We will never know all the details of what happened to the family in Howley. But their story shows how tragedy could happen in Newfoundland at a time when poverty was widespread, and help hard to come by.

The problem of medical care was not a new one. It was hard to get medical care in many small places, even harder if you had no money. A person could not go to a hospital on his or her own. A memo sent to the Commission of Government in August, 1935 tells of the problem of getting medical help in Harbour Buffett:

...no one could get to the hospital without a medical certificate. The people cannot get it. They have not a cent with which to pay the Doctor.¹⁹

It's an Ill Wind that Blows no Good

By the late 1930s, the Great Depression had begun to lift in some parts of the world. But, in Newfoundland, things were not getting better. The number of people on relief would go down for a while, then rise again when work was scarce or pay was poor. Fish prices improved a little, but not enough to make the kind of changes needed. Work in the woods was scarce.

But perhaps the worst thing was that the Depression had now gone on for so many years. After such a long time, many people had lost hope that things would get better. And many people were getting more and more angry. There were protests and threats of violence. The Government feared that law and order would break down. It prepared a report to identify where trouble might break out.²⁰ The police waited. While they waited, they kept track of those who might be trouble-makers. Reports continued to tell people in Britain how bad things were in Newfoundland. It seemed that tension was still building.