Community Orchard/Verger Communautaire
The former Mounce Mansions were once surrounded by orchards, wild berries and grape vines that were planted well over a century ago, and in later years were cared for by Bill Webb, until his passing in 1977. Over time the orchard went wild and was subdivided, now belonging to many property owners in the community. Today one portion known as the Verger Communautaire or Community Orchard remains nearly intact and is lovingly cared for by Bob Miller, with the help of many volunteers.
In the summer of 2021 we invited Carolyn Mae Connors, daughter of Orchardist, Bill Webb, to join us and share any memories she had of the orchard and Thomas Mounce. Here is a transcription of the interview recorded on July 21st, 2021, in the Lydia and Sally Cafe.
In the summer of 2021 we invited Carolyn Mae Connors, daughter of Orchardist, Bill Webb, to join us and share any memories she had of the orchard and Thomas Mounce. Here is a transcription of the interview recorded on July 21st, 2021, in the Lydia and Sally Cafe.
Carolyn Connors
Well yeah I might not remember too much. Like, I mean I lived there for 50 years, my poor father worked his… nevermind… heart out.
Tacha Reed
So, last year, Jeff and Lynn (Connors) donated a box of, a few boxes, that I guess were Paul's (Webb), and it was stuff that came from the Mounce house that would have belonged to Thomas (Mounce). So quite a few books on agriculture, on the different varieties of the fruiting trees and stuff like that, so now we're going through some of that material.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yep.
Tacha Reed
And then a few years ago, Ken Mounce, when he was getting ready to sell the house, he also gave us a few boxes.
Carolyn Conors
Ooooo…
Tacha Reed
So there's some old photos like of Annie Mounce…
Carolyjn Connors
Yep, yeah.
Tacha Reed
When she was in Saranac New York, when she was trying to get better. There's a couple of log books that were used and turned into scrapbooks, so lots of cooking recipes, and then…
Carolyn Connors
Really?
Tacha Reed
Lots of bills of sales between different peoples. So Carolyn (vanGurp) was just organizing those the other day and we're going to get that scanned in, but our goal is for next year to have an improved display for the Mounce family.
Carolyn Connors
Oh, okay, good.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, so seeing as…
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, because it sure doesn't look like the Mounce family anymore now.
Tacha Reed
No. (Laughing) So I figured where you actually grew up in the house where the orchard is now, and your father was the caretaker, that you're probably the best person to go to to find out…
Well yeah I might not remember too much. Like, I mean I lived there for 50 years, my poor father worked his… nevermind… heart out.
Tacha Reed
So, last year, Jeff and Lynn (Connors) donated a box of, a few boxes, that I guess were Paul's (Webb), and it was stuff that came from the Mounce house that would have belonged to Thomas (Mounce). So quite a few books on agriculture, on the different varieties of the fruiting trees and stuff like that, so now we're going through some of that material.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yep.
Tacha Reed
And then a few years ago, Ken Mounce, when he was getting ready to sell the house, he also gave us a few boxes.
Carolyn Conors
Ooooo…
Tacha Reed
So there's some old photos like of Annie Mounce…
Carolyjn Connors
Yep, yeah.
Tacha Reed
When she was in Saranac New York, when she was trying to get better. There's a couple of log books that were used and turned into scrapbooks, so lots of cooking recipes, and then…
Carolyn Connors
Really?
Tacha Reed
Lots of bills of sales between different peoples. So Carolyn (vanGurp) was just organizing those the other day and we're going to get that scanned in, but our goal is for next year to have an improved display for the Mounce family.
Carolyn Connors
Oh, okay, good.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, so seeing as…
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, because it sure doesn't look like the Mounce family anymore now.
Tacha Reed
No. (Laughing) So I figured where you actually grew up in the house where the orchard is now, and your father was the caretaker, that you're probably the best person to go to to find out…
Construction of the Honeymoon house 1909, orchard visible on the right.
Annie Mosher Mounce & Thomas Mounce, 1909.
Tacha Reed
So, what year, remind me, what year was it that your family moved in?
Carolyn Connors
We moved in 1949, the fall.
Tacha Reed
And that was that when your father was first hired by Thomas?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, that was when he was first hired.
Tacha Reed
And what was his official job, your father? Was your father's name Bill?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. Bill Webb. When they- They always gave an official job as an orchardist, he didn't have any kind of a degree or anything like that, but I'll tell you he learned on his, on his journey, let me tell you, and at the end before he passed away he was doing mostly organic. I say organic. He didn't spray pesticides and stuff, but he still had to spray, I think fungicide, I'm not sure but he had to spray something for that because… but he didn't spray for the pesticides and stuff like that. So he was sort of organic. He called himself organic.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors.
But I don't know whether it was completely organic or not.
Tacha Reed
So how old would you have been when he moved into that house?
Carolyn Connors
Five.
Tacha Reed
Five. Okay.
Carolyn Connors
I was five years old. April we moved there… I think it was in November. I think November, I hadn't started school until January, that was the first time I went to school.
Tacha Reed
So all the trees that are around what is now Bob Miller's house, those are the younger trees, is that correct, would those be the trees your father planted?
Carolyn Connors
Let me see, he planted… Trying to remember. He planted an orchard through in Belmont by Garnet Lake’s. But that was just before he died, a couple of years before he died, so it didn't do anything and now it's all grown up. But he planted- Like some of the trees were still old, but anything that died, he put new trees. Bob has pruned them and groomed them till they're smaller.
Tacha Reed
Right.
Carolyn Connors
Because they were bigger trees, but some of them are new. Up where the house is, he had planted some in the back part, but they're all, you know, gone now.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
I was up the other day. Actually I was gonna sneak up to the cherry orchard. (Laughing) I couldn't get over their driveway because it was too much of a hump…
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn connors
And I had to drive right up the house and I felt like a fool. But anyway, I got up there and Glen (Abernethy) came out and was chatting and I told him I was trying to sneak into the cherry orchard. (Laughing) But when I looked, he said he's gonna plant some trees and stuff because they're all gone and there was pear trees there, and they had pear trees there, and plum, they had plum trees, there nothing hardly there now.
Tacha Reed
Oh, okay.
Carolyn connors
Yeah, there was a lot, and they used to have raspberries, and we had, you-pick raspberries, it actually was “you-pick” and “us-pick”. Picked a lot of raspberries
Tacha Reed
So was your father responsible for picking all the fruit himself?
Carolyn Connors
Well, yeah, he hired.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah, I was one of them too. (laughing)
Tacha Reed
And was that shipped away somewhere, or?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah. One of the garages up there was a packing house, and we worked up there, packing apples during the fall and, well, during the winter some. It was like a cold storage, but it wasn't, it wasn't real cold but you know it wasn't like... like they had a fan that kept some of the cold, freezing, freezing cold out, but we used to pack - paaaack. They went to England, a lot of them went to England. Yeah, and it was- Yeah, long standing,9laughing) long standing days. I was kind of lucky though, because my dad would say, “Okay, you can go home now.”
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn connors
So I could cook dinner. (laughing)
Tacha Reed
So do you know, by chance, how many different varieties of apples are in that orchard?
