Celebrating Canada Day, remembering Confederation
Seniors recall climate, debate surrounding Newfoundland joining Canada
It was a great debate.
To be or not to be, that was the big question that swirled for residents of Newfoundland for more than 80 years prior to the former country joined Confederation and became Canada’s 10th province.
The referendum at the time had a number of criteria, including the requirement residents had to be 21 to cast a vote.
The number of people who were eligible for this vote is dwindling, but fortunately five people who did vote are residents of Alderwood Estates Retirement Home in Witless Bay and they shared a brief look at the pulse of the day.
The old adage you should dance your cares away certainly applies to Mina Dodge. The 95-year-old who now calls Witless Bay home, grew up in Wesleyville. She recalls how difficult things were prior to Newfoundland and Labrador joining Canada and how much better things are today because of that decision nearly 70-years ago.
“It helped us at the time, for sure. We had no power at the time and were working on getting lights and our streets paved,’’ she said. “My husband Archer (from Little Hearts Ease) and I had four children (one daughter and three sons, all of whom have shared their mother’s good health and are still alive). We were happy, even though we didn’t have a lot at the time,’’ she added.
Dodge said the people she knew were all in favour of Joey and said “the Bonavista Bay crowd all voted for it.”
There were a few dissenters in the area and she said they were vocal. “They thought it was a bluff and it would do nothing for us. I wasn’t going to vote against Joey, I liked him.”
She said her family didn’t have much money and everyone had to chip in to make ends meet, including her children who had to work after school to help out. Dodge said after Newfoundland joined Canada, things got better, because people didn’t have much beforehand and most of them couldn’t make it at all.
“If we hadn’t joined we would all be in the dog house,’’ she said.
The baby bonus was a huge help for her family as what would seem like a meagre $6 today, went a long way to helping feed and clothe her children.
“They all got an education and had a chance in life. Each of them are hospital workers. I had a good life as well. I worked with government and my husband worked with the Department of Fisheries. I started off cleaning floors and worked my way up. None of that would have been possible without us joining Canada,” Dodge said.
Ernie Steeves, 94, who now lives in Witless Bay, came from Trepassy where he grew up working on the dragger boats. “It was bad times back then. There was no work, no food. It was tough,’’ he said. “We wanted to come in because we knew Newfoundlanders would be better off if we did. I wasn’t married at the time, but I liked what I saw and heard about it. If we said yes, it would be a better thing for us.”
He said there were a lot of people against it because they felt Newfoundland was alright the way it was.
“They wanted to control their own destiny and keep their independence, but at that time, Newfoundland was so bad off, people were realizing Canada was a great country and joining them would be better than what we had,’’ Steeves said. “There was no work for people. Those who were fishing, they were alright, but others weren’t so lucky,” he added.
Steeves said he still thinks Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are better off today than they would have been if they hadn’t joined Canada.
“There would be no places like this for us (seniors) if we hadn’t. Luckily we have a place to get into and be cared for.”
Important items from the early talks, things like fisheries, trade, relations with the U.S., the Labrador boundary and defence were among the most important. Several of these issues such as fisheries and trade are still prevalent today.
Based on today’s standards, one would think that a teacher and her husband should be in decent shape financially. But that was not the case for Edith Houlihan, now 94, originally from Manuels. She taught school for more than 20 years before leaving that position and heading to work for Vera Perlin, all the while residing in Grand Falls-windsor.
“I taught around the bay and when I went to teach in Grand Falls, the people I boarded with were against it,’’ she said recalling the referendum. “They didn’t have a lot of money, but they were still against it,” Houlihan said. “When I went home, there were so many people in favour of it. My father was a strict Liberal and he supported Joey (Smallwood). Joey told us it would be a good thing because it was going to be hard in the future if we didn’t join,” she added. “We had three sons and it helped us, it was wonderful.”
Debate raged for decades
The collapse of responsible
government in Newfoundland in 1934, followed by the Second World War, saw Newfoundland enter the next chapter of its history.
The debate had waged on since it was first broached prior to Confederation of the colonies in 1867. Several times it was put to a vote and on all occasions prior to the referendum of 1948, it was defeated. Following the Second World War, Newfoundland developed a better relationship with Canada and by 1945, Canadians and the British Government agreed that incorporating Newfoundland into Confederation was the right thing to do. Referendums held in 1948 showed that a majority of Newfoundlanders agreed.
It was not without conflict however as the vote was preceded by a long, tense and divisive debate followed by a difficult period of transition. Newfoundlanders became Canadian citizens on March 31, 1949 and how Newfoundlanders became Canadians has been debated ever since.
Martha Sullivan (Power)
of Calvert, 96, was one of the residents who recounted the days leading up to the vote and beyond. “Everyone around me said it was good. The baby bonus was a big thing that helped the family,’’ Sullivan said.
“I was in favour of it and a lot of the people I knew were, too. It helped to make for better times and better lives for us,’’ she added.
Sullivan said Newfoundlanders were suffering and they needed help, of which there was not a lot at the time. She said raising three children was difficult, but her family was able to get through the tough times and each of her children were able to go on and be successful in their own rights.
Her son Hugh Sullivan was a firefighter in St. John’s, her daughter Eileen Waddleton was a teacher in Trepassy and her other daughter Brenda Crane went into business and
is at CNW in Bay Bulls.
“I was always for it. It was bad times then. It was so long ago, I have forgotten about so much of it, but it was definitely a good thing. My late husband Pat was also in favour of it,’’ Sullivan said.
Another resident of Alderwood Estates, Irene Oates, 94, of Bay Bulls, also voted in favour of joining Canada.
“It was a bit of extra money for our family. We didn’t have much, like most people in those days. So, when we got the baby bonus, it helped us to keep up the house and get a few things for the family,’’ she said.
“We had three children, two boys and a girl. It was tough times back then. My husband (William) and I were newly married and didn’t have much. Work was scarce so it (baby bonus) helped us,’’ she added.