“Had ice-cream which Isabelle & Dad had made.“ Sunday, March 11, 1945
11 Sun. Nice Day. Kinda windy. Did some home work. We kids played softball this afternoon. Had ice-cream which Isabelle & Dad had made. We four girls went for a walk after supper. Homework & played the piano, listened to Gildersleeve. Had a pretty wasted day. Bed about 10.30.
12 Mon. Dad brought us to town. Beautiful day. I did mending after school. Supper was late. Had pancakes & syrup. We kids stayed in tonight. Ross was here too. I didn’t get hardly any bookkeeping done, we were so late with dishes. Fooled around a bit. Bed at eleven.
13 Tues. Mrs. Stewart went to Regina this morn, & Mr. is still away, so we three kids were alone for dinner. Nice this morn., but turned colder this afternoon. Jack was here practicing after four, so Doris invited him to stay for supper. We kids just nicely got the bacon & eggs cooked when Mrs. Stewart came home. We decided not to go to the show. Told fortunes & I played the piano for three quarters of an hour. Bed at 11.
14 Wed. Colder. We stayed awhile after four to type. Didn’t get anywhere. Stewarts were going to Petits for supper, so she made our supper early, and we kids did the dishes. I studied a little then went to the hospital on the bus in the rain. Saw Uncle Tom & Willis. Played the piano for the nurses downstairs a few minutes. Played piano here and went to bed.
15 Thurs. It snowed during the night & the ground was white this morn. Rained quite a bit. Is very slushy. Mom & Dad were in town, so I bought my new spring coat & hat in the Style Shoppe. (beige & brown respectively). Wrote letter to Ruth. Doris & I went to see “Cowboy & the Senorita”. It was very good I thought Doris didn’t like it had corn wife.
16 Fri. Nice day, but muddy. Doris & I got a ride home with Russ & Lilian, as the folks weren’t in. We all went to Woodworks except Miss Farrell tonight. Played Chinese checkers with Carrie. Sang for a long time, and had a lovely lunch. Home about 1 o’clcok. Grand night.
17 Sat. Gave Donald & Miss Farrell lessons. Dorty had a bad finger. Did some mending, pressing and worked hard til noon. We all went to town this afternoon, as it was wonderful out. Just talked to everyone I saw & strolled around. Had my hair done tonight. Bed at 10.30.
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.”