AUGUST is. 1949-

Pioneer Spirit Of Forefathers Is Re-enacted

Who were the first boyaiists to settle in Bedeque‘! We do not know. Ensign John Robins of the King's Rangers came to “Charlotte Town", March 1'1, 1782, as junior officer of the garrison. A letter signed by him and several of his fellow officers which appeared in a New York newspaper of April, 1782, advising prospective emi- grants that our Island "soil was good, the water excellent, the har- bors spacious, the government mild, the cattle plenty. . ." was doubtless instrumental in attracting a num- her of Loyalists here.

Ensign Robins, his father Rich- ard Robins, Thomas Hooper and William Schurman, late of Shel- burne, were at Charlottetown early ta May, 1784. pnsantingamemorlal to the Gcvsraer-in-Counci! and asking for "singular choice" in dif- ferent lots of land to be granted to refugees. They had been doubt- less looking over Bedequa because the Governor in his reply offered Hooper and Scllurman ("and any others they may choose for part- ners") leases of large areas in Lot 26 with the option of buying in twelve months’ time at the rate of two dollars an acre. These men were evidently a delegation acting on behalf of other Loyalist! tem- porarily settled at Sheiburne. The first large body of settlers came to Bedeque by ship from Shclburne in July of 1784. . .

Early Hardships

They entered on a relatively short period of hardship, but, for a people who had been settled in the American colonies for at least two generations and had arrived at considerable affluence, it was like turning back a page in their his- tory to re-ensct their fathers’ and their grandfathers’ pioneering in New York, New Jersey and other American colonies.

Small families in two-roomcd log esbina lived luxuriously the first winter while large families in one-roamed homes found condi- tiona crowded. Some foods were plentiful; bar clams, quahaugs, grandfather lobsters weighing ten pounds each, the choicest oysters of the continent, trout, salmon and cola could be had in and around the Dunk or other nearby harbors without anyone's leave or license.

Those without flour took their wheat to Tryon where John Gould- rup ran one of the early grist mills of Prince County. Stone fireplaces for heating and cooking had chimneys made of "cat-and-clay" on frames of wood. Hoes and axes and a few other tools were sup- plied through a government rc-

habilitation grant, together with food supplies sufficient for a year; but as nearly all the Bedeque Loy- alists had wasted upwards of a year at Shelburne, their grants were exhausted shortly after their arrival,

In Bedequc's first atoro, William lchurman, from November, 1784 on, was prepared to help the settlers with moderate amounts of credit He supplied the community with broadcloth, bohea tea, salt, strap iron, leather, lumber, scythes, West India brown sugar, West In- dia rum, calico, handkerchifs and ribbons. Tea and salt may have been considered most essential but rum and ribbons were most pop- ular. . . .

IAIIIII lettlemont

The largest settlement of Loyal- istswss ca the south shore of the Dank in Lot 2d which was owned by Licut. John Stewart of England and Major Peter Gordon of St. Vin- cant in the West Indies. William Schurman, one of the most wealthy and enterprising of tho Loyaliats, was. settled on 350 acres in the Central Bedcqus of today. . .Tc the south lived John Baker who ac- cording to some was a former fel- low-citizen of Schurman'a in New Rochelle, New York, but believed by others to have been a native of Philadelphia, He was not only a farmer but Bedequah first black- smith, occupying a solid block of three hundred acres which extend-

Loyal

ist

THE GUARDIAN.

CI-IARLOTTETOWN

tefugees gfiettled in IBede

que

PAGE

Area

The peculiar redness of the soil which attracts the sttenti of visitors to Prince Edward Island is due to the disintegrated red sand- stom which forms the upper strata of its rocks. Historically, the rock structure belongs chiefly to the Permian and Triassic format- ions-the former occupying Prince County. the eastern half of Queen's and the greater part of King's County, and the latter covering the northwestern half of Queen's, in cluding the range of hills between DeSable and New London Bay. and running eastward as far as Wiltshlro and Rustico, as well as scrne areas in King's County.

The chief modern deposits are beds of peat, dunes of drifted sands. alluvial clays, and "mussel mud" or beds of oysters and mus- sel shells occurring in the creeks and bays.

In several parts of the Island- particularly in Prince County-are numerous granite and Laurentian rocks-in some cases many miles from shore. These must have been derived from Nova Scotla and Lab- rador or Newfoundland, and were evidently cast there by the ice in some bygone age.

There are practically no miner-

Red Soil, , Sand Dunes And Velvety Beaches

crn shore of the Island, occurring in connection with black send), gypsum, coal nor oil having yet been found. If there is coal or oil, it is prdbably at too great s depth to be immediately available.

