The last day of opening for 2022 was Sunday, September 5.
The museum will next be open in late June 2023.
We thank all of our supporters and visitors who have made this summer so successful.
The museum will next be open in late June 2023.
We thank all of our supporters and visitors who have made this summer so successful.
THE BEDEQUE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TALKS AND OTHER EVENTS IN 2022
TALKS AND OTHER EVENTS IN 2022
TALK: ‘The Story of the Mizuno Family in Bedeque’
Monday July 11, 7 pm – Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. To coincide with one of our exhibits, Wayne MacKinnon, author of many historical articles and books on Prince Edward Island history, especially political history, will tell the story of the Mizuno family, a Japanese Canadian family who lived in Central Bedeque from 1946 to 1952. His talk will be based on his article in the 2019 issue of The Island Magazine “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed me: The Story of the Callbeck Sisters and the Mizunos”.
THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOLHOUSE IN CENTRAL BEDEQUE
Saturday, July 16, 10.30 am – The official opening of the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse will take place when Hon. Antoinette Perry, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island and the Queen’s representative, will declare the building officially opened. All are invited, and during the morning access to both the school and museum will be without charge.
TALK: ‘The Deportation of the Island Acadians 1758’
Monday July 18, 7 pm – The AGM of the BAHS – Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. To coincide with our exhibit on the ‘The Acadians of Bedeque’, marking the 300th anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on the Island in 1720, Earle Lockerby, the author of numerous books and papers on the French period in the history of the Island, will tell the story of the deportation of the Island’s Acadians in 1758, concentrating in particular on the timing and logistics of the event, including details of the ships used by the British at the time. Earle’s talk will be followed by our A.G.M.
TALK: ‘The Settlement History of the Freetown area’
Monday July 25 at 7 pm Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. To coincide with this year’s Freetown Reunion, Don Jardine, a member of the Board of the Bedeque Area Museum, will give an illustrated talk on the early settlement history of Freetown. Don was born in Freetown and was involved in the research and writing which led to the production in 1984 of Freetown Past and Present. Don will also be giving the same talk at 2.30 p.m. Saturday 23 July at the Freetown community reunion in Emerald.
TALK: ‘Jacob Gould Schurman, An Outstanding Islander Ahead of His Time’
Monday August 1 at 7 pm, Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. In connection with our exhibit on Jacob Gould Schurman, Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum, will give an illustrated talk on the man, one of the Island’s most eminent native sons, who was born in Freetown in 1854 and went on to achieve a brilliant academic and diplomatic career in the United States. Schurman supported many ’progressive’ causes, not as fashionable in his day as they have become since.
TALK: Prince Edward Island and the Second World War’
Monday August 8 at 7 pm – Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. Captain Greg Gallant of the P.E.I. Regiment will give an illustrated talk on various aspects of Prince Edward Island’s participation in the Second World War.
TALK: ‘The Story of the Burns Family Farm, Freetown’s First Farm’.
Monday August 15 at 7 pm – Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum in an illustrated talk will tell the story of the Burns Family Farm which came into being in 1810 when James Burns from Perthshire Scotland bought 1000 acres of land in what was to become Lower Freetown. His descendants still occupy part of the farm he created.
A BLUEBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY AUGUST 14, 2 - 4 pm, Loyalist Monument Park
As a major fund-raising event the Bedeque Area Historical Historical Society is holding a Blueberry and Ice-cream Social on Sunday August 14 from 2 to 4 pm in the Loyalist Monument Park, opposite the Museum. (If raining, it will be held in the Community Room of the Callbeck Centre.) Blueberries and ice-cream will be served. Tickets: $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for children 12 and under (includes Museum entry).
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Bedeque Area Historical Society
Newsletter 24
June 2022
Email: bahsmuseum@outlook.com
Website: www.bedequemuseum.ca
Facebook: Bedeque Area Historical Museum
A Message from the President of the BAHS
18 June 2022
Members and Friends of the Bedeque Area Historical Society,
We finally seem to have turned a corner with respect to covid and are looking forward to a return to an almost normal summer. We thus hope that you will be able to visit the Museum this summer, especially to see our new exhibits which will open shortly.
Our new exhibits are on the Mizuno family of Central Bedeque and on the early settlement history of Freetown, and there are expansions to our exhibits on the Acadians of Bedeque, the Freetown Royals hockey team, and Jacob Gould Schurman. There is also a display of paintings and mats by the late Eleanor Wheler of Bedeque and Fernwood.
Also for the first time we will be operating the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse as part of the Museum, which will add a whole new dimension to our work. In the school there will be new displays on L. M. Montgomery’s time in Bedeque and on her romance with Herman Leard; on her Loyalist ancestry and its connection with her writing; and on schooling in Bedeque in the early nineteenth century.
Our other exhibits continue from previous years, including the ‘Bedeque Harbour Loyalists’, the Borden Ferry 100 exhibit, the Mi’kmaq Culture exhibit, the Five Objects Interactive Display, and our core displays on Callbeck’s Store and Howard Clark’s Red Barn Collection.
We hope that these exhibits, as well as the other events announced in this Newsletter, will encourage you to visit the museum this summer.
All best wishes,
Doug Sobey.
President,
(on behalf of the Board of the Bedeque Area Historical Society)
18 June 2022
Members and Friends of the Bedeque Area Historical Society,
We finally seem to have turned a corner with respect to covid and are looking forward to a return to an almost normal summer. We thus hope that you will be able to visit the Museum this summer, especially to see our new exhibits which will open shortly.
Our new exhibits are on the Mizuno family of Central Bedeque and on the early settlement history of Freetown, and there are expansions to our exhibits on the Acadians of Bedeque, the Freetown Royals hockey team, and Jacob Gould Schurman. There is also a display of paintings and mats by the late Eleanor Wheler of Bedeque and Fernwood.
Also for the first time we will be operating the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse as part of the Museum, which will add a whole new dimension to our work. In the school there will be new displays on L. M. Montgomery’s time in Bedeque and on her romance with Herman Leard; on her Loyalist ancestry and its connection with her writing; and on schooling in Bedeque in the early nineteenth century.
Our other exhibits continue from previous years, including the ‘Bedeque Harbour Loyalists’, the Borden Ferry 100 exhibit, the Mi’kmaq Culture exhibit, the Five Objects Interactive Display, and our core displays on Callbeck’s Store and Howard Clark’s Red Barn Collection.
We hope that these exhibits, as well as the other events announced in this Newsletter, will encourage you to visit the museum this summer.
All best wishes,
Doug Sobey.
President,
(on behalf of the Board of the Bedeque Area Historical Society)
SUMMER OPENING HOURS
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 28 June to Sunday 4 September. Our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season, by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names).
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 28 June to Sunday 4 September. Our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season, by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names).
SUMMER STUDENT WORKERS
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for eleven weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. Lucas MacDonald of Summerside is coming back to work with us for another summer while we have just interviewed and accepted Hayden Hardy of Victoria as our second worker.
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for eleven weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. Lucas MacDonald of Summerside is coming back to work with us for another summer while we have just interviewed and accepted Hayden Hardy of Victoria as our second worker.
THE NEW EXHIBITS FOR 2022:
THE MIZUNO FAMILY IN CENTRAL BEDEQUE – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained a strong affection for and contact with their Island friends. The exhibit will also tell the role played by Louise Callbeck, who was a teacher and missionary in Japan, in bringing the family to Bedeque.
THE MIZUNO FAMILY IN CENTRAL BEDEQUE – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained a strong affection for and contact with their Island friends. The exhibit will also tell the role played by Louise Callbeck, who was a teacher and missionary in Japan, in bringing the family to Bedeque.
The Mizuno family in Ontario in about 1953 after they had left Bedeque. Front row: Beth, father George, son Paul, mother Kamiyo, Hannah. Sons Norris and Percy at back.
THE HISTORY OF FREETOWN – To coincide with the twice postponed Freetown community reunion initially planned for July 2020, but which is now being held this July, we have a special exhibit on that community. We will be showing again the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 (belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area) and there will be three panels on the history of Freetown. Two of these will tell the story of the settlement of the Freetown area in the early nineteenth century while the third will tell the story of the Burns family farm, one of the oldest farms in Freetown.
The Stewart Burns house called ‘Burnsville Cottage’ in about 1900. The farm took form in 1810 when Stewart’s grandfather, James Burns, from Perthshire in Scotland, bought 1000 acres in what is now Freetown. James’s great-great-great-grand-daughter lives in the house now.
Two other components of the Freetown exhibit will be greatly expanded this summer and will also have their official openings.
THE FREETOWN ROYALS – One is the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team from the 1940s and 1950s. Our already existing display on the team has been greatly expanded and upgraded.
The Freetown Royals in 1956.
JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN – The other Freetown-related exhibit tells the story of Freetown-born Jacob Gould Schurman (1854-1942). Educated at the local Freetown school and then at Malpeque Grammar School and Prince of Wales College, Jacob went on to achieve an outstanding academic and diplomatic career and to play an important role in his adopted country, the United States, and on the world stage. Last summer with no fanfare (because of covid) we put up a poster about J. G. Schurman to which this year we will be adding an exhibit consisting of many original photographs of Schurman as well as press cuttings, collected by David Pope, formerly of Summerside but now living in Salt Lake City, who has been following the life and career of Schurman for some time and who has made his collection available for this display and has also contributed financially to this particular exhibit by assisting with the purchase of a display case.
In this original Acme-edited press photograph, American Ambassador J. G. Schurman in Berlin inaugurates a wireless telephone communication between the United States and Germany on 24 February 1928.
THE ACADIANS OF BEDEQUE – 2020 was the three hundredth anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on Prince Edward Island in 1720 and we had planned a panel display to coincide with the event, telling in particular the story of the Acadian presence in the Bedeque area, both before and after the deportation of 1758, but covid put paid to that. The four panels were put up last summer and this summer we will be adding supporting items to the exhibit.
A view of the Acadian exhibit in the Museum.
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Alyre Gallant and his wife Alice Peters. Alyre worked for Callbecks store for about thirty years.
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PAINTINGS AND HOOKED MATS BY ELEANOR WHELER – We will have a small display of paintings and hooked mats by Eleanor Wheler (1900-1996). Eleanor was a public health nurse who came from Ontario in about 1946 to live in the Bedeque and Fernwood areas. Her paintings are mostly of various subjects in the Fernwood area where she lived in the summer.
Eleanor and her dogs in about 1960.
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The stooked grain in the Sherry’s fields at Seacow Head.
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THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE NEW EXHIBITS – SATURDAY 2 JULY, 10.30 am
The new exhibits (including those put up in part last summer) will be officially opened on Saturday July 2 at 10.30 am. All members and friends, as well as the general public, are invited and there will be free admission to the Museum during the morning.
The new exhibits (including those put up in part last summer) will be officially opened on Saturday July 2 at 10.30 am. All members and friends, as well as the general public, are invited and there will be free admission to the Museum during the morning.
THE CLOCK EXHIBIT IS POSTPONED to 2023
The display of antique clocks from the collection of Wendell Feener of Summerside has been postponed until next summer. We had initially planned to show it in 2020 but it has been postponed for the past two years because of covid, and then again this year because Wendell had already committed himself to a clock display at Eptek in Summerside this coming fall. It will thus be shown in the Bedeque Museum in 2023. (In 2019 we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks all in working order and he also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August.)
The display of antique clocks from the collection of Wendell Feener of Summerside has been postponed until next summer. We had initially planned to show it in 2020 but it has been postponed for the past two years because of covid, and then again this year because Wendell had already committed himself to a clock display at Eptek in Summerside this coming fall. It will thus be shown in the Bedeque Museum in 2023. (In 2019 we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks all in working order and he also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August.)
OUR CONTINUING EXHIBITS:
THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families in the Bedeque Bay area in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright, almost all of them still common names in the wider community. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in a Schurman family since 1839.
THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families in the Bedeque Bay area in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright, almost all of them still common names in the wider community. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in a Schurman family since 1839.
‘THE BORDEN FERRY-100’ EXHIBIT
Seven panels tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
Seven panels tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
The S.S. Prince Edward Island
leaving Port Borden in the 1960s.
AN EXHIBIT ON MI’KMAQ CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Collection of Louise Corbett.
Mi’kmaq making baskets at Rocky Point about 1900.
CALLBECK’S STORE
A large exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
HOWARD CLARK’S RED BARN MUSEUM
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
A large exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
HOWARD CLARK’S RED BARN MUSEUM
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
Ms. Antoinette Perry, the Island’s 42th Lieutenant Governor in a direct succession going back to 1769.
THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOLHOUSE
The official opening of the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse will take place on Saturday 16 July at 10.30 am when Her Honour Antoinette Perry, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island and the Queen’s representative, will declare the building officially opened. All are invited and during the morning access to both the school and museum will be without charge.
The school at its new location in the Loyalist Monument Park in Central Bedeque.
The school interior set up to receive visitors in 2022.
THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE BEDEQUE AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Our twelfth AGM will be held at 7 pm on Monday July 18 in the William Callbeck Centre. Guest speaker, Earle Lockerby will give a talk on the deportation of the Island’s Acadians in 1758 (see below).
The Annual meeting will take place after Earle’s talk and will include the election of members of the Board. The present Board members are: Doug Sobey (President), Valerie Curtis (Vice-President), Don Jardine (Secretary), Susan Leard (Treasurer), Percy Affleck, Seymour Desroches, Lloyd MacCallum, Dawn Moase, Paul H. Schurman, and Earle Smith. Danny McLure and Natalie McDonald resigned during the current year, the latter because she has taken up new employment which does not permit membership of the boards of local organisations such as museums.
The Board is always seeking new members. If you have an interest in local history and in the Bedeque Museum, do consider serving on the Board. You can put your name forward at the meeting, but you may wish to discuss it in advance with any of the present Board members whose names are listed above and whose telephone numbers are in the phonebook. It is also possible to assist the Museum as a volunteer member without being on the Board. If you have an interest in doing so and there are particular areas where you can assist, ranging from fund-raising or publicity, to administration, researching local history or welcoming visitors, let us know.
