Interview with Joan Margel (née Bayers) 2.5

Partial Transcript: 1. Did you celebrate Halloween? How?
2. Comments about mushroom or berry-picking.
3. What kind of superstitions did people have?

Segment Synopsis: Joan talks about having a lot of company growing up, because her father did not like to get up in the morning. She talks about her mother's interior decorations and furniture, and describes her mother as a rebel. She says that other local women taught her mother traditional things. They talk about Halloween, and Joan says it was not celebrated across the creek, but it was a big event in town. She says they used to tip toilets and collect money for causes. She says there were no candies, only apples. Joan talks about trick or treating. They talk about using a pillow case for trick or treating, mushroom picking, and berry picking. She says people also used shirts and table cloths as bags. Joan says she heard about ghosts and goblins in town, and says that people like her mother were very superstitious. She talks about some of her mother's superstitions, and tells stories of how they impacted her. The superstitions were about forgetting things, storms, sewing, food, work, and the dead.

Partial Transcript: 1. Comments about gossiping and storytelling.
2. Comments about generosity and hospitality of people in the Rycroft community.
3. Did you celebrate birthdays? How?
4. Comments about children’s piggy-banks, spending pocket money and treats for children.

Segment Synopsis: Joan says that her mother did not like gossiping, but she would tell stories. She says that her mother had a rule that in her house, people did not talk about politics or religion, because it caused dissension. She talks more about storytelling, and tells a story about an experience following her mother's death. Joan says that her mother always helped others. She says they had a rooming house where students stayed, and she tells a story about one of the people who stayed there. She talks more about her mother's generosity and life philosophy, and the ways that it has shaped her. Joan says that this way of life is part of the Rycroft culture. They talk about birthdays, and Joan recounts a memory of one of her birthdays. She doesn't remember any birthdays out in the country, but her mother always made a cake. Her mother would boil coins and put it in the cake as a surprise. Joan says that piggy banks were important, but across the creek wasn't a money culture. She compares this to Indigenous people signing treaties for money. She says that there was nothing to buy in town because of the war, but after the war they could buy chocolate bars and mints. Joan talks about sugar consumption in Britain, and says that candy was more important for British children than Ukrainian children. She says that guests brought a treat over when they were visiting a home with children. They talk about the interviewer's experience with candy.

Partial Transcript: 1. Comments about children vaccinations and removal of tonsils.
2. Comments about Spirit River hospital.
3. Comments about home remedies and most common diseases.

Segment Synopsis: Joan talks about the lack of doctors out across the creek. She says that a doctor would come in and vaccinate the children against diphtheria and smallpox. There was also a rural nurse. Joan shares a memory of a doctor coming into her school once to give everyone shots. When parents heard, they would bring their small children, and the shots were free. She says that doctors and nurses would go from one rural school to another, taking tonsils and adenoids out. She says that mothers would take their children to Blueberry Mountain before telling them that they were having their tonsils removed. She talks more about those medical procedures. She says that Spirit River had a little hospital. She tells a story about an injured man, and talks about some of the remedies that were used to treat illness and injury. Joan talks about her mother's home sickness remedies, and specifically talks about her mother treating boils.