Articles

Since the Gulf of St. Lawrence was a strategic spot for enemy invasions (German submarines were known to be there starting in 1941), Gaspé became a strategic spot for the Ministry of National Defence. A naval base with 3000 men was built at Sandy Beach in order to patrol the Gulf. Strategic forts were sprinkled over the territory, and remnants of that time still exist today, such as the Fort Peninsula galleries at the entrance to Forillon National Park, the Fort Ramsay naval base at Sandy Beach, and the shoreline batteries at Cap-aux-Os and Fort- Prével.

The Jacques Cartier Monument National Historic Site is composed of six cast-iron stelae in shapes that recall the flat pebbles of the Gaspé Peninsula beaches, the mountainous profile of Forillon National Park of Canada and the standing stones of Brittany. The bas-reliefs on the stelae portray the principle scenes of the historic encounter between Europeans and Amerindians on July 24, 1534 when Jacques Cartier erected a cross on the shore of Gaspé Bay before a group of troubled Kwedech (Iroquois).

Although Jacques Cartier has planted five crosses during his travels from 1534 and 1535-36, only one, planted in Gaspé in July 1534, marks his official taking possession of the new territory on behalf of the king of France, Francis I. On August 25, 1934, during the 400th anniversary celebrations of the arrival of Cartier in Gaspé, the Historic Sites and Monuments of Canada unveiled a cross in Gaspé made of granite measuring 10 meters high and weighing 29 tons.

Why would anyone want to leave the lush, prosperous, semi-tropical island of Jersey and sail for weeks half-way around the world to reach the cold, empty and desolate Gaspé Coast on the eastern seaboard of Canada?

(Continued from Part 1: http://gaspesie.quebecheritageweb.com/article/jersey-gaspe-charles-robi…)

The presence of the Baillie Family in the small village of Fleurant Point dates back to 1841, when Thomas Baillie emigrated from Scotland to America on the same boat as well-known fellow Scotsman and emigrant, Sir John A. MacDonald, who some years later would become Canada’s first Prime Minister.

In January, the Musée de la Gaspésie obtained the archives of the Robin store of Bonaventure. Mrs. Josée Barette, daughter of Juliette Gauthier and Douglas Barette, generously offered the documents to the Centre d’archives de la Musée de la Gaspésie. The Centre is the only private centre in the Gaspé region to be accredited by the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. The Centre preserves documents of a regional interest, and is accessible to the general public of the region.

One day on the Gaspé in 1939 a man by the name of Esmond B. Martin caught the largest Atlantic salmon ever taken in North American waters, here on our own river the Grand Cascapedia. Although we take it for granted, this river is considered one of the ten best salmon fishing rivers in the world.

This is the first part of a series written by Cynthia Dow and published in SPEC in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Forillon National Park. The series is dedicated to the memory of the late Elwood Dow and his wife Gerty Gavey, uncle and aunt of the author, whose Indian Cove home was expropriated to make way for the Park.

Foreword

Rich in history and heritage, the Stanley House Inn is a Queen Anne-style summer residence built of natural materials.The Inn is located in New Richmond at the mouth of the Grand Cascapedia River and overlooks the Baie des Chaleurs, one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

“Such a beautiful country is not an accident. God must have created this wonderful wilderness, where all is happiness, all is peace.” --Fishing on the Grand Cascapedia by Edmund W. Davis (1904)

Erected in 1906 and still operational, this lighthouse has a unique wooden structure. The rotation of the lighting module is still operated by the original clockwork system (cable and weights). Spectacular view from the top of the walkway. Guided visits.

Once upon a time my grandfather, Victor William Annett, the seventh son of Charles William Annett, the grandson of William Annett, told me a story.

Many, many years ago there lived a group of Mi’kmaq along the shores of the Bay of Chaleur, in the region of the seventh district of the Mi’kmaq Nation.

Writing in 1936, Olive Willett Smith, a Gaspé native, began her travel book Gaspé the Romantique this way: "In summer, as the thermometer hovers in the nineties and the humidity tags along, go to the Northland; to Gaspé, that eastern arm of the Province of Quebec stretching out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the air is like champagne."

An informative booklet on the Mi’kmaq community of Gesgapegiag was created following a concentrated two-week effort by four teachers at the Wejgwapniag School in Gesgapegiag. Ramona Jerome, John Martin, Gertrude Martin and Roger Martin demonstrate the pride and history of Gesgapegiag in this collection of articles.

A book for young readers, Little Chief of the Gaspé is the story of eleven-year-old Jacques Cartier LeGrand and “Little Chief” which was given to one of Jacques ancestors by an Indigenous chief as a gift of friendship, passed on from father to son throughout the years. The figurine came to Jacques at a time when Jacques’ father had been lost in a storm at sea.

Art Campbell was a highly respected teacher and community member. He retired from Bishops’ in 1983 and returned to Grand Cascapedia where he would write this humorous and heart-warming makeshift dictionary, a real Gaspesian treasure. The book appeals to those lucky enough to have been born in the Gaspe, and to those “from away”.

The Gaspé, Including an Account of L'Île Percée, by John M. Clarke,examines the history, customs and geology of the region, at a time when a new road running down the south shore of the St. Lawrence River was opening the area to tourism.