{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/6d5p844g8t/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Interview with Jim Munsey 1"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/128/original/UA_Logo_WHT_RGB_%281%29.png?1725471982","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\"\u003eAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)\u003c/a\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Kule Folklore Centre (Creator)","Munsey, Jim (Interviewee)","Lesiv, Mariya (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2004-05-12 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["3 audio files; mp3; 1:22:41","audio/mpeg"]}},{"label":{"en":["Identifier"]},"value":{"en":["5m60qt03f (avalonid)","LC164 (other)","2004-091-1699 (local)","2004-091-1700 (local)","2004-091-1701 (local)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["oral histories (topical)","railroad workers (topical)","telegraph operators (topical)","foodways (topical)","holidays (topical)","storytelling (topical)","Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (spatial)","Richdale, Alberta, Canada (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Interview"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date First Ingested"]},"value":{"en":["2021-02-03"]}},{"label":{"en":["Note"]},"value":{"en":["Includes some Ukrainian (language)","Interviewee: Munsey, Jim (creation/production)","Interviewere: Lesiv, Mariya (creation/production)"]}}],"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\"\u003eAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)\u003c/a\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["University of Alberta Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["University of Alberta Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/128/original/UA_Logo_WHT_RGB_%281%29.png?1725471982","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/133/011/small/audio-default.png?1640632173","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 3 - 2004-091-1699.mp3"]},"duration":1615.17714,"width":640,"height":40,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/133/011/small/audio-default.png?1640632173","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-ualberta.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/133/011/original/2004-091-1699.mp3?1660934217","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1615.17714,"width":640,"height":40},"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Part 1 [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Biography, parent's families, birthplaces","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=0.0,329.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim's full name is James Fraser Munsey. Jim was born in Edmonton on November 26, 1927. He grew up around Edmonton, Camrose, Edson, and Bickerdike, all in Alberta. In 1936, Jim's father was able to hold a regular job in Richdale, Alberta. Jim lived there until he was 14, going to one room schools before the Second World War started and there was a need for labour. Jim and many other students received 3 months vacation to help the war effort. Thus, Jim caught a train and went into Calgary. He found out at the manpower office that he had to be 16 to be in the system. Jim found himself in a big city with no money and no job. He did eventually find a job. He went to school and stayed in a boarding house in Calgary. He never went back home after he turned 14.\n\nJim's father's family has been in Canada as far back as they could go. The family tree indicates that the family came from Normandy and settled in Scotland during the Dark Ages. They eventually moved to the lowlands. A branch from that family emigrated to the New World in the 1690s, settling near Philadelphia on a farm. When the American Revolution occurred, the family stayed loyal to the British, so they walked from Philadelphia to New York and boarded a boat, the Empress of Asia. The boat sailed up the Gulf of Saint Lawrence they established themselves in Nova Scotia.\n\nJim's mother's family came to Canada in 1909. They came from a Ukrainian village that was very close to the Polish border, though everything was the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. Jim's mother was never recorded as arriving in Halifax despite her sisters being registered. This became a problem for her pension later. They had to write letters to Ukraine in order to get church records of her birth which were still available.\n\nJim's father worked out of Edmonton on what is called a \"spare board\". He would go to various localities across Alberta to work shifts. In 1936, he was able to hold a regular position in Richdale. Jim's father never did go back to Edmonton. Jim's mother settled in Calgary when her family arrived. After a few years, her family had earned enough money to purchase a homestead in Rochester, Alberta. Jim's mother came to Edmonton to work as a domestic servant.\n\nJim has lived in many places over the course of his life. Jim's wife was born in Edson. ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=0.0,329.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Schooling, career, ancestry","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=329.0,507.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim went to grade 4 in Edmonton which was a normal public school system before moving in 1936 to Richdale which had a one room school. He went grade 5 through grade 10 in that one room school. The school only went to grade 10, so Jim had to do grades 11 and 12 in Hanna. Because Jim had learned to telegraph as a child, the railway offered him a job as a telegrapher. He was eventually promoted to train dispatcher and worked in multiple places. He worked a total of 38 years for the railway. Jim took courses from different universities as part of a railway program, but no degree programs.