Recreation 9

GAMES People used to provide their own entertainment. Television was an unknown thing, and not many people had a radio. Games were played to while away the long winter evenings.

Checkers was a popular board game for twopeople. The object was to eliminate the other player’s checkers by strategic moves. It was common to see two people, sitting for hours, without a word spoken pondering their moves.

Another game using checkers was Crokinole, for two or four players. Progressive Crokinole was played at parties with several tables of four people to each table in progress. Winners played winner from another table to vie for the championship. Dominoes was also popular. Chinese Checkers was played with marbles. Other board games were “Parcheesi”, “Lotto”, and more recent ones as “Monopoly”, and “Scrabble”.

Card games are an old form ofentertainment. Many different card games were played such as “Auction”. “45’s”, “Rummy”, “Cribbage” and “Bridge”. Other card games were “Rook”, “Authors” and “Old Maid”. A lively trading game in which 7 people could play at one time was called “Pit”.

Parlour games were played by young people and adults at parties. They were usually tests of knowledge, memory or quick reaction. Some of these were “Charades”, “Musical Chairs”, “General Fruit Basket”, “Twenty Questions”, “Simon Says” and magic tricks. “Paddy From Home Had Never Been” was played by one person leaving the room, while the ones remaining decided what they wanted that person to do on returning. He had to guess by actions as no questions were allowed to be asked. Clues were whether this ditty was sung loudly, or softly. Loud, meant you were wrong, soft meant you were on the right track. A lot of merriment was caused if a boy had to. kiss a certain girl.

“Darts”, “Ring Toss” and “Bean Bag” were other games.

Children played many games at school besides the usual “Ball” and “Hockey". Games such as “Tag”, “Hide and Seek”, “Double Dodge”, “Drop the Handkerchief”, “Go In and Out The Windows“, “London Bridge” and many others were played. There were many skipping games with rhymes to keep you nimble footed.

MUSIC Not much information on music in the early 18005 has been passed down. Mention is made that members ofcertain families were good singers and that stumping frolics were held in the daytime followed by parties and dancing in the evening.

We know that the early churches did not have organs. However when the Methodists opened their church in Freetown about 1865, it was complete with an organ. Claude Lewis recalls that his grandfather, William, used to lead the singing for the Presbyterians when they held services in the school. Boyd Beairsto informs us that Charles Beairsto started the tunes in the Presbyterian Church with a tuning fork. In a newspaper report ofan 1896 programme in Lower Freetown Hall, William Lewis, Janey Taylor, Charles Beairsto and James Lewis played several pieces of instrumental music. William Lewis and Charles Beairsto played the violin, Janey Taylor played the organ and James Lewis the banjo. In an earlier concert in Upper Freetown, Mr. and Mrs. David Rogers sang a duet, Davis Baker played the harmonica with Janey Taylor accompanying him on the organ and William Lewis sang a solo.

In later years, Fred W. Reeves of Upper Freetown was in demand as a violin player for dances and community concerts. Scott Jardine, another violin player of note, and his sister Anna, on the organ, provided music for many evening entertainments and house parties. A little later Sydney Baglole and Andrew Paynter

were well known for their ability as violin players.

In the early 1920s, a number of Freetown people became involved in the Bedeque Choral Society. Much ofthe success ofthis group was due to the untiring efforts of its director, Dr. J.J. Sidey who was the pastor ofthe Central Bedeque Baptist Church from 1923 to 1929. Many hours of practice and perseverance went into what was called a wonderful accomplishment in choral singing. In addition to holding three performances in Central Bedeque, the choir gave performances at Summerside, Kensington, Malpeque, Cape Traverse, Victoria, O’Leary and Port Hill. In 1925, this group went to Moncton to perform on the radio station CNRA. Nine out of this group of thirty—eight were from Freetown (see picture).

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