Carolyn Connors
Oh my gracious. Oh man, Moses. We had a lot of McIntosh, a lot of Cortland, Russet trees, they're all gone. Courtland- Courtland might be- No there’s none of them neither. Well, Bob, Bob might have Courtlands and McIntoshes. We had Melbas we had Spys… Golden Delicious, Red Delicious. Let me think… what was down there? I think there was a couple of trees of Bishops Pippins, but we didn't have many of them. Few trees of Astrachan, real early, early apples, that's when you eat green apples. Oh green apples, with salt.
Tacha Reed
Wow, I've never heard that before.
Carolyn Connors
Never had green apples and salt?
Tacha Reed
No.
James D Greene
I have not tried it, but I can, thinking of the flavours, I can see it.
Carolyn Connors
I wouldn't dare eat it now because like, not supposed to have salt, like that. But, oh, I might have one in the fall. Let me think… what was down? Then we had the whole cherry orchard. Don't ask me what kind they were, because there was red, dark red, and there was yellow. And, and that was- That was, that was an ordeal. Try to keep the birds away.
Tacha Reed
Oh yeah.
Carolyn Connors
And the raccoons.! We used to have to go up there in the night and holler, clap. Play the radio. Oh, try to keep enough cherries for people to come to pick.
Tacha Reed
So was it a you-pick for the cherries?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, he had a you-pick for the cherries. Yeah.
Tacha Reed
So when was the time period for that have been? Do you know?
Carolyn Connors
Right now.
Tacha Reed
No, I mean like when he operated the you-pick?
Carolyn Connors
We were there for a while before he did that, because we used to have to pick cherries. With stems on. Couldn't pick them with stems off.
Tahca Reed
Oh really, they had to have the stems?
Carolyn Connors
Stems had to be on.
Tacha Reed
Does that make them last longer?
Carolyn Connors
Yep, yeah. And we used to hire people to pick cherries, and we- Used to- The stores and Windsor, that was Dominion, SaveEasy, IGA, used to have those three stores in town. And we peddled them, along with the apples.
Tacha Reed
OK.
Carolyhn Connors
We peddled. Yeah, that was, that was, that was a lot of work.
Tacha Reed
I bet.
Carolyn Connors
Yep. The old truck, go down Sackville, Halifax, all them places. Peddle these apples and baskets. Holy crap. Yeah, yeah, yeah it was a lot of work. I don't know how… Dad, He worked hard, holy crap he did, yeah. He worked really hard. And I'll tell you that apples, like back then, were beautiful, beautiful.
Tacha Reed
So was Thomas himself very involved?
Carolyn Connors
No, no. He was there. And of course Dad stayed up with him a lot. And he, I mean, he pretty well- He’d go up there after supper at night, stay there all night and come down the road. Seven o'clock in the morning. Okay, yeah.
Tacha Reed
Do you remember much of Thomas?
Carolyn Connors
Not- I mean, I remember Tom, but not a whole lot. Because I was young, I had kids too, looking after kids, and stuff then, but I mean, when I was growing up he was just there, we just knew him of course, and we used to go up there and watch television, because nobody had television except Tom. So we'd all end up there, go watch television. Until Gordon Bryson (had a) television through Belmont. And we used to walk clean to Gordon Bryson’s place and that's almost where I live. Up where.. oh, my good land of Moses... is Chris- Chris Turnbull’s.
Tacha Reed
Okay. And Cindy.
Carolyn Connors
Lost her name. Yeah up there.
Tacha Reed
That was his house, same house? Okay.
Carolyn Connors
We used to go up there and watch TV. Yeah, they have to walk home in the dark
Tacha Reed
Oh, boy.
Carolyn Connors
Down past the woods. Yeah, no good. We'll I mean, there was kids piled around there all over the place. Yeah. We didn't have a TV. And I think, Dad, I think we had our first TV and I think Tom bought it. It was that big (pointing to laptop computer). But I'll tell you, it was something else. It was of course black and white. Was no color back. Way back then though they used to have some kind of a plexiglass thing that they put in front of the television.
James D Greene
Like magnifying glass?
Carolyn Connors
So no, no, it would- It would have colours kind of kind of through it.
James D Greene
I have heard of those. Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
We didn't have one. But I think- I think they had one up to Gordon Bryce. I'm not sure. But I can remember seeing it somewhere way back when I was a kid. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But no Tom was... He didn't do hands on with the orchard, that I remember. My dad was the one that was there all the time. But I mean, I imaging, I'm certain, I’m sure he had his hand in it with Dad, you know, and all that.
Tacha Reed
So how long did your dad continue to manage the orchard?
Carolyn Connors
He managed it up until 1977.
Tacha Reed
When he passed away?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah.
Tacha Reed
So he was still working?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, he was still working. And he passed away.
Tacha Reed
And then did Paul take over for a little while?
Carolyn Connors
Paul took over I think for a couple of years. And we moved back to where we were. And Paul was with a girlfriend. Right. They were- And they had planned on staying. They had planned on doing that. But I don't think- I don't think it was for Linda, I don't think it was for Paul either. That's hard. Oh, that was hard work. And hate to say it wasn't very, wasn’t very big wages.
Tacha Reed
No?
Carolyn Connors
But back then you had a little bit of perks because, like the house was free rent, and the power bills paid. You paid the phone bill, groceries and stuff. Dad and I, like we shared them because I had kids there at the time.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
So, what year, remind me, what year was it that your family moved in?
Carolyn Connors
We moved in 1949, the fall.
Tacha Reed
And that was that when your father was first hired by Thomas?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, that was when he was first hired.
Tacha Reed
And what was his official job, your father? Was your father's name Bill?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. Bill Webb. When they- They always gave an official job as an orchardist, he didn't have any kind of a degree or anything like that, but I'll tell you he learned on his, on his journey, let me tell you, and at the end before he passed away he was doing mostly organic. I say organic. He didn't spray pesticides and stuff, but he still had to spray, I think fungicide, I'm not sure but he had to spray something for that because… but he didn't spray for the pesticides and stuff like that. So he was sort of organic. He called himself organic.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors.
But I don't know whether it was completely organic or not.
Tacha Reed
So how old would you have been when he moved into that house?
Carolyn Connors
Five.
Tacha Reed
Five. Okay.
Carolyn Connors
I was five years old. April we moved there… I think it was in November. I think November, I hadn't started school until January, that was the first time I went to school.
Tacha Reed
So all the trees that are around what is now Bob Miller's house, those are the younger trees, is that correct, would those be the trees your father planted?
Carolyn Connors
Let me see, he planted… Trying to remember. He planted an orchard through in Belmont by Garnet Lake’s. But that was just before he died, a couple of years before he died, so it didn't do anything and now it's all grown up. But he planted- Like some of the trees were still old, but anything that died, he put new trees. Bob has pruned them and groomed them till they're smaller.
Tacha Reed
Right.
