Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Boy Scouts

Imagine you are a young boy standing by the post office watching your brother, your uncle, your cousin, your neighbour, clad in full highland regalia, march in a battalion parade, the piper leading the soldiers to the big truck to take them to Truro ─ then off to Aldershot, Valcartier, England, France.... Imagine how excited you are at the spectacle and how much you want to go. But you are too young. You must stay home.

Boy Scout Manual 1914

Rev. William Gillespie watched these Great Village boys entranced by the military parades and realized that they needed some focus for their energies. Though a grown man, he too watched his younger brother Robert go off to war, and had seen how determined he was to do his duty. Rev. Gillespie had heard about the Scouting movement, which had started in England in 1907, and had reached Canada almost immediately. In 1912 the Boy Scout Association was granted a royal charter throughout the Empire by King George V. The Canadian General Council of the Boy Scout Association had been incorporated on June 12, 1914.(1) Rev. Gillespie talked to several of his parishioners and in mid-May 1916 they gathered together some of the boys from Great Village and Glenholme and formed a Boy Scout Band.

Rev. Gillespie is the Scout Master and several other men agreed to be patrol leaders. Though the Boy Scout Band has only been in existence in Great Village for just over a month, they are already very active. They have set up a club room and meet every Saturday evening, beginning their meetings with a prayer and “The Maple Leaf Forever,” and ending with “God Save the King.” Their first fundraiser was a bean supper at the Temperance Hall on May 20 to raise money to buy uniforms. The evening was a big success for them; they raised about $40. On May 24, the boys hosted a visit from the Truro Scout Band. Both Bands joined together and paraded to Londonderry — a pretty long walk (actually, several wagons went along and carried them part way), where they attended a concert and had a rousing hay ride back to the village. The next big event to raise funds was on June 10, when they hosted an ice cream social, and Villagers had a taste of the first strawberries of the season, quite early this year.

During their regular meetings the Scouts practice drills, woodcraft, signalling, tracking and other useful skills. This past Sunday the Scouts paraded to the Baptist church for the afternoon service. They looked smart and proud in their new uniforms. The boys are excitedly preparing to go to a Scout Camp at Stewiacke in July. They will spend about three weeks under canvas with bands from all across Eastern Nova Scotia. And later in August they are planning several picnics and bacon fries at Spencer’s Point

Boy Scout Manual 1919

Though today not a regular meeting day, several of the patrol leaders are taking some of the Scouts to Mount Pleasant this evening to practice tracking skills. Rev. Gillespie is not able to join them because of the missionary lecture at the Presbyterian church. But he'll be there on Saturday for the regular meeting, when the leaders have a surprise planned for the boys, an excursion to the cinema in Truro, which is showing a film about the Empire’s war effort.

At this time of war, with all its organized and heightened activity, it is good for the young boys to have a purpose to meet and learn new things, and have some fun too.(2) Even the smallest boys, like Arthur Bulmer’s Billy and Lucius Hills’ Seth, inseparable lads who ache to be part of the pack, are excited about the Scouts. There is talk of setting up a group for the smallest boys. Today Arthur and Lucius have decided to take their sons to Truro with the rest of the troop. Everyone knows Arthur has been very sad about Gertie’s trouble; he has always been protective of his younger sisters, even as he’s teased them mercilessly sometimes. Lucius convinced him that another run to Truro, even after yesterday’s election trip, would be a good distraction.

Notes

1. The Canadian General Council of the Boy Scouts Association, incorporated in 1914, remained a branch of the Boy Scouts Association until it became an independent member of the Boy Scouts World Conference on October 30, 1946. The name was changed to Boys Scouts of Canada and then to Scouts Canada in 1976 (Canadian Encyclopedia, p. 2122).

2. The Great Village Boy Scout Band disbanded in 1919 with the departure of Rev. W.M. Gillespie. It was not until 1928 that another band was formed, NO. 27, headed by Rev. L.B. Wright, the Baptist minister. The Scouts remained active in Great Village for the next several decades and enjoyed camping trips to Folly Lake in the summers. In 1932 a Wolf Club Pack was organized, and it too remained active for decades. Hundreds of Great Village boys participated in the Scouts and Wolf Club groups over the years.

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Elmonte House

In a bustling place like Great Village, a good hotel is a must. There are people coming and going all the time, lots of tourists and travelling salesmen; regular Sunday School Association conferences or Teachers’ Institutes, which bring in folks from near and far. Great Village is fortunate to have one of the most efficiently run hotels in Colchester County, Elmonte House, operated by Mrs. Smith, with able assistance from her husband, Ralph, who divides his time between the hotel and his passion for inventing. Indeed, the Elmonte is one of the largest, most up-to-date hostelries in the county outside of Truro. Broderick’s Hotel at Five Islands is a close rival, but most of the folks around think that the Elmonte is superior.

Elmonte House and the "Sample Room" (right)


Elmonte House has all the modern conveniences including a telephone, well equipped livery stables, as well as an automobile to take people to and fetch them from the stations in Londonderry and Truro. The hotel is three storeys high and its office, parlours and rooms are large, airy, elegantly furnished and scrupulously clean. Mrs. Smith also offers excellent cuisine, and many of the societies in the village hold their anniversary banquets in its fine dining room.

