February, 1970

It would become a question that would be asked for years. Why would our parents plan a move in the middle of an east coast winter? It was often noted that my father could have started his job and a few months later, after school was out and the weather was more agreeable the rest of his family could join him. Whether it was my father not wanting to be away from his family for that long or my mother not wanting her husband left alone for months is not known.

Most of the house has been packed up and sent on ahead and would be waiting for us. Items of furniture, deemed too large or unnecessary for the new house, sat in various rooms: abandoned for the sake of space. Three of my older siblings had left a week earlier to stay with my grandparents in Bay Roche. Sharon, Debrah and Ben were getting transferred to a new school there (a school that was considerably different from the modern one they were used to). Mary, Matthew and I would be going by car in a couple of days. Going by boat would have been preferred but they did not run the steamer service in the winter months. The journey by car would be long and tiresome over some rough rural roads. We would drive to a small town close to Bay Roche and take a ferry from there. The car, having recently been repaired, would be put in storage and used infrequently for the next few years.

It was a Saturday morning in late February when the rest of us finally left the house. Outside the car was packed and ready for the 16 hour drive. Prior to leaving the house behind, my mother busied herself by sweeping each and every room. My father shut off the water and drained the pipes. My mother, having swept up the last piece of visible dirt, picked up Matthew, and took me and my sister out to the car where our neighbours, and my mother’s best friend, were waiting to say good bye. Inside, my father pulled the main switch on the fuse box, shutting off the electricity. A few minutes later he stepped out of the front door, locking it behind him. Te big old house was vacated - empty and quiet - for the first time in 100 years.

Hit from February, 1970
War by Edwin Starr