TALKS AND OTHER EVENTS
After a gap of two years due to covid we are reviving our program of weekly talks this summer. They will all take place in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). All are on Monday evenings in July and August beginning at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
The first four talks have a direct connection with four of the new exhibits being shown this year.
THE STORY OF THE MIZUNO FAMILY IN BEDEQUE
Monday July 11 at 7 pm – Wayne MacKinnon, author of many historical articles and books on Prince Edward Island history, especially political history, will be telling the story of the Mizuno family, a Japanese Canadian family who lived in Bedeque from 1946 to 1952. It will be based on his article in the 2019 issue of The Island Magazine “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed me: The Story of the Callbeck Sisters and the Mizunos”.
THE DEPORTATION OF THE ISLAND’S ACADIANS IN 1758
Monday July 18 at 7 pm – Earle Lockerby, who has written numerous books and papers on the French period in the history of the Island, will tell the story of the deportation of the Island’s Acadians in 1758, concentrating in particular on the timing and logistics of the event, including details of the ships used by the British at the time, which he has been able to glean from an exhaustive search of British and French archival records. Earle’s talk will be followed by our A.G.M.
The Annual meeting will take place after Earle’s talk and will include the election of members of the Board. The present Board members are: Doug Sobey (President), Valerie Curtis (Vice-President), Don Jardine (Secretary), Susan Leard (Treasurer), Percy Affleck, Seymour Desroches, Lloyd MacCallum, Dawn Moase, Paul H. Schurman, and Earle Smith. Danny McLure and Natalie McDonald resigned during the current year, the latter because she has taken up new employment which does not permit membership of the boards of local organisations such as museums.
The Board is always seeking new members. If you have an interest in local history and in the Bedeque Museum, do consider serving on the Board. You can put your name forward at the meeting, but you may wish to discuss it in advance with any of the present Board members whose names are listed above and whose telephone numbers are in the phonebook. It is also possible to assist the Museum as a volunteer member without being on the Board. If you have an interest in doing so and there are particular areas where you can assist, ranging from fund-raising or publicity, to administration, researching local history or welcoming visitors, let us know.
TALKS AND OTHER EVENTS
After a gap of two years due to covid we are reviving our program of weekly talks this summer. They will all take place in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). All are on Monday evenings in July and August beginning at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
The first four talks have a direct connection with four of the new exhibits being shown this year.
THE STORY OF THE MIZUNO FAMILY IN BEDEQUE
Monday July 11 at 7 pm – Wayne MacKinnon, author of many historical articles and books on Prince Edward Island history, especially political history, will be telling the story of the Mizuno family, a Japanese Canadian family who lived in Bedeque from 1946 to 1952. It will be based on his article in the 2019 issue of The Island Magazine “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed me: The Story of the Callbeck Sisters and the Mizunos”.
THE DEPORTATION OF THE ISLAND’S ACADIANS IN 1758
Monday July 18 at 7 pm – Earle Lockerby, who has written numerous books and papers on the French period in the history of the Island, will tell the story of the deportation of the Island’s Acadians in 1758, concentrating in particular on the timing and logistics of the event, including details of the ships used by the British at the time, which he has been able to glean from an exhaustive search of British and French archival records. Earle’s talk will be followed by our A.G.M.
THE EARLY SETTLEMENT HISTORY OF THE FREETOWN AREA
Monday July 25 at 7 pm – Don Jardine, a member of the Board of the Bedeque Area Museum, will outline in an illustrated talk the early settlement history of Freetown. Don was born in Freetown and was involved in the research and writing which led to the production in 1984 of Freetown Past and Present, a local history of high quality. Don will also be giving the same talk at 2.30 p.m. at the Freetown community reunion being held the previous Saturday in Emerald.
JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN, AN EMINENT ISLANDER AHEAD OF HIS TIME
Monday August 1 at 7 pm – Doug Sobey will give an illustrated talk on Jacob Gould Schurman, one of the Island’s most eminent natives, who was born in Freetown in 1854 and went on to achieve a brilliant academic and diplomatic career in the United States.
There will be two more talks in mid-August but the speakers and topics have not yet been finalized. We will notify you when we know what they are.
A SEAFOOD RAFFLE IN SUPPORT OF THE MUSEUM
After not having been able to hold our summer raffle for two years because of covid, we will be holding a raffle with $450 worth of seafood as prizes, including lobsters and oysters. The first prize will be a $250 voucher which can be used to buy lobsters or other sea food. Second prize will be $100 worth of oysters, while the third prize will be a $50 voucher, again for lobsters. The winners do not have to purchase all of the voucher’s value in one go but can do so in instalments over the next year. The draw will take place at 4 pm on our open day on Sunday 26 August. We hope that you will support the Museum’s work by buying one or more raffle tickets (they are $5 each, three for $10).
A BLUEBERRY AND ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY AUGUST 14, 2 - 4 pm
Having held a very successful Blueberry and Ice-cream Social last August (210 people attended and we raised $2,468, including $1,350 in sponsorships), we are planning to hold our second annual Blueberry and Ice-cream Social on Sunday August 14 from 2 to 4 pm, again in the Loyalist Monument Park across from the Museum. Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children aged twelve and under (this includes free access to the Museum and Schoolhouse). Entertainment will be provided and all proceeds are in support of the Museum’s work.
Monday July 25 at 7 pm – Don Jardine, a member of the Board of the Bedeque Area Museum, will outline in an illustrated talk the early settlement history of Freetown. Don was born in Freetown and was involved in the research and writing which led to the production in 1984 of Freetown Past and Present, a local history of high quality. Don will also be giving the same talk at 2.30 p.m. at the Freetown community reunion being held the previous Saturday in Emerald.
JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN, AN EMINENT ISLANDER AHEAD OF HIS TIME
Monday August 1 at 7 pm – Doug Sobey will give an illustrated talk on Jacob Gould Schurman, one of the Island’s most eminent natives, who was born in Freetown in 1854 and went on to achieve a brilliant academic and diplomatic career in the United States.
There will be two more talks in mid-August but the speakers and topics have not yet been finalized. We will notify you when we know what they are.
A SEAFOOD RAFFLE IN SUPPORT OF THE MUSEUM
After not having been able to hold our summer raffle for two years because of covid, we will be holding a raffle with $450 worth of seafood as prizes, including lobsters and oysters. The first prize will be a $250 voucher which can be used to buy lobsters or other sea food. Second prize will be $100 worth of oysters, while the third prize will be a $50 voucher, again for lobsters. The winners do not have to purchase all of the voucher’s value in one go but can do so in instalments over the next year. The draw will take place at 4 pm on our open day on Sunday 26 August. We hope that you will support the Museum’s work by buying one or more raffle tickets (they are $5 each, three for $10).
A BLUEBERRY AND ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY AUGUST 14, 2 - 4 pm
Having held a very successful Blueberry and Ice-cream Social last August (210 people attended and we raised $2,468, including $1,350 in sponsorships), we are planning to hold our second annual Blueberry and Ice-cream Social on Sunday August 14 from 2 to 4 pm, again in the Loyalist Monument Park across from the Museum. Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children aged twelve and under (this includes free access to the Museum and Schoolhouse). Entertainment will be provided and all proceeds are in support of the Museum’s work.
A GRANT FROM THE COMMUNITY MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION OF P.E.I.
This year we received a Development Grant of $2,640 from the Community Museums Association to go towards the purchase of a new display cabinet, the printing of new posters for this summer’s exhibits, and in support of our summer talks series. Also, quite unexpectedly, we were lucky to be first in line to be given three very fine display cases being disposed of by the Confederation Centre Library.
This year we received a Development Grant of $2,640 from the Community Museums Association to go towards the purchase of a new display cabinet, the printing of new posters for this summer’s exhibits, and in support of our summer talks series. Also, quite unexpectedly, we were lucky to be first in line to be given three very fine display cases being disposed of by the Confederation Centre Library.
OUR NEIGHBOUR
Baba’s Kitchen, Antiques and Gifts, run by Elaine Rogers, directly next door to the Museum is a popular eating place in the area, with people coming from as far as Charlottetown to partake of its menu. The decor is traditional, with a kitchen atmosphere and the food and prices are very attractive.
When you visit the Museum, why not stop in for a meal or an ice-cream cone? It is open every day except Mondays: from 9 am to 3 pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays; 9 am to 1.30 pm on Sundays.
Baba’s Kitchen, Antiques and Gifts, run by Elaine Rogers, directly next door to the Museum is a popular eating place in the area, with people coming from as far as Charlottetown to partake of its menu. The decor is traditional, with a kitchen atmosphere and the food and prices are very attractive.
When you visit the Museum, why not stop in for a meal or an ice-cream cone? It is open every day except Mondays: from 9 am to 3 pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays; 9 am to 1.30 pm on Sundays.
Bedeque Area Historical Society
Newsletter 23
September 2021
Email: bahsmuseum@outlook.com
Website: www.bedequemuseum.ca
Facebook: Bedeque Area Historical Museum
A Message from the Board of the BAHS
21 September 2021
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
The summer of 2021 for the Bedeque Museum has turned out to be an improvement on the dire summer of 2020. We had a much greater number of visitors and we were able to hold a Blueberry and Ice-cream Social in August. However, as you are already aware from our June Newsletter, because of Covid we were not able
to hold our Monday evening history talks nor our annual seafood raffle. We also postponed three of our planned new exhibits to 2022 (the exhibits on Island clocks from about 1770 to 1930, the story of the Mizuno family of Bedeque, and the history of Freetown).
We were again very concerned about the effects of Covid on our fund-raising this summer: to remain viable we have to raise about $13,500 each year from sources other than our government grants for student wages and the Community Museums development grant. (This is a rise from last summer’s estimate of $10,500, on account of higher rent and insurance charges.) However, as outlined in the next paragraph, we have again managed to raise sufficient funds to get us through the current year.
We extend our thanks to all those who have made donations this past summer: $1,597 has been donated by our members, plus a separate major private donation of $5,798. We raised $1,183 in ticket sales to our Blueberry and Ice-cream Social and received another $1,350 from businesses and individuals sponsoring the Social. Then, we received $2,500 from a provincial Covid-related support grant for museums and have just applied for a Covid-related grant of $5,000 from the federal government’s Museum Emergency Assistance Program. The above private donations plus the additional $7,500 coming from government has enabled us to pay the bills! We especially appreciate all of those individuals who have contributed through membership subscriptions and by making special additional donations.
This newsletter is shorter than our pre-Covid newsletters because most of the summer events that we normally report in our fall newsletter did not take place. Let us hope that next year we will get back to our normal summer activities!
Best wishes,
The Board of the BAHS
Newsletter 23
September 2021
Email: bahsmuseum@outlook.com
Website: www.bedequemuseum.ca
Facebook: Bedeque Area Historical Museum
A Message from the Board of the BAHS
21 September 2021
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
The summer of 2021 for the Bedeque Museum has turned out to be an improvement on the dire summer of 2020. We had a much greater number of visitors and we were able to hold a Blueberry and Ice-cream Social in August. However, as you are already aware from our June Newsletter, because of Covid we were not able
to hold our Monday evening history talks nor our annual seafood raffle. We also postponed three of our planned new exhibits to 2022 (the exhibits on Island clocks from about 1770 to 1930, the story of the Mizuno family of Bedeque, and the history of Freetown).
We were again very concerned about the effects of Covid on our fund-raising this summer: to remain viable we have to raise about $13,500 each year from sources other than our government grants for student wages and the Community Museums development grant. (This is a rise from last summer’s estimate of $10,500, on account of higher rent and insurance charges.) However, as outlined in the next paragraph, we have again managed to raise sufficient funds to get us through the current year.
We extend our thanks to all those who have made donations this past summer: $1,597 has been donated by our members, plus a separate major private donation of $5,798. We raised $1,183 in ticket sales to our Blueberry and Ice-cream Social and received another $1,350 from businesses and individuals sponsoring the Social. Then, we received $2,500 from a provincial Covid-related support grant for museums and have just applied for a Covid-related grant of $5,000 from the federal government’s Museum Emergency Assistance Program. The above private donations plus the additional $7,500 coming from government has enabled us to pay the bills! We especially appreciate all of those individuals who have contributed through membership subscriptions and by making special additional donations.
This newsletter is shorter than our pre-Covid newsletters because most of the summer events that we normally report in our fall newsletter did not take place. Let us hope that next year we will get back to our normal summer activities!
Best wishes,
The Board of the BAHS
As last year we have had a great response to our calls for members to renew their annual subscriptions. Fifty-three of you have renewed your individual or family membership, thereby contributing $1,230 to our running costs. We thank all those who have done so.
A REMINDER TO THOSE WHO HAVEN’T YET RENEWED: Memberships are renewable in July of each year, and you may post a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email, or you can pay by PAYPAL (see below). The subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or house
holds. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our pro grams. For donations additional to the subscription, we can give a tax receipt.
The PAYPAL option is on the museum website contact page: http://www.bedequemuseum.ca/ contact.html Click on the yellow “DONATE” button which then brings up a page where you put in your email, the amount, and state whether this is for a membership, a donation, or both. There is also the option on that second page to donate by debit or credit card which takes you to another page asking for your card number, etc.
A REMINDER TO THOSE WHO HAVEN’T YET RENEWED: Memberships are renewable in July of each year, and you may post a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email, or you can pay by PAYPAL (see below). The subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or house
holds. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our pro grams. For donations additional to the subscription, we can give a tax receipt.
The PAYPAL option is on the museum website contact page: http://www.bedequemuseum.ca/ contact.html Click on the yellow “DONATE” button which then brings up a page where you put in your email, the amount, and state whether this is for a membership, a donation, or both. There is also the option on that second page to donate by debit or credit card which takes you to another page asking for your card number, etc.
THE SUMMER OF 2021
The Museum was open from Tuesday 28 June to Sunday 5 September staffed by our two student workers, Lucas MacDonald and Jozey Smallwood. We had 398 recorded visitors, a big improvement from last year’s 135 though still below pre-Covid levels, such as the 658 visitors of 2019. A big increase came in August when travel and social contact relating to Covid was relaxed on the Island, resulting in three times as many visitors to the Museum as in July. Because we were again not able to hold our Monday evening talks this summer, the grand total for visitations is only 415 (this adds in the 17 people who attended the AGM) – compared with 2019’s grand total of 884.
