EARLY LIFE IN HAMILTON CONTINUED

After a good nights sleep Mrs. Kane had a good bæеaklast ready for me. While I was getting my breakfast Mrs. Kane said I did not expect you to make your own bed Mr. Bass.  she said, but the bed is made. I said, didn't make my bed Mrs. Kane. But don't, mind me, when I get to sleep I stay put and do not upset my bed. When I get, out I just put  the covers back and it looks as if nobody has been in bed. I enjoyed a good sleep thank you for a good bed.

Both Beatrice and Grace were Catholics, therefore I had no difficulty there, but, I was still in love with Jessie.

When Beatrice went, on her holidays she sent me a grand pipe. It was a real good pipe and I guess she gave a good price for it, but it was curved and I didn't like it so I gave it away to Pat.  She sent me post cards and then she sent me a love letter. That, put the lid on everything. I could not let go on thinking I was in love with her, so I wrote back and explained everything to her.

The house in Houston Street was too small for us so we moved to a bigger house in Picton Street. It had a much nicer appearance the other house and we had a little more room. There vas no dining room in it, the living room ran into the kitchen. Off the kitchen were two bedrooms, and upstairs was the bath room and one small bedroom. Fred was still with us so he shared the room with me upstairs.

Then Nellie got another boarder. She was a young lady named Carolyne Robershaw. Nellie told her she had no room for another boarder, but, Carry begged her to let her board with her. She said she would sleep in with the children.

Carry could have got a good boarding house anywhere with a nice comfortable room for herself, then why did she want to put up with such inconvenience?

I did not know then, but I found out later. Carry was in love with me and wanted to get as close as she Could to me.

Carry lived with her sister and they lived close to us when we lived in Houston Street. I could not understand why she should leave her sister. Nellie visited their home several times and I can only guess they talked about me. I had not, spoken to Carry, but she traveled me on the same car every morning when I worked at he Canadian Drawn Steel.

When we left the house in Houston Street, Pat took it because he was expecting Lilly coming over any time. It, wasn't  long before she did came, and they settled down in the little house.

When John returned to England in 1915 he joined the army. He had nab been in very long when he was discharged on account of bad health. He wasn't, smart, but he was very lucky. Lots of men who had seen active service did not get pensions, but he got one, and more than that, he got more because they thought he had come from Canada to join the army.

When he went back to Canada in 1920 he was given vocational training. he took up shoe repairing. Then he opened a store in James Street. He was doing well and then he had board money from Fred and Carry, I had none left, In spite of this he talked about going back to the Old Country. He had bought new furniture including a piano and whenever I sat down to play the piano Carry was sure to come and sit close beside me.

John had bought, the furniture on time(credit), but, he made up his mind to go back to the Old Country he sold the furniture and skipped the country,

Pat found it very difficult to get a job, and before John left, Pat and I decided to go to Guelph. We went to Guelph June 5 and the next, day both started work with the Partridge Rubber Co. We got boarding's with some people named Waddington who had come from Bradford. We never stopped to look at the street, but it was Alice Street, and the worst, street, in the city. All the bootleggers lived in Alice Street, and if there was any shooting to be done  it was sure to be done in Alice Street.

This was the place we had to wash outside winter or summer. We had no hot, water and had no bathroom. That is where I met Alf Boardman. We had not been at the Waddington place long when Pat found another place to live. He told me about it and I decided to go with him. I did not like Boardman, he was very ignorant, but, when he I knew that Pat and I moving he said he would go with us. Alf had no pals until we came along so we didn't mind him coming with us,

The place we went to was an apartment and was rented by an elderly woman with a family. I could see she was poor because she had not much furniture. It looked as though we had not improved our position, but this lady was sociable and I liked her. She told me her name was Mrs. Brewer. She had three sons and a young daughter 15 years old at home and an older daughter away.

After moved to her place Mrs. Brewer didn't stay long in the apartment. She moved to a house in Hooper Street. This was a broken down shack, but I helped to fix it up. Pat's wife was in Hamilton so he did not stay long with us.

This house had a kitchen, living room and a bedroom on the ground floor and two bedrooms upstairs.

They were all small rooms, and Boardman and I used the

bedroom on the ground floor. There was a toilet, upstairs but no bathroom. I built a bathroom around the toilet.

We had a big pot bellied stove in living room and Mrs. Brewer burned soft coal in it. Sometimes the smoke got, into the room and. it was like a fog. We never complained about it, just made fun of it.

I left, the Partridge Rubber Co. and went to the Malable Iron Works.