\n\nJim grew up living with his mother, father, and sister. His sister was 2 years younger than him. Jim's ancestry is Scottish and Ukrainian. ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=329.0,507.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Meals, food procurement, clothing","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=507.0,803.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"People couldn't afford a large amount of groceries in the 30s because no one had any money. Jim remembers eating a bowl of porridge with milk on it every morning. They would have toast if they were lucky. For lunch, Jim's mother would make perogies, chicken noodle soup, or other dishes. Jim says nothing fancy.\n\nChristmas meal included turkey. Jim's grandparents lived on a farm and raised turkeys, chickens, geese, and ducks. They couldn't afford to buy gifts for the family, so they would butcher a turkey, a goose, a duck, and a chicken and freeze the meat. They would then send the meat to Jim's mother who would store it until they needed it.\n\nMost food purchased at the store was canned. They purchased canned meat, canned vegetables, flour, sugar, coffee, and tea. They purchased these goods in Hanna, Alberta. Jim's family also had a garden. They grew potatoes, turnips, onions, radishes, lettuce, and carrots. The garden was little as they lived on a railway station, on railway property. Jim's father did most of the gardening.\n\nClothing would be sent for by mail. It would come from mail-order houses in Winnipeg or Regina. Eaton's had a catalogue they would send out. Jim would receive long woollen underwear (which he hated), woollen socks, pea jackets, and a navigator cap. For boots, they had shoes and overshoes. For summer clothes, they would order from Simpson's in Regina or Eaton's in Winnipeg. They would get running shoes, khaki pants, and light shirts.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=507.0,803.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Chores","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=803.0,1068.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"One of Jim's chores was to keep the slop pail empty. A slop pail was kept in the kitchen and contained waste water and scraps. They would empty it out in a ditch behind the station. A pigweed grew from that ditch that Jim's mother would pick and cook. Jim says it tasted good: just like spinach. Jim also had to carry in the coal. There was a big stove in the waiting room of the station, as well as the kitchen stove, and a small heater in the living room. For awhile, Jim had to carry water about the distance of a full city block from the community pump. Later, the railway set up a tank for Jim's home and they would, once per week, bring in a large amount of water to fill up the tank. Jim also used to get the mail from the post office every day. Jim also delivered telegrams on behalf of his father. Jim also helped his father in the office quite a bit. When he was 10, Jim got a job as caretaker of the one room school. This meant getting water for the school, cleaning the blackboards and brushes, sweeping the floor, tidied the desks, gather the scraps, keeping the stove stocked and the ashtray empty. He also filled the inkwells for the students. Jim did that for 4 dollars a month. He was saving to up to purchase a bicycle from Eaton's. The railway provided ice for their icebox. A great deal of ice would be stored underground underneath a layer of sawdust. One of Jim's jobs, in the summer, was to dig up that ice, clean it off, break a chunk off, and put it in the ice box.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=803.0,1068.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Parent's workdays, piano, learning telegraphy","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=1068.0,1379.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim's father worked 6 days a week in those days as a station agent. There was a railway station and his principle job was to copy train orders for passing trains so they could coordinate when and where trains would pass each other. This was all done via telegraph with the train dispatcher in Calgary. Jim's father would type out the orders and pass them to the conductors/engineers of the trains that were coming through Richdale. Also, as a telegrapher, Jim's father would write out telegrams for people. Mostly news about babies being born, people's deaths, and business things. During the war, he would copy out telegrams that announced casualties: people missing, wounded, or killed. He also sold tickets for the trains. He took in freight, billed the freight, and arranged for freight to be taken away. He did the same for express shipments.\n\nJim's mother looked after the house. She washed clothes with an old washboard. She would clean the house. She was also very active with the church. Singing with the choir and knitting for various causes. She also knitted socks for the soldiers during the war. She also organized events for the church.\n\nOne teacher would come in the fall and they needed a place to stay. There were facilities at the school, but most teachers did not want to stay there. So for 25 dollars a month, a family would house and board a teacher. Jim's family did that for 2 years.\n\nDuring the Depression, Jim's family moved from Edmonton to Richdale. They needed furniture, so they purchased some furniture on credit. It was difficult to keep up with the payments, but they managed. A salesman came by their house one day and sold Jim's mother a piano. Because of the credit on the furniture, they couldn't afford lessons for the children. Thus, they resolved to allow a teacher to stay with free room and board so long as the teacher taught the kids piano. Jim didn't like the piano at first and did not have to do anymore lessons. Jim's sister became jealous that Jim was allowed to play outside while she was learning piano. At that point, Jim was dragged into the station and his father taught him telegraphy and Morse Code any time Jim's sister was playing piano. That is how Jim learned to be a telegrapher.