The Museum was open from Tuesday 28 June to Sunday 5 September staffed by our two student workers, Lucas MacDonald and Jozey Smallwood. We had 398 recorded visitors, a big improvement from last year’s 135 though still below pre-Covid levels, such as the 658 visitors of 2019. A big increase came in August when travel and social contact relating to Covid was relaxed on the Island, resulting in three times as many visitors to the Museum as in July. Because we were again not able to hold our Monday evening talks this summer, the grand total for visitations is only 415 (this adds in the 17 people who attended the AGM) – compared with 2019’s grand total of 884.
Lucas MacDonald of Summerside
and Jozey Smallwood of Central
Bedeque pose in front of the Call
beck Store exhibit. Lucas is going
into Grade 12 French immersion at
Three Oaks Senior High in Summer
side, while Jozey is entering Grade
11 at the same school. Although
visitor numbers were down, they
kept busy by working on routine
maintenance of the Museum and
also in researching and designing
posters for future exhibits.
and Jozey Smallwood of Central
Bedeque pose in front of the Call
beck Store exhibit. Lucas is going
into Grade 12 French immersion at
Three Oaks Senior High in Summer
side, while Jozey is entering Grade
11 at the same school. Although
visitor numbers were down, they
kept busy by working on routine
maintenance of the Museum and
also in researching and designing
posters for future exhibits.
OUR NEW SUMMER EXHIBITS
Two new exhibits were on display for the first time: panel displays on ‘The Acadians of Bedeque’ and on ‘Jacob Gould Schurman’. Both were featured in our June Newsletter. Due to Covid regulations we did not hold an official opening for these exhibits, which we hope to remedy next summer. We did, however, publi cize them in the print media (Guardian, Journal-Pioneer, Buzz, and especially the County Line Courier, which ran feature stories which we submitted on both topics).
VIEWS OF THE ACADIAN EXHIBIT
Two new exhibits were on display for the first time: panel displays on ‘The Acadians of Bedeque’ and on ‘Jacob Gould Schurman’. Both were featured in our June Newsletter. Due to Covid regulations we did not hold an official opening for these exhibits, which we hope to remedy next summer. We did, however, publi cize them in the print media (Guardian, Journal-Pioneer, Buzz, and especially the County Line Courier, which ran feature stories which we submitted on both topics).
VIEWS OF THE ACADIAN EXHIBIT
The BAHS BLUEBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY AUGUST 15
With Covid rules being relaxed, we decided to welcome the arrival of the Lower Bedeque school to the Loyalist Monument Park by carrying on with the traditional Blueberry and Ice-cream Socials held for many years in support of the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School. About 210 people (including children) came out in support (we were expecting about 150). The ticket also included admission to the Museum and 96 people toured the exhibits. The event proved to be a successful fund-raiser for the Museum, raising $2,468, including $1,350 in sponsorships from local businesses and individuals (see a later page). And the weather gods smiled on us, with the hot muggy mosquito weather of the previous week giving way to a fresh and sunny mosquito-free afternoon!
With Covid rules being relaxed, we decided to welcome the arrival of the Lower Bedeque school to the Loyalist Monument Park by carrying on with the traditional Blueberry and Ice-cream Socials held for many years in support of the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School. About 210 people (including children) came out in support (we were expecting about 150). The ticket also included admission to the Museum and 96 people toured the exhibits. The event proved to be a successful fund-raiser for the Museum, raising $2,468, including $1,350 in sponsorships from local businesses and individuals (see a later page). And the weather gods smiled on us, with the hot muggy mosquito weather of the previous week giving way to a fresh and sunny mosquito-free afternoon!
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Our large sign was donated by Dan’s Mufflers Signs & Decals, and Seymour DesRoches .\
First we had to pick the blueberries! Top right: member Claude Arsenault was one of our pickers in a U-pick at Freeland, Lot 11. Bottom left: Lloyd and Millie MacCallum sold the tickets. |
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MORE PICTURES FROM THE BLUEBERRY SOCIAL
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Top left: Bill Callbeck chats with visitors
Top right: New board member Dawn Moase sells membership to Green party candidate Anna Keenan. Middle left: Board members Danny McClure and Percy Affleck served the ice cream and blueberries. Middle right: : Jamie Fox, MLA (second from left), with BAHS members Earle Smith, Bill Callbeck and Percy Affleck. Bottom left: Rodney Savidant of Chelton provided background music. Bottom right: Below: Catherine Callbeck chats with John Bray and Georges Arsenault. |
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ON THE DAY OF THE BLUEBERRY SOCIAL 96 PEOPLE VISITED THE MUSEUM
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Bottom left: 96-year-old Clayton Mill and his wife Marie attended the Social and visited the Museum. Clayton is one of the few surviving members of the Freetown Royals hockey team.
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The Sponsors of the Social:
Anderson Auto
Auchinleck Farms
Bedeque and Area Municipality
Central Property Management Inc.
Dan’s Muffler Signs and Decals
D. C. Tire
Jean Probyn and Family
Robert’s Irving, Kinkora
Summerside Toyota
Township Chevrolet
Albert E. Waugh & Sons Ltd.
Seymour DesRoches sponsored the signage; Doug Sobey provided the berries; and Don Jardine, and Garth & Sylvia Frizzell, the ice cream.
Anderson Auto
Auchinleck Farms
Bedeque and Area Municipality
Central Property Management Inc.
Dan’s Muffler Signs and Decals
D. C. Tire
Jean Probyn and Family
Robert’s Irving, Kinkora
Summerside Toyota
Township Chevrolet
Albert E. Waugh & Sons Ltd.
Seymour DesRoches sponsored the signage; Doug Sobey provided the berries; and Don Jardine, and Garth & Sylvia Frizzell, the ice cream.
THE BAHS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Our eleventh AGM was held on Monday July 19 in the William Callbeck Centre, but because of covid restrictions relating to the room’s size we were limited to a maximum attendance of 20 persons. Seventeen people attended and Don Jardine gave a talk and slide presentation on the history of the Lower Bedeque school and the project to move it. In the absence of the President, Doug Sobey, because of Covid restrictions on entry into Canada, Vicepresident Valerie Curtis read the president’s report. Bill Callbeck had given advance notice of his retirement from the Board. The Board thanked Bill for his contribution. We are pleased to know that he will continue to actively contribute as a volunteer member. The new Board for the current year was elected, consisting of eleven members of the previous Board plus one new member. The following were re-elected: Percy Affleck, Valerie Curtis, Seymour DesRoches, Don Jardine, Susan Leard, Lloyd MacCallum, Natalie McDonald, Danny McLure, Earle Smith, Paul H. Schurman and Doug Sobey. The new Board member is Dawn Moase of Chelton. At the first meeting of the new Board in August, the new executive was chosen. It consists of the same officers as last year: Doug Sobey, President; Valerie Curtis, Vice-President; Don Jardine, Secretary; and Susan Leard, Treasurer. By this date Doug Sobey was present, having been able to get into Canada and after having spent two weeks in quarantine.
Our eleventh AGM was held on Monday July 19 in the William Callbeck Centre, but because of covid restrictions relating to the room’s size we were limited to a maximum attendance of 20 persons. Seventeen people attended and Don Jardine gave a talk and slide presentation on the history of the Lower Bedeque school and the project to move it. In the absence of the President, Doug Sobey, because of Covid restrictions on entry into Canada, Vicepresident Valerie Curtis read the president’s report. Bill Callbeck had given advance notice of his retirement from the Board. The Board thanked Bill for his contribution. We are pleased to know that he will continue to actively contribute as a volunteer member. The new Board for the current year was elected, consisting of eleven members of the previous Board plus one new member. The following were re-elected: Percy Affleck, Valerie Curtis, Seymour DesRoches, Don Jardine, Susan Leard, Lloyd MacCallum, Natalie McDonald, Danny McLure, Earle Smith, Paul H. Schurman and Doug Sobey. The new Board member is Dawn Moase of Chelton. At the first meeting of the new Board in August, the new executive was chosen. It consists of the same officers as last year: Doug Sobey, President; Valerie Curtis, Vice-President; Don Jardine, Secretary; and Susan Leard, Treasurer. By this date Doug Sobey was present, having been able to get into Canada and after having spent two weeks in quarantine.
THE NEW EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2022
We had planned four new exhibits for this past summer, but due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have had to postpone three of them to 2022. Since the June Newsletter, Wendell Feener has requested a further postponement of the CLOCK EXHIBIT to 2023 since he is committed to a major exhibit at the Eptek Centre in Summerside in the fall of 2022. This in fact works out quite well for us since we will be very busy with the opening of the Lower Bedeque School at its new location and with creating its new exhibits. The other postponed exhibits that will go ahead in 2022: The story of the MIZUNO FAMILY, a Japanese Canadian family interned during the Second World War who came to live in Bedeque after the war, will finally go ahead having already been postponed for the past two summers. We hope that members of the Mizuno family will be in attendance for the opening. The exhibit on the HISTORY OF FREETOWN will also finally go ahead. It is to coincide with the twice-postponed Freetown Reunion which is now planned for July 2022. We will again show the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area, and there will be three new posters connected with the history of Freetown. One, which was featured in our June Newsletter, tells the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team in the 1940s and 1950s. The other posters will be on the history of Freetown, one of which will tell the story of the first farm in Freetown, created by James Burns in 1810. Also part of the Freetown exhibit is the JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN exhibit, the poster for which was on display this summer and was featured in our June Newsletter. This will be joined by a display of books connected with J. G. Schurman as well as original press notices and photographs collected by David Pope of Salt Lake City, Utah (formerly of Summerside) and Board member Paul H. Schurman. We also hope to be able to officially open our ACADIANS IN BEDEQUE exhibit, which went on display this summer (see earlier), and to which we hope to add more artefacts next summer. There will also be NEW DISPLAYS IN THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL: we will have new panels telling the story of the saving of the school in 1989, of its moving in 2021, on the little-known story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Loyalist ancestry and her family connection with Bedeque, and on early schooling in the Bedeque area.
We had planned four new exhibits for this past summer, but due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have had to postpone three of them to 2022. Since the June Newsletter, Wendell Feener has requested a further postponement of the CLOCK EXHIBIT to 2023 since he is committed to a major exhibit at the Eptek Centre in Summerside in the fall of 2022. This in fact works out quite well for us since we will be very busy with the opening of the Lower Bedeque School at its new location and with creating its new exhibits. The other postponed exhibits that will go ahead in 2022: The story of the MIZUNO FAMILY, a Japanese Canadian family interned during the Second World War who came to live in Bedeque after the war, will finally go ahead having already been postponed for the past two summers. We hope that members of the Mizuno family will be in attendance for the opening. The exhibit on the HISTORY OF FREETOWN will also finally go ahead. It is to coincide with the twice-postponed Freetown Reunion which is now planned for July 2022. We will again show the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area, and there will be three new posters connected with the history of Freetown. One, which was featured in our June Newsletter, tells the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team in the 1940s and 1950s. The other posters will be on the history of Freetown, one of which will tell the story of the first farm in Freetown, created by James Burns in 1810. Also part of the Freetown exhibit is the JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN exhibit, the poster for which was on display this summer and was featured in our June Newsletter. This will be joined by a display of books connected with J. G. Schurman as well as original press notices and photographs collected by David Pope of Salt Lake City, Utah (formerly of Summerside) and Board member Paul H. Schurman. We also hope to be able to officially open our ACADIANS IN BEDEQUE exhibit, which went on display this summer (see earlier), and to which we hope to add more artefacts next summer. There will also be NEW DISPLAYS IN THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL: we will have new panels telling the story of the saving of the school in 1989, of its moving in 2021, on the little-known story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Loyalist ancestry and her family connection with Bedeque, and on early schooling in the Bedeque area.
MOVING THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL
After site preparations in the Loyalist Monument Park in Central Bedeque and a lot of preparatory work on the building, the Lower Bedeque School was moved to Central Bedeque on July 7 (see the pictures that follow) and it already looks very much at home at its new location. The desks and other school furniture were moved into the school from storage on September 16 and everything, including the new panel displays will be set up next spring. Our aim is to retain the atmosphere and ambience of the school as it was in Lower Bedeque. We hope to have the school open for 2022 and will have a special opening ceremony in July. Below is a photo of the school after the move.
After site preparations in the Loyalist Monument Park in Central Bedeque and a lot of preparatory work on the building, the Lower Bedeque School was moved to Central Bedeque on July 7 (see the pictures that follow) and it already looks very much at home at its new location. The desks and other school furniture were moved into the school from storage on September 16 and everything, including the new panel displays will be set up next spring. Our aim is to retain the atmosphere and ambience of the school as it was in Lower Bedeque. We hope to have the school open for 2022 and will have a special opening ceremony in July. Below is a photo of the school after the move.
Bedeque Area Historical Society
Hello everyone! We are excited to be open again for the 2021 season! The museum will be open until September 6th for the summer season! Check back for updated information. We have new posters about Freetown and Acadian History on display this summer.
Bedeque Area Historical Society
Hello everyone! We are excited to be open again for the 2021 season! The museum will be open until September 6th for the summer season! Check back for updated information. We have new posters about Freetown and Acadian History on display this summer.
2021
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Newsletter 22 can be downloaded using the following link:
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Bedeque Area Historical Society Newsletter 22
June 2021
A Message from the President of the BAHS
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
History is repeating itself! As last year, I am again sending you this Newsletter from Belfast in Northern Ireland where I spend my winters. I would normally have returned to Prince Edward Island in the first week of May, but this year with the increased restrictions on entry into Canada due to the covid pandemic, I have not been able to return, and unlike last year, when flights restarted in July, I am less hopeful of being able to get back.
Because of the corona virus, the summer of 2020 was a very unusual one for the Bedeque Area Historical Museum. As reported in our Fall Newsletter our total visitations fell from 889 visitors in 2019 to just 135, and we are not expecting numbers to be any higher this summer. As was so last summer, we will not be able to hold the four new exhibits we had planned, nor our Monday evening history talks, our fund-raising strawberry and ice-cream social, or our seafood raffle.
