“saw Gordon off on the train.“ Wednesday, January 10, 1945
7 Sat. Cleaned a bit downstairs this morning. Did homework all afternoon. Mrs. F, Mr & Mrs S. came up tonight. Ladies worked on a quilt. Men & girls played cards. I did homework. Bed. Darn! I forgot wrong page will just put next years on 44 page.
8 Mon. Dad brought us to town. We stood in the hall for 20 min. waiting for the door to be unlocked; went back early. Miss Blackwell was the only teacher I updated. Mission Circle at Jaclins’. Installation of officers. Mr & Mrs S. were there. Gordon & kids had been here, so we went down town & found them after. Went for a car ride.
9 Tues. Came right home after school. Did some work. Gordon phoned & asked Doris & I to go out to Roome’s with them. I didn’t want to for more reasons than one was — sleepy didn’t think it was necessary. Colemans had car trouble & it was nearly 10 when they got here for Doris. I worked, walked down town for ginger ale & had lunch. Was in bed by 11.10.
10 Wed. I stayed to try a ten-minute test after school. Didn’t get it. Did some work before supper and very little after, then we went to bed early. Were in by 9.30. Talked for awhile. Really was sleepy. Marie was here after school. 3 of us saw Gordon off on the train.
11 Wed. Went to the aud. This morn. Guy Divini spoke. Didn’t know it. Wrote Lit. test. Mr. McDonald, an Englishman, Irishman & 3 Hindus were up in the aud. Shortly before four. We all went up. They were introduced on the stage. Kept Donna Henries tonight. They got home at 10.40 instead of 12. Nice place to stay.
12 Fri. Test wasn’t quite as bad as I expected. Nice day but windy — ended up snowing. Mr Stutt came in for us. Home before six. Miss Farrell is boarding here, and so Alfred called for her to take her to Halbrite. Arnots came this evening to play Five Hundred. I did Bookkeeping, diary & accounts. Wrote a letter also. Didn’t get home until after twelve.
13 Sat. Slept in awhile. Didn’t have too much to do! Gave Wilma her lesson. We all went to town. We girls saw the show. “Centreville Ghost”(Robert Young). It was very good. Brought Isabelle home and washed my hair tonight. Played a hand of rummy. Couldn’t go to bed until Miss Farrell was ready, which was very late.
Click Here to view a scan of the handwritten original
These are the diaries of a seventeen-year-old teenager from a farm near Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Her name is Lorraine. She eventually was a church organist in Colgate. In 1944 she was the piano player for a dance band in Weyburn. In these days before school busses she, and her sisters, each had to move from the farm into town to attend school for Grades 11 & 12. This is the darkest time in World War II. Weyburn hosted an airbase for BCATP (British Commonwealth Air Training Plan). In other words, the town is filled with eligible young airmen from all over the world …
For more information on BCATP see a blog site dedicated to “Paying homage to those who stayed behind to train those who fought overseas.”