MY LIFE IN VANCEBORO

My parents are Garnet & Pearl Smith. My dad was born in Vanceboro and mom was from St David’s Ridge, New Brunswick. I was the 7th out of 10 children. There was Dottie, Bill, Carl, Paul, David and Bruce before me. Bruce only lived for 3 days. The doctor told mom not to have any more kids and Dad agreed, but not Mom. She said she couldn’t take losing Bruce and decided she wanted another. And just how could she have another when Dad said no? Well she tricked him! (Something about a pinhole from what my brother, Bill, told me years later!! Haha)

The day came and Dad dropped mom off at the hospital and drove back to Vanceboro. He stopped into the store and someone asked why he was back because mom had the baby. Another boy, no problem! Oh no, she had a girl. Dad jumped back into his truck and headed back to the hospital all excited that he had another girl. Walks into mom’s room with a bouquet of flowers. Mom takes one look and asks what he’s so excited about. He said we had a girl, that’s what!! Well, someone must be giving you the wrong information. Who were you talking to anyway? Dad quietly sat down in the chair and dropped the flowers on the floor. Mom yells out “APRIL FOOL’S!!” Yup I was born on April 1st. After me, mom had Jeannie, Kenny and Donna.

My grandmother, Julia Smith lived right next door. Loved to run through the garden to visit her. She would always have me comb her hair as she sat and looked out the window. Always had a nice fresh piece of fruit for me. She had a small black leather rocking chair I use to love sitting in and listening to her play the piano.

We lived across the street from “Fuzzy” and Chrissy Beers. Jimmy was my best friend. I loved visiting his house. His mom always gave us the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. We use to hammer nails into the floor of the shed. They said it was good coordination for him. My sister Jeannie wanted to play with us one day and Jimmy said no and told her to go home. She sat down anyway. Seconds later, bamm and Jeannie was running home crying with blood running down her face. Hit with the hammer. My brothers would ask Jimmy if he had a girlfriend and he said “yup” Brenda. Then he would give me a big hug. It is a special memory.

I remember collecting bottles and taking them to the store to get candy. A nice man from town would stop at the house and tell mom where he hid bottles at the boat landing for me. I remember him also stopping in one time with a bag of clothes that his daughter grew out of. I was so excited.

I played outside with my brothers and their friends a lot. Games like Red Rover and King of the Hill in the winter. I would watch them play baseball in my grandmother’s backyard a lot. I remember watching them climb into the hay loft and jumping down into the snow. Ricky Nason lived across the street from my grandmother. He hung around with my brothers. At my brother Carl’s funeral he said he could always tell when mom was cooking bread. He would always show up at our house. Dottie would take us up to the boat landing to go swimming. I never did learn how to swim but I remember Dottie and David swimming across to the other side.

Dad was gone a lot, working in the woods. Sometimes my brothers would work with him. I remember watching mom splitting wood to keep the house warm and chipping at the ice in the well enough to drop a bucket down for water. I too remember the surplus food truck coming to town. And, yes I loved that cheese. I remember my brothers yelling for us to come into the barn, only to be squirted with milk. We had a couple of work horses, cows, pony and pigs. Mom always told Dad that he loved the animals more because he was always in the barn. Ten kids, mom!! Don’t think so.

When Clarence Monk was building his new store my brother, David helped him. David would push wheelbarrows of cement to help make the foundation. After he opened, David still helped him. On my birthday I had a quarter and went into the store to get some candy to share with my friends at school. Clarence wouldn’t take my money. He then picked up a big bag of candy and said David told him to give it to me. I was so excited. Little things mean a lot.

I use to walk to the post office by myself. Mrs. Keef was so nice to me. One day she asked if I would like to sleep over. Mom went to the hospital to have Donna and they thought it would be easier on my sister Dottie if I stayed with them. They were so nice to me. Bought me new clothes and got me all dressed up to take me to Fredericton to see mom. I remember when Mr. Keef died. My brother told me I must’ve scared him to death because I had just learned to make those things with a bobby pin and an elastic band. I wound it up, put it in an envelope and gave it to him. He jumped two feet I think.

Not long after Donna was born we moved across the street from Bill Keef, between Farnham and Mills. I loved walking up and visiting Aunt Stella and Uncle Chet Kaine. Uncle Chet made the best molasses cookies ever. I would love it when Aunt Stella would play the piano and sing. Aunt Stell was part of the choir at church. My last birthday in Vanceboro I turned 10. Aunt Stell made a cake so I could take it to school and share with the kids.

Mom would always send us to Sunday school. I can’t remember her going to church though. I remember going to church to practice for the Christmas program. I was asked to sing a solo. (Oh my) The kids were teasing me all the way home and throwing snowballs at me. My brother Carl came along and asked what was going on. He followed them throwing snowballs at them and telling them not to mess with his sister. He must’ve been a bad shot because not one kid got hit.

Dad was living in Connecticut with his sister for awhile to find a good job and a house for us. My brothers helped my mom a lot. They would shovel snow, work in the woods and whatever they could do to help mom. Dottie was like a second mother. She said she always had a kid on each hip. She couldn’t wait for the weekend to go across the border to the dances.

Dottie graduated in 1965. Dad’s brother Frank came to Vanceboro to help dad move us to Connecticut. Dottie said she felt like we were the “Beverly Hillbillies” moving to Connecticut with the truck all loaded down.

Even though times were really hard, we all worked together to make a life that we can look back on and cherish.