This is once again going to have a severe effect on our income for the year. Last year, as reported in our Fall Newsletter we managed to raise the $10,500 needed to remain solvent – and $1,130 of this came from the support of you our members in the form of the renewals of your annual memberships, supplemented by an additional $1,166 in private donations from members. We also received another $720 in business and personal sponsorships of the Museum’s work. Especially welcome was a covid-related grant of $5,000 from the federal government’s Museum Emergency Assistance Program and an additional $1,667 from Young Canada Works in support of student wages, plus $420 from provincial refunds related to covid. This additional $7,087 coming from government has prevented us from becoming insolvent! We especially appreciate all of those individuals who contributed through membership subscriptions and by making special additional donations.
However, as of April 30 we have entered a new financial year and have to start all over again to raise another $10,500 for the current year. And, as was so last year, we will not be able to rely on our usual fund-raising events (paid entrances to the museum, donations at talks and other events, our strawberry social and our seafood raffle).
Despite these difficulties, the Board has again decided it is important to keep the Museum open this summer. We have already received funding from provincial and federal sources for two student employees – though we still have to make up 25% of the wage bill from other sources.
There will be some new additions to our exhibits this summer and of course our permanent exhibits will be on show, and so we encourage you to come along to support the Museum. We will keep you informed by email of any changes that may occur in our program, should restrictions be eased, such as to allow gatherings.
All best wishes,
Doug Sobey
President,
(on behalf of the Board of the Bedeque Area Historical Society)
A REMINDER: Your membership is renewable in July of each year (except for those who have already done so since January). In past years most people have renewed their memberships at the AGM (which this year falls on July 19) or at one of our Monday evening talks. However, this year it is again unlikely that we will be able to hold the AGM in the normal way due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19.
We thus ask you to please renew your membership either by stopping in at the Museum during the summer or by posting a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email, or by PAYPAL (see below). The annual subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or households. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our programs and they are especially important this year when other methods of fund-raising are restricted.
We also greatly appreciate any additional donation that you are able to make. We are able to give tax receipts for donations of $20 and above.
The PAYPAL option is on the museum website contact page: http://www.bedequemuseum.ca/contact.html Click on the yellow “DONATE” button which then brings up a page where you put in your email, the amount, and state whether this is for a membership, a donation, or both. There is also the option on that second page to donate by debit or credit card which takes you to another page asking for your card number, etc.
SUMMER OPENING HOURS 2021
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 29 June to Sunday 6 September. Our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season, by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names). We will be following the government directives for social distancing for visitors to the Museum.
SUMMER STUDENT WORKERS
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for eleven weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. However, as of the date of this newsletter, interviews are still ongoing for the posts and so we aren’t able to name our summer workers at this time.
THREE NEW EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2021 ARE POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
We had planned four new exhibits for this summer (all previously postponed from 2019) and their official unveiling would have been held on Saturday 3 July, but due to the continuing restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have not been able to complete the preparations for the new exhibits, nor are we able to hold an official opening, nor are we likely to have many visitors to see them. The Board has thus reluctantly decided to postpone completely two of the four exhibits to 2022, and part of a third exhibit. The exhibits completely postponed are listed on the next page.
THE THREE EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2021 POSTPONED TO 2022 ARE:
(1) A major display of antique clocks ranging from the 18th century to about 1930. The clocks were to be selected by Wendell Feener of Summerside from his large collection. In 2019 we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks all in working order and Wendell also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August. We will thus have to wait until 2022 to see the story of clocks through a display of more than fifty different styles and types.
(2) An exhibit telling the story of the Mizuno family in Bedeque – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained an affection for and contact with their Island friends. The posters for the exhibit have been finished but we wanted members of the Mizuno family to be present for the opening, which is impossible given the Covid travel restrictions and so we will hold this exhibit in 2022.
(3) An exhibit on the history of Freetown was to coincide with a Freetown Community reunion initially planned for July 2020, then postponed to July 2021 because of Covid, and now postponed again. We intended to show again the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 (belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area) and there were to be four new posters connected with the history of Freetown. The one on the history of Freetown and on the first farm in Freetown, belonging to the Burns family have not yet been finished.
However, two components of the exhibit will be on show this summer: one is a poster telling the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team from the 1930s to the 1950s, for which we already have a display in the Museum (see further on). The other tells the story of Jacob Gould Schurman, a Freetown- and Summerside-educated boy, who went on to play a role on the world stage. We feature elements from the Schurman display later in this newsletter. We hope to have a more extensive display on Jacob Gould Schurman and on the Freetown Royals in the full Freetown exhibit in 2022.
The new exhibit added this year is on ‘The Acadians at Bedeque’.
2020 was the 300th anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on Prince Edward Island in 1720 and we had planned a poster display to coincide with the event, telling in particular the story of the Acadian presence in the Bedeque area, both before and after the deportation of 1758. The four posters will now go on display this summer instead. We cannot show the supporting materials we had planned but will leave those till next summer, as well as any talks connected with the exhibit. We give you a taster of this exhibit later in this newsletter.
THE PERMANENT EXHIBITS CONTINUING ON VIEW THIS SUMMER
‘THE BORDEN FERRY-100’ EXHIBIT
Ten posterboards tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait and also of some of the people who worked on the ferries. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
AN EXHIBIT ON MI’KMAQ CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families around Bedeque Bay in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in the Schurman family since 1839.
CALLBECK’S STORE
This exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
HOWARD CLARK’S RED BARN MUSEUM
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY AND BEDEQUE
Two panels, and photographs, tell the story of Maud Montgomery’s romance with Herman Leard, a young farmer with whose family she boarded in 1897-1898 when she was teaching in Lower Bedeque. She recorded in her journal that Herman was the only man she ever really fell in love with.
THE NEW POSTERS ADDED FOR THIS SUMMER
In the following pages are extracts from three new poster displays telling the story of: THE ACADIANS AT BEDEQUE, JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN, and THE FREETOWN ROYALS. (The extracts here are reduced in size compared with the posters.)
June 2021
A Message from the President of the BAHS
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
History is repeating itself! As last year, I am again sending you this Newsletter from Belfast in Northern Ireland where I spend my winters. I would normally have returned to Prince Edward Island in the first week of May, but this year with the increased restrictions on entry into Canada due to the covid pandemic, I have not been able to return, and unlike last year, when flights restarted in July, I am less hopeful of being able to get back.
Because of the corona virus, the summer of 2020 was a very unusual one for the Bedeque Area Historical Museum. As reported in our Fall Newsletter our total visitations fell from 889 visitors in 2019 to just 135, and we are not expecting numbers to be any higher this summer. As was so last summer, we will not be able to hold the four new exhibits we had planned, nor our Monday evening history talks, our fund-raising strawberry and ice-cream social, or our seafood raffle.
This is once again going to have a severe effect on our income for the year. Last year, as reported in our Fall Newsletter we managed to raise the $10,500 needed to remain solvent – and $1,130 of this came from the support of you our members in the form of the renewals of your annual memberships, supplemented by an additional $1,166 in private donations from members. We also received another $720 in business and personal sponsorships of the Museum’s work. Especially welcome was a covid-related grant of $5,000 from the federal government’s Museum Emergency Assistance Program and an additional $1,667 from Young Canada Works in support of student wages, plus $420 from provincial refunds related to covid. This additional $7,087 coming from government has prevented us from becoming insolvent! We especially appreciate all of those individuals who contributed through membership subscriptions and by making special additional donations.
However, as of April 30 we have entered a new financial year and have to start all over again to raise another $10,500 for the current year. And, as was so last year, we will not be able to rely on our usual fund-raising events (paid entrances to the museum, donations at talks and other events, our strawberry social and our seafood raffle).
Despite these difficulties, the Board has again decided it is important to keep the Museum open this summer. We have already received funding from provincial and federal sources for two student employees – though we still have to make up 25% of the wage bill from other sources.
There will be some new additions to our exhibits this summer and of course our permanent exhibits will be on show, and so we encourage you to come along to support the Museum. We will keep you informed by email of any changes that may occur in our program, should restrictions be eased, such as to allow gatherings.
All best wishes,
Doug Sobey
President,
(on behalf of the Board of the Bedeque Area Historical Society)
A REMINDER: Your membership is renewable in July of each year (except for those who have already done so since January). In past years most people have renewed their memberships at the AGM (which this year falls on July 19) or at one of our Monday evening talks. However, this year it is again unlikely that we will be able to hold the AGM in the normal way due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19.
We thus ask you to please renew your membership either by stopping in at the Museum during the summer or by posting a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email, or by PAYPAL (see below). The annual subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or households. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our programs and they are especially important this year when other methods of fund-raising are restricted.
We also greatly appreciate any additional donation that you are able to make. We are able to give tax receipts for donations of $20 and above.
The PAYPAL option is on the museum website contact page: http://www.bedequemuseum.ca/contact.html Click on the yellow “DONATE” button which then brings up a page where you put in your email, the amount, and state whether this is for a membership, a donation, or both. There is also the option on that second page to donate by debit or credit card which takes you to another page asking for your card number, etc.
SUMMER OPENING HOURS 2021
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 29 June to Sunday 6 September. Our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season, by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names). We will be following the government directives for social distancing for visitors to the Museum.
SUMMER STUDENT WORKERS
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for eleven weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. However, as of the date of this newsletter, interviews are still ongoing for the posts and so we aren’t able to name our summer workers at this time.
THREE NEW EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2021 ARE POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
We had planned four new exhibits for this summer (all previously postponed from 2019) and their official unveiling would have been held on Saturday 3 July, but due to the continuing restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have not been able to complete the preparations for the new exhibits, nor are we able to hold an official opening, nor are we likely to have many visitors to see them. The Board has thus reluctantly decided to postpone completely two of the four exhibits to 2022, and part of a third exhibit. The exhibits completely postponed are listed on the next page.
THE THREE EXHIBITS PLANNED FOR 2021 POSTPONED TO 2022 ARE:
(1) A major display of antique clocks ranging from the 18th century to about 1930. The clocks were to be selected by Wendell Feener of Summerside from his large collection. In 2019 we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks all in working order and Wendell also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August. We will thus have to wait until 2022 to see the story of clocks through a display of more than fifty different styles and types.
(2) An exhibit telling the story of the Mizuno family in Bedeque – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained an affection for and contact with their Island friends. The posters for the exhibit have been finished but we wanted members of the Mizuno family to be present for the opening, which is impossible given the Covid travel restrictions and so we will hold this exhibit in 2022.
(3) An exhibit on the history of Freetown was to coincide with a Freetown Community reunion initially planned for July 2020, then postponed to July 2021 because of Covid, and now postponed again. We intended to show again the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 (belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area) and there were to be four new posters connected with the history of Freetown. The one on the history of Freetown and on the first farm in Freetown, belonging to the Burns family have not yet been finished.
However, two components of the exhibit will be on show this summer: one is a poster telling the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team from the 1930s to the 1950s, for which we already have a display in the Museum (see further on). The other tells the story of Jacob Gould Schurman, a Freetown- and Summerside-educated boy, who went on to play a role on the world stage. We feature elements from the Schurman display later in this newsletter. We hope to have a more extensive display on Jacob Gould Schurman and on the Freetown Royals in the full Freetown exhibit in 2022.
The new exhibit added this year is on ‘The Acadians at Bedeque’.
2020 was the 300th anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on Prince Edward Island in 1720 and we had planned a poster display to coincide with the event, telling in particular the story of the Acadian presence in the Bedeque area, both before and after the deportation of 1758. The four posters will now go on display this summer instead. We cannot show the supporting materials we had planned but will leave those till next summer, as well as any talks connected with the exhibit. We give you a taster of this exhibit later in this newsletter.
THE PERMANENT EXHIBITS CONTINUING ON VIEW THIS SUMMER
‘THE BORDEN FERRY-100’ EXHIBIT
Ten posterboards tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait and also of some of the people who worked on the ferries. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
AN EXHIBIT ON MI’KMAQ CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families around Bedeque Bay in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in the Schurman family since 1839.
CALLBECK’S STORE
This exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
HOWARD CLARK’S RED BARN MUSEUM
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY AND BEDEQUE
Two panels, and photographs, tell the story of Maud Montgomery’s romance with Herman Leard, a young farmer with whose family she boarded in 1897-1898 when she was teaching in Lower Bedeque. She recorded in her journal that Herman was the only man she ever really fell in love with.
THE NEW POSTERS ADDED FOR THIS SUMMER
In the following pages are extracts from three new poster displays telling the story of: THE ACADIANS AT BEDEQUE, JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN, and THE FREETOWN ROYALS. (The extracts here are reduced in size compared with the posters.)
We know a lot about the Acadian settlement at Bedec because of a detailed census carried out in the summer of 1752 by Joseph de La Roque. He recorded the names of the inhabitants and their ages (including the children), when they had settled at Bedec, how much livestock they owned and how much land they had cleared. At Bedec La Roque recorded eight separate households made up of 42 persons. There were three principal ‘clans’: the extended families of Pierre Lejeune, Joseph Terriaud and Jean Robichaud. From Samuel Holland’s map of 1765 we can see where their farmsteads were. The posters tell the story of all of the families but the extracts in this newsletter follow only the Lejeunes.
The eight families came over from the mainland in either 1750 or 1751 because of political and military unrest at Chignecto and elsewhere. It is likely that the settlers depended on the salt marshes at Bedeque to feed their stock in summer and for winter feed as marsh hay. From Samuel Holland’s survey in 1765 we learn that by 1758 (the year of the deportation) 225 acres had been cleared on the North Bedeque side and 560 acres in Lower Bedeque. Sadly, however, these Acadian families were not to reap the fruits of their back-breaking work. For in 1758, they were deported to France, except for a few who fled to the mainland.
The most recent estimate is that out of about 4,250 Acadians on the Island, about 3,000 were deported to France. Of these, 890 died from disease during the crossing, while another 515 were drowned when two of the ships sank in the English Channel, while a third ship was wrecked near the Azores with the loss of 110 lives.
