Bras D'Or

Dennis Jessome
The Boy From Bras D'Or

"A Tribute to the Caffiers Family"

I know I've been mentioning Joe and Deans Caffiers in a few of my stories, as they played a very important part in Bras D'Or Shack History.

They supplied groceries to the Shacks. It wasn't a big supermarket but to us they supplied some of the necessities we needed.

Produce, fresh meat and all the fresh water we needed. Mr. Frank Caffiers (m.) Mary Morgan from France.

The family emigrated to Cape Breton from France. Joseph "Joe" along with most of Frank and Marie's siblings were born in France.

When Frank moved to Bras d'Or he bought a piece of land from John Baptiste. The house it still there today.

Joe married Jean Dixon from Sydney Mines. They built a house on Church Road across from Frank Cantwell and Low Young's farms.

I remember Frank and Low well, I went to school with Low's daughter Madonna. She was pretty tough from working on the farm. I used to see her throw a bail of hay up over her head with no effort. She was a dear friend of mine. She passed on not too long ago and I miss the fun we used to have.

Joe worked in the old Toronto Mine pit along with a lot of shackers.

Some of the miners were: Clifton "Darby" Jessome, my father, Bob Slade, Jack Penny, Mike Leaper, Uncle Dukkin, Louis and Tommy Carey, Peter and Danny Laffin and many other.

Joe Caffiers joined the army in 1940 got discharged and joined again in 1943. When Joe's mother Marie died Joe and wife Deans and family moved down to the shacks to run the family store.

Joe had a brother Fred Caffiers (m.) to Elizabeth "Bets" Young from across the Bridge.
Agnes Caffiers (m.) Maurice Brassarts and lived at Bras D'Or Corner;
Daisy Caffiers (m.) Leon Sautiere, who also had a little store. Daisy used to sew a bit for the people of the area.
Noella Caffiers (m.) Raymond Thibault from New Waterford;
Marsella Caffiers (m.) Billy Stone from North Sydney. He was a linesman for the Hydro.

It was said that Joe and Fred Caffiers drove all the way to Alberta in 1927 to visit some of the family.

It must have been some drive in those days. Their car was one of the first cars around at that time.

Speaking about cars, Marilyn Caffiers had a Morris Minor Convertible. It was a nice black car with a red interior. She used to go over to Wally and Regis Day's place almost every night with Joan Day, Wally's daughter.

I also spent a lot of time at Wally and Regis' place since I was a young lad. I used to get a drive to the store and walk down the shack hill from there.

One night it was raining and Marilyn said, "Give me a hand with the top and I will give you a drive home".

Well you had to pull the top up and over and then snap it to the front. When we got the hood up, it was like a woven Indian basket full of holes. You should have seen us going up the road with the water pouring through the holes in the roof.

I would have been dryer is I ran all the way home instead of taking the ride with Marilyn. I couldn't duck the drops fast enough and I was pretty skinny then.

Another time Marilyn was driving Mary (Carey) Blenkhorn to the hospital to have a baby. Mary lived with her grandmother Mrs Leblanc at the shacks. Marilyn drove so slow Mary said, "If you don't stop crawling with this snail, the car, I'll be having this baby right here in the front seat".

Around Florence Corner Marilyn got pulled over for driving too slow.
Mary said, "I told you Marilyn you were driving too slow".
Marilyn said, "Geeses Mary, I had her to the floor, what do you want me to do, get out and carry you".
Mary replied, "I think it would be a lot faster. Ok, we're here, thank God and you too Marilyn".

Joe had a few trucks he used to haul bootleg coal from the crop pits when the mines were on strike. Everyone had to have coal to heat their places and when he wasn't hauling coal, he used the trucks for construction work. Joe junior used to drive the coal truck.

Mrs. Caffiers was a kind person and it was passed down to all the members of this family.

Joseph Jr. moved to the States in 1947. Before he went he said goodbye to all the boys he hung around with, Skinny Cashin, Lawerence "Thorny" Slade, my brother Jimmy "Buckshot" Jessome, Artie Chisholm and a few more of the gang from the shacks.

Joe joined the U.S. Army and made a long career out of it. He (m.) Doris Jacobs from the USA. They now live in Rochester NY.

Marilyn left for the States in 1961 and returned home to Cape Breton to retire. She shared a basement apartment with her mother Deans. Deans has since passed on.

I sure miss Deans, I went to see her every year when I went back to Cape Breton to visit the family. She was like family not only to me, but to all the people from Bras D'Or Shacks.

She used to work at the St. Elizabeth Hospital and was one of the first telegraph operators in Sydney Mines, which was at the old Post Office at the time.

Mary (m.) Lendell MacRae from South Side Boularderie.
John never married and moved back home when he retired. He passed away a few years back.
Agnes Isabel Caffiers "Nessie" (m.) Michael Astephen "Mike" from North Sydney.

Deans was also a midwife, and assisted Mama "Ellen Regis" quite often. Deans knew that large families were always short on some necessities and with her kind heart she helped many families.

Deans' flapjacks were out of this world, she gave me the recipe and I still have it in my head. My grandchildren love them when I make them.

The Caffiers supplied the water to all the shacks of the area, to Aunt Emma's shack, then the rest had to go to the pump over the other shack hill.

I remember the time Emerson Jessome was with us hooking on cars down at the bottom of Aunt Janie (Cormier) Long's hill. Emerson thought the car was going up the hill but it backed up for a run race to make the hill and Emerson was hooked on the bumper of the car and almost tore his scalp off.

Emerson was bleeding badly and someone ran over to Deans to tell her. She came running with a white sheet ripping it into strips, as she was running and a box of Kotex in her hand.

She said, "I couldn't find any sterile pads so how sterile can these be", she put two Kotex on Emmys head and Marilyn held them while she tied the sheet strips tight so he wouldn't lose too much blood till he got to the hospital.

Everything worked out just fine thanks to Deans and Marilyn. She was worried as if Emerson was her own child.

Deans said to me one time, "We were all one big happy family at the Shacks", and no truer words were ever spoken.

I lost touch for a while when I went to work on the Lake Boats. It's funny how old neighbors and friends branch out to their own destination to live their lives away from where they were raised and some get back in touch with one another.

I was talking to Deans down home one time and she gave me Junior's (Joe) address in Rochester, I called him and said I was coming for a visit. He greeted me with open arms and was glad to see a fellow Shacker. It was a very enjoyable visit and the hospitality was the kind they showed at the shacks.

It brought back good memories, since then we have been in contact as with all the family.

I talked on the phone with Deans frequently and always said I was one of her family as were everyone in the Bras d'Or shacks.

It was one Big Happy Family she said, and couldn't have spoken truer words.

Thanks Joe and Deans for the kindness you have shown to everyone over the years from the Bras D'Or Shacks.

I will never forget you as will the rest of the people who lived there with you.

Memories you have given me will stay in my heart forever.

These pages were created by Lark Szick
© Copyright All Rights Reserved. Mar. 2007.

Space donated by the C.B.G.H.A.
http://www.cbgha.org