If you were very sick, the first person you called was the priest. He'd come and anoint you. I remember people would be very upset if a person died before the priest got there to do the anointment. He often told people that if he got there fifteen minutes after the person died he could give absolution. After that, he could only do the blessing. People had great faith in the priest then. If you needed a will signed or help to sort out complicated papers, he'd help or the postmaster would either. The priest was stationed at St. Joseph's then. He only said two or three masses a year in North Harbour and you'd try and have a baby christened while he was there. Other than that, you'd have to go to him in a boat. He'd usually come in the Fall and again in the Spring. There was no parish in Mt. Carmel early on. There was a church at O'Donnell's, but there was no Blessed Sacrament there. We used to walk to Church in St. Joseph's. When I was really young, the priest would say Mass in the school in O'Donnell's. He'd visit the schools and when you were preparing for First Communion or Penance you had to know the Catechism from cover to cover.

Later when Mt. Carmel had a parish there would be two masses there on Sunday mornings – one at 8:00 and another at 10:00 a.m. I remember the Wall family (Mr. Joe Wall's father) from Harricott were great churchgoers. Father Slattery told me that his mother would often call him on Sunday morning and say, "Father, get up, the Walls are gone into the Church". That was her clock. They were always 15 or 20 minutes early, after walking from Harricott. That would give the priest time to get up and wash and go over to the Church. He didn't eat breakfast, of course, because you had to fast.

When I came to North Harbour teaching over 60 years ago, I used to have Rosary in the Church on Sunday mornings. Everyone in the place would come, all dressed up, just like they were going to Mass. There were no Nuptial masses back then. You only had the marriage ceremony. Mr. Steve Marrie's daughter had the first Nuptial mass and I had the next one. If you were pregnant and getting married, you couldn't stand in front of the altar before the Blessed Sacrament. You'd probably go in the Sacristry.

CONSTABLES

The constables were the law enforcement. One constable had one big area from Admiral's Beach and Colinet Island right up through Salmonier and over to John's Pond. I remember one of the first was a Constable King. I would be only three or four years old then. You didn't see the constables a lot. If people were suspected of smuggling liquor from St. Pierre or they got a report that someone was making moonshine, they'd come around and search the houses. Of course, if word got out that he was coming, the moonshine or liquor would be hid in the woods somewhere. The constable was stationed in St. Joseph's. Constable Nugent came next. He had a family. Sergeant Power was the last one I remember.

THE LIFE OF A POSTMASTER

My life as a wife and mother of nine children has been very rewarding. My tasks were many and varied. One of the duties I found required much dedication and lots of tact in dealing with the public was the position of Postmaster which I performed for forty years.