THE BELLE RIVER COMMUNITY 117

a building under construction—a new store. The houses were large, fine—looking buildings. The barns were barns—par excellence. They were large, with high substantial foundations, and were all made from the same general pattern. We found later that it was quite easy to tell if a family were communistic. Just look at their barns!

On the verandah of a near-by house a woman was shaking rugs. To reassure ourselves, we went over, and asked:

“ Is this where the Communists live?”

“Communists!” snorted the woman. “I get sick and tired of people coming around here asking about Communists. Communists, indeed!” And she gave the mat another angry flip. Our bicycles slid away towards the store . . . We resolved to be more diplomatic in future. The store was next. We bought chocolate bars, and tried again.

“Is this the district where the people do things together?”

Apparently that was better. The store-keeper nodded and grinned. It seems that the word “Com- munist” has achieved such an unsavoury reputation from its association with Russia, that people in general, and these people in particular, feel that there is something sinister and derogatory about such a name.

Members can come to this store and get whatever groceries they wish without money; but an account is kept of the purchases of each family. To outsiders they sell for cash. There is one car and one truck in the community. All the houses have running water supplied by underground piping and are equipped with radios. The houses and stables have electric lights from power supplied by the mill.