In Our Words Canadians Reading Together

Modern Day Lady Who Lives In A Shoe

BONNIE STATES

In a small town in Digby, lives this lady who is raising a child of her own and six of her nieces and nephews. She is a single parent and has been doing this for twelve years now, with only two income sources, Social assistance and Family Allowance.

She was born in a little town, Windsor Hants County, Nova Scotia. Her name is Betsy Jane. She had an older brother and sister and when she was two years old her parents moved to another small and very secluded area in Weymouth Falls. It was an all black community; she was African Canadian. Betsy lived and went to school in Weymouth until she reached the age of nine, by then she was the third oldest, and all close in age.

At the age of nine Betsy and her family had moved to Digby. Betsy’s oldest brother had run away at an early age and her father left when Betsy was about five years old. Betsy’s mother raised them alone. So being brought up in a large family, they learned to go without things that everyone else was getting, like a new bike, brand new shoes or clothes, or sometimes just a treat from the store. Betsy and her brothers and sisters didn’t understand too much at the time as to why they couldn’t have some of these things, even though their mother explained it to them.