Chapter 22: Three Weeks of Bliss

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— Full chapters will appear in the printed published book. —

At the beginning of August, my humdrum summer was pleasantly interrupted, completely out of the blue.

The phone rang. It was for me, and it wasn’t Marg calling. I was so surprised.

It was Mrs. Myers from Andy Myers’ Lodge in Vermilion Bay, one of the tourist camps I had called at the beginning of the summer. I had long ago given up hope of anyone hiring me this summer. She explained that they needed a cabin girl and waitress for the last three weeks of August. The girl who was working for them had quit unexpectedly. I was ecstatic! I could earn some money at last. The wage was $10 per week, with full room and board included. She asked me if I was available and, if so, would I take the job.

Of course, I would take it. I told her I could start tomorrow, any time, I was eager and ready to go. I couldn’t believe it. How lucky could I be?

Mrs. Myers explained that I would not be able to take any time off for the duration of the three weeks, and if that would be okay. That was quite fine with me. What would I do with time off anyway? I would not want to come back to the farm for a day off and listen to Cliff tell me what to do, and I had nowhere else to go. She said that I could start on Saturday, if that was okay with me. Oh yes, that was more than okay with me. The worst part was having to wait until Saturday.

I supposed that Cliff could have stopped me from taking this job, but I was quite confident that he would let me go. He kicked Bruce out of the house, and he didn’t care that Raymond was working somewhere else for the summer, so I didn’t think he would care whether I was gone or not. He had stopped me many times from doing things that might make me happy, such as refusing to let me wear my red coat or eat bananas, but I thought he might like the idea of getting rid of me for three weeks. He didn’t stop me from going to Bible camp or visiting Edith, so I didn’t think he would stop me from doing this. In fact, when I told mom and Cliff about it, Cliff agreed to drive me and drop me off at Myers’ Lodge on the Saturday.

Cliff could easily handle the work on the farm. He had pared down the number of animals so that it wouldn’t be too much work for the two of us to handle without my brothers there. We still had chickens, but my mom was quite capable of looking after them. Every night, I had to make sure they were all inside and the door was closed securely, so the foxes couldn’t get in and eat them. Now the chickens wouldn’t be able to roam around in the yard because no one would be home at night to make sure they were safely inside. But that would be a minor inconvenience for the poor chickens.

I didn’t know how Cliff would handle the cows. Someone would have to be at home to put them back into the barn at night. Maybe he would leave them outside all night. I didn’t know what would happen on the farm during these three weeks — and I sure didn’t care either!

Cliff and mom dropped me off at the camp and left. Mrs. Myers met me and showed me where I would be staying. I would be sharing a cabin with the cook, a woman around 50 years old. We had running water and a shower in the cabin, a nice luxury I wasn’t used to. We had to be up by 6 a.m. but that was easy for me, that was normal for me.

My first task in the morning was to set the tables, toast piles of bread, slather butter on them, and keep the plate of toast in the oven to keep warm. When the tourists started coming for breakfast at 7 a.m., I took their orders. They could choose which way they wanted their eggs done. Breakfast was always eggs, toast, bacon and hash browns. We were allowed to eat whatever the tourists ate, so I was well fed.

After breakfast, we prepared shore lunch boxes for the tourists to take with them, when they went fishing on the lake. This contained the spices and breading needed for frying the fish they caught, plus cookies or pastries for dessert, an apple or banana, some other condiments, and some drinks too. The guests came to the kitchen to pick up the boxes to take with them on their fishing expeditions.

No lunch was provided in the main lodge as the tourists were away fishing for the day.

At dinner, the cook prepared a homemade meal that included a savoury main course, along with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. If only the school nutritionist could see me now, they would be so pleased with my new diet. Even if it was just for three weeks.

During the day, when the tourists were away fishing on the lake, I cleaned the cabins. Sometimes the guests told me not to bother, so some days I had only a few cabins to do. Each cabin had its own small kitchen stocked with cereals, cans of soup, and other items, so they could make their own lunch if they weren’t out fishing. In the afternoon, I was sometimes requested to clean some windows in the main lodge, or another chore of some sort.

We always had a few hours off in the afternoon to rest, go for a swim, or do anything we wanted to. It was not hard work at all. Around 4:30 p.m., we were back in the kitchen getting ready for the evening meal. The tourists were usually finished eating by 7 p.m. and we cleaned up. The rest of the evening was our own to do whatever we wanted to. I loved this job! To me, it wasn’t like working at all.

On the first afternoon, Mrs. Myers came with me to show me what I had to do to clean the cabins. On the second day, I was on my own to do it, and I was nervous about it. I tried to remember everything I had to do. I washed any dishes that were dirty, dried them, and put them away in the cupboards. I swept the floor, vacuumed or shook out the carpets. I used the brush to clean the toilet. I washed the sink and made sure the bathtub was clean. I dusted the tables and any surfaces that looked like they needed it. Most of the tourists who stayed there seemed to keep things quite clean. I made the beds and straightened up the chairs. I didn’t have a checklist, so I wasn’t sure if I missed anything.

I waited to hear from Mrs. Myers about my cleaning. I was sure I would be criticized for something. I had never done any of this kind of work before. I did my best, but I did not believe that I could do it to their satisfaction. I was sure I could have cleaned the toilet better. I could have missed a speck of dirt in a corner when I swept. Maybe I could have shook out the rugs more than I did. On the farm, all I ever got was harsh criticism. I could never do anything right, no matter how hard I tried.

After a few days, I approached Mrs. Myers and asked her, “Is everything okay?”

She looked at me a bit bewilderedly. “Everything is fine,” she replied. “You are doing a good job.”

