Gertrude Daley, fondly known as Mrs. Gertie has lived in St. Joseph's, St. Mary's Bay for 43 years. She taught school from 1947-1958 and was a postal worker from 1958 to 1988. Her current interests are reading, local history and Bible studies.

LUCY AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE

My Irish ancestors, when they emigrated to Newfoundland, brought with them two strong traditions – one was their staunch Catholic faith, and the other was their equally strong belief in fairies or "Little People" as they called them. Both traditions played a part in this story which was passed down to me by my grandmother, Bridget.

This event happened in the fall of 1869, just four months after Bridget came to St. Joseph's as a bride of twenty. Her sister Lucy was visiting her and was spending time with her Uncle Bill's daughters, Winnie and Mary Curtis.

One evening the three girls were walking, arms linked, with Lucy in the middle. They had gone half way up the dark, tree-lined lane that led to Uncle Bill's house when they felt a strong gust of wind. Lucy was torn from their arms and disappeared. Winnie and Mary ran screaming into their father's house and between gasps and sobs managed to tell what had happened. Uncle Bill rushed to the open fireplace, snatched up a burning stick of wood and ran outdoors. He circled the house three times, calling on the Holy Trinity each time. Then he flung away the stick and to tell it in his own words, "Lucy flew back into my arms".

What had happened or where she had been, Lucy didn't know. The last thing she remembered was walking up the lane. In fact, she never liked to talk about the incident. Her cousins, however, had no such reticence. When Winnie was an old lady, she often asked us, "Did I ever tell you about the time that the fairies took Lucy?"

In case you are wondering – Lucy grew up, met and married a businessman in the city, raised a family and lived to a ripe old age.