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[Page 41]
Well a few weeks went by and I was sent to North Sydney school again, and was very happy about things. I think they were my very happy memories as a child. Uncle was a lay preacher in the Methodist Church and of course we all went to Sunday School and church. Uncle used to always say grace at the table and a prayer when all was finished, but he and Aunty were truly good people. I am not sure of the dates but I think it was late in 1918 when the Prince of Wales came out to Australia and all different schools put on a display at the showgrounds. The Prince of Wales feathers were formed by a lot of the children, also there were Maypole displays put on by the schools. Ed and my clothes were white dresses trimmed with a red sash, red hair ribbons white shoes and socks and our garters were trimmed with red ribbons and tails, on the outside we thought, we were just it, (Aunty Nell made them).
Christmas at the Young's was something else, all the stockings were put along the mantelpiece, we were all sent to bed early and we children were not allowed to go down stairs to the dining room until we were called. All the older family were taught the piano, and Edaline was being taught, so Ronald was chosen by Uncle to play Christmas hymns and then we all went to church. When we came home we were allowed to look in our stockings. We all had one of Aunty's black stockings, and it was fun taking all the things out, we always got books, pencils and useful things for school, and Edaline and I being the youngest we got a doll each, but they were not dressed. Aunty was going to dress them and this Mrs Essie Ward said she would dress them and Aunty said well you dress one and I will dress the other so she dressed mine and Aunty did Ed's. With Christmas holidays over and back to school and every Saturday Aunty would let us go to the pictures, it was only 1d (penny) to go in and we got a toy as well.
Time is going on and dad used to go out with Mrs Ward a lot. Now I am getting curious about things but not working things out at all.
So came the end of the year and 1919 Christmas and Dad said to me "I am going to take you up to Bangalow to see my sister Aunty Carrie, and we will have Christmas with her just you and me". Well I really loved my dad and I was very pleased. She had a son named Herbert Ditton, he would have been a few years older than me. Anyway off we went on the train to Bangalow and it was one of those box carriages and there were 3 other men in the carriage, I was really enjoying this and I remember Dad saying to the men do you play cards? "Yes they said", so dad said "I am never without my pack of cards"' so they got a rug and spread it out over their knees and made a sort of table. There was one man there, he said "I will go into the W.C." as it was called in those days, so I saw him go in and when he came out he had only one leg but he had two when he went in. So after a while I said to dad, "I want to go to the W.C", so he lifted part of the seat for me and opened the door and when I got in there here was this other mans leg. Well I felt it and found out it was a wooden leg (I was satisfied).
Well when we got to Bangalow there was a very old car to pick up passengers. It was good at Aunty Carries, she was a real good cook like dear gran. I did not have much fun with Herb, he was in scouts and was very keen. There were friends of Aunty's there, the McCluskeys and they had a daughter Clare.