Some of the Acadians who had evaded the deportation returned to the Island and were sought out as fishermen by British entrepreneurs who were aiming to make a profit from the Island’s unexploited fish stocks, especially cod. Some of the new proprietors, who had been granted townships in 1767, in order to fulfil one of the terms of their grants, encouraged these Acadians to settle on their lands. The most significant of these new Acadian settlements occurred in Lot 17 where the agent for the lot settled about sixteen Acadian families in 1775 along the southern shore of Malpeque Bay in what is now North St. Eleanors and Sherbrooke. Most of these Acadians had connections with the pre-deportation community of Malpec (at present-day Port Hill), which had escaped deportation by flight to the mainland.
Beginning in 1799, the Acadians began to abandon the ‘French Village’ in North St. Eleanors, leaving to settle in places further west. One factor was that the various proprietors of lots 19, 17, and 16, on which the Acadian farms were located, began to demand payment of unpaid rents. Rather than stay, the Acadians decided to move to places distant from proprietors and anglophones. By 1817 most of the Acadians of the French Village had left to found new settlements at Tignish, Cascumpec, Egmont Bay, Mont Carmel and Miscouche – with the last family leaving in 1820.
JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN (1854-1952) - A FREETOWN BOY
After studies at Prince of Wales and Acadia College in Wolfville, N.S., followed by studies at the Universities of London and Edinburgh (funded by a Canada-wide scholarship), Jacob Schurman returned to Canada to teach at Acadia and then at Dalhousie in Halifax. He then went on to teach at Cornell University in New York state, becoming its president in 1892, and serving for almost thirty years. After he retired he began a diplomatic career as the American ambassador to China and then Germany in the 1920s. The poster also highlights these achievements of his later career, as well as providing more information on his Freetown background.
Clayton Mill, one of the few remaining members of the team, has been instrumental in providing information and items for the display on the Freetown Royals which was originally set up in about 2013. The new poster is a major addition to the exhibit and outlines more completely the story of Freetown’s hockey teams and especially the famous Royals. We plan to revise and expand the display for the Freetown exhibit in 2022, to coincide with the Freetown reunion.
Members and supporters of the Bedeque Area Historical Society,
We invite you to attend our eleventh Annual General Meeting on Monday July 19 at 6:30 pm in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque.
Reports on the work of the past year will be presented and the election of up to twelve members to the new Board will take place.
More details on the AGM will follow.
We remind you that the annual membership subscriptions are normally renewed at the AGM, which marks the start of the Society's new year. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our programs and they are especially important this year when other methods of fund-raising are restricted.
If you are not able to attend the meeting your membership can be renewed by calling at the Museum during opening hours (Tues. to Sat., 10 am to 5 pm, Sun., 1 to 5 pm), or by posting a cheque to the BAHS, 950 Callbeck St, Central Bedeque, C0B 1G0. (Individuals memberships are $20; families or households, $25). You may also pay by Paypal by clicking the donate button which you can find under the Contact menu at the top of this page. Be sure to fill out the form adjacent to the donate button.
We are conducting a membership drive this year and would like to double our memberships this year from the 50 members that we have at present. If you know someone who is interested in preserving historical information in the Bedeque, Freetown, Borden-Carleton, Middleton, Albany, Fernwood, Kinkora and adjacent areas please tell them to join our effort.
We are excited about our project to move the Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse where L.M. Montgomery taught school to a new location across Callbeck Street from the Museum in Central Bedeque. We expect this move to be completed in the coming weeks. Keep checking this website for updates on this project.
You can download our most recent newsletter by clicking on the download file button below.
| bedeque_area_historical_society_newsletter_21_nov._2020.pdf |
An article on Herman Leard and his connection to L.M Montgomery from our Fall 2019 Newsletter.
A Message from the President of the BAHS 17 June 2020
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
I am sending you this Newsletter from Belfast in Northern Ireland where I spend my winters. I would normally have returned to the Prince Edward Island in the first week of May, but this year with international flights suspended due to the covid pandemic and with restrictions on movement on both sides of the Atlantic, I have not been able to return, and as yet there is no indication when flights will begin again.
Because of the corona virus, from which thankfully the Island has been largely spared, the summer of 2020 is going to be a very unusual and difficult one for the Bedeque Area Historical Museum – as it will be for all of those Island businesses and community organizations which rely partly or wholly upon visitors. As you will read in this newsletter, we have had to cancel all of our usual summer events, including four new exhibits that we had planned, our Monday evening history talks, our AGM in July, and our fund-raising strawberry and ice-cream social. It is also likely that visitor numbers to the museum will be greatly down because of the restrictions on travel and it is even doubtful whether we will be able to hold our seafood raffle.
This is going to have a severe effect on our income for this year. To remain viable we have to raise about $10,500 each year from sources other than our government grants for student wages and the Community Museums development grant. Most of this fund-raising comes from paid entrances to the museum, from donations at talks and other events, from membership subscriptions, and from special fund-raising events such as the strawberry social and seafood raffle. We expect that the amount raised by all of these methods will be down, in some cases to nil. We will thus need to look closely at our balance sheet and consider if there are other ways that we can raise funds.
Despite these difficulties, the Board has decided it is important to keep the Museum open this summer. We have already received funding from the provincial and federal sources which fund our student employment – though we still have to make up 25% of the wage bill from other sources.
Though there will be no new displays this summer, our permanent exhibits will be on show and we encourage you to come along to support the Museum. We also greatly appreciate any donations that you are able to make. We are able to give tax receipts for donations of $20 and above.
We will keep you informed by email of any changes that may occur in our program, should restrictions be eased such as to allow gatherings.
All best wishes, and take care in this unprecedented time,
Doug Sobey.
President, of the Bedeque Area Historical Society
*A REMINDER: Your membership is renewable in July of each year. In past years most people have renewed their memberships at the AGM (which falls on July 20 this year) or at one of our Monday evening talks. However, this year it is unlikely that we will be able to hold the AGM in the normal way due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19.
We thus ask you to please renew your membership either by stopping in at the Museum during the summer or by posting a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email. The annual subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or households. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our programs and they are especially important this year when other methods of fund-raising are restricted.
Members and Friends of Bedeque Area Historical Society,
I am sending you this Newsletter from Belfast in Northern Ireland where I spend my winters. I would normally have returned to the Prince Edward Island in the first week of May, but this year with international flights suspended due to the covid pandemic and with restrictions on movement on both sides of the Atlantic, I have not been able to return, and as yet there is no indication when flights will begin again.
Because of the corona virus, from which thankfully the Island has been largely spared, the summer of 2020 is going to be a very unusual and difficult one for the Bedeque Area Historical Museum – as it will be for all of those Island businesses and community organizations which rely partly or wholly upon visitors. As you will read in this newsletter, we have had to cancel all of our usual summer events, including four new exhibits that we had planned, our Monday evening history talks, our AGM in July, and our fund-raising strawberry and ice-cream social. It is also likely that visitor numbers to the museum will be greatly down because of the restrictions on travel and it is even doubtful whether we will be able to hold our seafood raffle.
This is going to have a severe effect on our income for this year. To remain viable we have to raise about $10,500 each year from sources other than our government grants for student wages and the Community Museums development grant. Most of this fund-raising comes from paid entrances to the museum, from donations at talks and other events, from membership subscriptions, and from special fund-raising events such as the strawberry social and seafood raffle. We expect that the amount raised by all of these methods will be down, in some cases to nil. We will thus need to look closely at our balance sheet and consider if there are other ways that we can raise funds.
Despite these difficulties, the Board has decided it is important to keep the Museum open this summer. We have already received funding from the provincial and federal sources which fund our student employment – though we still have to make up 25% of the wage bill from other sources.
Though there will be no new displays this summer, our permanent exhibits will be on show and we encourage you to come along to support the Museum. We also greatly appreciate any donations that you are able to make. We are able to give tax receipts for donations of $20 and above.
We will keep you informed by email of any changes that may occur in our program, should restrictions be eased such as to allow gatherings.
All best wishes, and take care in this unprecedented time,
Doug Sobey.
President, of the Bedeque Area Historical Society
*A REMINDER: Your membership is renewable in July of each year. In past years most people have renewed their memberships at the AGM (which falls on July 20 this year) or at one of our Monday evening talks. However, this year it is unlikely that we will be able to hold the AGM in the normal way due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19.
We thus ask you to please renew your membership either by stopping in at the Museum during the summer or by posting a cheque made out to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to the address on the first page of this newsletter, along with your name and contact methods, including email. The annual subscription is $20 for individuals and $25 for families or households. These subscriptions are an important source of our income enabling us to carry out our programs and they are especially important this year when other methods of fund-raising are restricted.
SUMMER OPENING HOURS
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 16 June to Sunday 6 September. In June the Museum will be open from Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm. Thereafter our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names). We will be following the government directives for social distancing for visitors to the Museum.
This summer the Museum will open to the public from Tuesday 16 June to Sunday 6 September. In June the Museum will be open from Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm. Thereafter our hours are the same as last year: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays 1 pm to 5 pm (closed Mondays). The Museum can also be opened by special arrangement outside these times, and off-season by contacting members of the Board (see below for their names). We will be following the government directives for social distancing for visitors to the Museum.
SUMMER STUDENT WORKERS
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for twelve weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. Caleb Coyle of Summerside will be returning to work for us for his third summer, having just finished his second year at the University of Prince Edward Island. Joining him in July for eight weeks will be Nathan Wright of Kinkora, a student at Three Oaks Senior High School who will be entering grade eleven in September. Both Caleb and Nathan are bilingual and so can greet visitors in either national language.
We have received government grants to enable us to employ two students to staff the Museum this summer: a federal ‘Young Canada Works’ grant for twelve weeks, and a provincial ‘Jobs for Youth’ grant for eight weeks. Caleb Coyle of Summerside will be returning to work for us for his third summer, having just finished his second year at the University of Prince Edward Island. Joining him in July for eight weeks will be Nathan Wright of Kinkora, a student at Three Oaks Senior High School who will be entering grade eleven in September. Both Caleb and Nathan are bilingual and so can greet visitors in either national language.
OUR PLANNED NEW EXHIBITS FOR 2020 ARE POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19
We had planned four new exhibits for this summer and their official unveiling would have been held on Saturday 4 July, but due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have not been able to complete the preparations for the new exhibits, nor are we able to hold our official opening ceremony.
The Board has thus decided to postpone the four exhibits to 2021. To whet your appetite for 2021, they are:
(1) A major display of antique clocks ranging from the 18th century to about 1930. The clocks will be selected from the collection of Wendell Feener of Summerside. Last summer we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks, all in working order – which for those who were there on the hour, added an aural dimension to the Museum’s exhibits. Wendell also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August. We will thus have to wait until next summer to see the story of clocks through a display of more than fifty different styles and types.
(2) An exhibit telling the story of the Mizuno family in Bedeque – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained an affection for and contact with their Island friends.
(3) An exhibit on the history of Freetown was to coincide with the Freetown reunion planned for this July. However, the reunion has had to be postponed to 2021 because of the corona virus. We intended to show again the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 (belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area) and there were to be four new posters connected with the history of Freetown. One was to tell the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team from the 1930s to the 1950s, on which we already have a display in the Museum. The others were to be on the history of Freetown, one of which was to tell the story of the first farm in Freetown, belonging to the Burns family.
(4) The Acadians in Bedeque: This year marks the 300th anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on Prince Edward Island in 1720 and we had planned a poster display to coincide with the event, telling in particular the story of the Acadian presence in Bedeque, both before and after the deportation of 1758.
We had planned four new exhibits for this summer and their official unveiling would have been held on Saturday 4 July, but due to the restrictions caused by Covid-19 we have not been able to complete the preparations for the new exhibits, nor are we able to hold our official opening ceremony.
The Board has thus decided to postpone the four exhibits to 2021. To whet your appetite for 2021, they are:
(1) A major display of antique clocks ranging from the 18th century to about 1930. The clocks will be selected from the collection of Wendell Feener of Summerside. Last summer we displayed three of Wendell’s long-case clocks, all in working order – which for those who were there on the hour, added an aural dimension to the Museum’s exhibits. Wendell also gave a demonstration on clocks and their workings at the free opening day in August. We will thus have to wait until next summer to see the story of clocks through a display of more than fifty different styles and types.
(2) An exhibit telling the story of the Mizuno family in Bedeque – The Mizunos were a Japanese family interned during the Second World War in British Columbia. When the war ended George and Kimiyo Mizuno with their four children came to Central Bedeque where from 1946 to 1952 they farmed on land provided by the Callbeck family. After they moved to southern Ontario they retained an affection for and contact with their Island friends.
(3) An exhibit on the history of Freetown was to coincide with the Freetown reunion planned for this July. However, the reunion has had to be postponed to 2021 because of the corona virus. We intended to show again the Freetown signature quilt dating from 1928 (belonging to Katherine Dewar and containing 147 names from the Freetown area) and there were to be four new posters connected with the history of Freetown. One was to tell the story of the Freetown Royals, a champion hockey team from the 1930s to the 1950s, on which we already have a display in the Museum. The others were to be on the history of Freetown, one of which was to tell the story of the first farm in Freetown, belonging to the Burns family.
(4) The Acadians in Bedeque: This year marks the 300th anniversary of the beginning of French and Acadian settlement on Prince Edward Island in 1720 and we had planned a poster display to coincide with the event, telling in particular the story of the Acadian presence in Bedeque, both before and after the deportation of 1758.
(Above) A detail from Samuel Holland’s 1765 map of Prince Edward Island, showing the Acadian houses and cleared land on both sides of the Dunk River estuary in 1765. However, the houses were empty in 1765: the families who had lived in them had been deported to France in 1758.
THE PERMANENT EXHIBITS ON VIEW THIS SUMMER
‘THE BORDEN FERRY-100’ EXHIBIT
Ten posterboards tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait and also of some of the people who worked on the ferries. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
‘THE BORDEN FERRY-100’ EXHIBIT
Ten posterboards tell the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing of Northumberland Strait and also of some of the people who worked on the ferries. Also on display are many objects connected with the ferries, loaned from private collections.
(Above) The S.S. Prince Edward Island made its first crossing in 1917 and continued in service until 1968. This photo was taken in the 1960s.
