Symonds, Judy. Interview about folk cures and remedies.

Judy Symonds recalls a number of folk cures and remedies from her childhood, which she spent in St. John's and her mother's home community of Norman's Cove. She also describes folk cures that she continues to use today, and shares other memories of growing up.July 28th, 2017 Andrea McGuire and Judy Symonds Introductions; Judy Symonds was born on October 24, 1944 in St. John’s; mother, Elizabeth Newhook, was from Norman’s Cove; father is unknown; discusses mother’s family; mother died just before her 101st birthday; 1:29 – grew up on Mount Pleasant Avenue near Mundy Pond; resided there until she went to work – then, lived on Pennywell Road until she married and moved to Harbour Grace; has lived in Carbonear for almost fifty years; husband passed away twenty-six years ago; has three children and one grandchild; 3:25 – discussion of folk cures; 3:50 – often had eye styes growing up; mother used wedding ring to cross the stye and cure it; poultices were also used, especially when a wound “festered up”; 7:10 – mustard plasters were used on the chest for bronchial infections; mother used Vicks Vaporub; 11:25 – people used goose grease for the same purpose; 12:15 – describes how iodine was used; husband worked at pharmacy in Harbour Grace; they always had mercurochrome around; 14:15 – after nail went in her head as a child, uncle put the offending nail in a kerosene lamp to heal the wound; uncle also applied myrrh to the wound; 19:20 – discusses types of oil lamps; 20:00 – fond memories of visiting Norman’s Cove; felt geographically confined in St. John’s; 23:00 – discussion of healers; mother’s cousin in Norman’s Cove was a seventh son of a seventh son; he healed people as a little boy; 26:18 – treatment of toothache; 28:30 – was given sips of brandy or whiskey for an upset stomach; 28:50 – for a sore throat, molasses and a drop of Minard’s Liniment was heated and twirled around a spoon, to be sucked like a lollipop; discusses preference for blackstrap molasses, which was easier to obtain in Norman’s Cove; this was eaten with bread; 32:10 – takes nine gin-soaked raisins a day to treat arthritis; 36:35 – given cod liver oil in school; 36:52 – discusses value of natural cures and eating vegetables as opposed to synthetic drugs; 39:00 – learned about using aloe vera in recent years; discusses more modern medical practices; 41:40 – making wallpaper paste; 42:20 – knocking on neighbours’ doors to look at Christmas trees in St. John’s; memories of Christmas in St. John’s; 44:35 – describes family’s employment; mother was a seamstress; 45:10 – remembers painting the chairs and smelling Christmas cakes during the holiday season; “there’s a lot of smells and stuff that you retain as you get older”; 45:50 – describes products used for laundry and personal hygiene; 50:20 – alcohol was given to sick children; aspirin was mashed up and given to children with a spoonful of jam; alcohol may have been imbibed with molasses; 51:20 – describes use of gripe water for colicky babies; 53:40 – describes treatment for lice; kerosene oil was likely used; 55:55 – recounts working life; worked at Woolworth’s on Water Street while in school; did commercial school; worked as secretary with the provincial Department of Highways; worked with insurance adjusters; after marriage, worked in doctor’s clinic; later worked with LeGrow’s Travel; 57:40 – describes travelling experiences; 61:00 – contrasts life in Norman’s Cove with life in St. John’s; walked from Mount Pleasant Avenue to church on the Southside Hills – “it was a great excuse to get out with the boys and that kind of thing”; 62:50 – memories of Mrs. Power’s fudge store in area called “Power’s Range,” just west of where the Delta hotel currently stands; 64:50 – memories of school and growing up in St. John’s.