Carolyn Connors
Because they were bigger trees, but some of them are new. Up where the house is, he had planted some in the back part, but they're all, you know, gone now.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
I was up the other day. Actually I was gonna sneak up to the cherry orchard. (Laughing) I couldn't get over their driveway because it was too much of a hump…
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn connors
And I had to drive right up the house and I felt like a fool. But anyway, I got up there and Glen (Abernethy) came out and was chatting and I told him I was trying to sneak into the cherry orchard. (Laughing) But when I looked, he said he's gonna plant some trees and stuff because they're all gone and there was pear trees there, and they had pear trees there, and plum, they had plum trees, there nothing hardly there now.
Tacha Reed
Oh, okay.
Carolyn connors
Yeah, there was a lot, and they used to have raspberries, and we had, you-pick raspberries, it actually was “you-pick” and “us-pick”. Picked a lot of raspberries
Tacha Reed
So was your father responsible for picking all the fruit himself?
Carolyn Connors
Well, yeah, he hired.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah, I was one of them too. (laughing)
Tacha Reed
And was that shipped away somewhere, or?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah. One of the garages up there was a packing house, and we worked up there, packing apples during the fall and, well, during the winter some. It was like a cold storage, but it wasn't, it wasn't real cold but you know it wasn't like... like they had a fan that kept some of the cold, freezing, freezing cold out, but we used to pack - paaaack. They went to England, a lot of them went to England. Yeah, and it was- Yeah, long standing,9laughing) long standing days. I was kind of lucky though, because my dad would say, “Okay, you can go home now.”
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn connors
So I could cook dinner. (laughing)
Tacha Reed
So do you know, by chance, how many different varieties of apples are in that orchard?
Carolyn Connors
Oh my gracious. Oh man, Moses. We had a lot of McIntosh, a lot of Cortland, Russet trees, they're all gone. Courtland- Courtland might be- No there’s none of them neither. Well, Bob, Bob might have Courtlands and McIntoshes. We had Melbas we had Spys… Golden Delicious, Red Delicious. Let me think… what was down there? I think there was a couple of trees of Bishops Pippins, but we didn't have many of them. Few trees of Astrachan, real early, early apples, that's when you eat green apples. Oh green apples, with salt.
Tacha Reed
Wow, I've never heard that before.
Carolyn Connors
Never had green apples and salt?
Tacha Reed
No.
James D Greene
I have not tried it, but I can, thinking of the flavours, I can see it.
Carolyn Connors
I wouldn't dare eat it now because like, not supposed to have salt, like that. But, oh, I might have one in the fall. Let me think… what was down? Then we had the whole cherry orchard. Don't ask me what kind they were, because there was red, dark red, and there was yellow. And, and that was- That was, that was an ordeal. Try to keep the birds away.
Tacha Reed
Oh yeah.
Carolyn Connors
And the raccoons.! We used to have to go up there in the night and holler, clap. Play the radio. Oh, try to keep enough cherries for people to come to pick.
Tacha Reed
So was it a you-pick for the cherries?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, he had a you-pick for the cherries. Yeah.
Tacha Reed
So when was the time period for that have been? Do you know?
Carolyn Connors
Right now.
Tacha Reed
No, I mean like when he operated the you-pick?
Carolyn Connors
We were there for a while before he did that, because we used to have to pick cherries. With stems on. Couldn't pick them with stems off.
Tahca Reed
Oh really, they had to have the stems?
Carolyn Connors
Stems had to be on.
Tacha Reed
Does that make them last longer?
Carolyn Connors
Yep, yeah. And we used to hire people to pick cherries, and we- Used to- The stores and Windsor, that was Dominion, SaveEasy, IGA, used to have those three stores in town. And we peddled them, along with the apples.
Tacha Reed
OK.
Carolyhn Connors
We peddled. Yeah, that was, that was, that was a lot of work.
Tacha Reed
I bet.
Carolyn Connors
Yep. The old truck, go down Sackville, Halifax, all them places. Peddle these apples and baskets. Holy crap. Yeah, yeah, yeah it was a lot of work. I don't know how… Dad, He worked hard, holy crap he did, yeah. He worked really hard. And I'll tell you that apples, like back then, were beautiful, beautiful.
Tacha Reed
So was Thomas himself very involved?
Carolyn Connors
No, no. He was there. And of course Dad stayed up with him a lot. And he, I mean, he pretty well- He’d go up there after supper at night, stay there all night and come down the road. Seven o'clock in the morning. Okay, yeah.
Tacha Reed
Do you remember much of Thomas?
Carolyn Connors
Not- I mean, I remember Tom, but not a whole lot. Because I was young, I had kids too, looking after kids, and stuff then, but I mean, when I was growing up he was just there, we just knew him of course, and we used to go up there and watch television, because nobody had television except Tom. So we'd all end up there, go watch television. Until Gordon Bryson (had a) television through Belmont. And we used to walk clean to Gordon Bryson’s place and that's almost where I live. Up where.. oh, my good land of Moses... is Chris- Chris Turnbull’s.
Tacha Reed
Okay. And Cindy.
Carolyn Connors
Lost her name. Yeah up there.
Tacha Reed
That was his house, same house? Okay.
Carolyn Connors
We used to go up there and watch TV. Yeah, they have to walk home in the dark
Tacha Reed
Oh, boy.
Carolyn Connors
Down past the woods. Yeah, no good. We'll I mean, there was kids piled around there all over the place. Yeah. We didn't have a TV. And I think, Dad, I think we had our first TV and I think Tom bought it. It was that big (pointing to laptop computer). But I'll tell you, it was something else. It was of course black and white. Was no color back. Way back then though they used to have some kind of a plexiglass thing that they put in front of the television.
James D Greene
Like magnifying glass?
Carolyn Connors
So no, no, it would- It would have colours kind of kind of through it.
James D Greene
I have heard of those. Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
We didn't have one. But I think- I think they had one up to Gordon Bryce. I'm not sure. But I can remember seeing it somewhere way back when I was a kid. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But no Tom was... He didn't do hands on with the orchard, that I remember. My dad was the one that was there all the time. But I mean, I imaging, I'm certain, I’m sure he had his hand in it with Dad, you know, and all that.
Tacha Reed
So how long did your dad continue to manage the orchard?
Carolyn Connors
He managed it up until 1977.
Tacha Reed
When he passed away?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah.
Tacha Reed
So he was still working?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, he was still working. And he passed away.
Tacha Reed
And then did Paul take over for a little while?
Carolyn Connors
Paul took over I think for a couple of years. And we moved back to where we were. And Paul was with a girlfriend. Right. They were- And they had planned on staying. They had planned on doing that. But I don't think- I don't think it was for Linda, I don't think it was for Paul either. That's hard. Oh, that was hard work. And hate to say it wasn't very, wasn’t very big wages.
Tacha Reed
No?
Carolyn Connors
But back then you had a little bit of perks because, like the house was free rent, and the power bills paid. You paid the phone bill, groceries and stuff. Dad and I, like we shared them because I had kids there at the time.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Excerpt from interview with Carolyn Connors, July 14th, 2021
Carolyn Connors
Plus we had the neighborhood, I swear, most of them. And my father was the worst one for bringing company home. I don't know where we put them all. But he'd go up to Mantua, to the bridge up there and talk to all the tourists around and he’d bring them home. (Laughing) And they’d come home, they'd sleep on the living room floor or the couch or outdoors, set-up a tent on the lawn! And you never knew how many people you're going to have for supper. You never had a clue. He’d come home he’d say, “Oh brought a couple with us.” I’d say “Okay…” and you just made do, but it was, you know what? It was fun. Yeah, I got to meet a lot of people. And I swear my father would be the first person, if somebody moved into the community he'd be the first person there.