AN EXHIBIT ON MI’KMAQ CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Three panels describe the culture of the Mi’kmaq and their way of life prior to the arrival of Europeans, and during the French and British colonial periods. It includes a display of Mi’kmaq baskets and we show several short films on Mi’kmaq heritage created by Ron Zakar for the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
(Above) Mi’kmaq baskets from the Howard Clark collection. The flag is that of the Grand Council of the Mi’kmaq Nation.
THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families around Bedeque Bay in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in the Schurman family since 1839.
A large display tells the story of the United Empire Loyalists and the settlement of Loyalist families around Bedeque Bay in 1784, led by William Schurman and Thomas Hooper. The families who arrived with Schurman and Hooper (or followed shortly after) include the names Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright. The exhibit includes maps showing where particular families settled and explains why they settled in the ‘Bedeque Harbour’ area. Part of the exhibit tells the story of the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in the Schurman family since 1839.
CALLBECK’S STORE
This exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
This exhibit tells the story of Callbeck’s general store, which was the focal point for the Bedeque area for almost one hundred years, from 1899 to 1993. The Museum is housed in the original store building and displays many artifacts from the Callbeck family collection.
(Above) Callbeck store exhibit on display at the museum
HOWARD CLARK’S RED BARN MUSEUM
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
We have a large display of many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum in Chelton. The exhibits are spread over two floors and relate to the social and cultural history of the wider area. Howard created his museum after returning from service on a hospital ship in World War II and he donated his collection to the BAHS in 2010.
(Above) Part of the Red Barn Exhibit on display at the museum.
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY AND BEDEQUE
Two panels, and photographs, tell the story of Maud Montgomery’s romance with Herman Leard, a young farmer with whose family she boarded in 1897-1898 when she was teaching in Lower Bedeque. She recorded in her journal that Herman was the only man she ever really fell in love with.
Two panels, and photographs, tell the story of Maud Montgomery’s romance with Herman Leard, a young farmer with whose family she boarded in 1897-1898 when she was teaching in Lower Bedeque. She recorded in her journal that Herman was the only man she ever really fell in love with.
OUR STRAWBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL IS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Our annual Strawberry and Ice-cream Social in the Central Bedeque Park in early July, which is our major fund-raising event, has had to be cancelled on account of Covid-19. At this stage we don’t know whether we will be able to hold an equivalent event later in the summer, but we will let you know if we do.
Our annual Strawberry and Ice-cream Social in the Central Bedeque Park in early July, which is our major fund-raising event, has had to be cancelled on account of Covid-19. At this stage we don’t know whether we will be able to hold an equivalent event later in the summer, but we will let you know if we do.
A GRANT FROM THE P.E.I. COMMUNITY MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION
This year we received a Community Museums Development Grant of $3,000 from the P.E.I. Community Museums Association which is to go towards buying a new display cabinet and a filing cabinet for archival records, and the printing of posters for new exhibits.
This year we received a Community Museums Development Grant of $3,000 from the P.E.I. Community Museums Association which is to go towards buying a new display cabinet and a filing cabinet for archival records, and the printing of posters for new exhibits.
THE BAHS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Our tenth AGM would normally have been held on Monday July 20 in the William Callbeck Centre. However, due to Covid restrictions we will not be able to hold it in the normal way and we have yet to work out an alternative way of conducting the meeting. A zoom meeting may be too difficult to arrange for all of the membership. We will give you notice in advance of what form the meeting will take.
The AGM includes the election of members to the Board. The present Board members are: Doug Sobey (President), Valerie Curtis (Vice-President), Don Jardine (Secretary), Susan Leard (Treasurer), Percy Affleck, Stuart Affleck, Bill Callbeck, Lloyd MacCallum, Danny McLure, Tom Sherry, George Read, and Earle Smith.
The Board is always seeking new members. If you have an interest in local history and in the Bedeque Museum, consider serving on the Board. You may discuss your interest with any of the present Board members whose names are listed above and whose telephone numbers are in the phonebook.
Our tenth AGM would normally have been held on Monday July 20 in the William Callbeck Centre. However, due to Covid restrictions we will not be able to hold it in the normal way and we have yet to work out an alternative way of conducting the meeting. A zoom meeting may be too difficult to arrange for all of the membership. We will give you notice in advance of what form the meeting will take.
The AGM includes the election of members to the Board. The present Board members are: Doug Sobey (President), Valerie Curtis (Vice-President), Don Jardine (Secretary), Susan Leard (Treasurer), Percy Affleck, Stuart Affleck, Bill Callbeck, Lloyd MacCallum, Danny McLure, Tom Sherry, George Read, and Earle Smith.
The Board is always seeking new members. If you have an interest in local history and in the Bedeque Museum, consider serving on the Board. You may discuss your interest with any of the present Board members whose names are listed above and whose telephone numbers are in the phonebook.
THE 2020 MONDAY EVENING TALKS ARE CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Over the last few summers our Monday evening talks held in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque have proved to be a great success. Last summer, a total of 226 people attended with an average of 38 people per talk. We had planned to hold six talks this summer, most on topics connected with the four new exhibits we had planned. However, as noted earlier, because of Covid-19 the exhibits have had to be postponed until 2021, and we are also not able to hold any indoor talks this summer because of the social distancing requirements due to Covid 19.
Over the last few summers our Monday evening talks held in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque have proved to be a great success. Last summer, a total of 226 people attended with an average of 38 people per talk. We had planned to hold six talks this summer, most on topics connected with the four new exhibits we had planned. However, as noted earlier, because of Covid-19 the exhibits have had to be postponed until 2021, and we are also not able to hold any indoor talks this summer because of the social distancing requirements due to Covid 19.
MOVING THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL
(Below) Lower Bedeque School in 2019
You may have read in the newspapers last summer of the problems facing the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School Museum. The school’s future has been looking rather shaky in recent years, and in 2019, for the first time in thirty years, it did not open to the public. Since last summer the Bedeque Area Historical Society has been actively considering a plan for saving the school by the moving it to the Central Bedeque Loyalist Monument Park, and operating it as part of the Bedeque Museum. During this past winter the proposal has progressed to the point where we were able to consider the practical stages of such a move. We thus share with you the thoughts behind this major development for the society.
THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL AS A TOURIST AND HERITAGE ATTRACTION
After 27 years of neglect and dereliction, the one-room Lower Bedeque schoolhouse, dating from about 1880, was restored and opened to the public in 1989 as a tourist attraction under the ownership of a group of local residents and others, who incorporated themselves as The Friends of L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School.
A principal motivation for the restoration was that Lucy Maud Montgomery had taught at the school for six months in 1897-1898, and the publication of her personal journals in 1985 revealed that this short period was a significant one in her personal life since it was in Lower Bedeque that she fell in love for perhaps the only time in her life.
From 1989 to 2018 under a succession of enthusiastic volunteers from the local and wider community the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse opened to visitors each summer and proved to be a successful tourist attraction.
The School attracted visitors especially because of its connection with the world-famous author, many of these coming from far away, and especially from Japan. For example, in the summer of 2018, despite limited advertising, the school attracted 930 visitors, 240 of these being Japanese visitors in pre-booked bus tours. (For comparison, the Bedeque Area Museum in that summer attracted 692 visitors, excluding those attending the evening talks.) The school is thus an important tourist attraction drawing visitors to the Bedeque area. (Below) Japanese visitors to the Schoolhouse in 2019
THE LOWER BEDEQUE SCHOOL AS A TOURIST AND HERITAGE ATTRACTION
After 27 years of neglect and dereliction, the one-room Lower Bedeque schoolhouse, dating from about 1880, was restored and opened to the public in 1989 as a tourist attraction under the ownership of a group of local residents and others, who incorporated themselves as The Friends of L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School.
A principal motivation for the restoration was that Lucy Maud Montgomery had taught at the school for six months in 1897-1898, and the publication of her personal journals in 1985 revealed that this short period was a significant one in her personal life since it was in Lower Bedeque that she fell in love for perhaps the only time in her life.
From 1989 to 2018 under a succession of enthusiastic volunteers from the local and wider community the L. M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse opened to visitors each summer and proved to be a successful tourist attraction.
The School attracted visitors especially because of its connection with the world-famous author, many of these coming from far away, and especially from Japan. For example, in the summer of 2018, despite limited advertising, the school attracted 930 visitors, 240 of these being Japanese visitors in pre-booked bus tours. (For comparison, the Bedeque Area Museum in that summer attracted 692 visitors, excluding those attending the evening talks.) The school is thus an important tourist attraction drawing visitors to the Bedeque area. (Below) Japanese visitors to the Schoolhouse in 2019
THE PROBLEM WITH THE SCHOOL’S LOCATION
In recent years, as a result of changing demographics, including the passing away of the older generation in the community that had a close connection with the school, local involvement with the Friends of Lower Bedeque School has declined. The Friends now consists of only four persons, none of whom have roots in the community, and one of whom, Mary Kendrick, has been largely responsible for the running and maintenance of the school since the death in 2009 of the previous chief enthusiast, Nancy MacFarlane of Fernwood.
Mary Kendrick moved to Stratford in 2014 and, after five years of distant travelling, she felt no longer able to continue her involvement. In anticipation of her withdrawal, over the past couple of years she has made several appeals to the wider Bedeque community to involve themselves in the running of the school but with only a limited response (only one additional volunteer has joined the Friends of the School).
In 2017 Mary Kendrick appealed to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to take over the running of the school but the BAHS Board considered that it was not feasible for it to manage the school at its location in Lower Bedeque since this would mean seeking extra funds to employ two additional students, as well as supervising them at this separate site.
The Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse thus did not open in the summer of 2019 except for eleven pre-booked Japanese bus tours, for which a volunteer member of the Lower Bedeque Board opened and displayed the school. Given this lack of support for the Friends of the LMMLBS, the school will not be able to survive much longer. If in future summers it continued to remain closed, which was highly likely, and if it was no longer maintained, it would inevitably suffer the fate of most abandoned wooden buildings in the area: dereliction, vandalism and destruction. The future of the Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse was thus hanging in the balance.
A PROPOSAL TO MOVE THE SCHOOL TO CENTRAL BEDEQUE
It is against this background that an alternative way of saving the school has been considered. Over a year ago the Bedeque and Area Municipality approached the Bedeque Area Historical Society asking whether it had a suitable infrastructure project that the Municipality might fund through its Gas Tax Fund allocation, in connection with the federally and provincially supported Municipal Strategic Component (MSC) of the Gas Tax program.
The BAHS considered that a suitable qualifying project might be the moving of the Lower Bedeque School to Central Bedeque where it could be operated by the BAHS as part of the Bedeque Area Historical Museum. In this way the school would be saved as a cultural and historical structure and continue to exist as a tourist attraction.
It happens that there is an especially suitable site in Central Bedeque for the schoolhouse: the Loyalist Monument Park which lies directly across the street from the Museum. Such a location near the Museum would allow the summer staff of the Museum to also manage the schoolhouse.
It should be stated that there is a major objection from an historical point of view to moving the school: the schoolhouse sits on the very spot and in the community for which it was built in the 1880s. In fact there was an earlier school building on the same site from the 1840s so the history of the schoolhouse site is approaching two hundred years. Moving the school to Central Bedeque would break this very important connection with the original site, the environs of which have probably little changed over the past 150 years.
This close historical connection with the site would be broken if the school were moved to Central Bedeque. Realizing this, we have informally canvassed opinion from various people, including local people, Japanese and other visitors, and L. M. Montgomery experts and enthusiasts, and all would rather see the school saved by moving it to a new location than left where it is with the potential of it being lost. And the original school site could still be visited by Montgomery enthusiasts and a plaque or cairn commemorating the school and Montgomery’s connection with it could be erected at its original location.
THE ADVANTAGES TO THE BAHS MUSEUM OF MOVING THE SCHOOL TO CENTRAL BEDEQUE
It would add an important historical building to the ownership and management of the BAHS and enable the school’s survival into the future.
A major obstacle is the cost of moving the building and re-establishing it in the Loyalist Monument Park, but we have been making progress and have identified potential financial support from the municipality, the province and from other sources, and last winter we proceeded to call tenders for the moving of the building. We are hoping that the move will take place this summer or fall, though the covid crisis has slowed the activities somewhat and the final stages of awarding a contract have not yet been reached.
In recent years, as a result of changing demographics, including the passing away of the older generation in the community that had a close connection with the school, local involvement with the Friends of Lower Bedeque School has declined. The Friends now consists of only four persons, none of whom have roots in the community, and one of whom, Mary Kendrick, has been largely responsible for the running and maintenance of the school since the death in 2009 of the previous chief enthusiast, Nancy MacFarlane of Fernwood.
Mary Kendrick moved to Stratford in 2014 and, after five years of distant travelling, she felt no longer able to continue her involvement. In anticipation of her withdrawal, over the past couple of years she has made several appeals to the wider Bedeque community to involve themselves in the running of the school but with only a limited response (only one additional volunteer has joined the Friends of the School).
In 2017 Mary Kendrick appealed to the Bedeque Area Historical Society to take over the running of the school but the BAHS Board considered that it was not feasible for it to manage the school at its location in Lower Bedeque since this would mean seeking extra funds to employ two additional students, as well as supervising them at this separate site.
The Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse thus did not open in the summer of 2019 except for eleven pre-booked Japanese bus tours, for which a volunteer member of the Lower Bedeque Board opened and displayed the school. Given this lack of support for the Friends of the LMMLBS, the school will not be able to survive much longer. If in future summers it continued to remain closed, which was highly likely, and if it was no longer maintained, it would inevitably suffer the fate of most abandoned wooden buildings in the area: dereliction, vandalism and destruction. The future of the Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse was thus hanging in the balance.
A PROPOSAL TO MOVE THE SCHOOL TO CENTRAL BEDEQUE
It is against this background that an alternative way of saving the school has been considered. Over a year ago the Bedeque and Area Municipality approached the Bedeque Area Historical Society asking whether it had a suitable infrastructure project that the Municipality might fund through its Gas Tax Fund allocation, in connection with the federally and provincially supported Municipal Strategic Component (MSC) of the Gas Tax program.
The BAHS considered that a suitable qualifying project might be the moving of the Lower Bedeque School to Central Bedeque where it could be operated by the BAHS as part of the Bedeque Area Historical Museum. In this way the school would be saved as a cultural and historical structure and continue to exist as a tourist attraction.