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=1068.0,1379.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"House, crafts, feeding freighthoppers","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=1379.0,1615.17714"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011/index/52109/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The house in Edmonton was a 3 room bungalow with very sparse furniture. It had hardwood floors with no rug, linoleum in the kitchen, a bathroom with running water (not all houses did), a kitchen stove and a kitchen table, and they had a \"Winnipeg couch\", which was a wire bed with an iron frame and a mattress on top. The furniture was very modest.\n\nJim's mother knitted and crocheted. She would gift those crafts to her friends. Jim's father didn't have a hobby, though he did do quite a bit of hunting when they lived outside the city. That was how they got meat in those days as game was plentiful. There were plenty of fish in those days as well. In Bickerdike, Jim's mother would render out the fat in the animals Jim's father shot. She would donate the flour and the baking powder. She made soda biscuits and put them into a bucket of water outside the door. Each hobo that rode the rails would take 2 biscuits (never more than 2). This was Jim's mother's way of helping the people that were homeless and starving during the 1930s.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133011#t=1379.0,1615.17714"}]}]},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 2 of 3 - 2004-091-1700.mp3"]},"duration":1644.85225,"width":640,"height":40,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/133/012/small/audio-default.png?1640632227","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/content/2/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-ualberta.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/133/012/original/2004-091-1700.mp3?1660934249","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1644.85225,"width":640,"height":40},"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Part 2 [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Religion, holidays, liquor","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=0.0,903.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim's mother was Catholic or Orthodox but she didn't practice when she came to Canada as there was no church when she arrived. She later went to church after having children as she thought she had an obligation. Jim's father wasn't religious at all. He believed in God, but he didn't believe in churches. He had served 4 years in France during the First World War and \"he didn't see much of God there\". He still went to church on Sundays to be with his family. Jim and his sister were baptized as Presbyterian in Edmonton because it was the traditional church of his Scottish father. When they moved to Richdale, there was a non-denominational protestant church they would attend. It would be a different priest every week: sometimes Anglican, sometimes United Church, and others. None of them were very religious: church was more social than anything.\n\nChristmas during the Depression was modest. They had some decorations for the Christmas tree and Jim's mother made most of them. When they were very young, they believed in Santa Claus and there would always be something under the tree on Christmas morning. There wasn't much: one major gift with one or two other things They had a mandarin orange and maybe some peanuts or other snacks. Jim got such things as hockey skates, hockey sticks, and sleighs while his sister got a carriage, or dolls. What they received was not elaborate, but it was what they could afford. They were a small family and too far away from extended family, so it was just the four of them. In the one room Christmas school, there was a Christmas concert. Jim hated being a part of those. They always celebrated Christmas in December. Jim and his sister would quarrel over their respective jobs when decorating the Christmas tree. His sister would thread popcorn around the tree and Jim would put the angel on top.\n\nJim and his sister had their birthdays celebrated, but not their parents. When Jim was working as a telegrapher in Camrose, he received a parcel from his parents for his 18th birthday: a ring which he has only ever removed when he had to have surgery. That is the only gift he remembers after he left home.\n\nDominion Day had ball tournaments between the towns. They would travel by horse, buggy, or car to the other towns. They would get wieners with buns and they would have hotdogs. Orange Crush would be the beverage of choice in those days.\n\nJim's mother cooked a ham on Thanksgiving. She would also make cabbage rolls. She could prepare traditional Ukrainian dishes, but she mostly prepared common English meals. She made pyrohy, paska, and head cheese.\n\nThey would go trick-or-treating on Halloween, mostly knocking on doors, but sometimes causing mischief. There was one family that refused to give out anything as they were extremely evangelical religious. The kids would upset that family's toilet. One kid fell into the pit after the toilet was pushed over.\n\nNew Year's was not celebrated by the kids, but Jim's father would have some friends over for a drink. Liquor came from the liquor store in Hanna. Everyone would give Jim's father their orders for liquor and then people would have a drink together at the station when their orders arrived. Jim once ordered brandy, but was tricked by his father into sharing the drink with a group of people so Jim had very little to drink.