Audio file
Contributors
Date Recorded
2003-10-21
Date Digitized
2010-06-01
Abstract
This interview is with Ernest MacDonald talking about walking many miles, his mother taking care of older people, working on the sea as a cook, his ship being blown up, becoming a fisherman while most of his family were farmers, what he liked about living on the water, storms on the water, and the family farm.
Genre
Subject (Temporal)
Rights
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Physical Location
Held by Reg "Dutch" Thompson
Duration
00:57:17
Model
1 1 Item in Collection
Transcript
SIDE A 00:00:00 -- 00:05:15
Discussion about two Ernests who knew each other while growing up and walking long distances; walking, Ernest.

SIDE A 00:05:15 -- 00:06:29
Discussion about the Spanish Flu and a about a photo of a schooner he has; schooners, Spanish Flu.

SIDE A 00:06:29 -- 00:07:39
Discussion about his mother and how she cared for old people; kindness.

SIDE A 00:07:39 -- 00:08:12
How he ended up at sea when he was only 17 and his uncle Sam Smith whp was the captain of the boat; sea captains, Sam Smith, sailors.

SIDE A 00:08:12 -- 00:10:40
Ernie MacPherson talks about a photo of the West Point Wharf and they list off the names of the workers at Jack Stewart's lobster factory; lobster factories, West Point Whardf, West Point, Ernie MacPherson, Jack Stewart, lobster fishermen, murder.

SIDE A 00:10:40 -- 00:14:39
A return to the story of how he ended up at sea as a cook, with mention of cooking in the lumber yards; cooking, cooks.

SIDE A 00:14:39 -- 00:21:57
A story of his ship sinking in the storm when he was traveling to the Magdalen Islands for Maritime Packers; Maritime Packers, Magdalen Islands, storms, shipwrecks.

SIDE A 00:21:57 -- 00:24:07
Discussion about how his dad was a farmer but he liked fishing more, lobster prices, and being able to have 500 traps if he wanted; fishing, fishermen, lobster, lobster fishing, lobster prices, lobster traps, Jack Shepherd.

SIDE A 00:24:07 -- 00:24:50
Discussion about his family who worked on the farms; farming, farmers.

SIDE A 00:24:50 -- 00:28:17
How he got his own gear by working for Maritime Packers and the story of how he paid for a boat with one days work; fishing, fishermen, lobster fishing, Maritime Packers.

SIDE A 00:28:17 -- 00:31:25
Discussion about his grandfather the lighthouse keeper at West Point who ran it for 50 years; lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, West Point.

SIDE A 00:31:25 -- 00:31:28
Brief mention of the phantom ship; phantom ship.
SIDE A 00:31:28 -- 00:34:33
What he liked about being on the water, seeing other schooners at night, and all the sailors he remembers while growing up; sailors, schooners.

SIDE A 00:34:33 -- 00:35:25
Discussion about Christmas time and presents; Christmas, presents.

SIDE A 00:35:25 -- 00:37:05
Discussion about sunrises and sunsets on the water, his good night vision, and what they shipped; coal, sunrises, sunsets, shipping.

SIDE A 00:37:05 -- 00:38:40
Horses and other animals on deck and transporting them; horses, swimming, shipping.

SIDE A 00:38:40 -- 00:39:39
Discussion about cod fish and some of the big lobsters he caught; lobsters, lobster sizes, cod fish, fish sizes.

SIDE A 00:39:39 -- 00:40:30
Irish moss and his helper on the boat; Doug Betts, Irish moss.

SIDE A 00:40:30 -- 00:41:40
Discussion about the deep snow of 1923, firewood, and burning up to 15 cords a winter; firewood, deep snow, snowstorms, winter, 1923.

SIDE A 00:41:40 -- 00:45:22
His first time into the lumber yards near Truro; lumber woods, trees.

SIDE A 00:45:22 -- 00:45:52
Seeing the Bluenose back in the 1920s and also seeing rum runners; rum runners, rum running, schooners, Bluenose, 1920s, ships.

SIDE A ends at 00:45:52.
SIDE B 00:46:05 -- 00:47:40
Seeing Coast Guard ships and traveling to SummerSIDE and Charlottetown; SummerSIDE, Charlottetown, Coast Guard, ships, traveling.

SIDE B 00:47:40 -- 00:49:37
Discussion about working in lumber camps, how much he was paid, what he did with his time off, alcohol, and returning home for Christmas; lumber camps, wages, alcohol.

SIDE B 00:49:37 -- 00:51:27
Dutch asks about planting by the moon, killing by the moon, mussel mud, and spraying the farm; phases of the moon, mussel mud, spraying.

SIDE B 00:51:27 -- 00:52:14
Discussion about the first car he ever saw; cars.

SIDE B 00:52:14 -- 00:53:14
Discussion about various topics including the Hindenburg, early telephones, and tractors; tractors, Hindenburg, telephones.

SIDE B 00:53:14 -- 00:57:17
Disucssion about his father's horses and having his horses run away once because they hit a car; cars, horses.

Tape ends at 00:57:17.