Tacha Reed
Nice.
Carolyn Connors
He'd be right there to tell them about the community and welcome them and, yep, he'd be the first one.
Tacha Reed
So you come by naturally then?
Carolyn Connors
(laughing) Yes, a little bit. (tearing up)
Tacha Reed
So your dad also…. Aw…
Carolyn Connors
It’s ok.
Plus we had the neighborhood, I swear, most of them. And my father was the worst one for bringing company home. I don't know where we put them all. But he'd go up to Mantua, to the bridge up there and talk to all the tourists around and he’d bring them home. (Laughing) And they’d come home, they'd sleep on the living room floor or the couch or outdoors, set-up a tent on the lawn! And you never knew how many people you're going to have for supper. You never had a clue. He’d come home he’d say, “Oh brought a couple with us.” I’d say “Okay…” and you just made do, but it was, you know what? It was fun. Yeah, I got to meet a lot of people. And I swear my father would be the first person, if somebody moved into the community he'd be the first person there.
Tacha Reed
Nice.
Carolyn Connors
He'd be right there to tell them about the community and welcome them and, yep, he'd be the first one.
Tacha Reed
So you come by naturally then?
Carolyn Connors
(laughing) Yes, a little bit. (tearing up)
Tacha Reed
So your dad also…. Aw…
Carolyn Connors
It’s ok.
Tacha Reed
Your dad also liked to make his own cider?
Carolyn Connors
Oh, yeah. (laughing) Oh, yeah. Lots of Cider! (lauging) Yeah he made lots of cider.
Tacha Reed
Well, I know when the local boys made cider a few years ago, they found a whole bunch of bottles in the Mounce… in the barn or the basement or something, that they repurposed for their own cider.
Carolyn Connors
No!
Tacha Reed
So these would be like Schooner bottles from I'm guessing the 70s.
Carolyn Connors
Probably.
Tacha Reed
And I'm sure they probably at one point… I'm sure they were originally your father's. (laughing)
Carolyn Connors
More than likely.
Tacha Reed
I nabbed one of them and took it home as a memento.
Carolyn Connors
Likely, oh my gosh, he used to make root beer too. Yeah. Hires, Hires root beer.
Tacha Reed
How do you make root beer?
Carolyn Connors
Well used to get little root beer things. I don't know. I don't know how he used to make it. Yeah, he used to make root beer. We used to kind of keep it where it was warm. In the furnace, when the furnace was on, blew up one time.
Tacha Reed
Oh, no! (laughing)
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. Yeah. It did (laughing). Oh my gosh. But no, oh cider. Oh, yeah. Yeah, lots of cider.
Tacha Reed
So he just collected the drop apples? Like what was left over or?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah. Mostly juice apples.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, juice apples and grind them up. And yeah, it was. I didn't like- I never, never drank in my life, never have, never wanted to, still have no desire to, but every now and again, like I said, I'm drinking wine or whatever. Or the Bulwark blush! (laughing) It's cider. But no, yeah, he made great big barrels of cider. (Laughing) Yeah, we had cider. Paul could make, Paul could make lots of stuff too. Different stuff.
Tacha Reed
(laughing)
Carolyn Connors
(laughing) Different stuff. Out of whatever. They like you just did back then. I don't think that… I don't know whether they had, well, I suppose they had liquor stores, I guess they did. You didn't run into a liquor store every time you turn around, just didn't. Couldn't afford it either. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, but yeah, Dad just loved cider. Yeah, made lots. In order to do that- When he first came to Canada we lived in North- I was born in Kentville way, and we met people down there. That's it, that's all they did, made cider… made cider. We had cider everywhere, in the barn, down in the basement, you name it. Everybody made cider. Anybody that had an apple orchard made cider. Yeah, I don't think my father ever drank till he came to Canada. (laughing) Yeah. Cider. Yeah. He didn’t make anything else. Root Beer and cider. Yeah. No, I think he might have made beer one time too. I can't remember. Somebody did. Him or Paul… I can't remember.
Tacha Reed
Did they grow vegetables or anything else up there? Or was it just the orchard?
Carolyn Connors
Raspberries, we grew raspberries. We used to have our own little garden and grew our own like vegetables and stuff, but he never never had vegetables for sale. If we had any leftover, if anybody had come over we just tell them to go pick some, whatever. Yeah, no. Just had our own little garden. But yeah, it was pretty good. No.
Tacha Reed
So Thomas himself passed away in 19… was it 60 or 63? I feel like he passed away in 1960 but that he was 63 at the time. Do you know what happened with the house after he was gone? Did it just stay empty or…?
Carolyn Connors
Pretty well stayed empty. I can't remember anybody…. I don’t know whether Dad stayed up there to kind of look after the house too… I can't remember.
Tacha Reed
I suppose you probably wouldn't have been around at that point, would you?
Carolyn Connors
No, not really. That was- I was married in 62. And I moved back in Sixty... I would’ve been handy, I would have been handy, because Jeff would have been a little over two. Dad ended up in the hospital. I had to move back then. And then when we were gonna go back and go back home, and Dad said. “Naw, can you stay?” he said, “I can't do it”, because Paul was only 10 years old and we didn't have mum. He said, he said, “I can't, I can't do it.” he said, “You guys can stay”. So that's what we ended up doing to help them out because he just, he couldn't look after the farm, look after Paul and look after... you know, he just couldn't do it. He was… I can't remember… Yeah, he had to have, he stayed up there. That's right. He did. Because when he passed away, he was walking home from Mounce’s.
Tacha Reed
Oh, really.
Carolyn Connors
And he had bleeding ulcers. And he was bleeding and got an ambulance, took him to the hospital and they did surgery they thought it was an aneurysm. Dr. Vaughn thought it was an aneurysm. And he gets the surgery and two o'clock in the morning Dr. Vaughn called me and he said, he said “Carolyn, I had to send him to Halifax,” and I went down the next day to see him, only one person was allowed. ?The kids, Jeff, Johnny, Paul wanted me to go and I went in to see him, and they had to take him for surgery because it was bleeding again.
Tacha Reed
Ah.
Carolyn Connors
He never made it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he was only 65.
Tacha Reed
Oh, was he that young?
Carolyn Connors
Yes. I was, yeah- No 66, he had just turned 66 March the 15th.
Tacha Reed
OK.
Carolyn Connors
And he died April 23rd. Yeah. And I I thought he was old, till I turned 65-66 and I thought “ooo” that’s not old, yet. Yeah, now I’m old, but not then! (Laughing)
Tacha Reed
Thomas was always a bachelor wasn’t he?
Carolyn Connors
After, yeah, after his wife died. See, Dad, Dad stayed up with Ralph (Mounce) too. He might have been at Ralph's when he, before he passed away.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Trying to think cause he stayed there with him too. He stayed there with both of them, both brothers.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. Yeah. So he might have been at Ralph's when he came down. I can't, I can't remember that part, Tach.
