Audio file
Contributors
Interviewee: MacKinnon, Bob
Interviewee: MacKinnon, Queenie
Researcher: MacKay, Paul
Audio engineer: MacKay, Paul
Date Recorded
1995-03-03
Date Digitized
2010-03-03
Abstract
This interview with Bob and Queenie MacKinnon begins with the topic of Lettie MacKinnon, Bob's mother, who ran a maternity and boarding home out of her farm house. They talk about her job as a midwife, moving to Earnscliffe, the maternity house, and tell of Will Coady's wife giving birth during a winter storm. The conversation then goes on to tell of the different children who boarded there, and average day in the house, birth records and regulations, and doctors in the area. They then tell of the telephone exchange at the house, give a tour of the home, and tell all about the hard work involved in running the home. Following that is more discussion about the telephone exchange and going to market. On Side B of the tape, they tell about maternity records and Lettie's beginnings as a midwife and nurse, more about the telephone exchange, and more about doctors and the families who came to the home. Bob and Queenie then talk about selling milk to dairies and cheese factories, the end of the local school, tragedy at Fullerton's marsh, the Mt. Herbert train station, and Pippy's store. The interview wraps up with discussion of going to the market , G&G and Cullen's dairies, Bob's father being crippled, and brief mention of binders.
Genre
Subject (Temporal)
Rights
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Physical Location
Held by Reg "Dutch" Thompson
Duration
01:03:21
Model
1 1 Item in Collection
Transcript
SIDE A 00:00:04 -- 00:01:27
Discussion about Lettie MacKinnon, nee Jardine and her job as a midwife; nursing, midwife, hospital, Dr. Collins, Dr. Martin, nurse, Lettie Jardine, Lettie MacKinnon, Neil MacKinnon, Earnscliffe.

SIDE A 00:01:27 -- 00:02:06
Discussion about the family moving to Earnscliffe; potatoes, turnips, Earnscliffe, Bob MacKinnon, 1922.

SIDE A 00:02:06 -- 00:04:20
Discussion about Lettie as a midwife and nurse, and her maternity house; midwife, nurse, Judson, maternity home, water pump, 1930s, maternity house, washing.

SIDE A 00:04:20 -- 00:05:40
Discussion about Will Coady's wife giving birth during a storm in 1923; 1923, Hazelbrook, Coady, Will Coady, Rita Coady, sleigh, snow, storm.

SIDE A 00:05:41 -- 00:08:50
Discussion about the MacKinnon maternity house and the children who boarded there; maternity house, boarding house, Jean MacKinnon, Charlottetown, Barbie Cameron, Brad Keith, children, Watton.

SIDE A 00:08:51 -- 00:12:57
Discussion about an average day at the maternity house and Lettie MacKinnon's career as a midwife; milking, farming, ice house, milk, cows, patients, telephone, electricity, 1945, babies, maternity house, Isabel MacKinnon, maternity, Jean MacKinnon, Brent, Beverly, 1954.

SIDE A 00:12:57 -- 00:16:01
Discussion about regulations, birth records, and people born in the house; midwife, road overseer, register, births, inspection, Earnscliffe, 1922, 1954, Brent MacKinnon.

SIDE A 00:16:01 -- 00:17:56
Discussion about doctors in the area; doctors, medicine, Dr. Pierce, Dr, Dewar, Dr. Yeo.

SIDE A 00:17:56 -- 00:19:38
Discussion about the telephone exchange; telephone, telephone line, telephone exchange, Charlottetown, Hillsborough Telephone Office, switchboard, ringer.

SIDE A 00:19:38 -- 00:22:17
The MacKinnons give a tour of their home and tells about Lettie's grandchildren being born in the house; maternity room, grandchildren, Isabel, wood fire, washing, electricity, 1945.

SIDE A 00:22:18 -- 00:23:20
Discussion about washing linens by hand, money made, and how long mothers stayed; maternity rooms, electricity, washing, mothers, money.

SIDE A 00:23:20 -- 00:25:41
Discussion about different mothers and their children, orphanages and boarding houses, and Lettie being a hard worker; unwed mother, orphanage, babies, strong, mothers.

SIDE A 00:25:42 -- 00:26:42
Bob discusses Lettie as a mother and family pride; Lettie MacKinnon, pride, farming, children.

***Audio from 00:26:42 to 00:26:56 is barely audible.
SIDE A 00:26:42 -- 00:30:50
Discussion about the telephone exchange; Charlottetown, telephone exchange, Mermaid line, East River line, telephone numbers, ring, tickets, 1930, privacy.

SIDE A 00:30:50 -- 00:31:26
Discussion about farming and going to the market; geese, ducks, box sleigh, market, farming, chickens.

SIDE A ends at 00:31:26.
SIDE B 00:31:33 -- 00:34:04
Discussion about maternity records; Charlottetown, 1946, register, St. Vincent's Orphanage, orphanage, maternity records, Catholic.

SIDE B 00:34:04 -- 00:35:44
Discussion about when Lettie began as a midwife; 1922, telephone, Tessie.

SIDE B 00:35:44 -- 00:37:25
Discussion about the telephone exchange and emergencies; emergency, telephone, telephone exchange, fire, bucket brigade.

SIDE B 00:37:25 -- 00:39:20
Discussion about Lettie getting her first maternity boarding house license in 1948; 1948, Public Health Act, Southport.

SIDE B 00:39:20 -- 00:42:27
Discussion about doctors, medical equipment, food, and the Driscoll twins being born at the house; doctor, twins, babies, ether, breast milk, family run business, equipment.

SIDE B 00:42:27 -- 00:43:49
Discussion about the fathers of the newborns; fathers, babies.

SIDE B 00:43:50 -- 00:46:30
Discussion about milk and cheese; G&G Dairy, cheese factory, Ings, milk, cheese, Geroge Gregory, 1929, cheesemaker, Wes Wood, Perce Gay, Jack Pippy, Hazelbrook.

SIDE B 00:46:30 -- 00:49:10
Discussion about telephone exchanges and the end of the school; Vernon River, O'Keefe, school, looting, stealing, Mounties, 1930s, school dances.

SIDE B 00:49:10 -- 00:51:38
Discussion about a man drowning in Fullerton's marsh and the old bridge; ice, drowned, Fullerton's marsh, bridge, draw bridge.

SIDE B 00:51:38 -- 00:54:10
Discussion about the Mt. Herbert train station and Pippy's store; Ings, Mt. Herbert, station, Bunburry, Pippy's store, Russel Driscoll, Walter Jones, Madeline Steward, general store, gas.

SIDE B 00:54:10 -- 00:56:32
Discussion about Bob's father shopping in town at the markets; Key's store, MacDonald & Rose, stalls, meat, Peardon's, theatre, 1902, market, fire, Les Rankin, geese, ducks.

SIDE B 00:56:35 -- 01:01:57
Discussion about G&G and Cullen's dairies; G&G dairy, Cullen's dairy, milk, dairy, Elmer Meyers, horse and wagon, horse and sleigh, cows, milk tester, cream, breeding, milking.

SIDE B 01:01:57 -- 01:02:56
Discussion about Bob's father being crippled; vertebrae, crippled, 1939.

SIDE B 01:02:56 -- 01:03:14
Discussion about binders begins; binders.

Tape ends at 01:03:21.
***Tape ends mid-sentence.