\n\nSometimes, priests came via train to the village in order to prepare the churches for Christmas Mass. They came and arrived via night train. Jim's mother always invited them into the living quarters as it was the polite thing to do. Jim's father would pour a drink or two for them and then he would start an argument between the two priests (who were of different denominations).\n\nParish feast days were not celebrated.\n\nEaster was celebrated with a ham. They would go to church if they could. Jim's mother used to boil some eggs and they would dye them different colours. She would then hide the eggs to be discovered next morning.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=0.0,903.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Singing, staying with mother's friend","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=903.0,1175.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim's mother used to sing in the choir. Jim says she didn't have a bad voice, but he wouldn't say it was good. She would practice the hymns at the church. At the Christmas concerts, Jim had to sing with the other kids, but he didn't sing well and had no interest in singing. Jim's mother sang in English with the choir. By the time Jim's mother married Jim's father, she was pretty removed from Ukrainian culture. She would occasionally speak Ukrainian with the occasional rail worker that could speak Ukrainian. She would also speak Ukrainian with her sisters or parents when they visited. Jim's mother's best friend was Hungarian woman who looked after Jim when his mother fell ill. She was a devout Roman Catholic and would drag Jim off to church when he stayed with her. Once, the priest at the church made Jim be the altar boy for a service when the regular altar boy did not show up. This is notable as Jim is protestant.\n\nJim used to sing in order to embarrass his kids. He sang railway songs. Jim's sister was quite talented on piano, but didn't do anything professional with it.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=903.0,1175.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Stories from Jim and his father","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=1175.0,1644.85225"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012/index/52108/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"For stories, they learned all the common ones like Little Red Riding Hood or Jack Be Quick (possibly Jack Be Nimble). Jim's father could tell stories for hours about things that happened on the railway. He would also tell stories about the First World War, but only the funny things that happened, not the horrific things. Jim's father was gassed during the war and that's when he was sent to a hospital in Edinburgh. He and his friend tried to see the Robbie Burns statue while there. Jim's father had trouble getting up the stairs to the statue (due to the state of his lungs) and wound up saying \"to hell with Robbie Burns\": this resulted in being punched by a large Scottish man nearby.\n\nJim is also a storyteller and he has a pretty good memory. Jim wrote a book: \"I Have Been Working on the Railway\". He also painted a picture. Jim's wife is a good painter. Jim also has an autobiography. He was a telegraph operator which was a very important job back then. Jim roomed with a fireman in Edson and Jim helped him to study. Jim learned every part about the railway and was able to work in almost any job (though he couldn't do them all due to union boundaries). Jim once had to deliver a baby in the middle of a street during a snowstorm.\n\nJim was also once on a mystery train. Companies were bidding on the rights to drill in Alaska. A group of small companies, that couldn't compete with large oil companies, formed a consortium of 13 companies in order to bid as one. There was a lot of industrial espionage in the oil business. They would have technicians come up and explain things to regulators or executives. Big companies would try and bribe the technicians to provide information in order to gain an advantage. The solution was to secretly transport the technicians via train to and from these gatherings so that no one could bribe the technicians.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133012#t=1175.0,1644.85225"}]}]},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 3 of 3 - 2004-091-1701.mp3"]},"duration":1702.45225,"width":640,"height":40,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/133/013/small/audio-default.png?1640632282","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/content/3/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-ualberta.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/133/013/original/2004-091-1701.mp3?1660934279","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1702.45225,"width":640,"height":40},"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Part 3 [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dances, concerts, raffle","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=0.0,302.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In Richdale, the local people raised enough money to put a hardwood floor in the community hall. Every Saturday night, they would host a dance there to raise money for the community. People from Hanna would drive out to the hall. The musicians came from Hanna or the nearby farms to play at the dances. Jim and some of the other kids would gather empty beer bottles and sell them. Jim was never much for the dancing. Apart from that, there wasn't much performing arts. Jim names some of the dances that were performed at the dances. There was piano, accordion, guitar, fiddles, and occasionally a banjo or saxophone. Jim went to high school with a girl that could play any song she heard on the piano, despite having no lessons. She went on to become chief stewardess for Air Canada.