Tacha Reed
I seem to remember that Ken Mounce took ownership of the house around 1980 or so. And I seem to remember reading somewhere that it had been kind of left vacant for quite some time.
Carolyn Connors
Yep.
Tacha Reed
And he, he did quite a bit of work to restore it.
Carolyn Connors
Oh, yeah. Yeah, he did. Oh, yeah. They did a lot. Yeah. I got in to see at one time and they did a lot. I was always going to ask him if I had, if he had any, any ghostly apparitions or anything there. Yeah.
Tacha Reed
Do you know any stories of that house? Ghost stories?
Carolyn Connors
Couple. (laughing) Well, my father totally believed in apparitions and ghosts I'll tell that, for way back. I'll tell you the story, it's got nothing to do with the apple orchard. But my mum and dad were separated when I was, what, six or seven, whatever. And Mum moved to Halifax. And dad stayed here, and one day, not only one day, every time we went to Canning, and we went by this house and he said, “You know that house is haunted.” And I said, “Oh, Dad,” he said, “Listen,” he said, “I'm telling you right now, you might not believe me.” He said, “but one night”, he, I don't know where my mother was, but one night he said, he said, “I heard a racket upstairs and you and Johnny were supposed to be in bed and I thought you were running around” and there was one room that was locked that belonged to a lady that had owned the house, and she had passed away and her stuff was in this one room. They said, you know, don't go in that room, it was locked. Well. Anyway, Dad heard this noise and he said, “Those little buggers are up in that room.” So up the stairs, he goes to get us back in bed and it wasn't us. And he looked up the stairs and he said, “Carolyn” he said “I'm telling you right now,” he said, “there was a woman standing at the top of the stairs dressed in white, and she turned and walked through the door of the locked room” and he said, “I'll tell you, he said the hair stood on my head” and he said, “I'm not kidding” he said “my head was sore.” He said “I was never in my life” - he couldn't believe it.
So he never told my mother, because my mother would have had a fit. So anyway, after my mother and I became close… friends, when I met her, because I hadn't seen her, I hadn't seen her until I turned 18 when I got married, and my aunt brought her to my house. First time I’d layed eyes on her since she left. And anyway, we became- Like I went- Used to go down, took kids down and visit her, whatever, and one day, we were just sitting there talking, this was later, quite a few years afterwards, she said, “Carolyn,” she said, “Did anyone ever say anything about that house we used to live in in Canning was haunted?” And I said, “Mum cripes, don’t talk so foolish.”
“Let me tell you, girl” she said, “that place was haunted.” I said, “Mum, so what are you talking about?” Here, I already knew the story of my father.
Tacha Reed
Right.
Carolyn Connors
She said “I’ll tell you, I went downstairs” she said “I had to get potatoes” and she said “I went down to get the potatoes, and here was this woman down there all dressed in white at the bottom of the stairs.” She said, “I never got any potatoes” and she said “Your father had to get the potatoes from then on” she said “you think I'd go down those basement steps again? No way!” So after she got all done talking, I said, “Well, Mum, let me tell you a little story.” So I told her the story of what dad told, she said, “You got to be kidding?” I said “Nooo I’m not!” I said “You got to be kidding?” she's said “No I’m not!”. Well, so- So that made me believe in lots of things. And yeah, there was a few things that happened in the Mounce house. Yeah, yeah.
Tacha Reed
Can you remember anything specifically?
Carolyn Connors
My father, he would, he would tell different little things, like he’d be in watching TV because he went up there every night and watched the news. And they'd be sitting in there watching the news and they'd hear something somewhere and they go look and there's nobody, nobody there. And after Tom got sick, Dad had to cook his meals or made whatever, so whatever, I can't remember what he made that particular night, and he took them in and put them on a tray in front of him, and him and Fred Sanford, who used to live up the road, Fred was always there too, he was always down around home, and they heard this crash. Dad thought “Oh god, there goes the supper all over the place.” Both of them got up, run in the bedroom, down the hall, in the bedroom, (shakes head) mm-mm, tray was still here, nothing was anywhere. They looked all through, everywhere. There was nothing broken anywhere. And then different times, I know one time Dad had gone upstairs and they was way, way up in the attic and Fred and him went up, and on the way up Dad left the box laying on a table, didn't want to carry it up there. I can't remember whether he was taking somebody up to show the house or whether that was after Tom died or before? I can't remember that, anyway he came down to pick up the box and the box was gone and Dad said “Fred, what did you do with that box?” Fred said “I didn't touch that box.” Never ever did find it.
Tacha Reed
Not at all?
Carolyn Connons
Never found it, Daid said he never found it. Where it went, and Fred was with him, and there was nobody else in the house, except like I mean, I think, I think he had somebody upstairs… He used to have… Tom used to buy baskets from the Indians that used to make the beautiful baskets, I got one that I still have. I’ve had it a long, long time. It's in bad shape, but it's still a basket. And he used to, oh, every time they came he’d buy buy a basket. Well, how many baskets can you use? He had baskets all up in like in the shelves in the attic, all kinds of baskets, and I think my father might a had somebody up there or he was taking something up there when whatever Dad had laid sitting there was gone. And there was always noises, I could always hear noises. And I asked Steve, he’d been up there kind of working around and I asked Steve if he ever heard anything “No.” I said “Well you oughta listen” said “you never know”. You never know. No, I believe in them but I haven't run into any yet. But they’re out there, somewhere, wherever, yeah. Oh frig it was funny.Yeah, it was funny.
Tacha Reed
Now do you recall behind the little barn on the lane that now goes to the dyke and to Matt Smith’s house, behind that barn, did there used to be a greenhouse?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, yeah there was, Matt was asking me about that one day, because he found a well there or something?
Tacha Reed
Yeah, yeah.
Carolyn Connors
I don't remember the well. Like. I don't remember, I don't remember if it would had some kind of a cover that you wouldn't- I don't know, I don't remember. But yeah, they had a greenhouse there.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
And there was, I know there used to be grapes. There was different kinds of grapes.
Tacha Reed
Oh, really?
Carolyn Connors
And in there was- They had grapes behind that first barn, too, there was some around there too, even though there was a great big cherry tree right there. But they had grapes on vine and they had grapes up by the house that was down by the cherry orchard going down, they had grapes on wires and stuff there. Because I know we used to have a lot of people from Halifax. I think they were Italians, I shouldn't say that, but they used to use the grape leaves for wraps and stuff.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, they yeah, they made all kinds of… I can't remember what they were called. But they used to make, they used to come pick grapes too, but they they picked a lot of leaves and made something, like I suppose, like a lettuce wrap or something. But I can't remember what they used to put in them or anything.
Tacha Reed
Okay
Carolyn Connors
But it was great.
Tacha Reed
I've had them stuffed with rice and spices.
Carolyn Connors
I imagine, and that's probably what it was.
Tacha Reed
Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, they used to use it with grape leaves.
Tacha Reed
And did they use the grapes for anything at all?
Carolyn Connors
I can't remember, but I mean, people used to come and pick the grapes.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
Maybe they made their own wine back then, I have no idea, like, I made jelly, I made lots and lots of grape jelly.
