Gaspesian Heritage WebMagazine

The story of the life of Felix O’Hara and his family is linked so inextricably with the early settlement of Gaspé Basin and with events in the District of Gaspé that it is unusually significant. The following attempt at recall of the family story reflects various, widely scattered records. One vital source of information was not available – that of Church records – for Gaspé had no Protestant clergy until long after the death of Felix O’Hara in 1805.The visitor to modern Gaspé will find no civic memorial to Felix O’Hara.

In October 1675, more than three centuries ago, Father Chrestien Le Clercq, a missionary of the Recollet or Reformed Franciscian Order of France, landed at Percé in Gaspesia.

Foreword:
Though the name of Frederick James Richmond continues to be recalled annually to the youth of Gaspé through the award of the Richmond scholarships, established by his brother George, the life and influence of this remarkable Gaspesian has faded with time and the passing away of those who knew him personally. Sweeping social changes have so altered the society of his native town of Gaspé that much of its earlier English heritage may soon be forgotten.

One of the premier architectural landmarks along the south Gaspe Coast (Route 132) is the remarkable LeGrand Hotel in Port Daniel. Built in 1899 by Alfred Dumaresq LeGrand, a native of Jersey, the building is as fine an example of Second Empire architecture as one is likely to find in this part of the world.

Aviation pioneer Jacques de Lesseps, or the Comte de Lesseps, as he is often known, was the eldest son of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat who was behind the Suez Canal.

Forillon has been inhabited for a long time. Nine thousand years ago, prehistoric peoples camped on the capes lining the point, the marine terraces of the Anse au Griffon Valley and Penouille Point.

For centuries, the coves and pebbled beaches of the Gaspé Cape in Petit-Gaspé had attracted the Micmacs, the first inhabitants of Gaspé, seasonal and sedentary fishers. The largest coves, such as Anse aux Sauvages, Saint-Georges Cove and Grande-Grave had villages established near them. Smaller coves welcomed family settlements.

Tears roll down Carl Bond's cheeks as he stands outside the 96-year-old general store overlooking the glittering bay where Perce Rock looms in the distance.
The door is locked, and, for the first time in 38 years, store manager Bond no longer has the key. "It's a whole lifetime all gone down to nothing," says Bond, 55, who started working here at age 16.
The Robin store - owned by Robin, Jones and Whitman, Canada's oldest retailer after the Hudson's Bay Co. - was where villagers bought everything from sugar to septic tanks, cashed their cheques and gathered for gossip.

My father was a lighthouse keeper from 1925 to 1940. We all had chores as children and it was my responsibility to keep the globe on the lighthouse lantern clean so that the boats could see the light coming in to the harbour and not go aground. Every morning I would go down to the lighthouse with my dad.

The publication of our book, Our Gaspé Home, Now and Forever, created a whirlwind of excitement in our halls and classrooms. It was not, however, our only triumph.

We grew up right here in York. Oh yes, there was a number of us boys grew up here together. The Stewart boys and the Jones boys.

As young fellows in the summertime, we spent a lot of our time in the water, down there on the shores of York River. York Bay you might call it. Swimming and wading and playing down on the beach. Then we used to do work with our mother and father-sometimes a little in the garden, haymaking would come up and milking and stable work. Hunting and fishing too, every boy did that.