I have been a subscriber to Downhome for many years. I see many people share their experiences, well, here is my story.

During the 1960s I was employed by the Bank of Nova Scotia in Newfoundland. Someone in the upper echelon of the bank thought it would be good for business to convert one of the cabins on the coastal boats around the south and northeast of Newfoundland into a small banking office. One other young man and myself were chose as staff for these so-called banks. My first trip was on the coastal boat Bonavista from Grand Bank to Port aux Basques and back, stopping at several ports along the way. Very little banking was done but I got to see lots of NL outports.

There was one incident, I don’t remember where this was, when the Bonavista collided with another ship that was anchored in the harbour, resulting in a smashed lifeboat on the Bonavista. Before this incident a man brought on board a bottle of home-brewed alcohol which he gave to the crew to share. This was probably the reason for the collision, as it happened in daylight.

My second trip was on the Northern Ranger from St. John’s to Battle Harbour, Labrador, and back. Like on the previous trip, very little banking business was transacted.

On board there was a woman from Ontario travelling as a tourist. It seemed that this woman and the Chief Engineer struck up a romantic relationship on the trip. He seemed to spend a lot of time in her cabin.

Well, there you have my recollections of my observations as a seagoing banker.

James Thoms
Thorold, ON