\n\nThere were no plays in the community: just the school Christmas concert. Jim says his community was very uncouth, or uncultured. Jim hated being a part of the plays. The only time he enjoyed the concert is when he managed to win a turkey in the raffle.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=0.0,302.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Language, neighbours, friends, activities","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=302.0,870.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jim's first language is English, which was spoken at home. English was always spoken at school. Jim says he is trilingual: telegraphy is a language, he knows both Morse Codes. Jim went to French language lessons in order to communicate with French telegraphers on the railway. He never became fluent, but he could communicate.\n\nJim's nearest neighbours also lived on railway property. The section foreman, his wife, their 2 sons and 2 daughters. They were Jim's playmates. In Edmonton, the kids across the street were his playmates. Jim had coffee and one of his playmates came and sat down with him by chance. Now he and Jim meet quite often for coffee. In Edmonton, they just played. They would build things or play games in the vacant lots. Jim lists some of the games they would play. They would play hockey in the street with frozen horse manure. At school, they would play softball during recess. On weekends, Jim and his friends would make the rounds to the workplaces of various parents: at each place they would be given some food. When they moved to Richdale, they would shoot gophers as there was a bounty on them at the time. Jim says they were spreading bubonic plague. They also played soccer and softball at school. Very little sport was organized. They made impromptu hockey rinks for shinny. They would use magazines as shin pads. One Christmas, Jim received hockey gloves: a prized possession.\n\nIn the early days, when Jim's father worked all over the place with the railway, there wasn't much time for a social life. Thus, his friends were other railroaders. Jim did amateur radio and belonged to a lodge. Any friends Jim's father had were fellow workers. After moving to Richdale, his father's friend was the grain agent that ran the elevator. Him and his wife were Jim's parents' closest friends. The general store owner and his wife were also friends. The school teacher was also a friend. Section men were also friends. It was a close-knit community. The atmosphere was better in those days: people helped and trusted each other more.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=302.0,870.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Radio, entertainment","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=870.0,1027.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"When Jim's father had enough money, he purchased a battery powered radio. He used a 12V wet cell battery that was taken from the car. If it was too cold or raining outside, they would listen to plays on the radio. After supper, if they didn't head out, they would listen to radio in the evening. Jim's father would listen to the news on the radio. Once the battery ran out, they would have to get it recharged in Hanna. After they got a car, they would just put the batter in the car and go for a long drive to charge it up. On Saturdays, weather permitting, they would drive into Hanna where Jim's mother would shop for groceries, Jim's father would have drinks with his buddies, and Jim and his sister would go to the movies. In summer they would go down to the railway dam and swim, though looking back it was nothing but a slough. ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=870.0,1027.0"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nationalities, family history, father's family","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=1027.0,1702.45225"},{"id":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013/index/52107/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The section foreman was German. There was also a Ukrainian person on the section. The storekeeper and his wife were English. The Singers family were German. The grain agent was Scottish from Ontario. The area was mostly English or German. Jim says many Ukrainians settled in the north near Vegreville, where the soil was similar to what was in Ukraine.\n\nJim was never that interested in his ancestors. Jim and his wife visited Scotland not long ago and learned more about his family name during that trip. He says that his family was originally Roman soldiers that stayed after the invasion. Their claim to fame was when people with his family name introduced the larch tree to Scotland after the English had stripped the Scottish forests for lumber to build fleets. Jim's cousin in Nova Scotia has undertaken writing his father's family history. He sent Jim a copy which Jim's daughter has taken.\n\nJim talks about his father's experiences after the First World War. Jim's father's friend convinced him to come west to work as a telegrapher. Jim's father's siblings had a large falling out over inheritance, but Jim's father, having been traumatized by the war, was not concerned with inheriting a piano. The siblings never reconciled and would try to use Jim's father as an intermediary through correspondence. Jim's father was the only one who could talk to all the other siblings.\n\nThe book only contains early childhood memories and stories from the railroad. Jim recommends Nick Mischi as an interviewee.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://ualberta.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1776/collection_resources/58717/file/133013#t=1027.0,1702.45225"}]}]}]}