I was so surprised. I couldn’t believe I was doing things right, and that they were pleased with me.

No one at the camp ever complained about any of my work. Some of the tourists had southern accents and I found them difficult to understand. I sometimes had to ask them more than once to tell me their food orders. They were always so kind and considerate with me, patiently repeating it. I dropped a spoon and they scrambled to pick it up for me, smiling at me the whole time. Occasionally, I got a compliment. Not once did they ever make a nasty comment, or say a bad word to me. I was always expecting to hear about something I didn’t do right. But I never did. This was so different from work on the farm.

Every day was so very pleasant and I enjoyed it very much. It was such a pleasure to work at Myers’ Lodge. The cook made the meals and I got to eat them too. With running water and a shower available, I could wash and keep myself clean every day. What more could I possibly want? And I was being paid for this. This was a dream come true. This was like a vacation. Life on the farm was the complete opposite.

I didn’t miss having to clean manure out of the barn every morning. I wasn’t being constantly barked at about what to do, and then yelled at for never doing anything right. I never saw a smile on the farm, or heard a kind word. The only one who appreciated me on the farm was Blacky, maybe the farm animals did too. Maybe they missed me.

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I was doing well, but then I started to feel faint. I had to sit down and rest. I didn’t know why that happened. I thought it might have been because my arms were above my head for too long. I started back to work, but then suddenly I collapsed and fell over a table and chair, which then toppled over as well. Mrs. Myers heard the noise and came running. She was so concerned about me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, as she helped prop me up. I could see the extreme concern in her face.

“I don’t know why I almost fainted,” I told her. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, you should go back to your cabin and lie down.”

“But I’m not finished cleaning the windows,” I said.

“Oh, that doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Myers replied. “It’s more important that you are okay.” She insisted that I go back to my cabin, and she helped escort me there. She made sure I was on my bed and lying down. She got a washcloth and wetted it with cold water. She told me to put it on my forehead. She waited until it looked like I was comfortable and then she left. I was tired and fell asleep.

Mrs. Myers came back about an hour later to check on me. She said that I didn’t have to waitress that night, that she could handle it.

“No, it’s okay, I’m fine.” I told her, as I was feeling much better now.

I was perplexed why I felt so weak when cleaning the windows. I was quite accustomed to doing a lot of work, and cleaning windows was really an easy job to do.

“You stay here and rest.” Mrs. Myers assured me that I could take the evening off. “Your health is more important.”

Mrs. Myers finished washing the windows with the help of the cook, so I wouldn’t have to do that again. I got over the dizziness and I did, in fact, show up for my waitress duties that night. I didn’t want to let anyone down.

I couldn’t help but think how much Mrs. Myers was fussing over me compared to how little my mother took care of me.

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A very popular song at the time was “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” by Gerry and the Pacemakers. That title rang true for me. I had spent almost every night at the farmhouse crying myself to sleep, and now I didn’t cry at all. I felt that I was being cared for by some wonderful people, I felt valued and appreciated. The song made me feel sad and homesick, but I didn’t want to go home. It made me feel that something was missing from my life, some sort of joy that should have been there every day, all along.

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A wonderful thing happened to me during those three weeks that I would never forget. Usually, the tourists booked in for a week, from Saturday to Saturday. When they left, some of them, but not many, gave me a tip of a dollar or two. I was still very shy, so I did my work but didn’t carry on with much conversation, other than to take their orders and answer their questions politely.

This one woman seemed to really like me and always smiled at me. She and her husband thanked me every day for serving them, they made me feel good about myself. Once I forgot to bring her some sugar for her tea, which I quickly corrected, brought her some, then sincerely apologized. She just smiled and said, “That’s okay, dear.”

When she and her husband were leaving, she came into the kitchen and gave me a small tin of Thorne’s Premier Toffees from Leeds, England, and a $10 American bill. That was the equivalent to more than a week’s wages for me. I could hardly believe my eyes when I looked at the money. I was astonished and delighted that she did this. I couldn’t think of the words I wanted to say. I was so shocked, I was barely able to say thank you. I was stunned that she cared enough to give that much to me. She knew me for only a week and she was so generous. She must be rich, I thought.

The lid of the toffee tin showed a Joshua Reynolds painting entitled Simplicity. It depicted a young girl in a white dress with a blue sash, a white hat with a blue bow, holding some flowers in her lap. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be the girl in the painting — young and pretty, exuding grace, innocence and contentment. No doubt this little girl was pampered and loved dearly.

When I brought this cherished tin back to the farm, I kept it on my dresser. Just looking at it brought back happy thoughts of this lovely, kind-hearted woman from my first summer working experience. Such a sweet, sweet memory. Those were three weeks of bliss for me.

I kept that tin for over 50 years, I still have it, and it has such a special place in my heart. It is now dented on the side, and has a few nicks and scratches. I sometimes pick up the tin and cup it in my hands, and when I do, I am reminded of the kindness of strangers and how much that meant to me, how much it still means to me.

Mrs. Myers paid me $30 for the three weeks of work, plus I had the $10 US from the kind lady, and two other tourists gave me a total of $7. I had not expected any tips. The extra $17 was a huge bonus for me. It meant so much more to me than anyone could have ever imagined.

I left the camp with $47. Never before did I have so much money. I felt rich and very blessed. I hid the money in my bedroom and Cliff didn’t ask me for it. I could keep it all and spend it on myself.

The summer of 1964 had ended, I went back to the wretched farm, but I had something wonderful to look forward to — I would be starting high school in a few days’ time. I would be making new friends and I was sure that my world would become bigger, brighter and better.