“Dad & Mr Stutt came to town with team.“ Saturday, January 18, 1947
12 Sun. Went to Church twice today. Doris went to the morning sermon. Is. & I went to the store & got the mail. Took it to Giroux’s barn for Mr. Giroux to take home. I wrote a letter to Keith this aft, then lay down, & actually slept. We 3 kids gathered in our room this evening, & talked a bunch & found we’re hungry, but no eggs, no milk, no cheese, in fact no nothing!
13 Mon. Wilf was at Board of Directors meeting this aft. & Grace at hospital so I was alone most of the time. Storming like everything, & cold tonight, so we kids stayed in — Listened to “The Green Years” on Lux. I set my hair practiced vocal, then crocheted awhile. My doily is coming along very well.
14 Tues. Terrible day. Blizzard was terrible all day. Is. Couldn’t get to school so went to work. A bunch of us ate dinner in the basement. Lovely dinner, & cost us only 25 cents. Had beans, fried eggs, peaches, tea & muffins. Glady, Duffy, Pete, Lolly were there too. Four of the staff weren’t at work on account of weather. Really a dead day. Doris & I talked tonight.
15 Wed. Had a very good morning. Took a singing lesson which I enjoyed very much. Cleaned our room, bathed, & went to Mrs. Mitchell to get some sewing done. Is. called in after school & we had tea & lunch. Is & I went to first show tonight. “Faithful is My Fashion.” Enjoyed it very much. I still can’t get to sleep at night & trains all stopped so no letter from Keith.
16 Thurs. Business improved a lot today. People in with teams. Stopped blowing in town, but bad in country. I felt rotten today, also this evening, but went to Choir Practice. Rather enjoyed it. We were out early. I curled some of my hair. Sure felt wozzy when I went to bed.
17 Fri. Put in an awful day, felt so rotten. Better tonight though. We bowled the Post Office. Had so much fun. They are a swell bunch of kids. I did very well. Got 154, 152 & 119, but we only got 1 point. Is came home & we had pumpkin pie with 2 scoops of ice-cream. Really was good. Is. & I talked awhile. Felt much better tonight.
18 Sat. Nice day. Dad & Mr Stutt came to town with team. Took nearly 3 hours each way. They brought all our things in, & we sent a bunch of stuff home. Is. & I stayed in this evening. I practiced for nearly an hour. Set my hair. Crocheted a little.
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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.