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how good Wop] was to him. Poor Pop boug.ht ncw clothes and cverything to him.
Before [hc] wcnt 10 the Labrador. lS9
Both Ncll and Catherine went on to discuss why neithcr had gone on the
Labrador. Catherine Doyle confinned that neither had been asked but she could have
gone with her husband ifshe had not been sick in 1944. Her reference 10 her "one
chance" and her beliefthaL although she was a g.ood cook, she couldn't cook well
enough to go on the Labrador suggests that there was 11 status to such a position which
was lacking at home.
1supposed no one asked me (to go to the Labrador).
C.D.: I had one chance to go to lhc Labrador. That was the year 1got married
but I wasn't so well then. Labrador was a bad place to go ifyou had rhewnausm
or anything. But I didn't think I could cook good enough. Couldn't get a girl
anywhere and they took Unclc Fred McGrath. Uncle Fred got sick. Boils or
something. Good cook but if I had to go, he (Jim) would have showed mc.
Nobody asked me or Nell. .Not the year I got married, the next year (1944). They
always had Alice and Bess Doyle. Alice (McGrath) down one summer with Ned
Trahey. he split her side open wilh Ihe washing tub coming in through Ihe door
and had to come home. l60
A major role of women within the fishery was cooking, but in fishing families, the
enre ofchildren would also be part of their duties. As seen in Chapter 3, some children
were either laken 10 the Labrador or born there. Mrs. R. had been hired at the age of
elcvcn as baby-siller and assistant cook for one crew al a wage ofSIO.OO, while hcr
IS' M FLA 86-013, C8683.
160 Ibid.
III