“Quite nice Mountie. Ahem.” Friday, September 21, 1945
16 Sunday. Accomplished quite a few things this morning. Dad & I went to church with Stutts. It was a miserable, cold day, but there was a nice fire on. Not many there. Albert Lawrences came to our place for supper. Left at 8. We Talked until 10. I couldn’t sleep.
17 Mon. Mr. Stutt brought Dad, Doris, Isabelle & I to town. Terrific day at the store. Grace wasn’t there all day. Rained in the night so all the Farmers were in. Just 3 of us for check-up, and we were there until 7. Stewarts had company tonight, so Alice, Isabelle, Doris & I tried to go to the show. Stood in line for 1/2 hour, then came home. All the Harvesters were in town. We had lunch first at the Commercial.
18 Tues. Work is kind of bothering me, as there is so much of Ivy’s work that I can’t do and don’t know for sure whether or not she wants it done. Tonight was C.C.Y.M. Doris gave a poem and Isabelle & I sang during the social which was purely musical. She was dressed as a man and I was in a long crepe paper dress & bonnet. We sang “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon” & for an unchore (sic), “Cupids In The Briny”. Swell crowd, good meeting.
19 Wed. Had an awful lot of typing & stuff this morning, so couldn’t get any work done. Came back at 2, and worked til 3.45, then paid a bill for Mr. Powers at the telephone office. Came home & washed my hair. Willard came home with Doris for supper, then they went to the show. I read tonight. Isabelle & Alice put a fake telephone call in for Edgar. Doris came in shortly after ten. I was in bed.
20 Thurs. I feel much better, as Ivy was up this aft, and told me I don’t have to do any work but the absolutely necessary. I got home a 6.45 & Alice, Isabelle & I were down to the show at 7.10. “A Song to Remember.” Chopin’s Life. The music was really wonderful. It filled us up inside. So did the grapes & cookies etc.
21 Fri. Have a terrible cold today. Mr Sorrell asked me to bowl him a game tonight so Doris went down with me too. We just had one game, which wasn’t very good for me. 101 of a score. Had my change purse stolen from my coat pocket. Sure am worried as the store and Post Office key were both in it. Mr. Stewart drove me down to report it to the Mounties. Quite nice Mountie. Ahem. Didn’t get back until after nine.
22 Sat. Miserable day. Rained off and on, and the wind at suppertime was terrific! I got a Synoptic Balance, and took off a balance of the Customers Ledger. Mr. Powers helped me check the take, as there was hardly any business tonight. Staff were sitting around. Dad made a special trip to town for me after nine. Didn’t get finished work until 10.25, as we didn’t check. My cold is awful.
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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.