Boston bound
 
A Massachusetts migration workshop and genealogy fair 
 

For many children, summer vacation is a time to play all day. That sure wasn't the case for Cliff and me. One of our chores was to pick, peel, wash or shell the vegetables from the garden. I rather enjoyed this task. I especially liked eating the tender green peas as I picked them. Cliff liked to chomp on the fresh, sweet carrots.

Each summer, Mum had relatives who came from the "States." Everything in the house had to be spic and span for the day of their visit. Cliff and I were instructed to be extra careful in the preparation of the garden vegetables. We also picked blueberries so Mum could make pies on the white enamel pie plates. Dad was told to put on a clean shirt before he came to the supper table.

The way these people raved about fresh vegetables, I figured there were no vegetable gardens in the States.

To hear them talk one would think wild blueberries only grew in New Brunswick.

They pronounced their words differently and called the horse a "hoss." I thought they must all be rich as they drove big fancy cars like Desotos.

One of the older ladies spoke of taking the Boston boat from Saint John on her first trip to the States.

Where was this place called the States? I got up my nerve and asked one of them. "Where do you live?" The answer surprised me, "Gardiner." I rushed out of the house and whispered to my brother Ken, "They don't live in the States. They live with the gardener." Gee! I was really confused now.

The years passed and I learned a little more geography. I also became aware that many relatives and friends of the family had left New Brunswick to seek work and a more prosperous life in the Boston area. The boat that travelled between Saint John and Boston gave easy access to the United States.

So many people went there in years gone by that a Boston States Migration Workshop and Genealogy Fair will be held on Oct. 2, 1999 in Waltham, Mass. The organizers have cordially invited us New Brunswickers who are unable to attend to participate by sending queries and/or family histories. Media can include pictures, audio and visual recordings or diskettes.

A really great idea is to send "Wanted Posters" on colourful 8 1/2 x 11 paper if you are not able to attend. Your wanted ancestor poster can go in your place! There is a large amount of brick wall space in the Charles River Museum to post your folks. Be creative and colourful. Send your posters as well as your queries to Boston States Genealogy Fair, c/o Sharon Sergeant, 48 Lake St., Waltham, Ma., 02451. Ms. Sergeant's E-mail is ssergeant@usa.net 

I suggest you visit http://bostonstates. rootsweb.com/CRM.htm or http://bostonstates.rootsweb.com/BSpost.htm for details of the conference.
 

Ruby Cusack is a genealogy buff living in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Readers are invited to send their New Brunswick genealogical queries to Ruby at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. When E-Mailing please put Yesteryear Families in the Subject line. Please include in the query, your name and postal address as someone reading the newspaper, may have information to share with you but not have access to E-mail. Queries should be no more than 45 words in length.

New and Used Genealogical and Historical books of New Brunswick for sale.

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