19. Dorothy Arsenault Morgan

During the Second World War, a great number of young people left the Island for Montreal. Jobs were easy to find as many young men were leaving their employment to join the army and the war industry was creating many new jobs. It was therefore easy for young women, if they moved to the city, to find work other than housework without any special training or education. Thus, when she was 20 years old, Dorothy followed the current trend and went to live in the big city. She describes her introduction to city life this way:

I first came to Montreal on February 20" 1942. It was the coldest day of winter, and it took 10 hours to cross the strait to New Brunswick. At that time, a train from Summerside went right onto the boat, so the train from Halifax had to wait all that time in Sackville for the train to arrive. Because of these delays, we arrived in Montreal at 10 P.M. instead of 10 A.M.. A few of my friends had come to Bonaventure Station to meet me in the morning, but they didn't return that night. I had $20.00 in my purse, so I took a taxi to the Sisters of Service; they lodged girls until they got a job. I had girlfriends working at the Mount Royal Hotel, I had written them and I was sure of a job there.

It cost me 50¢ for my taxi. I rang the doorbell at the Sisters, and the Sister who answered the door said “I'm sorry there are no beds available.” I almost started to cry. Then I heard a voice I knew. It was Virginia [my future sister-in-law], she was living there and she told the sister that if it was all right, I could share her bed. She was very slim then and so was I. She was my Guardian Angel. I stayed two nights there.

I got my job as chambermaid, we also lived there, it gave us a chance to discover the city on our day off. We all worked there about one and a half year. One by one we applied at Northern Electric, now called Nortel, we all got jobs there. They loved the girls from the Maritimes.

Dorothy met her husband Richard at Northern Electric where he went to work in March, 1946 after the war was over as he had been in the Canadian Navy. They were married in Montreal on 17 February 1947. Richard's parents were John Elmer Morgan (originally from Cincinnati) and Magaret Pierson from Montreal. After their marriage they lived in an apartment in Montreal before moving into a house in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-lac. From there they moved to Deux-Montagnes where they built a home in 1955 where they lived until 1981. Very hospitable people, they often welcomed in their home family members and relatives visiting Montreal.

Crocheting and knitting are Dorothy's main hobbies. With her husband, she also enjoys playing cards and going to bingo. Since they have retired, they drive to the Island almost every summer to spend a few weeks on the shores of Maximeville, and to visit their many relatives and friends.

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