It happens that there is an especially suitable site in Central Bedeque for the schoolhouse: the Loyalist Monument Park which lies directly across the street from the Museum. Such a location near the Museum would allow the summer staff of the Museum to also manage the schoolhouse.
It should be stated that there is a major objection from an historical point of view to moving the school: the schoolhouse sits on the very spot and in the community for which it was built in the 1880s. In fact there was an earlier school building on the same site from the 1840s so the history of the schoolhouse site is approaching two hundred years. Moving the school to Central Bedeque would break this very important connection with the original site, the environs of which have probably little changed over the past 150 years.
This close historical connection with the site would be broken if the school were moved to Central Bedeque. Realizing this, we have informally canvassed opinion from various people, including local people, Japanese and other visitors, and L. M. Montgomery experts and enthusiasts, and all would rather see the school saved by moving it to a new location than left where it is with the potential of it being lost. And the original school site could still be visited by Montgomery enthusiasts and a plaque or cairn commemorating the school and Montgomery’s connection with it could be erected at its original location.
THE ADVANTAGES TO THE BAHS MUSEUM OF MOVING THE SCHOOL TO CENTRAL BEDEQUE
It would add an important historical building to the ownership and management of the BAHS and enable the school’s survival into the future.
- Even without the L. M. Montgomery connection, the school is worthy of preservation as an element of the local history of the Bedeque area.
- The schoolhouse is also significant provincially in being one of the few one-room schools in the province still intact and presented with the contents of an historic school.
- It would provide an added historical feature to the Central Bedeque Loyalist Monument Park and enhance visitations to the Park.
- It would attract many more visitors to the Bedeque Area Historical Museum.
- The school could be managed from the present Museum building by the current summer staff of two students who would open the school as required.
A major obstacle is the cost of moving the building and re-establishing it in the Loyalist Monument Park, but we have been making progress and have identified potential financial support from the municipality, the province and from other sources, and last winter we proceeded to call tenders for the moving of the building. We are hoping that the move will take place this summer or fall, though the covid crisis has slowed the activities somewhat and the final stages of awarding a contract have not yet been reached.
(Above) The Schoolhouse interior in 2019
OUR NEIGHBOUR
Baba’s Kitchen, Antiques and Gifts directly next door to the Museum is a popular eating place in the area. The decor is traditional, with a kitchen atmosphere, and the food and prices are attractive.
When you visit the Museum, why not stop in for a meal or an ice-cream cone. It is open every day except Mondays and Tuesdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Telephone 902-218-4512 for exact times and days of opening.
Baba’s Kitchen, Antiques and Gifts directly next door to the Museum is a popular eating place in the area. The decor is traditional, with a kitchen atmosphere, and the food and prices are attractive.
When you visit the Museum, why not stop in for a meal or an ice-cream cone. It is open every day except Mondays and Tuesdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Telephone 902-218-4512 for exact times and days of opening.
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2019
Winners drawn for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle.
The draw for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle took place on the free open day on Sunday August 25, with Ron Rayner, the Mayor of the Municipality of Bedeque and Area, drawing the tickets from a Mi’kmaq potato basket. The first prize ($250 of lobster donated in part by Arsenault’s Fish Mart in Summerside) was won by Kaye Bysouth of Calgary, Alberta. Kaye (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) had been spending August on the Island and has since returned to Calgary. She planned to take some of her winnings back with her in a frozen state and to leave the rest on the Island to be eaten by her son and daughter and their families. The winner of the second prize ($100 of premium choice oysters donated by Future Seafoods of Fernwood) was Alan MacRae of Charlottetown. The third Prize winner was Neil Logan of Chelton. In fact it was Neil’s mother Judy Logan (also of Chelton) who filled in her son’s name on the ticket. We thank all those who bought the 530 raffle tickets sold, thus contributing to a successful fund-raising event for the Museum.
Photo 1. Ron Rayner, Mayor of Bedeque and Area, draws the winning ticket from a Mi’kmaq potato basket for the Bedeque Museum’s Seafood Raffle.
Photo 2. Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, presents Kaye Bysouth of Calgary (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) the first prize in the raffle ($250 worth of lobster). Kaye also received a Fisheries and Communities plaque (shown in the photo) given to the Museum by Jamie Fox, Minister of Fisheries and Communities.
The draw for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle took place on the free open day on Sunday August 25, with Ron Rayner, the Mayor of the Municipality of Bedeque and Area, drawing the tickets from a Mi’kmaq potato basket. The first prize ($250 of lobster donated in part by Arsenault’s Fish Mart in Summerside) was won by Kaye Bysouth of Calgary, Alberta. Kaye (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) had been spending August on the Island and has since returned to Calgary. She planned to take some of her winnings back with her in a frozen state and to leave the rest on the Island to be eaten by her son and daughter and their families. The winner of the second prize ($100 of premium choice oysters donated by Future Seafoods of Fernwood) was Alan MacRae of Charlottetown. The third Prize winner was Neil Logan of Chelton. In fact it was Neil’s mother Judy Logan (also of Chelton) who filled in her son’s name on the ticket. We thank all those who bought the 530 raffle tickets sold, thus contributing to a successful fund-raising event for the Museum.
Photo 1. Ron Rayner, Mayor of Bedeque and Area, draws the winning ticket from a Mi’kmaq potato basket for the Bedeque Museum’s Seafood Raffle.
Photo 2. Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, presents Kaye Bysouth of Calgary (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) the first prize in the raffle ($250 worth of lobster). Kaye also received a Fisheries and Communities plaque (shown in the photo) given to the Museum by Jamie Fox, Minister of Fisheries and Communities.
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This is our final full week. Come along and see the exhibits. Some, such as the display on World War 1 Nurses and Signature Quilts, will be coming down at the end of this season. After this week, the museum will be open only on Sunday afternoons up to October 13.
Just a reminder that the draw for our seafood raffle is at 4:30 PM on August 25. Three seafood vouchers (one worth $250, one worth $100 and one worth $50) are up for grabs. Tickets are $5 for 1 or $10 for 3 and can be purchased at the museum. You do not have to be in attendance to win the draw!
THE LAST OF THE SUMMER TALKS HELD
On Monday August 12 Katherine Dewar of Charlottetown, retired nurse and historian, gave an illustrated talk on ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’. The talk was well-attended and brings to an end our summer talks series.
Katherine Dewar (left), after her talk on Nurse Helen Whidden, chatting to Mary McDonald-Rissanen of Finland, who has recently joined the Bedeque Area Historical Society.
On Monday August 12 Katherine Dewar of Charlottetown, retired nurse and historian, gave an illustrated talk on ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’. The talk was well-attended and brings to an end our summer talks series.
Katherine Dewar (left), after her talk on Nurse Helen Whidden, chatting to Mary McDonald-Rissanen of Finland, who has recently joined the Bedeque Area Historical Society.
END-OF-SUMMER FREE DAY AT THE BEDEQUE AREA MUSEUM: SUNDAY AUGUST 25, 1 – 5 PM.
A week before its closing for the season in September, the Museum is marking a successful summer by having a free open day on Sunday August 25 (1 to 5 pm). The normal admission fee of $5 ($4 for seniors) will be waived, with visitors being able to make a donation if they wish.
This will be a last chance to see two temporary exhibitions which close at the end of the summer. One, ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’, tells the story of two First World War nurses with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope of Charlottetown whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. Both of these highly decorated nurses served in France and Belgium.
Also coming down at the end of the summer is the ‘Five Signature Quilts’ exhibit. The quilts were made in Bedeque, North Bedeque, Freetown and Chelton in the 1920s and 1930s by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. They are embroidered with the names of almost a thousand persons from the general area. Everyone who donated a set amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. Come and look for the names of your ancestors and their neighbours.
Another of the new exhibits tells the story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s time in Bedeque. Montgomery taught school at Lower Bedeque for six months in 1897-1898 and recorded the story of her romance with Herman Leard in her journals, published in 1985.
There is also a display of three longcase clocks in full running order, and on the open day the owner and restorer of these clocks, Wendell Feener of Summerside, will be on hand to explain the background to these clocks and to talk about clock-making in general.
Our permanent exhibit on the Loyalist settlement of the Bedeque Bay area in 1784 continues, as does our exhibit on the history of the Borden ferry service (from 1917 to 1997), and another on the culture of the Island Mi’kmaq up to 1900. The Museum also displays many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum and tells the story of Callbecks Store, in whose building the Museum is housed.
A week before its closing for the season in September, the Museum is marking a successful summer by having a free open day on Sunday August 25 (1 to 5 pm). The normal admission fee of $5 ($4 for seniors) will be waived, with visitors being able to make a donation if they wish.
This will be a last chance to see two temporary exhibitions which close at the end of the summer. One, ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’, tells the story of two First World War nurses with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope of Charlottetown whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. Both of these highly decorated nurses served in France and Belgium.
Also coming down at the end of the summer is the ‘Five Signature Quilts’ exhibit. The quilts were made in Bedeque, North Bedeque, Freetown and Chelton in the 1920s and 1930s by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. They are embroidered with the names of almost a thousand persons from the general area. Everyone who donated a set amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. Come and look for the names of your ancestors and their neighbours.
Another of the new exhibits tells the story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s time in Bedeque. Montgomery taught school at Lower Bedeque for six months in 1897-1898 and recorded the story of her romance with Herman Leard in her journals, published in 1985.
There is also a display of three longcase clocks in full running order, and on the open day the owner and restorer of these clocks, Wendell Feener of Summerside, will be on hand to explain the background to these clocks and to talk about clock-making in general.
Our permanent exhibit on the Loyalist settlement of the Bedeque Bay area in 1784 continues, as does our exhibit on the history of the Borden ferry service (from 1917 to 1997), and another on the culture of the Island Mi’kmaq up to 1900. The Museum also displays many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum and tells the story of Callbecks Store, in whose building the Museum is housed.
HE POPE FAMILY REUNION VISITS THE BEDEQUE MUSEUM
The Pope Family of Prince Edward Island, the descendants of Joseph Pope, visited the Bedeque Museum on August 13 as part of their family reunion marking the bicentennial of the arrival of Joseph and his brothers in Bedeque in 1819. They visited the monument to James C. Pope at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque, where Doug Sobey told them about the history of Joseph Pope’s shipbuilding in the 1820s, including the story of the “Great Riot” at Bedeque (as gleaned from court records), when the Pope shipyard workers staged a protest and were arrested by William Pope, Joseph’s brother, for riot and assault. (William happened to the sheriff for Prince County at the time.) He also told them about the launch on 12 September 1840 of Joseph Pope’s “Great Ship, as it is called at Bedeque”, the Dahlia, 644 tons, as recorded in the travel journal of Horatio Mann, a visiting proprietor who owned half of Lot 27. The family then headed for the Museum where they viewed the exhibit on Georgina Pope, the First World War nurse, and then heard a talk on Georgina from Katherine Dewar, the author of Called to Serve – Georgina Pope, Canadian Military Nursing Heroine.
Photo 01. The Pope Family Reunion Logo
Photo 02. Some of the Pope Family at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque.
Photo 03. Some of the Pope Family pose in front of the Museum.
Photo 04. Pope family members chatting at the Georgina Pope exhibit in the Museum.
Photo 05. In the foreground are David Pope and Jim Pope, sons of the late Peter and Georgie Pope of Summerside, with other members of the family.
Photo 06. Katherine Dewar tells the family about Georgina Pope’s life and career.
The Pope Family of Prince Edward Island, the descendants of Joseph Pope, visited the Bedeque Museum on August 13 as part of their family reunion marking the bicentennial of the arrival of Joseph and his brothers in Bedeque in 1819. They visited the monument to James C. Pope at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque, where Doug Sobey told them about the history of Joseph Pope’s shipbuilding in the 1820s, including the story of the “Great Riot” at Bedeque (as gleaned from court records), when the Pope shipyard workers staged a protest and were arrested by William Pope, Joseph’s brother, for riot and assault. (William happened to the sheriff for Prince County at the time.) He also told them about the launch on 12 September 1840 of Joseph Pope’s “Great Ship, as it is called at Bedeque”, the Dahlia, 644 tons, as recorded in the travel journal of Horatio Mann, a visiting proprietor who owned half of Lot 27. The family then headed for the Museum where they viewed the exhibit on Georgina Pope, the First World War nurse, and then heard a talk on Georgina from Katherine Dewar, the author of Called to Serve – Georgina Pope, Canadian Military Nursing Heroine.
Photo 01. The Pope Family Reunion Logo
Photo 02. Some of the Pope Family at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque.
Photo 03. Some of the Pope Family pose in front of the Museum.
Photo 04. Pope family members chatting at the Georgina Pope exhibit in the Museum.
Photo 05. In the foreground are David Pope and Jim Pope, sons of the late Peter and Georgie Pope of Summerside, with other members of the family.
Photo 06. Katherine Dewar tells the family about Georgina Pope’s life and career.
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Myrna Babineau (on left) with John Lecky and Amy Baker, after delivering her talk titled ‘Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque, the Most Decorated Nurse of the Great War’. John and Amy are a grand-nephew and grand-niece of Nurse MacDonald. (1881-1969) who is one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’
The final talk in our weekly summer series is on Monday August 12 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome. Refreshments are served.
Katherine Dewar, retired nurse and author of two books on First World War Island nurses: Those Splendid Girls and Called to Serve - Georgina Pope, Canadian Nursing Heroine, will give an illustrated talk titled ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’.
Helen Whidden (1884-1986) was educated at North Bedeque, Prince of Wales College and the Newport Rhode Island School for Nurses. In 1915 Nurse Whidden was sent to France by the Rockefeller Foundation of New York City as part of a five nurse research team led by Doctors Alexis Carrel and Henry Dakin. The result of their research was a chemical solution known as Dakins (named after Dr. Dakin), which revolutionized the treatment of wound care and saved thousands of lives during the First World War.
After a brief visit home in 1918, Nurse Whidden returned to France, where she spent the next nine years in charge of a children's clinic in Brittany. Here, once again, she became a medical pioneer, this time in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For her pioneering efforts Nurse Whidden was decorated by the French Government with the Médaille de la reconnaissance française, given to persons who for over a period of at least a year performed acts of exceptional dedication in the presence of the enemy.
