Annie Bonia has lived in Colinet all her life. But what an interesting life, with some Unusual jobs! She says she worked hard her whole life, so now at 93 she's enjoying life and doing things she likes, such as knitting, playing cards, darts and dancing.

A NUMBER OF FIRSTS

When I was 16 years old I went to Byrne's in Placentia to babysit. I only did this for a few months. Then I went to Phipphard's Hotel (located in Southeast Placentia) where I was housekeeper for five years. We would get up at 5 o'clock to start breakfast for everyone. We'd have to wash dishes, scrub floors. We would already have brought water and heated it, then filled up all the basins. When everyone was finished washing themselves, they'd dump it in the pails, then we'd have to dump the pails. We'd heat water on the old stove and wash everything by hand on the scrubbing board. I mean everything from facecloths to tablecloths to bed clothes. There was no second set of sheets or tablecloths then. When everything was washed, we'd hang it out to dry and fix all the beds again. We were making $10.00 a month then.

I worked for the Crosbie's (John Crosbie's parents). There you'd get paid 10¢ an article for washing - this was from a facecloth to a quilt - everything was worth 10¢. I was the first woman in Colinet to have a car. I bought an old Model T from Hughie Simmons' and I started bringing children to Whitbourne to the doctor from Colinet and Salmonier. Youngsters with bad teeth or bad tonsils - that kind of stuff. I'd get 10¢ a mile from the Government for this. I also drove the Foresters(1) where they needed to go. Next I took over the mail run. I'd pick it up in Salmonier – up to the head (St. Catherine's) drop it off along the way in Salmonier, Harricott and to Didham's in Colinet, then on to Whitbourne and back. I'd do this mail run twice a week for $40.00 a month. If I got a flat, I'd take off the tire and stuff it with boughs and moss till I got home to fix it. I was still single then. I was also looking after mother. Dad had died in 1921. My brother Jim was in the police force and he'd help me out. I don't know what I'd do without him. He died at 32 – the horse kicked him. My sister Mary was a nurse and she died when she was 27. I had one other brother, Pad, and he lived here in Colinet.