Item AAAB2591 - Clara and Frank London interview

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Reminiscences RECORDED: West Vancouver (B.C.), 1976-04-27 SUMMARY: Frank London: Born in London, England; came to Saskatchewan in 1908; worked as a farm labourer; when family came out later, they bought a farm; hailed and frozen out; moved to a CPR "ready-made" farm in Alberta; met his wife at Lougheed; farmed there for seven years, then sold out and came to Vancouver. Worked as a marine pipe fitter at Wilson Drydocks, building and repairing ships; recalls building the millionth ton of new ship (wartime); arming of transport ships. Working conditions in holds of ships; sulphur fumes from acetylene torches damaged his lungs. Only medical insurance was an employee sick benefits fund, paid entirely by employees; later, when he had a heart attack, the WCB had been established. Clara London: Born in Minnesota; came to Canada in 1905; father homesteaded 125 miles southeast of Edmonton; rented land for the summer; then father built a covered wagon, loaded the family of eight, plus beds and stove, and traveled 100 miles to Lougheed, staying at farmhouses overnight. She met and married Frank there in 1914; had six children, two born at home. Recollections of old remedies -- goose grease and turpentine spread on the chest for colds, peppermint tea and barley water for upset stomachs. Flu epidemic of 1918-19; Mr. London had a slight case; the new brick schoolhouse was turned into a hospital. Other home remedies. Food preservation. Life in a retirement lodge.