Katherine Dewar has recently come across some previously unknown documentary sources on this forgotten heroine, and she will have on display Helen's French medal as well as her photograph album and documents related to her pioneering work in France.
On Left: Helen Whidden, shown in a later photo.
On Right: Author Katherine Dewar.
The final talk in our weekly summer series is on Monday August 12 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome. Refreshments are served.
Katherine Dewar, retired nurse and author of two books on First World War Island nurses: Those Splendid Girls and Called to Serve - Georgina Pope, Canadian Nursing Heroine, will give an illustrated talk titled ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’.
Helen Whidden (1884-1986) was educated at North Bedeque, Prince of Wales College and the Newport Rhode Island School for Nurses. In 1915 Nurse Whidden was sent to France by the Rockefeller Foundation of New York City as part of a five nurse research team led by Doctors Alexis Carrel and Henry Dakin. The result of their research was a chemical solution known as Dakins (named after Dr. Dakin), which revolutionized the treatment of wound care and saved thousands of lives during the First World War.
After a brief visit home in 1918, Nurse Whidden returned to France, where she spent the next nine years in charge of a children's clinic in Brittany. Here, once again, she became a medical pioneer, this time in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For her pioneering efforts Nurse Whidden was decorated by the French Government with the Médaille de la reconnaissance française, given to persons who for over a period of at least a year performed acts of exceptional dedication in the presence of the enemy.
Katherine Dewar has recently come across some previously unknown documentary sources on this forgotten heroine, and she will have on display Helen's French medal as well as her photograph album and documents related to her pioneering work in France.
On Left: Helen Whidden, shown in a later photo.
On Right: Author Katherine Dewar.
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Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque, the Most Decorated Nurse of the Great War’
The weekly series of talks at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday August 5 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Myrna Babineau of Charlottetown will give an illustrated talk on her cousin, Beatrice Mary MacDonald of North Bedeque (1881-1969), one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Picture 1: Myrna Babineau stands beside the poster outlining the life and career of her cousin, Beatrice MacDonald, at the opening of the exhibit in the Bedeque Museum, Two Island Nurses of the Great War.
Picture 2: Happier times in North Bedeque: On left: Beatrice MacDonald with her brother Ronald. On right: her mother Mary, brother Jim and sister Clara. Ronald also had a distinguished military career in the First World War, serving as a medical officer in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Picture 3: Chief Nurse MacDonald sits amidst the ruins of war in the fall of 1918.
The weekly series of talks at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday August 5 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Myrna Babineau of Charlottetown will give an illustrated talk on her cousin, Beatrice Mary MacDonald of North Bedeque (1881-1969), one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Picture 1: Myrna Babineau stands beside the poster outlining the life and career of her cousin, Beatrice MacDonald, at the opening of the exhibit in the Bedeque Museum, Two Island Nurses of the Great War.
Picture 2: Happier times in North Bedeque: On left: Beatrice MacDonald with her brother Ronald. On right: her mother Mary, brother Jim and sister Clara. Ronald also had a distinguished military career in the First World War, serving as a medical officer in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Picture 3: Chief Nurse MacDonald sits amidst the ruins of war in the fall of 1918.
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IT WAS ‘FREETOWN NIGHT’ AT THE BEDEQUE AREA MUSEUM
Freetown came to Bedeque on Monday night July 29 when 73 persons filled the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre to watch home movies made in Freetown in the 1940s and ’50s by Mrs. Lillian Scales using an 8-mm home-movie camera. Don Jardine, a Freetown native, provided the voice-over, explaining the activities shown and naming many of the people captured by Mrs. Scales’ camera.
There was a considerable follow-up commentary as people reminisced about Freetown in the 1940s and '50s. Some commented on the great changes that have occurred since then: boys no longer play hockey on the Freetown road, at least not in the way they did 70 years ago, nor do people have to contend with the mud in the spring. The working horse has long departed from the Island farm scene, as have almost all of the family farms that stretched from one end of Freetown to the other.
After the event, over refreshments people chatted and many bought lottery tickets in support of the Museum’s work. Next year a special ‘Freetown Reunion’ is planned and the Museum is hoping to put on a display in connection with it.
Top Picture: The room is packed and attentive, in this composite photo of the audience in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Bottom Picture: As the film rolls on, Don Jardine, a Freetown native and Secretary of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, provides the narration.
Freetown came to Bedeque on Monday night July 29 when 73 persons filled the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre to watch home movies made in Freetown in the 1940s and ’50s by Mrs. Lillian Scales using an 8-mm home-movie camera. Don Jardine, a Freetown native, provided the voice-over, explaining the activities shown and naming many of the people captured by Mrs. Scales’ camera.
There was a considerable follow-up commentary as people reminisced about Freetown in the 1940s and '50s. Some commented on the great changes that have occurred since then: boys no longer play hockey on the Freetown road, at least not in the way they did 70 years ago, nor do people have to contend with the mud in the spring. The working horse has long departed from the Island farm scene, as have almost all of the family farms that stretched from one end of Freetown to the other.
After the event, over refreshments people chatted and many bought lottery tickets in support of the Museum’s work. Next year a special ‘Freetown Reunion’ is planned and the Museum is hoping to put on a display in connection with it.
Top Picture: The room is packed and attentive, in this composite photo of the audience in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Bottom Picture: As the film rolls on, Don Jardine, a Freetown native and Secretary of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, provides the narration.
Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s: An evening of old home-movies at the Bedeque Area Museum.
The weekly program of historical talks and events at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday July 29 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
On Monday July 29 at 7 pm under the title of ‘Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s’, we are repeating the very successful film night held in the Freetown United Church last March.
The films, which are mostly in colour, were taken by Mrs. Lillian Scales with an 8-mm home-movie camera and range in date from 1946 to 1957.
They are centered about the Scales home in Freetown village and taken around the Freetown area. They show many Freetown inhabitants of the time including children attending the old Freetown School. The film features farming on the Scales farm, children skating and playing in the snow, fishing in the river, the first pavement at Freetown in 1955, a tour of the inside and outside of the Scales home and many other activities.
Some narration will be provided by Nora Scales and other Freetowners of that era. Bring along any of your photos of Freetown from the 1940s and 1950s (or before or after) for viewing by those present.
The weekly program of historical talks and events at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday July 29 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
On Monday July 29 at 7 pm under the title of ‘Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s’, we are repeating the very successful film night held in the Freetown United Church last March.
The films, which are mostly in colour, were taken by Mrs. Lillian Scales with an 8-mm home-movie camera and range in date from 1946 to 1957.
They are centered about the Scales home in Freetown village and taken around the Freetown area. They show many Freetown inhabitants of the time including children attending the old Freetown School. The film features farming on the Scales farm, children skating and playing in the snow, fishing in the river, the first pavement at Freetown in 1955, a tour of the inside and outside of the Scales home and many other activities.
Some narration will be provided by Nora Scales and other Freetowners of that era. Bring along any of your photos of Freetown from the 1940s and 1950s (or before or after) for viewing by those present.
The AGM of the Bedeque Area Historical Society will take place on Monday July 22 in the Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. Before the AGM Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Museum will give a talk on ‘The Natural World of Lucy Maud Montgomery’. The talk will start at 7 pm.
Based on a detailed examination of the many references to trees and woods in Montgomery’s non-fictional writings, Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum will assess the well-known Island author as an ‘historical recorder’ of the Island’s landscape. He will describe the places and natural habitats important to Montgomery and will assess what her writings tell us about her, and especially about her relationships with trees and plants. He will also talk briefly about Maud Montgomery’s time teaching at Lower Bedeque. The AGM of the BAHS will follow the talk.
Based on a detailed examination of the many references to trees and woods in Montgomery’s non-fictional writings, Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum will assess the well-known Island author as an ‘historical recorder’ of the Island’s landscape. He will describe the places and natural habitats important to Montgomery and will assess what her writings tell us about her, and especially about her relationships with trees and plants. He will also talk briefly about Maud Montgomery’s time teaching at Lower Bedeque. The AGM of the BAHS will follow the talk.
On Monday July 15 Dr. Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI gave a talk titled "Loyalists, Immigration and British North America" to an interested audience. In her talk, she presented an overview of the Loyalist movement into what is now Canada after the American Revolution and their important influence on the culture and politics of Canada.
In the picture Dr. Lisa Chilton (on left) speaks with a member of the audience.
In the picture Dr. Lisa Chilton (on left) speaks with a member of the audience.
THE STRAWBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY JULY 14, 2 - 4 pm
On Sunday afternoon July 14 the thunderstorms that were threatening held off and we were able to hold the strawberry social outdoors in the Central Bedeque Park. Over 100 people came out to enjoy the strawberries and ice-cream. The event was sponsored by numerous local businesses and individuals with donations of $100 or more (see the photo for the list of sponsors). Musical entertainment was provided by Tim Menez. Visitors who came into the museum to see the exhibits were able to observe a demonstration of quilting by Norma Hanlyn. See the photographs of the event.
On Sunday afternoon July 14 the thunderstorms that were threatening held off and we were able to hold the strawberry social outdoors in the Central Bedeque Park. Over 100 people came out to enjoy the strawberries and ice-cream. The event was sponsored by numerous local businesses and individuals with donations of $100 or more (see the photo for the list of sponsors). Musical entertainment was provided by Tim Menez. Visitors who came into the museum to see the exhibits were able to observe a demonstration of quilting by Norma Hanlyn. See the photographs of the event.
A TALK on: Loyalists, Immigration, and the Formation of British North America’
Monday July 15 at 7 pm, at the Museum – Dr. Lisa Chilton, an associate professor in the History Department at the University of Prince Edward Island will give a talk related to the Museum’s remit on the Loyalist settlement of Prince Edward Island. Under the title ‘Loyalists, Immigration, and the Formation of British North America’, she will describe how the Loyalists who came north as refugees to the remaining loyal colonies after the American Revolution played an unusually important role in how subsequent immigration would be managed by the British and colonial governments. She will also explore the ways in which Loyalists put their stamp on immigration policies and practices in the decades after their own settlement. |
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FOUR NEW EXHIBITS ARE OFFICIALLY OPENED AT THE BEDEQUE MUSEUM
The official opening of this summer’s new exhibits at the Bedeque Area Historical Museum, took place on Saturday July 6 at 10.30 a.m.
The four new exhibits are:
Two Island Nurses of the Great War: A major exhibition tells the stories of two First World War nurses, both with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. There are extensive poster displays, with additional items relating to the Great War from the P.E.I. Military Museum.
Five early-twentieth-century Signature Quilts from the Bedeque, Chelton, and Freetown Areas: From the 1890s onward, ‘signature’ quilts were made by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. Every person who donated a fixed amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. The Museum is showing five signature quilts from the 1920s and ’30s from Bedeque, North Bedeque, Chelton, and Freetown. The quilts serve as a roll call of the area's past residents, with almost a thousand names on them. Visitors can search for the names of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and past neighbours from an alphabetical listing.
Lucy Maud Montgomery and Bedeque: Two posters tell the story of Montgomery’s six-months of teaching in the Lower Bedeque School in 1897-98 and her passion for a young local farmer named Herman Leard.
Three long-case clocks: Loaned by a local collector, Wendell Feener, the clocks are on display in running order. One is a ‘grandfather’ clock, another is a ‘grandmother’ clock, and the third is a ‘granddaughter’ clock.
THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBIT ON 'THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS'.
Saturday July 7, 10:30 am - Bedeque Area Museum, Callbeck Center, Centaral Bedeque.
The official opening of the exhibit will take place with invited dignitaries present. Three will be free admission to the Museum and it's exhibits , and refreshments will be provided. All are welcome to attend.
A STRAWBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY JULY 15, 2 - 4 pm
As a major fund-raising event the Bedeque Area Historical Historical Society will be holding a Strawberry and Ice-cream Social on Sunday July 15 from 2 to 4 pm in the Central Bedeque Park, opposite the Museum. Strawberries, cake and ice-cream will be served. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children aged twelve and under (this includes free access to the Museum). There will be a chance to make and taste home-made ice-cream made in the traditional way from cream by hand-cranking an ice-cream maker. Entertainment will be provided and there will be raffles and draws for prizes. All proceeds are in support of the Museum’s work.
Talk : “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”
Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI who was to give a talk on 19th century emigration from the British Isles to Canada on Monday August 6 at 7 pm at the Bedeque Area Museum is not available. We are thus grateful for David Walker, an historian and genealogist, and a member of the Bedeque Museum, who lives in Ontario but spends his summers on the Island, for stepping into the breach by offering to reprise a talk on the subject of emigration in his own family which he gave at the Malpeque Museum earlier this summer.
The title of his presentation is “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”. His presentation will begin with a description of a project to create a wall hanging quilt that depicts migration of 25 of his ancestors, from the British Isles to New England and Prince Edward Island, and from New England to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The talk will then describe ten of those ancestors, the common element being that they all migrated to various parts of Prince Edward Island.
The talk will take place on Monday August 6 at 7 pm in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre, Central Bedeque. Refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI who was to give a talk on 19th century emigration from the British Isles to Canada on Monday August 6 at 7 pm at the Bedeque Area Museum is not available. We are thus grateful for David Walker, an historian and genealogist, and a member of the Bedeque Museum, who lives in Ontario but spends his summers on the Island, for stepping into the breach by offering to reprise a talk on the subject of emigration in his own family which he gave at the Malpeque Museum earlier this summer.
The title of his presentation is “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”. His presentation will begin with a description of a project to create a wall hanging quilt that depicts migration of 25 of his ancestors, from the British Isles to New England and Prince Edward Island, and from New England to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The talk will then describe ten of those ancestors, the common element being that they all migrated to various parts of Prince Edward Island.
The talk will take place on Monday August 6 at 7 pm in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre, Central Bedeque. Refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
The Friends of Seacow Lighthouse Inc.: http://seacowheadlighthouse.com/
L.M Montgomery Lower Bedeque School: https://www.tourismpei.com/search/OperatorDetails/op_id/5145/
Catch up with our new updated blog posts which feature our events this Summer
