In our home in Truro, N.S., the front parlour took up a third of the downstairs and was empty unless we had visitors (except at Christmas -- when we hung socks over the fireplace). The front door was similarly for the quality, whereas the back door was for tradesmen and children.

As the "head of the house," my father sat at the head of the table and was served first. We did not play cards on Sunday and Saturday dances had to end by a quarter to 12. At church, we listened to entire sermons on the evils of Sunday sports. Our bookcases were packed with Dickens and Kipling and Scott and Tennyson. Crossing the Bar was a staple at funerals, at which we were expected to wear black.

At school, girls and boys used separate doors as though it were a lavatory; taverns, likewise, had an entrance for Men and another for Ladies and Escorts. Students were encouraged to join a temperance society called Allied Youth, as well as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides.