Archive for 2010

20 Jul

FISHERMEN OF BRAS D’OR GUT

Posted by CAPER in Fishing, General Interest.

 

Cape Islanders Alongside

We left off with the coverage in Parts I and Parts II of vessels and the fishermen who

 fished out of Bras d’Or Gut from about 1895 up to WWII. Here is a reasonable listing

of those that followed up to the present day. Omissions and typographical errors may

appear – if so either ignore them or sent me corrections.  You will note that I was unable

to get column five within the parameters. Also unable to get the pictures I want in. When

I tried everything went askew.

Some of these poor souls lost their lives in horrible accidents on or around these

 vessels along the coast of Cape Breton Island. To those families we offer our

sincerest condolences and may the souls of those departed rest in peace.

Here now is Part III of Fishermen of Bras d’Or Gut.

NAME OWNER SIZE YEARS BUILT/BUILDER
???? CHARLIE JESSOME 28 30 ??
???? HUGHIE DUGAS 32 30 ??
???? JOE MOORE 32 40 GRAND GREVE
???? JOE MOORE 30 40 NORMAN HUTT
???? JOHN W PERO 23 30 CHARLIE PERO
???? VINCE MCCREADY   60  
???? STEWART CHAULK 28    
???? GERALD MARSH 32   HUTT OWLS HEAD
???? BERNIE JESSOME 32   HUTT OWLS HEAD
???? LAWRENCE MACLELLAN 32 70 LEVY LOUISBOURG
???? CARL CARTWRIGHT     ISLAND BOAT
???? WILLIAM V JESSOME 45 40  
???? BERNIE BEATON 26 49 FORGERON MAIN A DIEU
???? EM THURBIDE   00 FG
???? BILL BUNGAY      
???? LEO BUNGAY     ISLAND BOAT
???? JACK MACLEAN 27 40 L’ARCHEVEQUE
???? EDDIE LEBLANC 45    
???? JIM BRODERICK 30 60  
???? ARCHIE MACLEAN 30 73 HUTT OWLS HEAD
???? JIM BRODERICK 30 60 LEVY LOUISBOURG
???? EMERSON WAUGH 26 50 LEVY LOUISBOURG
???? EDDIE LEBLANC 36    
???? REG BUNGAY 30 60 NEW BRUNSWICK BOAT
???? JOE MOORE 32 50 GRAND GREVE
???? DONNIE POWER 32 60 HUTT OWLS HEAD
???? NAT BEATON 33 73 NICKERSON
???? LAWRENCE GRACIE      
???? LAWRENCE GRACIE      
???? EARL BUFFETT     BLT SYDNEY RIVER
???? TOM STUBBERT      
???? LAWRENCE MARSH      
???? JIM DUGAS      
???? AUGUST ROLAND 24 30 SELF
???? ALEX NICHOLSON 23   NORTH SHORE BOAT
???? BOB MACQUEEN 23 30 NEILS HARBOR
???? SYLVESTOR JESSOME 30 40  
???? CLARENCE DEVOE 32 40  
???? JOHN BOND 30 50  
???? JERRY LEBLANC 23 30  
???? BEN GRACIE 32 30  
???? JAMES MARSH      
???? LEO JESSOME 26 60 HUTT OWLS HEAD
???? CORNELIUS ARSENAULT 23 30  
???? DARBY JESSOME 36 60  
         
1 MD WALLACE CARTRWRIGHT 40 00  
18A565 ART GILES 32 60 HUTT OWLS HEAD
24A5485 LEONARD MARSH 30 07  
1ST MURMADE DAVID POWER 40   MURDOCH POWER
3 D’S STANLEY MARSH 40    
3 SONS LEONARD MARSH 35   K SMITH CSI
4 BROTHERS JOHN GERROW 45   LONG LINER
ACONI PRIDE RON ERICKSON 37   FG ATKINSON
ACTIVE FRANK ERICKSON 26 40 WARREN DUGAS
ADA B GEORGE BUNGAY JR 36   FG
AGGIE & KELLY LLOYD FRASER 45    
AGNES J THEODORE JESSOME 32 60 SELF
ALAN P TOM BROGAN 35   K SMITH CSI
AMY DAWN WALLACE CARTRWRIGHT 28   FG
ANNE & JOAN FRANCIS RYAN 38   HAWKESBURY?
ANNE CHARLENE BYRON STUBBERT 30 90 HUNTER
APRIL & KERRY SIMECS 40 00  
ATLANTIC RANGER MURDOCH LANDRY   40  
ATLANTIC TROLLER BROSIE SAMPSON 40    
AURORA 6 ROY MACLEAN 38   K SMITH CSI
BACCARO BILLIE DAVID SIMEC      
BARBARA JOE ROBERT CARTWRIGHT 40    
BERNADETTE & BETTY WILBERT THERIAULT 36 30 WESTERN BOAT
BERNARD ALVIN MACLEAN 36 40 TIMMONS
BERNARD L STRICKLAND LEBLANC 40 73 FREEBERT ATKINSON CSI
BERNIE B NAT BEATON 32 74 B ATKINSON CSI
BEV & BILL LOUIE JESSOME 36 70  
BIG APPLE JACK MACDONALD 38 40 ??
BILLY B CAMERON BUFFETT 34    
BLUE QUEEN BILL GILES 35 80 K SMITH CSI
BONNIE B ERNEST MCCREADY 26 60 GABARUS
BRENDA & MARION FRANCIS RYAN 40 60  
BRETON PRIDE SHELDON ERICKSON 32 90 FG QUINLIN
BUN MARSHALL PAQUET 32 30 DOWN NORTH
C C CHARLIE DEVOE 20 30  
CAITLIN  MICHELLE LLOYD FRASER 32 00  
CAMILLA J WILLIAM V JESSOME 40 30 SELF
CANDY BOAT DAN NICHOLSON 22 30 ??
CARMEL M PERCY MACGRATH 28 50 L’ARDOISE
CATHERINE BOYD JOE STUBBERT 32 30 SELF
CHARGER 1 JAKE BUFFETT 45   FG NAVY ISLAND
CHESTER L PASCAL LEBLANC 42 32 NICKERSON
CINDY DARLENE FREEMAN DUGAS 40   FG SEINER
CONNIE GRATTON SHEA 28 30 J MACLENNAN
CONNIE & CYNTHIA CARTER YOUNG 32 90  
D B & LORI PAT LEBLANC 36   FG QUINLAN
DAILY DOUBLE ARNOLD LEBLANC 36 50 MAIN A DIEU
DALTON & MADISON LAWRENCE MOORE 40 00 GREENWOOD
DART SIMON MARSH 36 40 D MACLELLAN
DEBORAH ANNE TED MARSH 40   FG
DEBORAH MAY KENNY CARTWRIGHT 38   B ATKINSON CSI
DIRTY ANNE DEWEY WALKER 34   FG GREENWOOD
DIXIE BELL GEORGE BUNGAY JR 45 50 LOUISBOURG
DONALD D BILL BUNGAY 38 40 SLISH
DONNA B GEORGE BUNGAY SR   50  
DOROTHY & GEORGINA BILL PATTENGALE 40 40 KAISER BICKERTON
DOUBLE L AUSTEN LEBLANC 28   FG MAHANEY HULL
DOUGIE J EDDIE LEBLANC 45   LONG LINER
DRIFTING PAUL LEO BUNGAY 40   FG SAMSON HULL
DVL STENHOPE 40    
EDDY HOP ALF PATTENGALE 38 40 ATKINSON
EDNA B EDMUND BOUDREAU 40 30 J MACLELLAN
ELLEN F JOHN FORREST 32 30 J MACLELLAN
EMG MICK BEATON 32 60 HUTT OWLS HEAD
EMJ ROD BEATON 32 30 SELF
ERIC & SISTERS 2 JIM BRODERICK 40 73 B ATKINSON CSI
ESTHER L MURDOCH LANDRY 32 30 MORIEN
FAITH GEORGE BUNGAY SR 36 30 MARTIN SIMON
FAITH 1 GEORGE BUNGAY SR 38   MARTIN SIMON
FAITH 2 REG BUNGAY 36   K SMITH CSI
FAITH 3 REG BUNGAY 36    
FAITH 4 REG BUNGAY      
FAITH 5 REG BUNGAY 32   FG DESCHAMP JACKSON
FLASH JOE DUGAS 40 30 D MACLELLAN
FLASH BERNIE BEATON 32 56 HUTT OWLS HEAD
FLASH JOE DUGAS 65 60  
FRANCES M NAT BEATON 28 49 MACDOUGALL MAINADIEU
FRANJOISE JOE DUGAS 45 40 WEDGEPORT
FREEMAN D MICKIE DUGAS 36 40 L’ARDOISE CLANNON
FREEMAN D FRANCIS DUGAS 36 40 L’ARDOIES CLANNON
GAMBIER BAY JOE WALKER     FG
GEISHA GIRL GORDON REILLY 24 60 HUTT OWLS HEAD
GENEVA G IVAN DEVOE. 38 40 KAISER BICKERTON
GLARE 1 NAT BEATON 30 56 HUTT OWLS HEAD
GLARE 2 NAT BEATON 32 66 HUTT OWLS HEAD
GOLD JIM PAQUET      
HAGNOT BILL BUNGAY 32 40 LOUISBOURG
HAWK AMABLE DUGAS 30 30  
HEATHERS PRIDE PERRY LEBLANC      
HENRY DAVID JIM J LEBLANC 36 30 WATERFORD
HILLBILLY JOHN SAMPSON 38 50 NICKERSON
HONEY BEE JAKE BUFFETT 40 00 FG SAMPSON HULL
HUEY DOUGLAS JIM PATTENGALE 34 30 ??
IDEA PETER BEATON 36 30 ARICHAT
IMALONE JOHN W FRASER 26    
IMO RONNIE E BILL ERICKSON 40 00 FG SAMPSON HULL
ISLE DE VERDERONNE KEVIN BEATON 28   FG MAHANEY HULL
JAKE J NATIVE BOAT 40 00 FG SAMPSON HULL
JANE ANNE GEORGE BUNGAY 35 60 ATKINSON
JANE MARIE GEORGE BUNGAY JR 65    
JANE MARIE GEORGE BUNGAY JR 30   LEVY LOUISBOURG
JASON & MARLA LAWRENCE MACLELLAN 35 80 RENAMED AUSTIN & ME
JEEP 11 NAT BEATON 40 40 BICKERTON
JENNY SUE BUDDY ROLAND 40   FG
JIMMY M RAYMOND OTOOLE      
JOAN BEVERLY BILL ERICKSON 32 60 LEVY LOUISBOURG
JOAN MARIE 1 DAVID FRASER 35   DAVID FRASER
JOAN MARIE 2 DAVID FRASER 36   DAVID FRASER
JUNIOR NORMAN LANDRY 40 20 ST ANNS
KIMBERLY ANNE ROY MACLEAN 40    
KIRK ALEXANDER FORBES LEBLANC      
KITPU NATIVE BOAT 40 00 FG SAMPSON HULL
LADY ANDREA FLOYD PATTENGALE 42 90  
LADY ESTHER FRANCIS RYAN 42 30 ??
LADY MARSHA ROY MACLEAN 45 90 DRAGGER
LADY PATSY TOM BROGAN 42 80  
LAURA O T RAYMOND OTOOLE 30 30 LEVY LOUISBOURG
LAURIE G THEODORE GRACIE 32 50 MAIN A DIEU
LILY JOHN ARSENAULT 35 30  
LONG LAST TIM HOLLOWAY      
LONG LAST 2 TIM HOLLOWAY 40 00 GREENWOOD
LOUISE MARIE AURIE MACKENZIE 38 40 ATKINSON
LUCINDA H MACKENZIE BILL MACKENZIE 48 30 L’ARDOISE
LYNNE NORMAN FORREST 30 60  
MARINA JOHN W BRODERICK 36 40 MORIEN
MARJORIE LEANDER LEBLANC 38 30 WESTERN BOAT
MARJORIE EILEEN GREG DUGAS 32   FG HUNTER
MARY E JAMES ERICKSON 32 30 WARREN DUGAS
MARY LAURA BLAIR JESSOME 38    
MASTER SCOTT PHIL WARREN 35    
MATTHEW A KEITH BOUTILIER     MACPHEE BIG BRAS DOR
MEAN STREAK PERRY LEBLANC 45    
MEGAN B MICK BEATON 35 90 FG SAMPSON HULL
MERLE ANNE RAY BOUTILIER      
MISERY BILL BUFFETT 28 30  
MISS DANIELLE BILL ARSENAULT 40   FG
MISS QUODDY BILL PATTENGALE 45 40  
MSX DERNO DAVID SIMEC 34   ISLAND BOAT
NAN SUE GEORGE DEAN 30 60  
NANCY B MICK BEATON 32 80 B ATKINSON CSI
NAOMI RUTH GORDON BUFFETT 36 40 KAISER BICKERTON
NEENIE ROSE BUDDY ROLAND 28 60 FORGERON MAIN A DIEU
NEW BRUNSWICK BOAT GERALD MARSH   60  
NEW BRUNSWICK BOAT EARL PURVIS   60  
NIGHTADAWN BARRY LEBLANC 38 60  
NORTH STAR GORDON MACGRATH 28 30 D MACLELLAN
NORTHERN LIGHT BILL DANDY 45   LONG LINER
NOVA LASS GORD HARRIETHA 40   ATKINSON
O PATRICIA TOM BROGAN 40 80 FG CABOT CRAFT
OK ART GILES 32 30 ATKINSON
OLLIE MAY LAWRENCE MOORE 40    
ORANGE BOAT HARRY ERICKSON   60  
OUT BOARD ROBERT STUBBERT      
OUTBOARD LEO JESSOME      
OUTBOARD SIMON FRASER      
OUTBOARD DAN HARRIETHA      
PAM & SISTERS TERRY TREMBLETT 32 00 FG
PARKER ANN JIM MACLEAN 38 80 ISLAND BOAT
PAULA & JOE JOHN W FRASER 36   RANNIE FRASER
PAULINE 3 BLAISE LEBLANC 42   ISLAND BOAT
PEERLESS BILL PATTENGALE 36 30 ??
PRINCESS LAUREEN MOORE      
PRINCESS LEAH DARRIN DEGAUST 35   FG LAWRENCE MACLELLAN
RED BOAT GREG DUGAS 32 00  
RED FLYER DAVE MACLELLAN 30 30 SELF
RHONDA EILEEN JOHN SIMEC 32 00 FG
ROSE C KEN CARTWRIGHT 40 50 DESCHAMP JACKSON
ROSEANNE ELIZABETH BUDDY ROLAND 35   K SMITH CSI
RUTH C KENNY CARTWRIGHT 40   B ATKINSON CSI
SANATAN JIM BRODERICK 32   HUTT OWLS HEAD
SANDRA ANNE BILL MITCHELL 35   FG
SEA FILLY BILLY WALKER 45    
SETTUM AND HOPE DAVID POWER 40 00 FG GREENWOOD
SEVEN KINGS JAMES WALKER 34    
SHALENE & KIRK DAVID POWER 40   MURDOCH POWER
SILVER DAWN 3 CARTER YOUNG 30 00  
STELLA REE FRANCIS GRACIE      
SUNNY BOY PHONSE THERIAULT 34 30 MORIEN
SWALLOW JOE DECOSTE 30 30 NORTH
TRACY L COLIN DANDY 32   FG QUINLIN
TRINDA LEE ROY MACLEAN 40    
TUMLBLEWEED EDDDIE LEBLANC 30 80S  
VALERIE & SHELDON LAUCHIE STUBBERT 34 63 HUTT OWLS HEAD
VIRGINIA L H MURDOCH LANDRY 40 30 D’ENTREMONT
W R FRASER RANNIE FRASER 40   RANNIE FRASER
W R FRASER 1 JOHN W FRASER 40 0 FG SAMPSON HULL
W R ROBERTS ALF PATTENGALE 34 60  
WANDA ART GILES 34 50  
WAVELETTE NAT BEATON 23 46 CLARKE BIG BRAS DOR
WEDGEWOOD BILL LEBLANC 42 90  
WENDY & CHRIS RON ERICKSON 40 70  
WENDY & GIRLS PAUL CARTWRIGHT 40 90 FG WEDGEPORT
WHITE CAP GEORGE BUNGAY JR 65    
WHO CARES OLIVER PEARL 32 40  
WIDE DARK BLUE EDMUND BOUDREAU   60  
WILLIAM T RYAN KEVIN CAPSTICK 40    
YNOT EARL PURVIS 32 60 MAIN A DIEU
YODELING RANGER SOL LEBLANC 38 40 KAISER BICKERTON
 Ellen FEdith M.F.   John A Fraser John A Fraser  32  30  Jack MacLellanDave MacLellan

Note 4: I will now very cautiously venture out and see if I can name some of the top fishermen who fished out of The Gut over the past 100 years or so. I will no doubt offend many who will rightly or wrongfully feel that they or their nominees belong on the list. If you do, please let me know with justification and I will consider including them. I am basing my selection on those men who were truly the professional fishermen. Men who fished from early Spring until late into the Fall and sometimes after New Years Day. They fished for a number of species and not just during the lobster or crab season and then hauled her up on the  beach.

The first family of fishermen that comes to mind are the Bungays and the Dugas Boys. Then there were the Marshes, Patengales, Jessomes, MacLeans, Beatons, Stubberts, LeBlancs, Ericksons, Reillys, Caldwells, Dandys, Gerows, McCreadys, Brodericks, Art Giles and Nat Beaton, Dugas, George Forrest, Moores, MacDonalds, Nicholsons, O’Sheas, Forrests, Gracies, Landrys, O’Tooles, Cartwrights, Oliver Pearl, Boutiliers, MacGraths, Boudreaus, Theriaults, Powers, Arsenaults, Devoes, Pearos, Peros, Burtons, Pacquets, Thurbides, Rolands, and the Buffets. Nat Beaton started fishing as a young lad of eight or nine, then took a break to go off and fight the Germans  in Europe and without missing a beat came back and returned to fishing.

Jim Broderick and his very good friend the late Ronnie Erickson come to my mind as trend setters and were true year round professional fishermen. They were among the first if not the first to go to school for navigation, and procured such high tech equipment, as radar, ship to shore radio, dept finders, GPS, electric hoists, modern traps, diesel power, modern gear and any number of other innovations. Jim fished with George Bungay Jr off Newfoundland, Anticosti, Sable Island etc for swordfish, codfish and halibut. I have a CD of George Bungay being interviewed about his fishing experiences. It is worth a fortune to hear his yarns – what a life he led. Jim fished for codfish, crab, scallops and lobster over the years. In later years others turned their hand to fishing on a fulltime basis and have become very successful such as Scott MacLellan, John W. Fraser, Paula Fraser, David Fraser and his boys, Walter Fraser followed by more Ericksons and I am sure others who I have not heard about.

 

 

 

Art Giles – Nat Beaton – Murdock ‘Doc’ Landry

“Delia H” 

 

 

The “Kathleen Caldwell” (outside) and the “Idea” (inside)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack MacLellan’s “Butterfly” abt 1930’s/1940’s

 

 

 

 

 

Nat Campbell ready for Swordfishing 1940’s

 

Gratten’s “Connie” at Bras d’Or Church abt 1940

 

 

20 Jul

OBITS – JUL 20, 2010

Posted by CAPER in Obituaries.

Obituaries for July 20th, 2010

19 Jul

OBITS – JUL 19, 2010

Posted by CAPER in Obituaries.

Obituaries for July 19th, 2010

18 Jul

BRAS D’OR GUT FISHERMEN

Posted by CAPER in Fishing, History.

Small Two Masted Fishing Schooner

I was asked recently by Wayne Richard (son of Henry Reshore originally from Alder Point) who the big fishermen were and the high liners as such out of Bras d’Or Gut over the years. This would be a monumental task to zero in on a handful of high liners without offending many. Bill Giles assisted by his father-in-law, Nat Beaton,  have put together a valued list of vessels, snapper boats and general run of the mill fishing boats of various descriptions that have been in and around The Gut over the past 100 years. It is a most interesting list and is quite long. Because of its length I will put them in the Blog in Parts. You must  remember prior to the opening up of the coal mines most men fished for a living and did a little farming and hunting as well in order to survive. So, to compare fishermen of one era with another is not unlike comparing Gordie Drillon (last Leaf to win the NHL scoring title and a Maritimer to boot) to Sidney Crosby – an impossible task. So you see all or at least the vast majority of those vessel owners listed in Parts I and II were very likely full time fishermen some more successful then others..

(Courtesy of Bill Giles, Point Aconi, Cape Breton Island)

 

 

 

Part I (Bras d’Or Gut Vessels – likely sail) Period abt 1895 to WWII

VESSEL OWNER INFO TONS
ALBATROSS JOHN ARSENAULT LIKELY BLT MADELENES 40
ANNIE F ROD BEATON BLT INGONISH 18
ARNOLD JANE JACK MCCREADY DOUBLE ENDER..PINK 7
ATTENTION ALEX JACKSON BLT FOR L HUBLEY 10
BEATRICE D HOMER LEBLANC BOUGHT IN RIVER BOURGOUISE 15
BERNARD G L JOE DEGAUST SEIZED IN RUM ROW TRADE 20
BESSIE R HENRY ROLAND L’ARDOISE 5
BONY KATE PETER STUBBERT    
CARRIO NORMAN LANDRY   12
CATALOGUE OLIVER PEARL FOUND BOTTOM UP IN GULF  
CHRISTIE  T WALTER DUGAS   12
DELIA H MURDOCH LANDRY   10
DELLA MAY EPHRAM ARSENAULT   6
DENNIS C WILLIE R FRASER   15
DOROTHY G JOSEPH DEGAUST CANSO 18
EDONA S JOE STUBBERT CANSO 10
FLORENCE MAY PIUS BOUTILIER   10
FLYING ROBIN FRED REASHORE   20+
GRACE L MACKINNON JOHN FRASER BLT INGONISH 30
GRASSHOPPER JAMES ERICKSON BOUGHT IN LOUISBOURG 6
GRETA HOMER LEBLANC RIVER  BOURGOUISE 12
HIGHLAND LASS NEIL BEATON SELF BUILT  
IDA MAY BEN GRACIE L’ARDOISE 6
JEAN S MURDOCH LANDRY 10 HP LATHROP 7
JESSIE W JACK BONNAR WESTERN BOAT 10
LADY MAY SIMON DEVOE    
MADGE DUNCAN STUBBERT BOUGHT IN QUEENSPORT 12
MARY D AMABLE DEGAUST   8
MARY W CATHERINE SIMON FRASER   10
NAF WILLIE R FRASER TANCOOKER 12
NETTIE HOPE JOHN W BRODERICK NFLD SKIFF 7
NO TOW WILLIE R FRASER   15
OCEAN BELL SIMON DEVOE    
OCEAN WAVE JOE DEVOE    
OLIVE KYE DEGAUST SLOOP..1 SPAR 10
PINE BOAT JIM MCCREADY    
RIVER BRIDE PETER DEVOE    
RIVER QUEEN PETER DEVOE    
ROBIN HUBERT DEVOE   6
ROSIE X EILEEN JOSEPH STUBBERT BOUGHT IN CANSO  
SEASWIFT ROD BEATON BLT  MARBLE MOUNTAIN 7
SHAMROCK JACK MACLEAN   7
THREE SISTERS ROBERT FORREST    
VERNO JACK MACLEAN L’ARDOISE 7
VESTA GEORGE FORREST BOUGHT IN ST PETERS 7
V F WILLIAMS PETER STUBBERT BLT INGONISH 16
WILLIMINA S SIMON DEVOE    
WORRY DAN LANDRY SELF BUILT 7
EMELINE D CLIFF ERICKSON INGONISH 15
  DAN MACGRATH BLT L’ARDOISE 7

 It is a matter of record that Captain John Arsenault used his vessel the Albatross to transport his family from the Magdalen Islands followed by  supplies and it is said most of the material to build a house and his store. It is unlikely that he ever fished using this vessel. He nevertheless was very responsible for establishing fishing by going on to build a fish plant, lobster factory, ice house and a store that carried all that fishermen required by way of supplies. Captain John also established a fish plant on Ingonish Island which was managed by Vilbon Theriault a brother to Captain John’s wife. So in that way Captain John contributed to the fishing industry out of The Gut. Vilbon and Julia Theriault built a large home in Alder Point which after theirdeaths was occupied by Solly and Viola LeBlanc and later by Peter and Bessie Burton.

Note 2 – With the possible exception of Captain John Arsenault all of these vessels listed were very likely sailed by fishermen out of The Gut. This would have spanned a period from 1895  up to the time snapper boats started to come into vogue in the 1930’s and 1940’s with the introduction of one or two lungers ( make and break engines) and  car engines being used to power fishing boats.

 PART II (Bras d’Or Gut Vessels – likely sail) Between WWI and WWII

NAME OWNER TONS
ANNIE    
CHRISTY J    
FLYING ROBIN FRED REASHORE 30
RIVER QUEEN PETER DEVOE  
LADY MAY SIMON DEVOE  
SAMBRO    
LADY BRIDE PETER DEVOE  
OCEAN WAVE ———- DEVOE  
HIGHLAND LASS NEIL BEATON 20
WORRY DAN LANDRY 12
ALBATROSS JOHN ARSENAULT 40
ANNIE JOHN ARSENAULT 35
BONY KATE PETER STUBBERT  
WILLIMINA SIMON DEVOE  
OCEAN BELL SIMON DEVOE  
SHAMROCK JACK & FRANK MACLEAN 10
SEASWIFT ROD BEATON 7
DONA S JOE STUBBERT 15
ROSIE X EILEEN JOE STUBBERT 12
MADGE DUNCAN STUBBERT 18
CARRIO NORMAN LANDRY 15
V F WILLIAMS PETER STUBBERT 16
GRASS HOPPER JAMES ERICKSON 7
ARNOLD JANE JACK MACREADY 8
NETTIE HOPE JOHN W BRODERICK 6
VERNO MURDOCH LANDRY 7
JEAN S MURDOCH LANDRY 8
OLIVE CYE DUGAS 10
MARY W CATHERINE SIMON FRASER 12
DOROTHY G JOE DUGAS  
VESTA GEORGE FORREST 8
MARIE E MABLE DUGAS 7
BEADEREST D HOMER LEBLANC  
CHRISTIE T WALTER DUGAS 12
DELHIA H MURDOCH LANDRY 10
ROBIN HUBERT DEVOE  
DELIA MAY EPHRAIM ARSENAULT 4
IDA MAY BEN GRACIE 4
DENNIS C WILLIAN R FRASER 10
GRETTA HOMER LEBLANC 12
FLORENCE MAY PIUS BOUTILIER 10
PINE BOAT JAMES & CHARLIE MACREADY 7
3 SISTERS ROBERT FORREST 6
N A F WILLIAN R FRASER 20
NO TOW WILLIAN R FRASER 12
JESSIE W JAMES BONNAR 11
———– DAN MACGRATH  
BERNARD G L JOE DUGAS 18
ATTENTION ALEX JACKSON 10
BESSIE R HENRY ROLAND 6
     
   

 

 Dory Fisherman

 

 

(Part III covering snapper boats and assorted others and who in my opinion the top commercial fishermen and high liners were over the years will follow. Look out for it – GTF)

18 Jul

INGONISH – ENTRY TO CB HIGHLANDS

Posted by CAPER in General Interest.

Fishing boats at rest – Ingonish Harbour

Welcome to the rugged headlands, sandy beaches, lush green valleys and wild, open barrens… a destination point for all ages in all seasons and the starting point for your adventure into the Cape Breton Highlands.

The area known as Ingonish is actually a cluster of five small communities on the Cabot Trail, nestled between the National Park, Highlands and Atlantic Ocean. It consists of Ingonish Ferry in the South followed by Ingonish Harbour, Ingonish Beach, Ingonish Centre, and ends with Ingonish in the North. From start to finish the area covers only 16 kilometers, so no matter where you stay in Ingonish, you are only minutes away from all recreation and services.

Enjoying the off season

Much of the Ingonish area borders the 950 square km Cape Breton Highlands National Park which contains campgrounds, look-offs, picnic sites, beaches and hiking trails.

The area offers both saltwater and freshwater fishing with ocean charters available. The multitude of lakes, ponds and rivers provide excellent salmon and trout fishing from June 1st thru early October.

In any Season Ingonish is a Great Vacation Getaway!

In the summer, Ski Cape Smokey offers scenic lift rides to the top of its summit, providing a gorgeous panoramic view of the Highlands and the ocean.

Autumn in Ingonish is an artist’s and photographer’s delight; a time when days are crisp and clear and the highlands are blanketed with brilliant reds, oranges and golds. It is also a good time of year for sighting moose and other wildlife.

Colourful Fishing Boats

Freshly caught lobster are available from mid-May until mid-July, followed by the snow crab season which usually lasts until mid-August. During these times, local service clubs host delicious lobster suppers along with various craft and bake sales. In addition, throughout the year, you will find Ceilidhs and other traditional Cape Breton entertainment.

Smokey

In the summer visitors can choose between a comfortable swim in fresh water lakes or a refreshing dip in the Atlantic Ocean. Scenic cruises and whale watching are also available during the summer.

 

Highlands Links Golf Course

From late May through mid-October the challenging Highlands Links Golf Course is open. One of the top courses in North America, it offers a breathtaking vista from each tee box.

 

 

                  Breathtaking Skiing Hill

Winter in Ingonish offers a whole new array of experiences to the visitor including downhill skiing at Ski Cape Smokey. With a vertical drop of 1,000 feet, it is one of the finest ski slopes in the Maritimes and was the Alpine venue for the 1987 Canada Winter Games. The hill has a quad chairlift and surface lift, and the season normally runs from Christmas thru the end of March.

What a view

Ingonish also offers a number of groomed cross country ski trails and serves as a jumping off point for an extensive complex of trails farther north.

17 Jul

OBITS – JUL 17, 2010

Posted by CAPER in Obituaries.

Obituaries for July 17th, 2010

16 Jul

ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON

Posted by CAPER in History.

 Aerial view of the islands

A BIT OF FRANCE OFF THE COAST OF CANADA

(Realizing that St. Pierre and Miquelon are not quite Cape Breton Island news, with it’s everlasting connexion to the Island through commerce and it’s people I thought it would be interesting nevertheless to describe it to you. Many forefathers of Cape Bretoners moved here from the Islands, many more went there after the British ousted them from Acadia and later returned to Cape Breton and the Mainland. And of course during the Rum-running days numerous Capers spent many hours at St. Pierre loading up on rum, champagne, whiskey and all kinds of alcoholic beverages and lugged it ashore on coastal Cape Breton to be later transported to the U.S.. So here is a description of what the islands and its people look like. – GTF)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon – Going off the surf map

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16 miles from the southern shores of Newfoundland, the tiny French island territorial collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a little bit of France in the North Atlantic.

Unlike Quebec, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are French through and through, and are not bound by the dual language dilemma that plagues the Canadian province. With just over 6,000 year-round residents, Saint Pierre and Miquelon manage to retain their French culture in a unique sub-arctic island style.  The islands also have the dubious distinction of being the only place a guillotine was used in North America.

Though I’ve yet to come across any surfers who have explored the islands, their location alone puts them in a window for serious swell. A little searching will turn up a handful of photos online, featuring waves and coves with corduroy lines stretching to the horizon. In short, Saint Pierre and Miquelon is awaiting exploration by surfers.

Getting there generally means going to a major Canadian city first.  Full thick rubber is an absolute necessity almost year-round, with the waters off the islands topping off for a very brief period in the 50s and then dipping to the freezing point for most of the year.  Get out there, get off the surf map and go explore.  (Oh… and tell us all about it!)Bottom of Form

St. Pierre

Al Capone slept here when the gangster was running bootleg liquor into the United States during Prohibition. Charles de Gaulle stopped in as President of France. And the French Navy scored its first victory of World War II with an invasion here launched behind the backs of Canada and the United States.

The islands of St. Pierre, Miquelon and Langlade are rich with anomalies, not the least being their status as France’s last foothold in North America. Some 900 miles northeast of New York and a scant dozen miles off the Newfoundland coast, they offer a slice of overseas France. The 6,000 inhabitants are descended mostly from Breton, Norman and Basque seafarers who crossed the Atlantic to fish for cod and settled down.

The windswept islands were discovered in 1520 by the Portuguese explorer Alvarez Faquendez. He called them ”the islands of 11,000 virgins” because he sighted them on the feast day of St. Ursula, patron saint of virgins. It was not until 1536 that Jacques Cartier claimed them for France. For the next few centuries, the British and French squabbled over the islands until France, having already forfeited the rest of its North American empire, was conceded St. Pierre and Miquelon by the Treaty of Paris.

Yet for all the fresh croissants and French wine, St. Pierre and Miquelon is a destination largely overlooked by American tourists. The islands, akin to a French-speaking Nantucket, might be better known but for thick fog that blankets them for much of the year, making airline flights from the Canadian mainland uncertain. Last July, the islands sat out 23 days of fog. But on a later visit in September, my wife and I encountered only warm sunshine.

It is safest to take a daily bus in summer from St. John’s, the provincial capital of Newfoundland, to the ferry at the fishing town of Fortune. We rented a car for the 225-mile trip to Fortune, turning south from the Trans-Canada Highway into the bracken-covered moors of the Burin Peninsula. We arrived in Fortune well ahead of the St. Georges, the orange and white ferryboat that chugged into the harbor with the French tricolor flapping from its stern.

The watertight cabin held about 100 seats facing forward like those of a movie theater, but despite a cold spray, we preferred the bracing air on the open afterdeck. The boat churned through the choppy sea around the steep headlands of the Newfoundland coast before veering south. Soon the islands loomed out of the sea and we sailed past the fish processing plant into the harbor of St. Pierre.

It was an abrupt transition from Canada to France. In the customs shed on the quay, a French official in a blue military shirt stamped passports. Immigration officials at St. Pierre will also accept other evidence of United States or Canadian nationality including a driver’s license.

Outside, on Charles de Gaulle Square, a policeman wearing a blue kepi casually eyed the passing Citroens, Renaults and Peugeots. Signs in French hung outside the small shops. Frame houses, painted in pastel colors with blue enamel number plates, lined the narrow streets. But for the New England appearance of the houses that climbed barren hills, it might have been some small town on the coast of Brittany.

The French spoken on the islands bears the soft accent of Brittany and, despite a profusion of nautical slang, it was not hard to understand. Canadian students come to St. Pierre and Miquelon to learn French with local families, which may explain why the residents seem so patient with visitors who speak their language poorly.

We were spared language shock by our hotel’s owner, Jean Pierre Andrieux, who greeted us on the quay in flawless English. Born of French parents, he grew up on Canada’s Prince Edward Island, and is also the Canadian honorary consul, head of the tourist office, local historian and a connoisseur of bargain wines, which he acquires for his guests on annual forays to France.

The Hotel Robert, which had once served as a police barracks, overlooks the harbor, and our twin-bedded room was simple but comfortable with an American-style bathroom. Once we had settled in, Mr. Andrieux invited his new guests into the dining room for a glass of his favorite Bordeaux while he briefed us about the islands.

St. Pierre, Miquelon and Langlade altogether cover 93 square miles, about half the size of Martha’s Vineyard. Ninety percent of the inhabitants live on St. Pierre, which is smallest but has the best harbor. The French Government pours millions of dollars a year into the islands, and not purely for national pride. It also wants to assert its right to fishing grounds and potential oil deposits off the Canadian coast.

The heyday of the islands came in the 1920’s after the United States ushered in Prohibition. St. Pierre and Miquelon, then still a French colony, readily became a transient stop for whisky and other liquor being smuggled into the United States. Before long, Mr. Andrieux explained, ”every basement in town was transformed into a liquor warehouse.” The local fish processing plant closed for lack of workers, and large concrete warehouses sprang up along the waterfront to serve American bootleggers like Bill McCoy, whose booze was good enough to become known as ”the real McCoy.” Under French law it was quite legal, and up to 300,000 cases of liquor a month were loaded into the fast rumrunners tied up alongside the docks.

Because whisky cases made too much noise when they were unloaded, the bottles were wrapped in straw and packed into jute sacks before leaving St. Pierre. The islanders used the leftover cases to fuel stoves and build houses. One red and white cottage on the outskirts of town is still known as the Cutty Sark Villa.

When the United States repealed Prohibition in 1933, the thriving island economy collapsed. The St. Pierrais, as the people here call themselves, held a mock funeral and went back to fishing. Today, some Newfoundlanders admit sailing across to St. Pierre and smuggling back a little liquor or wine to evade the stiff Canadian duties, but Mr. Andrieux disparaged this as ”peanuts” com-pared to the good old days. His hotel boasts the best collection of Prohibition-era artifacts and photographs in town, including a straw boater that Mr. Andrieux said Al Capone left behind.

The islands enjoyed a resurgence of attention in the dark days of World War II, when three Free French corvettes and a submarine captured St. Pierre from the Vichy Government. Not a shot was fired in the invasion. ”They just sailed in and tied up,” recalled Mireille Andrieux, the hotelier’s mother, who watched the sailors land from her window. ”There was no trouble. Some people clapped. A girl kissed the first sailor who came ashore and later married him.”

That evening we were introduced to the cuisine of St. Pierre. The islanders retain a French appreciation of food at considerable cost to their government. Most meat and vegetables are imported from Canada, but other products, including cheese and wine, come in from Le Havre via Nova Scotia, with Paris subsidizing the freight. The French Air Force even delivers fresh lettuce or endive on its trans-Atlantic training flights.

Dining out is so popular that reservations are needed for the better restaurants. ”It’s one of the few things that people can do nicely,” said Mr. Andrieux. ”They don’t go to eat. They go to have a good time.”

We first sampled Le Caveau, a cozy bistro with stucco walls, bright tablecloths and recorded French music. A plateful of the local smoked salmon ($6 in United States funds), eaten with crusty French bread, was strong and flavorful. Smoked salmon from St. Pierre is considered such a delicacy in Paris that the Elysee Palace imports it for banquets.

The islanders dismiss the fish caught offshore as ”poor man’s food,” but it is transformed in the preparation. We tried the excellent halibut baked in a light cream sauce and the baked cod (each about $6). For dessert we had vacherin ($2), a light pastry with pistachio ice cream folded into crisp layers of meringue, whipped cream and almonds.

On a subsequent evening, we were directed to Chez Dutin, a small dining room in the home of Madame Dutin, who at the age of 85 still cooks while her daughter serves. Dinner, including minestrone, coquille St.-Jacques, chicken simmered with mushrooms in a tomato sauce and a light lemon tart, cost under $10 with a glass of wine.

Chez Gegene, another recommended restaurant, looked drab from the outside but glowed inside with dainty candle lamps illuminating the brocade wallpaper. It was best known for steak pizzaiola, served in a spicy tomato-based sauce ($7), and, for dessert, mystere flambe ($3). This vanilla ice cream concoction with chocolate and nuts was set aflame with a Basque liqueur called Izarra.

We breakfasted nearly as well at the Hotel Robert, which dispensed unlimited chicory-flavored coffee and baskets of croissants or petits pains au chocolate just out of the oven of a nearby patisserie. These flaky buns with their core of dark chocolate were so good that I unwittingly consumed four the first morning.

Though life on St. Pierre seemed languid, it was not hard to find things to do. The uncluttered atmosphere is excellent for short-wave radio transmissions to faraway places. A ham operator from Connecticut takes the same room every year in the hotel annex. Mr. Andrieux obligingly installed a cable leading to an antenna on the roof.

Less single-minded tourists can walk around St. Pierre, lingering at sidewalk cafes in summer and taking in such modest sights as the Catholic stone church of St. Peter’s, with door handles in the shapes of fish, or the town museum on the third floor of an old stucco building. The museum is crammed with curiosities ranging from models of sailing ships to Breton wooden shoes, displays of nautical knots and a locally caught lobster nearly three feet long.