Peat Boga and Sand Dunes

Peat bogs occur in many parts of the Island, but with the except- ion o1 three, they are usually of small extent and depth. The three turbarles referred to are at Len- nox Island, Richmond Bay. where there are 250.000 square yards, the Squirrel Creek deposit near Rich- mond Bay of 2,420,000 square yards. and the Black Banks bog, Cascum- pec, area 2.816.000 square yards.

The Island originally covered a larger area than at present, its shores on all sides. but more par- ticularly on the north, having succumbed to the waves. The sand has now constructed s. barrier on the north side vfhich will stop any further enciroachmen-ts of the sea in that direction. These sand dunes bar the sea from the land for a distance of fifty miles. They extend in long lines across the bays and parallel to the coast, and sometimes reach s height of fifty or sixty feet.

als—neither gold (with the ex- ccption of s. very minimum quant- ity discovered in 1885 on the west-

The continuous action wind upon the waste sandstone piles it into

of the of the red irregular

_A

T

4r

IJMZMJZ/ jii M - -::"~ ~ frrs

The floods of fifty years have swept The last sad remnants far away;

The broken dam alone has kept

The crumbling line of green and greyi, Yon lusty willow sweeps its trunk Where stood the old mill on the Dunls

Yon ancient bush! whose roots are mined

By Dunk's impatient April flood,

Around whose gnarled trunk are twined - . The peavine wild and rose in bud—

Was youngest, greenest in the glads,

When here the mlller's children played

Beside the stream where alders spring

And water-grasses, bending low-

And swallows skim, with careless wing Down where the gentle cow-slips grow; While lingering Dunk winds on betweel Dark, shady woods and pastures green.

I came one day, when days were long, To dream an idle hour away;

I And lo! the rhythmic river's song Was of that distant, earlier day When, captive to the master's will, The harnessed waters turned the mifi

It sang to me of bygone days;

Of men, long dead, who came to mill] Of homespun coats and homely Way's!

, Of simple cheer and right good will;

Of labours sad qnd blithesome moods, When battling with the ancient woods

It told of days of weary toil,

And night with small surcease of carq Where grew the delvers of the soil- The farmer's children strong and fair] Of every household's frugal board Replenlshed from the miller's hoard

It sang of two who walked upon

Its banks, when Love's young Pulse beat fast, But many a spring has coma and gone,

And many e summer's bloom has polled Since, side by side, in earth's cold brssq Their wintry heads were laid to rest.

All, all are gone, and, like the mfg Are drifted down the stream of ima But here the river murmurs still

Its ever changing, changcless rhyme In music-mingled mirth and tcars— The story of our Pioneers,

-Web|ter Rogers, in the Prince Edward Island Magazine, December 900.

howl and r148". where it is held together by the roots of the coarse grasses. but it very liable to fro- qucnt changes through the break- ing of the surfaces er the croppiq of the grass by cattle. Between these hills and the shore are form- ed lagoons or ponds, the haunts of fish and sea-fowl. In recent years the saintly beaches of the North Shore have become widely known through the establishment here of the National Park.

First “Old Home Week”

Prince Edward Island's first "Old Home Week"—-or rather Old Home Fortnight, for two weeks were given up to the observance of the occasion—appears to have originated with the Summerside Tourist Association, and it was at the Prince County capital that the celebration was held in July, 1904.

"This celebration," says the Prince Edward Island Magazine of that period, "is the first tangible evidence, worth noticing, of earn- est efiort on the part of our people

" GYPROC LATHE i’ MASONITE

' PLYWOOD * ARBORITE

' BARKERTILE

‘i’ ROCK WOOL INSULATION

" CORK BOARD

‘F ASPHALT SHINGLES 210 lb. and 125 lb.

' 24" B. C. ROYAL SIIINGLES

4 RUBBER TILE

later was known as the "old Mill| property east of the church and ex- Hili Road." tending south to include the val- Nathanisl Wright, later known uable mill site. In 1798, however as the father of Methodism in these lands were vacant,

Prince County, had a three hund- _n_°m “mm!” Beam“: Th”,

red acre Loyalist grant in Lot 2B. 150 of which was at Centrevilic. Imym“! 5' w°rk "id W°YSMP

sd om Schurman's line to what comprising the present Noonan by Gnu’ A- Lurd- 1943- M57!!! $19 l ? ngfllfi/PI I OODIPETENI." I ‘EXPERT COSMETIC rnnsonrrriou ADVICE PROVID nuranmnm‘ ' ' ' " g ' ' "J PIIUIO FINISIIINQ a oontrLa-rn 8100K CAMERAS l OF IO SUPPLIES . : a o o 9 9 . mosses mrm T055000 i‘ (WW! 9 v v 9 ' ' ' AITHFULLY SERVING THE DOCTORS AND PEOPLE OP F PRINCE COUNTY ' . ' l . ENMAN lilillfi Ooqltd. . smumnsmn phone 337 Delivery lorries

g

enumerate lunthss,ll:ll0toland'lto9

[SWQW/rv WILL/A“).