Tacha Reed
Nice.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, I made jelly and lots and lots and lots of stuff. (laughing) Lots and lots. Yeah. When the stuff, when the stuff was out you made lots. Cherry jam, plum jam. Oh Jeepers... canned peaches, every kind of pickle that you can make.
Tacha Reed
Was that just for yourself? Or did you sell it?
Carolyn Connors
No, didn't sell it but Dad would, just mostly for ourselves. I’d give some away to friends and stuff but, but I just made lots. And I still do this year I'm not going to and I'm trying to figure out how I'm not going to do it because if I have some in my garden how am I not going to do it?
Tacha Reed
(laughing) Just your instinct to do it.
Carolyn Connors
Do it, but no, not going to. I got stuff there now, Angie (Connors) makes her own, Lynn (Connors) makes her own, you know, everybody I know makes their own, so not gonna do it, not gonna make much this year. Actually, I ran out of mustard pickles way back. Oh, I can't remember when now, and I love mustard pickles and I thought “Holy gosh, I thought I made more mustard pickles than that” so I said “Angie you got an extra bottle of mustard pickle?” and she said “I don't” She said “I really don't”. She said “I only got a couple left myself”. I said “Oh, okay” and bought mustard pickles are not absolutely nowhere near a mustard pickle. So one day I was at Sobey's and they had three cucumbers on sale, English cucumbers, and I thought “Why can't I make mustard pickles out of those?” let me tell you they are the best mustard pickles, delicious! So now I don't care if I make them when the cucumbers are right because I can make them, I can make them any time. I make two or three bottles and when they're gone I just go get a couple more cucumbers and make some more. That and a steak sauce it's called, but you use tomatoes, tomatoes and it's not really steak sauce, it’s another pickle, it's so good. Yeah, you just, you just do all kinds of stuff, yeah.
Tacha Reed
So now Bob (Miller) takes care of the orchard.
Carolyn Connors
The lower part.
Tacha Reed
Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
Beautiful.
Tacha Reed
Yeah
Carolyn Connors
It looks so nice.
Tacha Reed
And he grows a lot of vegetables that he donates to different shelters and…
Carolyn Connors
He goes through and gets rhubarb from me.
Tacha Reed
Does he?
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, he it takes it, takes it down to the women's shelter and all the different ones.
Tacha Reed
So do you- Do you have any hopes for that orchard in the future? Would you like- Is there anything you'd like to see happen there? Or…
Carolyn Connors
No… it’s gone kind of except for Bob's part the rest of its just- And the lower part that they sold down below, it's not, it's not, it's not gonna- Although it looks like Aaron (Spares)- It looks like he’s cut some of the trees branches and stuff, the lower ones you can kind of see through it, does look better than what it was,but… I don't think Bob sprays anything on his apples, so, but you kinda almost need a fungicide type thing because of all the stuff that grows on the bark and things.
Tacha Reed
Oh, ok.
Carolyn Connors
But I don't know whether Aaron's gonna bring the orchard back or not, or did he just cut it around for the sheep to not get caught in the branches?
Tacha Reed
Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
Cause I see sheep, quite a bit of sheep…
Tacha Reed
Yeah, there's quite a few there.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah! Which is great.
Tacha Reed
Yeah
Carolyn Connors
Yeah I haven’t been down round or anything, haven’t… usually drive up to the dyke or something, but I haven't this year yet. I will one of these days. I don't know, it got so… with the pandemic I got to stay home and sometimes I didn't even want to. It was just too much work to be bothered to go get out. But I was out two days in a row this week, so this third day in a row- Third day in a row I’ve been out!
Tacha Reed
(clapping)
Carolyn Connors
(laughing) I know, geez! That’s the…
James D Greene
The wild and crazy life!
Carolyn Connors
I'm telling ya, you want to believe it, because it's- Maybe that's why I was feeling a little better because I've been sort of out- Just out, gosh…
Tacha Reed
Well, maybe after we get all of this stuff from Thomas's house scanned in I'll get you back and can look through some of it…
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, see what I can see and if I can explain anything.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, see if there's any people that you recognize or names. There's so many names on documents that don't mean anything to me but maybe, maybe they'll mean something to you.
Carolyn Connors
Probably stuff maybe bought or sold to?
Tacha Reed
It seems to be, like I just looked at a few- One was for a horse and different different things like that.
Carolyn Connors
I don't remember any animals being there at all. I don't remember. I don't remember animals.
Tacha Reed
I didn't check the dates these could be quite, quite early perhaps because, well I mean, they built the house what, 1909? So…
Carolyn Connors
I don't remember any animals back then. I don’t know how old Tom would have been when we moved there? I don't have a clue. I can't remember what year he was born.
Tacha Reed
Yeah I'd have to look it up again. I get all my dates a little mismashed sometimes.
Carolyn Connors
No, I can't remember when…. I know it’s on the cemetery stone, but I can't remember. Now I just barely get down to my Dad's stone, I can’t… and Albert’s stone… I'm scared to, even though it's just a little tiny bank, I'm kind of scared to go by myself, but I did the other day, I went by myself and put some flowers on Dad's grave. Cause I had- Every year, I put apple blossoms on his grave in May, every year. And Bob brought me some.
Tacha Reed
Aw, nice.
So do you- Do you have any hopes for that orchard in the future? Would you like- Is there anything you'd like to see happen there? Or…
Carolyn Connors
No… it’s gone kind of except for Bob's part the rest of its just- And the lower part that they sold down below, it's not, it's not, it's not gonna- Although it looks like Aaron (Spares)- It looks like he’s cut some of the trees branches and stuff, the lower ones you can kind of see through it, does look better than what it was,but… I don't think Bob sprays anything on his apples, so, but you kinda almost need a fungicide type thing because of all the stuff that grows on the bark and things.
Tacha Reed
Oh, ok.
Carolyn Connors
But I don't know whether Aaron's gonna bring the orchard back or not, or did he just cut it around for the sheep to not get caught in the branches?
Tacha Reed
Yeah.
Carolyn Connors
Cause I see sheep, quite a bit of sheep…
Tacha Reed
Yeah, there's quite a few there.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah! Which is great.
Tacha Reed
Yeah
Carolyn Connors
Yeah I haven’t been down round or anything, haven’t… usually drive up to the dyke or something, but I haven't this year yet. I will one of these days. I don't know, it got so… with the pandemic I got to stay home and sometimes I didn't even want to. It was just too much work to be bothered to go get out. But I was out two days in a row this week, so this third day in a row- Third day in a row I’ve been out!
Tacha Reed
(clapping)
Carolyn Connors
(laughing) I know, geez! That’s the…
James D Greene
The wild and crazy life!
Carolyn Connors
I'm telling ya, you want to believe it, because it's- Maybe that's why I was feeling a little better because I've been sort of out- Just out, gosh…
Tacha Reed
Well, maybe after we get all of this stuff from Thomas's house scanned in I'll get you back and can look through some of it…
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, see what I can see and if I can explain anything.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, see if there's any people that you recognize or names. There's so many names on documents that don't mean anything to me but maybe, maybe they'll mean something to you.
