Weddings on the Coast
By Sharon Chubbs-Ransom
Like most places in
the world,
weddings on the Coast were big events. It was seldom seen in the early
days
that everyone in the community wasn’t invited to the marriage feast.
Invitations were no ordinary affair either.
Aunt Grace Ransom got
married 16 October 1927.
Her brother Uncle
Hiram Ransom made a special trip to Halifax
on the “trader” to get her wedding dress” which obviously included
choosing it!
She married Charlie Reid he was Marconi Station radio operator at
Harrington in
1920. They were married at Harrington. The following year in 1921 Aunt
Grace’s
brother Hiram and Aunt Lill Anderson were to be married. However it
didn’t work
out that way. Aunt Lill’s mother “Grandma Leney Anderson” was against
her
getting married due to concern about Aunt Lill’s health. Aunt Lill had
tuberculosis and was not considered well. Her mother suggested she go
to see
the doctor in Halifax who had treated her. Early in the fall she left
to go to
Halifax with Uncle Sam Cox who ran a schooner trade business between
the Coast
and Halifax. The Doctor was away when she arrived, no appointments in
those
days. Due to this she missed her trip back with Uncle Sam. She remained
all
winter in Halifax. She got
a job
with the Darleys who were connected to Simpsons (Simpsons Sears Stores)
in Halifax.
She worked there until the first trader in the spring. While in Halifax
she picked up her wedding dress an “off white affair” with shoes. Aunt
Lill and
Uncle Hiram got married the 16
October 1929 on Aunt Grace’s and Uncle Charlie’s
anniversary. Aunt
Lill was 29 years old and Uncle Hiram just “shy of his 33rd
birthday”. Her father Grandpa “Dosh” wouldn’t “give her away”. He “gave
away
his other 2 daughters Annie and Bertha”. Aunt Lill said “she thought it
was
because they were thinking about who would take care of them in their
old age”!
Uncle Eli was then going to be “father giver” but he was away so Uncle
Miney
did it! They were married in Christ
Church (Anglican) in Harrington
Harbour but the reception
was held
out at Grandpa Dosh’s on Fox
Island.
Dave Ransom was “bride’s boy for them and he was just 16 years old at
the time
and it was his first dance! He was bride’s boy 13 more times after that
before
he got married himself in 1943!
Back in those days a
wedding
invitation was not an official looking envelope arriving in the mail.
The
invitation was such that the brides boys would take there guns and go
to the
homes of the people to be invited. They would open the door and ‘bawl
out, you
are invited to the wedding” and with that close the door and stand back
firing
a volley from their gun over the house! There was no recording who was
actually
coming, if you were invited you were expected to be there! For Aunt
Lill’s
wedding Uncle George and Uncle Bill Ransom brothers to the groom did
the “gun
firing invitations”.
Most wedding
ceremonies were
followed by a dinner reception. The meal probably consisted of a first
course
of soup made from wild game, partridge and rabbit were common ones.
Then the
main meal again usually consisted of some wild game with root
vegetables,
potatoes and gravy with homemade bread. Dessert was pies made from
local wild
berries, cakes and cookies. There was always a wedding cake. This quote
was
taken from the July 1948 issue of “Among the Deep Sea Fishers” “Some of
their
customs are unique. On the day of the wedding, for instance, a number
of boys
are delegated to fire a shot gun in front of each house before going in
to give
the wedding invitation. Even the nuptial ceremony is interrupted by
heavy
volleys as all available guns are rounded up and fired.” Alvin Buhr.
Date
entered on the Web:
13 March 2005