Remembering.....PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (PEI)
27-31 Aug 2007
Prince Edward Island, Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, and the NC Appalachian Mountain regions all remind me of one another....the common denominator has to be the plow/plough. All are farming communities, with strong anchors of Faith, Family and Love of the Land. All three help me reach deep and touch my own roots.
Jud can remember his daddy plowing with a mule. I just remember the stories....embellished perhaps and no doubt romanticized in my own mind, but clearly a part of who I am.
Three distinctly different cultures.....with many distinctive similarities. All boasting a simple life, an independent and self reliant spirit and a resistance to encroaching media, commercialization, the "Super Store" and "made in China". Well, maybe not always...many in PEI found themselves "owing their souls to the Company Store"...most were very dependent on the Fish Company Stores until the Cooperatives began to emerge. All three cultures encourage and appreciate beautifully made handcrafted items, a strong work ethic, and joy in midst of hardship, a strong survival instinct....music is an important element, at least in PEI and Appalachia!
As we departed the Ferry from Nova Scotia and found the Visitor's Center, we encountered the sign above.....I wondered what it meant. We found out....but not right at first. We had four days, Jud was convinced that PEI would be the highlight of our trip....I have to admit, I knew almost nothing about this part of the world. We made Holiday Heaven our new "home", a beautiful park right on the bank of the West River.
The next morning, Jud captured our first and only SUNRISE right out our front windows...(we're SUNSET people and don't have much early morning experience....at least not since we retired!)
But this was awesome! And later we enjoyed our coffee as we watched the loons, enjoy their breakfast, on that same river!
Immediately we set out to see all the regions....King, Queen and Prince. We were on a quest to find that special something that makes Prince Edward Island, the "Gentle Island", a memory maker! What?...we didn't know. We rode and rode and rode....put 750 miles on the "Toad." We saw some really neat places....but we couldn't quite figure it out....we were somehow missing the point....and a little Disapointedpointed.
Finally, two days before we left, we found what we'd been looking for at the Farmer and the Fisherman...
a small restaurant frequented by Locals in Charlottetown, excellent food, well prepared, very reasonably priced.....but the real treasure was the black and white photos covering the walls. We were intrigued ..these photos came from a photo album published as Pride in Small Places, A Photographic Remembrance of Rural Prince Edward Island 1900-1960. This incredible pictorial was compiled and documented by David Weale to record and preserve the rich heritage of the Island. I needed a copy.
If ever you go (or go back) to PEI, you must read this book and see these photos....if you can't find a copy, you can borrow mine....IF you give it back. I just love it! It clarified everything! Suddenly we understood the places we had seen, the photos we had taken.... 
Beautiful pastures, sheep....and the Sea!
Wooden fishing boats, the lobster industry, herring, cod....and always the Sea!
Every square inch cultivated..... strong presence of the Churches in each hamlet....mostly Catholic, Unitarian, "United" Churches....
Picturesque Dairy Farms....with the Sea just behind the trees!
The most magnificent horses I'd ever seen....gorgeous work horses....and the Sea!
Bales and bales of Hay, number one export....with the Sea in the background!
Red clay roads, like those in middle Georgia, only these lead off through cultivated fields....to the Sea!
Light Houses, this one is West Point Lighthouse, with red sand beaches....where folks on holiday leave inuks, made from red rocks found on the beach, signaling this is "a good place"....
Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes....in bloom! You could smell them growing!
Road side stands and signs along the highway made them readily available. We took them at their word....rode right up to the barn, found the bags, picked out a bag, put our $3 in the jar with the lid, and left.....without ever seeing a soul! Best potatoes I ever ate! These little yellow skins were amazingly delicious, crisp, fresh....the beginnings of wonderful potato salad, soup, and stew!
There is a strong French Acadien presence, which greatly appealed to me...... and equally strong Irish, English and Scottish cultures....all love music and delight in "music made by hand."
The Ceilidh's, casual gatherings, and an integral part of family life, are the epitome of musical expression...we were fascinated by them and privileged to attend two....what a good time!
In the summer, they have them every night....somewhere!
At the second Ceilidh, 72 year old Tom in the center, above left, delighted us with his humor, his Irish brogue and his musical ability! The younger man, Mike, at right, was funny.....very good looking.....very talented.....very French....Oui! Oui! Oui! An incredible musician.....accordion, guitar, piano, drum. I know now where Jay gets his "foot-stompin'"
Kate, beautiful Kate, played a "wicked" fiddle, and harp, and step danced while she played the fiddle....she sang too and her voice was enchanting! An exchange student from Scotland, she is studying in British Columbia and spent the summer on PEI. Sensational Fun! These people (young and old) have an infectious love of music, humor, and social gatherings....they are so incredibly gifted, playing multiple instruments......moving effortlessly from one instrument to another....singing and dancing and encouraging us all to join in! We fell right in and begged for more!!!