Carolyn Connors
Probably stuff maybe bought or sold to?
Tacha Reed
It seems to be, like I just looked at a few- One was for a horse and different different things like that.
Carolyn Connors
I don't remember any animals being there at all. I don't remember. I don't remember animals.
Tacha Reed
I didn't check the dates these could be quite, quite early perhaps because, well I mean, they built the house what, 1909? So…
Carolyn Connors
I don't remember any animals back then. I don’t know how old Tom would have been when we moved there? I don't have a clue. I can't remember what year he was born.
Tacha Reed
Yeah I'd have to look it up again. I get all my dates a little mismashed sometimes.
Carolyn Connors
No, I can't remember when…. I know it’s on the cemetery stone, but I can't remember. Now I just barely get down to my Dad's stone, I can’t… and Albert’s stone… I'm scared to, even though it's just a little tiny bank, I'm kind of scared to go by myself, but I did the other day, I went by myself and put some flowers on Dad's grave. Cause I had- Every year, I put apple blossoms on his grave in May, every year. And Bob brought me some.
Tacha Reed
Aw, nice.
Carolyn Connors
And I went out, took them out, Ricky and I went out and put them on the grave. And that was in May, the end of May. And I thought, I kept saying, “Rick, we got to go out and get- They’d be just dead branches sitting in front of Dad's grave” and said “I can’t”. I was scared to go out myself and Rick is busy and he's doing stuff for me, I hate to ask him. So the other day, I thought you know what? I’m going. I did all right. I did okay. And took the branches home and put some artificial flowers, but they’re Apple Blossoms.
Tacha Reed
Aw, nice.
Carolyn Connors
Actually might be cherry blossoms, but it doesn't matter, they’re blossoms. I always, I always do that every year. And yeah, I didn't put any on Albert's headstone just yet, because I had a hummingbird solar light. And I don't know where it is, and I couldn't find it. So I was going to get another one, but there's none out there right now. Couldn't get one. But I wanted to get a hummingbird or something.
Tacha Reed
Why Hummingbird?
Carolyn Connors
Well, hummingbirds or a bird like that- he was, he always fed the birds. He would always… and I do too. Yeah, he was always feeding the birds. That was one thing he did. And that's one thing I make Ricky do. Because I can't get out back. I'd be alright if the lawn wasn't so bumpy! Oh my soul! I need it rolled out or something. (Laughing)It’s bumpy! It's just a bumpy old lawn. So, yeah, anyway, Ricky comes and feeds the birds out back. But I totally enjoy that I would stand at the kitchen sink and watch birds. Not right now except the hummingbirds, because they don't feed them during the summer. There is a finch feeder in there that the red and black birds come and eat in, but I don't, I just feed the hummingbirds. Yeah, I usually have the feeders on my clothesline, but I’ve got clothes on it today. (smiling towards the beautiful day outside)
Tacha Reed
(laughing)
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. So, but yeah, no, Albert used to love feeding the birds, watching the birds… in his later years, and so do I. Yeah, yeah, it was really good… but, didn't really have much to tell you, Tach.
Tacha Reed
That's alright, you remembered a few things, and I’m sure you’re going to go home and remember more…
Carolyn Connors
That’s what I did the last time!
Tacha Reed
Exactly! (laughing) So this time..
Carolyn Connors
I got home and I thought “Oh my gosh, why didn’t I say that?” (laughing)
Tacha Reed
We’ll bring you back…
Carolyn Connors
I was trying to think, I was trying to think after you called me last night, I was trying to think okay, let me think was there anything that I could really remember that was different or something, butI couldn't, I couldn't remember- Because Dad was up there most of the time. Of course, back then I was busy, busy, busy, busy doing stuff too. And then he passed away and then I had the kids and he was at Ralph's. Yeah, yeah. Tom was a great old fellow though.
Tacha Reed
If anything comes to mind just let me know and we'll sit you down and…
Carolyn Connors
I was trying to think, yeah, was my brother- My older brother? He might remember some things.
Tacha Reed
John (Webb).
Carolyn Connors
John, yeah, he might.
Tacha Reed
Is he around?
Carolyn Connors
He will be.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
He's right now on his way home. He'll be in, I think he'll be in Digby tonight or Middleton. Digby I think.
Tacha Reed
Cycling?
Carolyn Connors
He's been bikaling (laughs heartily at her mistake)
Tacha Reed
Bikaling! (laughing)
Carolyn Connors
He’s been bicycl… (laughing) He's been cycling! He went down the south shore. And he left on that hot, hot, hot Wednesday, the day before July 1.
James Greene
I remember that one.
Carolyn Connors
Holy moly. It was hot. I was worried about him, but he made it to Bridgewater after three, shortly after three.
Tacha Reed
Oh wow!
Carolyn Connors
He had stopped at the police station on Chester Road to get water, but he did, yeah, but he stayed there over the July 1st and the second at his lady friend's house. She wasn't home, she's at Briar Island and he's leaving Briar Island I think yesterday and going to Digby, and then I think he's going to Middleton, then he's going to Wolfville, I think he's coming home Sunday, I think.
Tacha Reed
And how old’s John Now?
Carolyn Connors
Two years younger than me.
Tacha Red
Oh boy.
Carolyn Connors
I know.
Tacha Reed
That's a big excursion.
Carolyn Connors
75. And he's been bicycling and running for his whole life almost.
Tacha Reed
That's impressive.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. I mean, Tach, he's been all over the world almost! Hasn't been too far in South America but holy Jeepers, he's been a lot of places with his bicycle. With cycling, you know, cycling people that he met. It's got lots of cycling friends and yeah. He's pretty active doing that. I don't know how- I hope he never- I hope if anything ever happens, it happens- Because I don't know how he would ever make it not being able to travel.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, he's always on the move.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, this year has been hard.Yeah. Because he’s always traveling somewhere. Yeah, he's been to Cuba many times, to China. All over Europe, and not too much of Asia, but Europe.
Tacha Reed
I’ll have to try and get him in the summer…
Carolyn Connors
England, Ireland, Scotland… I don't know whether he’s been to Ireland? I can't remember. I know he’s been to Scotland, England, Iceland. All over the place down the states, all different, the mountains and Grand Canyon, all those places, a lot of places. Gosh. Yeah. He's been to a lot of places. Cuba many times, loves it there. And he went to the Galapagos, oh, to Hawaii, he went to Hawaii. Yeah. Lots and lots and lots of places, beautiful- Pictures! I thought I had pictures. I can’t imagine. I don't know how many slides he would have when..the slides back when the slides... he's got trays, trays, trays, and trays of slides. Now he's got pictures, of course on the computer and everywhere. He has lots of pictures on smugbug, it's called smugbug.
Tacha Reed
OK.
You can just look- I think if you just look up his name on smugbug, but he puts them all on there. And there's just like, thousands, like thousands. (Laughing) Takes you a long time to see them all, well, but I've watched them. https://johnwebb.smugmug.com
James D Greene
Even longer to take.
Carolyn Connors
Oh, yeah, well, yeah, it he- Yeah, he just, he's always got his camera, always, always doing, yeah. Yeah, I must mention it to him, cause he's coming for hodgepodge when he comes home.
