Posts Tagged ‘Halifax’
After a day packed with explorations and a lovely dinner at the Garrison House I was ready for my final discovery of the day: the famous Annapolis Royal Graveyard Tour. Punctually at 9:15 pm I showed up across the road from the my bed and breakfast at the south entrance of Fort Anne where local historian and expert guide Alan Melanson was ready to give his performance. About 15 people, hailing from places such as North Carolina, California and Saskatchewan, were equipped with candle-lit lanterns and after a brief introduction we were ready to head out.
Alan enlightened us that his outfit was an authentic funeral suit, the black sash and the black scarf tied around the hat were symbols of mourning. We learned that when children died the scarf on the hat would be white. Alan told the group that he has been doing this tour four nights a week, every week from June to October for 15 years and he has only missed one evening. The $7 donation for the tour goes to the Historical Society of Annapolis Royal, and over the years Alan has collected about $60,000 for this non-profit organization. Alan has been a park ranger and guide at the Fort Anne National Historic Site for about 27 years now and in addition to historical interpretation he also does outreach to bring history into local classrooms.
We started walking towards the cemetery, up and down through Fort Anne’s “earthworks”, fortifications constructed from mounds of earth which were intended to protect Annapolis Royal from potential intruders. The cemetery is just a few steps away from Fort Anne, and Alan collected the group at the largest gravestone, an obelisk and started the official tour.
Our first stop was the oldest gravestone in the cemetery, dating back to 1720, which belonged to a 37 year old woman. Alan explained that gravestones feature a lot of symbolism: death was represented for example by a winged skull, young children and babies who passed away would be symbolized by pictures of flowers, lambs or rose buds. Weeping willows were often used to represent death and mourning. Alan also educated us that different types of stone were used as gravestones over the centuries: slate, sandstone, granite and marble were all used to immortalize the dead.
Many of the residents of the graveyard had interesting stories: an 83-year old woman got cheated out of her fortune by a bad husband. Some soldiers were also buried here and Alan shed light on life in the army in the 18th century: out of 100 soldiers only six were allowed to bring their wives with them during deployments from England in the colonies. The wives and children who were allowed to come did not fare well either as they had to share bunk beds with their husbands. Conditions for soldiers only changed during the Crimean War when press coverage made the general public aware of the poor living conditions of soldiers, resulting in general outrage. The power of the press was already in evidence in the 1850s?
We also learned that large groups of volunteers regularly clean the gravestones, carefully using wooden tools and soap to scrape off the moss and then finishing the job with a solution made of vinegar and water. Alan reported that very little vandalism happens here in this historic graveyard since the local residents are extremely proud of their heritage. As a ninth generation Acadian, as a historic interpreter at Fort Anne and as the President of the Annapolis Royal Historical Society, Alan Melanson can personally attest to the importance and appreciation of history that characterizes this area. Annapolis Royal has the biggest National Heritage District consisting of 135 heritage buildings, it features the oldest gravestone and the oldest National Historic Site in Canada.
The pride in local history also includes reenactments of historic events and lifestyles. Alan told us about various historical reenactments which served moose nose soup and smoked beaver tail, dishes very similar to those that would have been savoured in the early 1600s by the settlers of the Port-Royal Habitation, incidentally the place where Wayne Melanson, Alan’s identical twin brother, introduced me to early French history this afternoon.
Annapolis Royal is one of the most historic towns on the east coast and the oldest house in town, just east of the Historic Gardens, dates back to 1708. Alan explained the town’s history was based around shipbuilding and of 13 wharfs only one is still in existence. The Garrison Graveyard houses 234 gravestones and more than 2000 people are buried here. Early Acadian settlers are also interred here, but their graves did not have gravestones ? their wooden crosses have long since rotted away.
Our local expert also informed us that a soldier dating back to the 1780s was found buried in the riverbed. Based on historical accounts and the burial technique, this person must have been a criminal which is the reason why he was buried in the river. Alan Melanson, himself a ninth generation Acadian who can trace his own lineage back to a certain Charles Melanson who arrived in this area in 1664, certainly has a passion for history and it shows. His theatrical voice conveys enthusiasm for the history of this town and he injects his presentation with humour and wittiness. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin also enjoyed his Garrison Graveyard Tour with Alan Melanson.
After the tour was over I returned the lantern and received a certificate attesting that I had attended the Annapolis Royal Graveyard Tour. I came back to the Garrison House B&B and peeked out into the dark cemetery, wondering what life must have been like in this town in the 1700 and 1800s. I laid down to rest up for another full day of explorations tomorrow which would include the Tidal Power Generating Plant, the Bear River Heritage and Cultural Centre and a coastal drive down to Yarmouth on the western tip of this province. Nova Scotia sure has a lot of history, interesting personalities and many fascinating human stories?
For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/annapolis_royal_graveyard_tour.htm
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My brief introduction to Lunenburg was just enough to whet my appetite and to give me some ideas of what to see next time I have a chance to visit this part of Nova Scotia. After saying goodbye to the innkeepers at the Lunenburg Inn I went back on the road to connect with the Lighthouse Trail. Beautiful blue skies were greeting me, and the early autumn colours were adorning the small country roads that snake in and out of the indented shoreline of Nova Scotia’s South Shore.
