The Girl from Nova Scotia

Verna Field, courtesy of Dwight Mercer.

       Sixteen year old Verna May Field travelled across Canada, by train, from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to pick fruit in British Columbia during the Second World War. Then, after marrying Harald Mercer of Theodore, Saskatchewan, she moved out to Saskatchewan and picked fruit in British Columbia for another summer in the post-war years.  Verna’s experience is a complicated one, and her story was shared by her son, Dwight Mercer, in May 2023.  In many ways, Verna’s childhood was difficult.  She and her two sisters were neglected by their parents, who, instead, doted on their son and viewed their daughters as a ‘financial burden.’  Verna was not well cared for at home, and, as a result, she was often seated in the back of the classroom with black children, as the classroom was still segregated by race at this time.  Dwight noted that his mother was “something of a feral ‘tom-boy’ as a young child; scrappy, intelligent, and adaptable.”
         In grade ten, Verna scored one of the highest IQ test results in Nova Scotia and her teachers expressed interest in sponsoring her scholarship to the Nova Scotia School of Art; however, her parents declined the scholarship on her behalf.  They expected Verna to pay for her room and board at home and had already found her a job at the Five and Dime store.  It was also during this time that Verna’s father secured his daughter’s train passage from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to the Okanagan Valley, more than 5,000 kilometres away, for summer work. When speaking with Verna’s son about the factors that may have contributed to this decision, he offered three suggestions; first, Verna’s father worked for the railroad and may have heard about an opportunity in British Columbia or secured a favourable ticket price; additionally, Dartmouth and Halifax were busy ports, filled with “thousands of lonely soldiers, sailors, and airmen - as such, many parents wanted their young daughters away from all of these young men in handsome uniforms;" and finally, Verna’s parents would have looked favourably on any position that eliminated a mouth to feed, even if just for the summer.
        Verna and her friend, Aubrey, travelled across Canada by train. Neither of the girls had never been anywhere in their lives and this was the trip of a lifetime. However, when they arrived in British Columbia, the girls were met with primitive, isolated conditions. Both were accustomed to the paved roads, electricity, indoor plumbing, and social entertainment in Dartmouth. In the Okanagan, the girls lived together, in some sort of barracks or shed and worked in an orchard owned by a family who did not speak English.  The girls were expected to make their own entertainment when they were not working, and, as Verna never spoke about ‘going to town,’ Dwight assumed that his mother lived and worked in an isolated area.
        As this was just summer work, Verna returned by train to Nova Scotia to live with her parents after the season, and, during the latter part of the Second World War, Verna was employed at the Clark Ruse Aircraft Company in Halifax, working on Hudson Bomber planes. She also won the “Miss Noxzema” beauty contest in the Maritimes at this time.  In 1945, Verna met Harald (Hal) Mercer in the Dartmouth/Halifax area as he prepared for deployment to Japan, but after the dropping of the atomic bomb, these plans were cancelled.  Instead, Hal was honourably discharged and returned home to Saskatchewan; Verna soon followed and the two were married in July of 1946 in Theodore, Saskatchewan.  Again, Verna relayed her shock at the isolated, primitive conditions, only this time, in speaking about rural Saskatchewan. Whereas Halifax and Dartmouth were modern cities, much of Saskatchewan was still undeveloped and Verna could not believe how hard it was to eke out a living in such a province. Their first home was in a heated garage in Wynyard, Saskatchewan. After 18 months of searching, they were able to secure a room with a bed and a hot-plate for cooking in Regina so that Hal could make use of his Veteran benefits and attend University. It was during this season that Verna, again, travelled to British Columbia to pick fruit.  The couple needed the extra income, and, while Verna had few career opportunities, she did have experience as a fruit worker. While Hal completed summer classes, Verna earned money in the Okanagan.
        Verna did not often speak about the past, and her son did not know about her experiences in British Columbia until he was nearing the age of twelve. He noted that some of her memories of that time were positive; she spoke of the adventures she and Aubrey had experienced while travelling across Canada.  The two girls remained friends long into adulthood, writing letters to each other once a week. Their experiences had certainly created a tight bond.  However, other memories were less positive; the work was lonely, isolating, and rough, and the girls were not treated very well. They lived in rudimentary barracks and although they were given as much of the excess produce as they wanted, any other food was not included in their room and board, and had to be purchased on their paltry salary. Dwight noted that he and his siblings often requested apple pie for dessert as children, but Verna always refused. It was only later in life that Dwight learned that his mother hated anything related to apples because much of their diet while working in the orchard had been a variation of apple dishes.
         Later in life, Verna became an excellent portrait painter and ceramic sculpture artist, as well as a mother and grandmother. When she passed away, her family commissioned a well-known Nova Scotia blacksmith artist to construct a memorial slab bench near Acadia University where students now sit and read. Verna was intelligent, brave, beautiful, creative, and resourceful. Her choices in life were limited due to her parents’ heavy hand, but she adapted, overcame, and flourished.  In fact, many of her early lived experiences helped her to succeed as a fruit worker in such an isolated area of British Columbia during the Second World War. Of course, her situation was far from ideal. At a time when Verna should have been eagerly anticipating a full scholarship to the Nova Scotia School of Art, she had instead been sent across the nation by her parents, who wished for one less mouth to feed. Once a city girl, Verna had landed in the rural, frontier of British Columbia to conduct work that she had never done before, for a family who did not speak English. There was no opportunity for a social life other than with the friends she met in the orchard.  Then, when her husband needed money, she again travelled to British Columbia, this time on her own.  Even though she knew that the work was difficult and primitive, it was also one of her only opportunities for employment in the post-war years. It was this determination and spirit, reflected in so many of the stories of women fruit pickers, that allowed them to adapt and succeed in such isolated circumstances.  As in her son, Dwight’s words, “she was a survivor.”

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