Tacha Reed
Okay, perfect, yeah.
Carolyn Connors
He said “That's it. That's it.” He said “When I come home “ he said “I want a big hodgepodge.” I said “Well if the beans and stuff are out you'll have a hodgepodge.”
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn Connors
I’ll make him a hodgepodge.
Carolyn Connors
And I went out, took them out, Ricky and I went out and put them on the grave. And that was in May, the end of May. And I thought, I kept saying, “Rick, we got to go out and get- They’d be just dead branches sitting in front of Dad's grave” and said “I can’t”. I was scared to go out myself and Rick is busy and he's doing stuff for me, I hate to ask him. So the other day, I thought you know what? I’m going. I did all right. I did okay. And took the branches home and put some artificial flowers, but they’re Apple Blossoms.
Tacha Reed
Aw, nice.
Carolyn Connors
Actually might be cherry blossoms, but it doesn't matter, they’re blossoms. I always, I always do that every year. And yeah, I didn't put any on Albert's headstone just yet, because I had a hummingbird solar light. And I don't know where it is, and I couldn't find it. So I was going to get another one, but there's none out there right now. Couldn't get one. But I wanted to get a hummingbird or something.
Tacha Reed
Why Hummingbird?
Carolyn Connors
Well, hummingbirds or a bird like that- he was, he always fed the birds. He would always… and I do too. Yeah, he was always feeding the birds. That was one thing he did. And that's one thing I make Ricky do. Because I can't get out back. I'd be alright if the lawn wasn't so bumpy! Oh my soul! I need it rolled out or something. (Laughing)It’s bumpy! It's just a bumpy old lawn. So, yeah, anyway, Ricky comes and feeds the birds out back. But I totally enjoy that I would stand at the kitchen sink and watch birds. Not right now except the hummingbirds, because they don't feed them during the summer. There is a finch feeder in there that the red and black birds come and eat in, but I don't, I just feed the hummingbirds. Yeah, I usually have the feeders on my clothesline, but I’ve got clothes on it today. (smiling towards the beautiful day outside)
Tacha Reed
(laughing)
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. So, but yeah, no, Albert used to love feeding the birds, watching the birds… in his later years, and so do I. Yeah, yeah, it was really good… but, didn't really have much to tell you, Tach.
Tacha Reed
That's alright, you remembered a few things, and I’m sure you’re going to go home and remember more…
Carolyn Connors
That’s what I did the last time!
Tacha Reed
Exactly! (laughing) So this time..
Carolyn Connors
I got home and I thought “Oh my gosh, why didn’t I say that?” (laughing)
Tacha Reed
We’ll bring you back…
Carolyn Connors
I was trying to think, I was trying to think after you called me last night, I was trying to think okay, let me think was there anything that I could really remember that was different or something, butI couldn't, I couldn't remember- Because Dad was up there most of the time. Of course, back then I was busy, busy, busy, busy doing stuff too. And then he passed away and then I had the kids and he was at Ralph's. Yeah, yeah. Tom was a great old fellow though.
Tacha Reed
If anything comes to mind just let me know and we'll sit you down and…
Carolyn Connors
I was trying to think, yeah, was my brother- My older brother? He might remember some things.
Tacha Reed
John (Webb).
Carolyn Connors
John, yeah, he might.
Tacha Reed
Is he around?
Carolyn Connors
He will be.
Tacha Reed
Okay.
Carolyn Connors
He's right now on his way home. He'll be in, I think he'll be in Digby tonight or Middleton. Digby I think.
Tacha Reed
Cycling?
Carolyn Connors
He's been bikaling (laughs heartily at her mistake)
Tacha Reed
Bikaling! (laughing)
Carolyn Connors
He’s been bicycl… (laughing) He's been cycling! He went down the south shore. And he left on that hot, hot, hot Wednesday, the day before July 1.
James Greene
I remember that one.
Carolyn Connors
Holy moly. It was hot. I was worried about him, but he made it to Bridgewater after three, shortly after three.
Tacha Reed
Oh wow!
Carolyn Connors
He had stopped at the police station on Chester Road to get water, but he did, yeah, but he stayed there over the July 1st and the second at his lady friend's house. She wasn't home, she's at Briar Island and he's leaving Briar Island I think yesterday and going to Digby, and then I think he's going to Middleton, then he's going to Wolfville, I think he's coming home Sunday, I think.
Tacha Reed
And how old’s John Now?
Carolyn Connors
Two years younger than me.
Tacha Red
Oh boy.
Carolyn Connors
I know.
Tacha Reed
That's a big excursion.
Carolyn Connors
75. And he's been bicycling and running for his whole life almost.
Tacha Reed
That's impressive.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah. I mean, Tach, he's been all over the world almost! Hasn't been too far in South America but holy Jeepers, he's been a lot of places with his bicycle. With cycling, you know, cycling people that he met. It's got lots of cycling friends and yeah. He's pretty active doing that. I don't know how- I hope he never- I hope if anything ever happens, it happens- Because I don't know how he would ever make it not being able to travel.
Tacha Reed
Yeah, he's always on the move.
Carolyn Connors
Yeah, this year has been hard.Yeah. Because he’s always traveling somewhere. Yeah, he's been to Cuba many times, to China. All over Europe, and not too much of Asia, but Europe.
Tacha Reed
I’ll have to try and get him in the summer…
Carolyn Connors
England, Ireland, Scotland… I don't know whether he’s been to Ireland? I can't remember. I know he’s been to Scotland, England, Iceland. All over the place down the states, all different, the mountains and Grand Canyon, all those places, a lot of places. Gosh. Yeah. He's been to a lot of places. Cuba many times, loves it there. And he went to the Galapagos, oh, to Hawaii, he went to Hawaii. Yeah. Lots and lots and lots of places, beautiful- Pictures! I thought I had pictures. I can’t imagine. I don't know how many slides he would have when..the slides back when the slides... he's got trays, trays, trays, and trays of slides. Now he's got pictures, of course on the computer and everywhere. He has lots of pictures on smugbug, it's called smugbug.
Tacha Reed
OK.
You can just look- I think if you just look up his name on smugbug, but he puts them all on there. And there's just like, thousands, like thousands. (Laughing) Takes you a long time to see them all, well, but I've watched them. https://johnwebb.smugmug.com
James D Greene
Even longer to take.
Carolyn Connors
Oh, yeah, well, yeah, it he- Yeah, he just, he's always got his camera, always, always doing, yeah. Yeah, I must mention it to him, cause he's coming for hodgepodge when he comes home.
Tacha Reed
Okay, perfect, yeah.
Carolyn Connors
He said “That's it. That's it.” He said “When I come home “ he said “I want a big hodgepodge.” I said “Well if the beans and stuff are out you'll have a hodgepodge.”
Tacha Reed
(Laughing)
Carolyn Connors
I’ll make him a hodgepodge.
“This project has been made possible in part by the Documentary Heritage Communities Program offered by Library and Archives Canada / Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au Programme pour les collectivités du patrimoine documentaire offert par Bibliothèque et Archives Canada.”