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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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)
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.
Foreword
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”.