NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES OF CAPE BRETON
LIEUX HISTORIQUES NATIONAUX DU CAPE-BRETON

Vol. 5, No. 08
September 2003 - septembre 2003 

Harvest Home

Harvest Home was an annual event hosted by the Bells at Beinn Bhreagh and the following is an excerpt from the Beinn Bhreagh Recorder, Volume 23 of AGB's impressions of the celebration on September 15th,1891:

"... our Harvest Home celebration...was altogether successful. The invitations were sent out on Monday to all the men who had been employed on the estate this year, to come at two o'clock with their families, for games, tea and dancing. There were fifty men included in this invitation and their families were elastic and took in most of the population within a radius of twenty miles.

...at two o'clock the people began to file up to the tennis ground, a lovely spot on the mountain slope, and there in time we followed them. I wish you could have seen Mabel, Grace, and the children, they were such pictures as one seldom sees outside of European galleries.

...we all walked to the "warehouse" ... on the ground floor were spread tables, with sandwiches of every description, and more kinds of pies and cakes than I ever heard of. Boilers full of tea and coffee were steaming on the stove, and barrels of ginger ale were on tap. The barn was trimmed with vegetables and flowers and was a delight to see.

...a fiddle was on hand and fiddled steadily, sometimes worked by one man, sometime by another, and the dancing began at once...it was the thing I have longed, for years, to see, and was worth the journey here and back.

...One old woman, dancing with a boy young enough to be her grandson, interested me specially. She moved nothing but her feet, but they went like - well, like nothing I ever saw except lightning."

We celebrated Harvest Home on Saturday, September 20th under sunny skies with a great local turnout. Lots of activities starting at noon for the children who especially enjoyed RAZZMATAZZ from 2-3 p.m.

End of Season

Both Marconi and Canso Islands NHS's closed for the season on Monday, September 15th at 6 p.m. The 'Snowbirds' did some flypasts over Marconi that day . They were on the Island as part of a celebration of 100 years of flight (the Wright Brothers flew in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903) and did a flypast over Baddeck in conjunction with the "Altitude is Everything" Hot Air Balloon visit to AGBNHSC which took place Sunday and Monday the 14th & 15^th.

Bell Institute Meeting

The Bell Institute held its annual general meeting on Tuesday, September 23rd, in the library at AGBNHSC. They expect to announce, by the end of this year, funding for a research and development project associated with their 'Liberated Learning' (computer voice recognition) project in which AGB will participate.

Canso Islands Management Plan

On Wednesday, September 25th, the Management Plan Open House was

held at Canso Islands NHSC with about 50 community residents attending.

Carol Whitfield and Aynsley MacFarlane attended on behalf of the Field Unit. Rob Ferguson, Project Archaeologist and Don Chard, Planner (contract) were also in attendance. The public had a number of suggested options for the operation and improvement of programs at Canso Islands.

25 Year Service Awards

On Monday September 29^th a ceremony was held in the Bigot Theatre recognizing summer staff that have been with us for 25 seasons. This was the first group of summer employees with 25 years service to be honoured.

Staff recognized included Iris Stevens, Diane Boudreau, Russell Blanchard, David Spencer, Angele MacDonald, Andrea Boone, Helen O’Shea, Carole Deslauriers, Nicole Molaison and Anna St. Pierre.

Congratulations to all the recipients for their many years of service to the fortress.

(See pictures next page)

Parks Canada Polar Fleece Vests

50-50 Draw

Can you believe it is that time of the year again. The 50-50 draw that was started last year to help defray the costs of our Christmas Turkey Dinner will be starting up with the first draw on Friday, October 3^rd. Contact Donna MacNeil or Danielle Baldwin-Harpell if you haven’t been approached to buy a ticket and they will see that you get one.

Condolences

Condolences go out to Brian Kehoe and family on the death of his father, George Kehoe on September 22, 2003. Mr. Kehoe worked here at the Fortress during the early years of reconstruction.

Long time employee Leona Jabalee passed away September 21^st in Halifax. There are many employees who remember Leona with fondness.

Please Click on an Image to Enlarge it

Left to right - Dave Spencer, Helen O’Shea, Angele MacDonald, Anna St. Pierre, Carol Whitfield, Andrea Boone, Iris Stevens and Diane Boudreau

Left to right - Carole Deslauriers, Carol Whitfield and Nicole Molaison-Bell

Anyone wishing to submit an article to the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Please forward to Donna MacNeil at donna.macneil@pc.gc.ca  or telephone 733-3551.