MacKinnon, Queenie

This interview with Bob and Queenie MacKinnon begins with a brief mention of a nearby burial site. The conversation quickly changes to Ings' dam and hauling ice to cool milk. Bob then tells about his first tractor and talks about local gristmills. The MacKinnons then tell about their first radios, and Queenie tells a funny story about a runaway bull. Bob then talks about his first car, tells about his father crossing the harbour on the ice, and then the MacKinnons tell about mussel mud and silver foxes. There is brief mention of forerunners before the conversation ends abruptly. The remainder of the tape consists of Queenie reading several of her journal entries from years ago, and a very brief conversation with Bob about how farming changed in 1952.

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.