My first stopover happened in Mahone Bay, a very picturesque village located right on the Lighthouse Route. The entire area boasts 365 islands, literally one island for every day of the year. Mahone Bay is a popular weekend getaway destination, and watersport enthusiasts love its protected bay-side location. I parked my car and took a little stroll through town which was decked out in pre-Halloween decorations. A wide variety of scare crows were adorning the village, and one house was being rescued by a team of firefighters made up entirely of stuffed straw puppets. Numerous eclectic shops, restaurants and art stores line the main street of Mahone Bay, a town dating back more than 250 years.
It all started in 1754 when the town was first settled by the “foreign protestant” pioneers, mostly German Lutheran immigrants, who had been brought over by the British Crown in the mid to late 1700s. Even the local Bayview Cemetery attests to this heritage: many of the gravestones feature German inscriptions.
The name “Mahone” itself stems from a French term for a low-lying vessel that was mainly used by pirates. These were the big days of privateering on the East coast, the days of government-authorized pirate raids. Today, a kinder, gentler life is lived in Mahone Bay, and this quaint little town attracts many artists, travelers and nature lovers. Many people even consider relocating permanently to Mahone Bay: Harrowsmith Magazine has rated Mahone Bay as one of the top ten best small towns in Canada to live in. It is certainly one of the most scenic.
The biggest landmarks in the town are found in the harbour area: three churches, located side by side, come together to create one of the most popular photo opportunities in Canada. Trinity United Church, built in 1861, St. John’s Lutheran Church, in its present version dating back to 1903, and the St. James Anglican Church, constructed in 1887, form the famous trio of Canada’s most photographed churches. Throughout the summer season the Three Churches are the location of a concert series, and Mahone Bay itself hosts a variety of festivals throughout the seasons.
After my quick ice-cream stop I continued my drive along the Lighthouse Trail past picturesque inlets, islands and country vistas. I was now on the homestretch of my drive to Halifax and had to watch my time in order to make it into town for my evening program in Nova Scotia’s capital.
But two more stops would be mandatory: the first one just outside of famous Peggy’s Cove was the memorial for Swiss Air Flight 111 which crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay, about 8 km out in the ocean, on September 2, 1998. Swiss Air 111 was on its way from New York City to Geneva, Switzerland, when 229 men, women and children perished off these shores on this early September day.
A stone memorial located about 1 km away from Peggy’s Cove commemorates the victims. The three notches on the monument at Whalesback represent the numerals 111. I personally still remember the news of Swissair 111 crashing into Peggy’s Cove, and looking out onto this peaceful stretch of ocean made me think that sometimes life can just hang by a thread and everything can change in an instant.
From a visual point of view, the St. Margaret’s Bay area is very different from Mahone Bay. In contrast to the forest and field-covered serene rounded hills of Mahone Bay, St. Margaret’s Bay is much more rugged and barren. Geologically, large granite boulders were left behind after the last ice age and dominate the scenery around Peggy’s Cove. I went back to the car and drove the last little bit to one of Nova Scotia’s most well-known destinations.
Peggy’s Cove is a tiny village: only about 120 residents call it their permanent home. The town was founded in 1811 when settlers of German descent were given land grants by the government of Nova Scotia. These settlers mostly earned their living as fishermen, but they also farmed areas that were fertile and pastured cattle. The town saw its peak population in the early 1900s when about 300 people lived there. Today, Peggy’s Cove is one of Nova Scotia’s favourite tourist destinations, and the main attraction, of course, is the famous lighthouse. Tourism surpassed the fishing industry as the main income source in this town after the Second World War, but lobster fishing is still practiced here.
The surrounding region is known for its hiking trails, kayaking adventures, bird-watching opportunities, and its pristine beaches. Golfing is available and whale watching is one of the major tourist offerings in this area. Restaurants, cafes, galleries and craft shops are additional highlights in the area.
The name “Peggy’s Cove” is derived from a cove of the same name. “Peggy” is a nickname for “Margaret”, and the name may indeed be derived from St. Margaret’s Bay although other local stories talk of an early settler named Peggy while another legend refers to the only survivor of a schooner that ran aground and sank in 1800. Of course, so the saying goes, this woman’s name was Margaret and her home town became known as Peggy’s Cove.
The first lighthouse, a wooden structure, was built in 1868 at Peggy Cove which was followed by the current octagonal structure in 1914. During World War II, the light house was used as a radio station for the Royal Canadian Navy. The old dwellings of the lighthouse keeper were located near the current lighthouse until they were damaged by Hurricane Edna in 1954 and removed. The lighthouse was finally automated in 1958.
Today’s lighthouse holds a Canada Post office on the lower level which also serves as the village’s post office. Visitors climb all over the rounded granite rocks that surround the famous lighthouse. Unfortunately several visitors every year are swept into the sea by the unpredictable surf, some of them even drown. So it’s important to be careful around here.
Just steps away from the lighthouse is the well-known Sou’wester Restaurant, which also features a souvenir shop and beautiful views over the coastline. I was definitely ready for a late lunch after my exciting discoveries of Lunenburg and the Lighthouse Trail, so I took a seat in the Sou’wester and enjoyed a much needed soup and salad to keep me going for another few hours of this road trip. After a brief refreshment it was time to hit the road again to make it to my final destination of my Nova Scotia trip: Halifax!
For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/peggys_cove.htm