I . ii Pitt-m; lit u W‘

' N. B. CEDAR SIIINGLES

Thriving Agricultural

I (Continued from page 30)

wants of the children of the Town.

The Slammcrsid academy provid- es high school classes up to and including grade twelve. Patrons of abs cinema have their choice of two theatres and last winter a very fine new Curlim Rink with arti- ficial ice was built. Up to date dance halls and restaurants prc- vldc their special type of service and tfor the summer visitor there are very fine tourist cabins, some of them located on the shore front.

The community is now moving in the direction of providing some- thing that has been seriously need-

to make our Island's attractions as a holiday resort better known. Such action merits the approval and assistance of every P. E. Is- lander and all natives of this Pro- vince whether at home or abroad should feel it incumbent upon them to help, by word and deed, to make the celebration successful.”

ed for some time. A new Prince County Hospital is in the process of erection on Bummer Street north which will have all the needed facilities for the town and aur- rounding area. that it will serve.

There is no doubt but that the town is making steady progress and ia expanding rapidly. A trip around its outskirts will show many new residences bdng constructed and new streets are constamiy being opened up. The Bank of Nova Scotia has indicated its con- fidence in the future of the town by building a large new building for its Summerside branch which will be opened for business this summer. The Royal Bank has re- cently signified its intention of following suit.

In one fmporiant instance Sum-

merside will definitely be ahead of all other Island communities with

the installation of a dial telephone system. The switchboard equipment for this system is now being in- stalled in the new building built

aboutsyearsso. llgAvist-ioadsnho

Finally u shoulh be mm that Summcrside is now a service town. During the war over three thous- and men were stationed near here at the locsl R041". station and the airport at Mount Pleasant. The Summerside station has now been rc-activatcd and will play an important part in the peacetime program of the RCAI". The only Navigation School in the air force is now located here. Last winter when tho first Specialist Navigat- ion Course was under way s. num- ber of flights were made rom this station that made news. The first Rail/LP. aircraft to fly over the

‘Geographical North Pole was on a

training flight frctn this station. Two Lancasters made a non-stop flight to Summerside from Sacra- mento, California, the first time that a non-stop flight had been made in that direction. Construct- ion is now underway of 150 hous-

by the Island Telephone Co. Lin.

j

lng units for air force personnel

H's SCHURMAWS For

ALONG LASTING. ECONOMICAL

BUILDING SUPPLIES

' GYPROC WALLBOARD

I

Complete Stocli a Lumber-Spruce Flooring—I-Iardwood Flooring

All Available At Kensington i- Summerside Charlottetown

We ‘operate tlie largest woodworking factory on Tlio Island

your island industry.

and have maintained the pro-war standards for lnlil work. We‘ have not reduced the quality of our work Because of rising costs.

We are proud of the service we have established. Potronlse

TALL TYPES CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE AT MODERATE RENTALS

M; F. SCHURMAN, c0. LTD.

KINSINGTON

A Complete Building Service

F ROOF DNSULATINQ , BOARD .

adjacent Ia tho notion.

n should u» be mlnflfltd 11M the toyn has an W!!!“ ion with the United Btstoc M! rum. Twice s week tram one cl their Newfoundland bu». Hlfmim Field, aircraft land st Bummer- side for supplies. Whlll "Th"! products are purchased here the most important and the one ti!“ was instrumental in ata-rtinl till service is fresh pasteurized. milk supplied by the Ideal Dairy. This must be the longest milk run in. fill world.

Last year the Income Tax De- partment released some statistics in which Summersidc was an- nounced to be the municipality from which the highest average of personnel income taxes were paid. This gave the town wrrsiderable publicity across Canada and gave the local populace considerable amusement. Nobody locally has ever been able to figure out why it should be s0 but at least it should indicate that Sllmmerslde has a considerable degree of prosperity.

—8.

HOUSE AND BARN FRAMES AND BASH

noons-rworaxns. axnsnan

HOUSE TRIM and MOULDINGS

BUILDER'S HARDWARE

SIOBM WINDOWS ..

ALL TYPE BUILDING PAPER

INSUL BRICK ' SIDING

ILEXDOARD.

CHARLOTTITOWN