For $6 a person, they can ride a tour bus around the island and out to the westernmost end at Pointe de Savoyard, past summer cottages tucked into the scrub vegetation. ”People move one kilometer away for the summer,” our driver said. ”Quite a change, eh?”

Savoyard Pond is popular with windsurfers because it combines inland water with a stiff offshore Atlantic breeze. St. Pierre, which is only 10 square miles in size, can even be circumnavigated on a moped, which is rented in town for $4.50 an hour.

The Harbour

Shopping also became an adventure, because few French imports were visible in shop windows crammed with fishing tackle and nautical pumps. ”Nothing is advertised, so you have to ask,” Mr. Andrieux advised.

A candy shop sold flowers and a butcher shop stocked wine. An auto accessories store carried Le Creuset enameled iron skillets. French perfume, except for some brand names, cost about half the United States price. Parisian silk scarves were $14. The best bargains were French wines, some of which Mr. Andrieux sold in his hotel boutique. He encouraged guests to take them to the daily hotel buffet to save money. A 1984 Pouilly-Fume cost about $5.50 and a fancier 1983 Gevrey-Chambertin was about $18. With so few United

States tourists, local merchants do not distinguish between United States and Canadian dollars, so bargains vanish unless a visitor changes his money into French or Canadian currency.

After-dinner entertainment was as low-key, though a couple of discotheques cranked up about 11:30 P.M. and went until 4 A.M. One night I went to the Biarritz, which throbbed to recorded French and American rock music. By midnight the only other customers were a handful of Japanese sailors dancing with one another.

Visitors can attend weekly Basque folk dancing in a town square in the summer, stop by a local jai alai match or watch local fishermen haul ashore the day’s catch, which may end up in Halifax, Paris or Boston.

We walked along the rocky coast and combed the beach for driftwood, colorful stones and other surprises. The treacherous currents and fog have contributed to hundreds of shipwrecks off St. Pierre and Miquelon. For generations, the islanders augmented their meager earnings from fishing by salvaging the wreckage. Some farmers on Miquelon put out their cattle on the sand bars so that ships would think they were navigational buoys and run aground. In 1902, a sailing ship mistook one of St. Pierre’s church steeples for a lighthouse in the fog and wound up in the town cemetery.

There were inevitable tales of submerged treasure. In 1828, the crew of the Fulwood, a British ship, mutinied and murdered the captain. The ship was wrecked, and islanders today insist that the gold aboard has yet to be found.

St. Pierre is said to be the only place in North America where a criminal ever was executed by guillotine. Auguste Neel was beheaded in 1889 for murdering another fisherman in a drunken quarrel. The guillotine, which had to be fetched from Guadeloupe, remains locked up in the police station on St. Pierre, an old-timer explained, ”so no one will sell it to an American souvenir hunter.”

The View

A spirited rivalry lingers between St. Pierre and Miquelon, which was settled by French Acadians expelled from Canada for refusing to swear loyalty to the British King in the 18th century. A ferry runs between the islands, but we flew over on Air St. Pierre, a government-subsidized local airline. The 15-minute flight on a twin-engined aircraft cost about $12 round trip.

There was not much to see in Miquelon, a fishing village of 600 inhabitants with neat rows of weather-beaten frame houses. But there we hired a battered van for $36 to drive us across a slender sand isthmus to Langlade. ”If you hear a boom-boom, don’t worry. The shocks are kaput,” its unshaven driver, Alain Roverche, cheerfully advised.

Half-wild horses, the survivors of earlier shipwrecks, grazed on the grassy hillocks. We stopped to watch a colony of seals playing offshore. Some were curious enough to swim toward us for a look before diving into the heavy surf. From the sand protruded the hulk of a Newfoundland trawler grounded in 1954.

Sandpipers and other migratory birds foraged for shellfish in the tidal pools of the slender isthmus. Langlade itself looked like a wilder Cape Cod, down to the abundant cranberry and rose-hip bushes. Some residents of St. Pierre keep summer homes on Miquelon or go hunting on Langlade, where white-tailed deer brought over from Canada in the 1950’s have proliferated in the thick brush and stunted spruce forests. Other vacationers dive for lobsters, although scuba gear is not permitted.

Our last day in St. Pierre left barely enough time to take a dory that shuttled every half-hour to the Ile aux Marins, a largely deserted island at the mouth of the harbor. Derelict wooden houses clustered around a graying old church. In the tall grass of the hillside stood 14 metal crosses marking the graves of islanders killed in the First and Second World Wars. ”Mort Pour La France” read each inscription, affirming that the loyalty of Frenchmen had endured in this improbable corner of France’s last empire.

Surf’s up

Getting There The best time to visit the islands is during the warmer months, especially August and September. Summer temperatures average only 51 degrees, and even on sunny days a windbreaker or sweater comes in handy.

A visit to St. Pierre and Miquelon can be combined with a trip to Newfoundland or Nova Scotia. A ferry from Sydney, Nova Scotia takes you to Port aux Basques in southwestern Newfoundland, where you should allow at least a day to drive via Gander to Fortune. It is not possible to take your car to St. Pierre, which has only 22 miles of roads. For about $4.50, you can leave your car parked safely inside a fenced-in lot near the Fortune ferry office.

16 Jul

OBITS – JULY 16, 2010

Posted by CAPER in Obituaries.

Obituaries for July 16th, 2010

15 Jul

GRADE IX – BRAS D’OR 1948

Posted by CAPER in History.

(Contributed by Naish Young Addicott)

Here is the first picture received in response to my request for school pictures.. Now if anyone sees this and wishes to send me their e-mail address with the desire  to be added to the Blog Cape Breton News you would be most welcome. Thank you Naish – GTF

15 Jul

OBITS – JUL 15, 2010

Posted by CAPER in Obituaries.

Obituaries for July 15th, 2010

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