Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will Be No More by Brian Peckford Page B

submitted it to the department. No answer. I went to the
     department and was able to set up a meeting a few days hence with the Director
     of Field Services, a Mr. Hollett. (As I write, I have been informed that he
     passed away at the age of eighty-five.) He explained to me the role of temporary
     welfare officers: they were to conduct the basics while the permanent officer
     was on holidays, and mainly do the annual reviews of those people who were on
     some kind of permanent assistance. In the larger centres there would not be a
     problem since there would be other permanent officers in those offices to guide
     the temporary people, but for those temporaries going to the more remote regions
     it would be a little more difficult, so there would be a couple of days training
     (reviewing The Welfare Act and Regulations), and off you went. Sometimes, if you
     were lucky, you would get a few days with the permanent officer before they
     left.
    One surviving letter of the department’s acceptance of me for one of these
     temporary jobs is still in my possession.
    Department of Public Welfare
    St. John’s, Nfld
    April 16, 1964
    Mr. Brian Peckford
    Lewisporte, Nfld
    Dear Mr. Peckford:
    I am pleased to advise you that your application for temporary employment
     with this Department has been approved.
    Your salary, during your period of employment with us, will be at the rate
     of $200.00 per month. In addition, the Department will accept responsibility
     for your board and lodging up to the amount of $60.00 per month providing
     you are not posted to an area where it will be possible to reside in your
     own home. Any charge in excess of $60.00 per month, however, will be your
     own responsibility.
    This Department gives no undertaking to employ you for any specific period
     of time. However, if there is no reason to feel dissatisfied with your
     performance it is anticipated your service will be required until late
     August next.
    Will you please arrange to report to the undersigned at the Confederation
     Building on Monday, May 4, 1964, at 9: 00 a.m.
    Yours truly,
    C. S. Knight
    Director of Field Services

    â€œ BUT, M R. PECKFORD , I am sorry that
     there are no openings in the larger centres,” announced Mr. Hollett.
    â€œYou mean there isn’t a job available?” I hesitantly replied.
    â€œNo, I’m sorry. You’re a little late applying and all the openings in the major
     centres are taken.”
    â€œWell, perhaps I could go to one of the other places,” I muttered.
    A surprised expression crossed Mr. Hollett’s face. “You mean, you would go to a
     smaller place, perhaps an isolated place?”
    â€œYes,” I said, not really fully comprehending the implications.
    â€œWell, you’re a little young and you have no experience managing an office by
     yourself in an isolated area. We usually persuade some older students who have
     had a year in a larger centre to go to one of the smaller remote offices,” Mr.
     Hollett explained. “But we are having trouble this year, so perhaps something
     might become available. I will let you know if we have an opening in one of the
     smaller offices, and if you’re still interested we’ll see what we can do.”
    I left the office a little dejected but with a glimmer of hope that I would get
     a call telling me of a vacancy. Meanwhile, I began thinking about my answer. Did
     I really want to take a job that saw me in some isolated place for the whole
     summer? I needed the money so I could go back to university in the fall, and
     there was this tinge of adventure about the idea. So I let my proposal
     stand.
    Luck was with me. A call came from Mr. Hollett to come and see him.
    â€œWe have an opening at La Scie,” he said. “It is on the northeast coast—no
     doubt you have heard of it. It is isolated but not real small; there is a fish
     plant and a road to a couple of communities,