INFORMATION

Clip Title: "Making fish and taking care of children."
Length: 103 sec.
Credit: Laura Whiffen
Year: 1994

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TRANSCRIPT

Mark Ferguson:  ...and your mother would help him I guess?

Laura Whiffen:  Oh yes, she'd do the fish, and salt the fish ... oh she was the salter, yeah, salt the fish...

MF:  ... were there any other women working with her besides?

LW:  Yes after a while there was a couple women -- Fisher [surname] woman- women. Yes, a couple of women used to carry up the fish on the flake -- and she used to mind the little children for -- if they had children. And she used to sit the little children on the flake, our mother- their mother and Mom used to spread the fish and minded the children there on the flake ... while she was there, see, she'd- they'd bring the fish up and the child- they'd sit the child down on cloths, with cloths or blankets over them. They'd sit the child down and give him something to play with and Mom'd have an eye to the child and spread the fish -- that's what she'd do! Yeah.

MF:  How high was that flake?

LW:   Oh twas high! I wouldn't be able to say how high it was but it was higher [prev. word unclear?] than the length of us -- how high would that be?

MF:  6 or 7 feet

LW:  Yes, right boy... we'd get in under there when 'im [unclear] warm, when it would be too warm and we'd come down off the flake and we get in under the flake and sit down cause the shade ... real hot see?

INFORMATION

Clip Title: "Babysitting toddlers on the flakes."
Length: 34 sec.
Credit: Laura Whiffen
Year: 1994

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TRANSCRIPT

Laura Whiffen   The little toddlers, they have a butt -- that high, la ... she'd bring them in -- and it was a clean one, you know, and put them in in that butt. And they'd give them play things -- they'd play there -- they was quiet little children -- those was.... and they'd play there in that tub til they'd get the fish done and then they'd carry them up ... but they had only one [child]...

Mark Ferguson:  Did you ever get put in a tub like that?

LW:  No, I s'pose I don't think I was cause Mam had a servant girl -- they never had no servant girls -- for we.... they'd be watching we see?

INFORMATION

Clip Title: "Landing at a stage in rough seas."
Length: 58 sec.
Credit: Laura Whiffen
Year: 1994

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Laura Whiffen:  Poor Lizzie was the next...

But she fell down, up on the flake, tell you what- how it caused her death.

Now Pap used to go out in seas -- he didn't mind the seas, he'd stay out -- when he'd be out on the water he'd stay out -- and Mam'd be watching for Pap, be the last one come in and there'd be seas in the gulch and they'd be frightened to death Mam would -- Mam had to go and get a crowd then -- the women to haul up Pap see? [MF: Really.] Come in? [MF: Women would come-?] WOMEN would come down ... used to haul them up -- and some men too would be there.

So uh, now this day, Pap was waiting for the sea to go back -- that's what they used to do -- wait for the sea to go back -- to get out. Well Pap went out before the sea went back see? And there was seas in the gulch and Poor Lizzie was up on the flake -- and Mom -- carrying out fish, carrying across fish and there was longers on the flake, see longers, you know, those big round longers... so they'd move, you know, if you wouldn't watch it, and Poor Lizzie was looking at Pap going out in the sea and Mam was looking at Pap, and she fell down through the flake.

Well she didn't break her [unclear word] the doctor said, but she worse than broke, worse than broke. She never got out no more for over a year. (She died of her injuries a few years after the accident.)

INFORMATION

Clip Title: "Protecting fish from the rain -- women's work."
Length: 106 sec.
Credit: Laura Whiffen, Doug Whiffen
Year: 1994

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TRANSCRIPT

Doug Whiffen:   Mom and them get it out of the rain, or any- if they did get some rain, like I said, it didn't rain that much as, and if you got your rain they were- [LW: You'd double it up] run and double their fish.

Laura Whiffen:   Double up our fish on the flake. [MF: oh-] You know, put two in two and three, like that [makes gesture] [DW: yeah]

Mark Ferguson:   The water-horse fish you're talking about?

LW/DW:   Yeah, yeah, yeah right

MF:   If there was a dwigh or whatever... [LW: Yes, yeah]

DW:   Yeah, if it was a little bit on the dry side eh.

LW:   My. Poor Mom. Pap would eat- Pap would be eating his dinner, he wouldn't go. [DW: No.] He'd- boy- he eats his dinner: ``I won't go!'' ``Why don't you go get the fish Joe?'' or like that [prev 3 words unclear] Mam'd run and take up the fish [MF: Oh, ok] But he wouldn't.

MF:   [interrupting one more time] And she would double it up [LW: yes] just if there was a shower

LW:   Yeah, so fish wouldn't get it on the face, yeah [MF: [under prev. sentence of LW] He- he couldn't be bothered, but she was more whatever about it] Yeah, yes, right.

DW:   She didn't want no rain on the fish eh, but rain didn't hurt fish-- rain, them summers it didn't hurt fish because, well, in lots of cases, it was only a shower [MF: mm-hmm]. You never got much rain them years. [MF: mm-hmm -- So] When we [prev. 2 words unclear] was boys we wouldn't bother to touch it.

MF:   Did Mrs. Whiffen do the same thing if there was a rain-

LW:   Yes, do the same thing

MF:   She'd run out and double up her fish

LW:   Double up our fish.

MF:   So you'd go out with her would you?

LW:   Yes, oh yes, [MF: Right] [unclear words]... we had to.

MF:   She was careful eh?

LW:   Oh she was -- I'll tell you -- over fish -- she was careful over fish at one time [prev 3 words unclear]

DW:   But didn't them always made good fish, didn't they Mom?

INFORMATION

Clip Title: "Moving down on Cape Bonavista for the fishing  season."
Length: 22 sec.
Credit: Laura Whiffen
Year: 1994

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Laura Whiffen:  We'd go down in the spring of the year, bout ah, May month we'd go down. Stay down there sometimes til Bonfire Night in November. Because we used to go to school over... we called it Windlass now, on the bank, over there by -- Pat had a great big garden ... the school was near the garden ... beautiful school.