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

Vol. 4, No. 9,  2002
October 2002 - octobre 2002

CELTIC COLOURS CONCERT

Once again the Fortress was host to a sold-out Celtic Colours concert on October 14^th.

One hundred and thirty guests enjoyed a full course period meal at the on-site restaurants and were then escorted by lantern light to the Chapel Saint-Louis. The candle-lit chapel created a perfect ambiance for performances of harp, guitar, songs and traditional French and Celtic music.

Among the guests were the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, the Honourable Myra Freeman, who had some very kind words to say about Parks Canada, the venue and the performers. The concert was MC’d by Peter Chiasson who exhibited his usual wit and charm.

Many thanks are due to the volunteers who worked enthusiastically in spite of the windy, rainy conditions: Anne O’Neill, Philip Burke, Brian Harpell, Barb Kelly-Landry, Florence Miron, Catherine LeBlanc, Lorette Andrews, and to the restaurant staff for a delicious meal. Special thanks also go to the Watchstaff who assisted with parking and lighting, and the soldiers for moving and setting up all the chairs in the chapel. Great team effort! The producers declared that this concert was "the best one yet".

FILMING AT THE FORTRESS

During the second week of November the Fortress will once again be the setting for a film. "Videotech" from Halifax has been contracted by Parks Canada to produce a multi-media program on the Expulsion of the Acadians to be shown in the new Visitor Centre at Grand Pre. The project will involve several locations around the site including the Chapel, the Engineer’s House, the de la Valliere storehouse, the Beausejour Tavern and several outside locations.

Some scenes call for 30-40 costumed "extras" most of whom will come from our seasonal staff and volunteers. The crew is relatively small and the actual filming at the Fortress will take only 4-5 days, weather permitting. The film should be showing in Grand Pre this coming season, so if any of you get down that way to visit you should drop in and see how we look.

News from AGB

October has been a busy month but things are definitely winding down at AGB. Between cruise ships and those here for the fall colours and Celtic Colours International Festival we had lots of activity the first 3 weeks of this month.

The Elderhostel 'Routes to Learning' program out of Halifax, which comes to Cape Breton on VIA Rail's Bras d'Or, brought 3 groups here for full morning visits including kitemaking.

We have had a number of requests for proofreading upcoming publications that include Alexander Graham Bell and we are getting more requests from advertising companies doing campaigns where they utilize images of well known but no longer living people in their design. For example, the Toronto Stock Exchange is celebrating its 150th anniversary and will be using the image of AGB inaugurating the New York - Chicago telephone line. A commercial lending business doing so called non-conforming loans is looking for historic figures who were entrepreneurial, unique individuals whose image would give the sense that this is a company that can 'think outside the box'. So, new uses for the historic photo collection and each request along this line will be considered on an individual basis.

FAM tours have been numerous this month with travel writers, tour escorts, a tour company exectuive and the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia visiting. Tartan TV also filmed a spot here to go with a show it will be airing highlighting Celtic Colours. AGB fits in well with his Edinburgh, Scotland heritage.

A sign of another visitor season winding down is the annual Heritage Pesentation Worshop which is happening this week in Halifax with Anne MacRae and Linda Watson representing AGB/Marconi/Grassy(Canso).

So ... cheers to all who helped tens of thousands of visitors to our CBI historic sites and national park be happy campers, golfers, kitemakers, hikers, navigators on the boat to Grassy Island and through St. Peters Canal, listeners to radio transmissions at Marconi, masters of the fine art of dining with oversize cutlery and exeriencing the multiple meanings of roughage in the soldier's daily ration of bread and of course many more enriching experiences too numerous to list here including clean washrooms and beautiful gardens.

Getting to know our Parks

While attending the CRM training workshop earlier in the month, I was dismayed (and amazed!) to realize that I (and some others, too!) could not identify the various parks and sites that were displayed throughout the training.

The idea of having a write-up of a different park or site in every issue of the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! came up while talking with other employees.

This month’s issue is going to feature Signal Hill National Historic Site in Newfoundland.

I hope you all enjoy this new feature and anyone wishing to submit a park or site to be highlighted, please call me at Local 3551 or email. Donna MacNeil

Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada

Signal Hill National Historic Site located in St. John’s, Newfoundland was designated nationally significant in 1951 and acquired by Parks Canada in 1956. Its main purpose is to commemorate the role of Signal Hill in the defence of St. John’s from the end of the 17^th to the middle of the 20^th century, and in the development of transatlantic wireless communication.

If you were to ask anyone in Newfoundland what one of the most recognizable landmarks in the province was, they’d probably say Signal Hill or more specifically, Cabot Tower.

Cabot Tower was built in 1898 to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of John Cabot’s discovery of Newfoundland and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal at a position near the tower.

Cabot Tower is now the centre of the Signal Hill National Historic Site with walking trails, and an interpretation centre where the visitor can hear very interesting stories about the area. Hikers will be rewarded with spectacular views of the city, the harbour and the ocean.

Safety Tips of the Month

Since Halloween is just around the corner, here are some tips for homeowners to ensure a safe and happy event for all concerned.

Make sure your yard is clear of such things as ladders, hoses, dog leashes and flower pots that can trip the young ones.

Pets get frightened on Halloween so put them inside to protect them from cars or inadvertently biting a trick or treater.

Battery powered jack o'lantern candles are preferable to a real flame. If you do use candles, place the pumpkin well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.

Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won't be blown into a flaming candle.

A Big Thank You!!

We would all like to give our Compensation Specialists, Linda, Valerie, Diane and Sylvia a big thank you for the fast and efficient service in getting all the retro cheques out to us. You were great, girls, as usual!

Condolences

Our sincere condolences go out to Stanley and Tony Troke and Milton Cross on the death of their father and father-in-law earlier in the month.

Did you know....

....Danny Baldwin has recently had knee replacement surgery. He’s getting along well and we hope that means he’ll be back to work soon!!

  If you would like to make a submission to the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Newsletter, please send information to Donna MacNeil at donna.macneil@pc.gc.ca, or phone 733-3551.