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Essie was pleased to see me I think and said "you have grown up", I said yes and I am sorry for being naughty to you or whatever one calls it but I got very mixed up, well she said we will try and all pull together as a family. It was not long when gran forwarded a letter on to me and it was from E.M.M. Co. to come and see them and make a date to start. So this I did, but it was different from just walking to work from gran's, I had to walk to the station, catch a train to central and then a train to Zetland. But it was all worthwhile, I was put on spraying and I did very well and I liked it very much and the weekly wage was £4-11.6d per week and once a month we got a bonus for our extra work. It was also good, £20- £30, and that was excellent in those days. I was able to get myself some nice clothes and I loved nice silk stockings and satin shoes were all the fashion in those days. Oh when I went back to Campsie I called in to see Mrs Turner, but she had sold and gone back to Melbourne so I never did see or hear of her again. I went back to the lodge (Orange) met up with a few of the girls I knew. I also met a boy whose name was Jack Duckett, and he lived at Glebe and of course dad said "I had to bring him home", so when i asked him he said " he could come and meet them" and also said " I told my mother and she wants to meet you" so I said "alright". I was 16 years now but felt much older. So the meetings happened and of course he was liked very much and he was 18. I forget what he did, so I went to meet his mother in Glebe and she was very happy with me he said. He was an only child and his father was dead. He used to come to Campsie every Saturday and call for me to go to the pictures. Come Christmas 1928, Dad and Essie, Aunty Ida, Uncle Bill and all went camping and dad asked Jack if he would like to come with us, so he said yes. I forget where we all went, it was on a river somewhere, (there was an upper and lower of the place) but I got terribly sunburned on the backs of my legs, it was dreadful.
(Now before we finished work for Christmas and our party like we always had, there was a chap who used to bring my work into me from the mens part, and had asked me out. I said I would after Christmas as my parents had plans made. I kept on thinking of this while we were away camping and I hardly spoke to Jack. Anyway back at work I saw this chap again. I said I am giving my stepmother a surprise party for her birthday if you would like to come, you would be welcome. Well it was the worse thing that could of happened. The party was going along fine, we were all playing games and a truck pulls up out the front and Ray comes to the door, and all these fellows with him, about 8 of them. They all had beer and I said "oh you can not bring that in, there is no drink allowed here". Dad came out to see what was going on and he said "you can not come in, just put it back in your truck and be off with you". Well a couple of them came up on the veranda with Ray, and I said "only you not all your mates from work", but later I found out it was E.M.M. Co.'s football team. Anyway I introduced Ray to Dad and Essie and all the others as a friend and he was O.K., but every now and again he was missing with the boys, they had the beer out in the truck and they kept going out for a drink. Well, when it all finished up did I get into trouble, I could not help it, I did not know what was going to happen and of course Dad got up early and cleaned away the empty bottles, on account of Essie being a teatotaler, but Dad had a drink now and again and he understood I think. When everything was cleaned up, I was asked why I did ask Jack to come, I said "we are not talking", anyway Ray, got the sack from E.M.M. Co., for talking to me, so I went