Photos above were from the second Ceilidh we attended.
The first one we experienced was held at a small one room church, St Andrews. Unfortunately we failed to get our camera settings right....none of our pictures turned out. Artists included a young man, Aaron, (23), his mom on the piano, and several cousins. Aaron is an amazing fiddler, plays the piano, guitar......and drums in a rock and roll band. His cousin did an unbelievable solo on the saxophone Amazing! They entertained us for about two hours....then Jocelyne (McDaniel), accompanied by her Mom on the guitar and her brother gave a concert. Jocelyne sang...we loved it! We bought two of her CD's. She sang one of Lyle Levitt's songs.....Later we found the perfect photo op to capture his song. .
We kept seeing so many beautiful horses....we couldn't imagine...because we also saw heavy farm equipment....
And then we discovered Sea Weed Pie! And more history that explained the relationship between the farmer and his/her horse....very special! These gorgeous horses are instrumental in harvesting Irish Moss....from the Sea. They are hitched to rakes and ridden into the surf in winter to gather the seaweed. A family affair....everyone helps...young to old. The Irish Moss is another cash crop....a special type of sea weed rich in carrageen, a substance used in milk, ice cream, cottage cheese...and Sea Weed Pie! No, we didn't try it.
In Summerside, we found the Piper's College and enjoyed a Mini Concert of Celtic Music and dance!
Incredible young people, studying, performing, keeping their heritage alive.
A quiet break at Victoria by the Sea....
at a real Chocolatier...for a cup of coffee and slice of chocolate almond torte with homemade whip cream...on the porch! Need I say more?
On to Avonlea and the country of Anne of Green Gables.....
Yes, it is just as beautiful as Lucy Maud Montgomery depicted it ......can't you just imagine Anne peeping out these windows......her vivid imagination running wild?
We arrived late....and got to tour the grounds for free! I read the first book and felt like I'd gotten my money's worth.
We were impressed with their plans for the Confederation Railroad and enjoyed the museum. My Daddy was a trainman and I love everything that has to do with trains and Rail Roads! It still gives me a thrill to stand on a train station platform and remember the excitement I felt as we waited for that big black bellowing iron monster to pull hissing and smoking into the station, early, before daylight...then boarding....then the sounds, smells, motions of the trip to my grandmother's in Alabama!
Daddy wore a hat similar to these.....
As a flagman, he would certainly understand the importance of these lanterns and their signals...
"The whistle, rumble and hiss of the train was first heard on Prince Edward Island in 1873; became increasingly less common after the mid-1900s; and disappeared altogether in 1989" (Pride in Small Places) Today, there is an effort to replace the tracks with walking and biking paths from one end of the Island to the other.
Do you see the fox?
There was one there! We weren't sure what it was....it was shaped like a large fox, but was black, gray and white....almost spotted...with a bushy white tip on it's tail....several folks had stopped and tried to get pictures but it was too fast. Later we read (in Pride in Small Places) ...in the late 1800's mutant black or 'silver' foxes were bred in captivity for the fur industry....by the 1940's fashions had changed and the industry collapsed....thank goodness! This one must have been a descendant of one of the survivors! A beautiful creature!!!
Except for about a zillion crows, it was the only wildlife we saw on the Island....though we did catch the special perfume of many skunks!
And the breathtaking beauty of wildflowers!!!! Fields of pink clover and Queen Ann's Lace, Poppies, daisies, bachelor buttons....and golden rod!
The Gentle Island is a lovely place....not exactly what we expected...a place where change is taking place at a rapid clip....where the small farmer and fisherman find it almost impossible to hold on and compete. Similar to the small farmers and fisherman everywhere I suppose...We saw the evidence in deserted homes, beautiful old community churches and one room school houses no longer in use, small farms sandwiched between much larger corporate farms. But the spirit of the people lives on in the ceilidh's, the Piper's College, the music and the preservation of the culture, the "Lobster Suppers" and the "Kitchen Parties". There are many who are trying to hang on....English and French, Irish and Scottish...lots of cottage industries, beautiful handmade quilts and hooked rugs for sale...a beautiful "small place" with a rich, rich heritage. I hope they can preserve it. I'm glad I got to see it and am very thankful for the journey....
It was time to go. We had taken the ferry over, but we left by way of the Confederation Bridge to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick....
....a beautiful drive...but a bridge to the rest of the world...a bridge
that some think may be a major contributor to the disappearing old
rural order. By the end of the century, only two out of ten small
farms remain in operation and some communities have none...as one woman
expressed to David Weale, "I'm still here, but it's not my Island
anymore." He understood. I think I do too.
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