The Victoria Community Development Corporation
Samuel Burke

"Surgery was done at home - even taking out an appendix!"

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I had four sisters and six brothers. There were 12 of us altogether counting Mother and Father. My parents were Albert and Martha (Parsons). My grandparent were Samuel and Mary-Ann Burke. My other grandparents were Robert and Elizabeth Parsons.

Back then the women had more leadership than the men. The grandparents played a big part in the family. They helped raise the children.

The house I grew up in was located on the land that I live on now. The house was an old two-story house with four bedrooms upstairs. That house burned down. We used lamps for lights and we would carry water in buckets into the house. We had a radio with a horn-shaped speaker.

We would have to get the wood for the store and everyone picked up and helped do the chores. We planted cabbage, potatoes and turnip. We also kept goats and cows.

In my spare time, I played cricket and tiddly. I didn't have any musical instruments. We went to church and they organized Sunday School picnics and garden parties. There were some community organizations such as the Orange Lodge and the Young Britons.

We celebrated birthdays and Easter. During Christmas, we would get gifts and have a Christmas tree. We would also get oranges and it was wonderful thing to receive. There was lots of mummering, but you were only allowed in the kitchen. We would get syrup, cake and whiskey. The mummers would have a mouth organ and a guitar.

I attended the United Church School which was a big building with a class population of 20 to 30 people in a room. Some students would bring wood or coal to school for the fire. We would also have to take coco malt - this is similar to hot chocolate and was supplied by the government for nutrition in the schools. In the lower grades people used chalk and a slate. In the higher grades people used pencils and scribblers.

I worked at CN at bridges and buildings from Port aux Basques to St. John's. I was foreman for 22 years. My father also worked for CN. My wife, Frances, looked after the children.

Everywhere we went we usually had to walk. There were no cars only horse and cart. For funerals, Noel's would use a horse and cart or a horse and slide. There was no pavement. After I started working with CN, I had a pass that I could use to ride on any form of CN transportation.

There was a doctor in Carbonear, Dr. Stanford. Then Dr. Kennedy came. When women went into labour they would call for the midwife. Some midwives that were around here Aunt Sophie Clarke and Aunt Lou Burke. Years ago surgery was done at home. Even the taking out of an appendix. Some home remedies included hot toddies, kerosene, molasses and butter boiled together for the flu.

Click here for a PDF version of Victoria: Recalling Our Heritage.

Stories

Click Below for each story.
Power Plant | Victoria's Birth | Prison Camp | Midwifery

Special Memories

Click below for each memory
Josh Antle | Eva Ash | Samuel Burke | Doris Clarke | Ester Clarke | James Clarke
John Clarke | Nathaniel Clarke | Reg and Emmie Clarke | Roy Clarke
Beulah Cole | Mark Cole | Steve Cole | Clarence Collins | Nina Curnew
James Dean | Helen Higdon | Leonard Inniss | Fanny Inniss | Millie Langer | Virda Layden
Hazel Peckham | Violet Parsons | Norman Penney | Rosalie Penney | Harold Priddle
George Snooks | Sarah Snow | Jean Stephenson | William Stephenson
Lillian Vaters | Maxine Vaters | Annie Whyte | Cyril Whyte