George Ballum, Ray Ballum, Alan Ballum, Jack Ballum, Lance Ballum. | SIDE B 00:56:25 -- 00:59:50 Discussion about horse trading and a story about a big fish; horse trading, tractors, big fish, saw horse, Cascumpec. | SIDE B 00:59:50 -- 01:03:21 Discussion about horses continues with mention of the traveling man; horses, traveling man, Henry, stallion, horse breeding prices, horse breeding, 1974. | SIDE B 01:03:21 -- 01:04:17 Brief discussion about homemade clothes; homemade clothes, flour bag clothing, flour bags. | SIDE B 01:04:17 -- 01:05:29 Brief discussion about smoking tobacco and whittles; pipes, tobacco, smoking. | SIDE B 01:05:29 -- 01:07:12 Discussion about firewood and wood cutting; firewood, wood cutting, cords, splitting wood. | SIDE B 01:07:12 -- 01:08:44 Discussion about apples; apples, apple trees, MacIntosh apples, transparent apples, Red Astrican apples, Alexander apples. | SIDE B 01:08:44 -- 01:11:36 Discussion about the Harvest Excursion; 1928, Harvest Excursion, train fare, Prairies, thrashing, grain, George Ballum, train, stealing. | SIDE B 01:11:36 -- 01:23:04 Discussion about working on Milligan and Morrison's fox ranch; fox ranching, fox ranch, Milligan and Morrsion, foxes, fox feed, cold storage, fox pelts, silver foxes, 1938, fox pups, Lockerby, worm pills, cats, herring, cod liver, oil, fox mating, electricity, Sunglow, horse meat, Wilma Toombs. | SIDE B 01:23:04 -- 01:26:44 Discussion about how he came to work for Dr. Stewart; Dr. J. A. Stewart, Dr. Stewart, wages, 1939. | SIDE B 01:26:44 -- 01:28:56 Discussion about working on the fox ranch continues; wages, 1938, food, fox ranching. | SIDE B 01:28:56 -- 01:31:47 Discussion about working for Dr. Stewart continues; Dr. Stewart, horses, Norboro, Desoto sedan, doctor fees. | SIDE B 01:31:47 -- 01:33:22 Brief discussion about Christmas; Christmas, Christmas tree, Christmas stocking, presents. | SIDE B 01:33:22 -- 01:35:34 A story about the big snowstorm in 1942; 1942, Al Smith, plane crash, snowstorms, snow. | SIDE B 01:35:34 -- 01:35:55 Brief discussion about the 1956 ice storm; 1956, ice storm, electricity, power outage. | Tape ends at 01:35:55. ***Tape ends mid-sentence.