Mary Hickey was born in Lawn, grew up in Placentia and moved to O'Donnell's, St. Mary's Bay when she
got married. She had 17 children and tells a very interesting and heart-warming Mary (Lambe) Hickey story about her life experiences.

HARDSHIPS AND BLESSINGS

I was born in Lawn, Placentia Bay on November 16, 1923. On the 18th of November, in 1929, a day I have never forgotten, we had a tidal wave. At 5:00 in the evening everything started to darken and the earth started trembling. Boats started heaving, water came up over houses and they washed away.

At that time, my mother was pregnant. Dad went out to try and secure his boat and bring her up further in the harbour. When Mom looked out the window she couldn't see Dad, so she started to fuss and got very upset and we all started crying. She got so upset she went into early labour and lost her baby and she died herself from childbirth. That was a real tragedy for me at age six and for the rest of my family.

After this, Dad was left alone with six of us kids. So my grandmother (Mom's mother) from Placentia came to Lawn and when she was leaving to go home, I went with her. And that's where I stayed til the day I was married. My Dad did marry again, so we had a stepmother, but I never lived with them.

I went to school in Placentia and after I finished I started babysitting. It was at this time I met and married Alex Hickey and moved to O'Donnell's. I had 17 children – two died very young. I raised 15 of them and I'm proud of that. My husband died when I was only 42 and I was left with the family, from ages 5 months to 23 years.

Raising a large family wasn't easy at that time – by yourself. But the older ones, as they got jobs, helped the younger ones. Whatever they could give to one another, they did it. We had cows and sheep and a horse and we raised our own vegetables. I used to make a lot of their clothing. I'd often turn a coat inside out to make it good on one side for the girls. I did all my own baking and knitting. I often carded and spun my own wool to knit the children socks, mitts and caps. I made my own quilts and kept them warm – covering them up and I'd watch them all night long. Andy was 5 months old when his dad died. He had asthma, so at night I used to wrap him up in a blanket I warmed up on the oven door, because we had no electric heat. I'd put a quilt on the floor so my feet wouldn't get cold and I'd walk the floor with him across my shoulder.