One of the interesting features of the Elmonte is the “Sample Room,” a long, low building between the Elmonte and W.W. Peppard’s store, where salesmen bring samples of their goods and display them. Merchants from miles around stop by, view the goods and place their orders. When a salesman arrives word spreads quickly along the shore and for the next several days the salesman conducts a bustling business. The merchants are able to order clothing, boots and shoes, dishes of all kinds and even farm implements. Eventually, the goods arrive by train at Londonderry Station.

The Elmonte was built in 1899 to replace the Londonderry Hotel, which was destroyed by fire on December 5, 1898. The Londonderry Hotel had served Great Village and its visitors since 1861, when it had been built by Adam Chisholm. The Londonderry had been run well by Mrs. Captain James Wilbur Johnston for years. She had the central telephone office at the hotel for some time before it was removed to Miss Amelia Spencer’s home in 1898, just a week before the awful fire, which villagers still talk about whenever they pass by the Elmonte, which was constructed more or less on the same site.

There has been a public house or inn in the area as far back as 1807. With each new road put in some enterprising fellow tried his hand at a hostelry. There was the Post Road Inn on the corner of the Post Road and the Cross Road, a half mile from the village. Then the Riverside Hotel was built on the road connecting Great Village with the railway. In 1860, when a new road to Acadia Mines was made, which ran along the Great Village River, Mr. Chisholm built the Londonderry Hotel, and it served the community for nearly forty years.

The Elmonte is busy all year round, but now that summer is coming, there are more travellers and one can always see interesting people going in and coming out, all day long. Villagers faithfully read the Newsy Notes of Great Village in the Truro Daily News, as the Elmonte regularly sends a list of its guests for the week. Mrs. Smith is busy today, she had nearly a full house overnight and just about as many guests tonight. A few of them have come in specifically for the missionary lecture in the evening. Her dining room will be hosting folks from as far away as New York and Boston, Montreal and Halifax; as near as Parrsboro, New Glasgow and Economy. She has a few tables left for supper and promises several wonderful fresh strawberry desserts, as well as some fine trout, and her famous sirloin. Even without reserving a table, Mrs. Smith always tries to accommodate anyone who stops by.(1)

Mrs. Smith is out early in the morning sweeping off the verandah. She sees Angus Johnson open up the Post Office. She sees Dr. T.R. Johnson hurry by in his automobile, off on some house call, she supposes. A number of the guests are up early having breakfast, to be ready to head to the station in Londonderry. She’s about to go inside to tend to some check-outs when she sees Will Bulmer’s wagon come up over the hill from the bridge, with Gertie and Grace on board. Mrs. Smith shakes her head sadly and wonders how things will go. It will be a long trip down to Halifax, she thinks. Perhaps Grace will stop in as she sometimes does, when she’s back home, and let her know how Gertie is doing.

Notes

1. The Elmonte House served Great Village and its visitors until March 1932, when it, too, burned to the ground. Though the contents of the hotel were saved and the building was insured, it was not rebuilt, and Great Village remained without a hotel. Today, the Blaikie House Bed & Breakfast and the Willie Ed Bed & Breakfast welcome visitors from all over the world.

The Elmonte House on fire

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Temperance Societies

Can you imagine it! Great Village a den of iniquity, a time when our prosperous, sober citizens faced the scourge of the demon rum, and the rum had the upper hand. Read this account from the Colchester Sun, September 26, 1877, and wonder at how things have changed: “With pleasure we note the many scenes of drunkenness and concomitant evils of intemperance, with which we regret to say our beautiful village was polluted, are becoming things of the past, and the flag of temperance is proudly waiving in the breeze of popular sympathy, the dens of iniquity which infested the place have become focused, thanks to the efficient Clerk of License, and a determination on the part of a few that intoxicating liquors shall not be sold in our midst. As a result we find our temperance societies reaping the benefit. The Lodge of Good Templars is increasing in membership and if I am rightly informed nearly 40 new names have been sent to the Division Sons of Temperance the first of the month.”

In pioneer days there were several wayside inns and taverns in and near Great Village where alcohol flowed freely. The tide began to turn in the late 1870s when the Scott Act laws came into effect in the Dominion.(1) Though the bad old days are now long before the memory of most Great Villagers, some of the old folks remember a time when the temperance society had its work cut out for it. But the temperance forces were up to the task and have more or less prevailed.

The Degree Lodge of Colchester County, Good Templars, were around for many years; but no group has had more longevity and been more active than the Sons of Temperance. This organization was first formed in Washington D.C. in 1848. Only two years later Great Village organized its own Sons of Temperance. On January 25, 1850, the Iron Age Division of the Sons of Temperance was established by some of the leading citizens, such as A.W. McLellan, R.N.B. McLellan and Amos Hill.

The Sons of Temperance motto


The Iron Age has been a vigorous institution in the village ever since. Oh, sometimes activity has waned a bit, ebbing and flowing like tide; but this January the Iron Age celebrated its 66th anniversary with a big banquet in the Temperance Hall. After the appetizing supper the members presented a lively programme of music and readings, and the requisite speeches.

Iron Age built its hall in 1860 in partnership with the School Trustees, and it has stood at the centre of the community for over 45 years, a location not only for Division meetings, but also for every kind of lecture, social, supper, play and concert imaginable. For over ten years the lower floor was used as the school house, until the number of scholars outgrew the premises and a new school was built on Hustler Hill.

The Temperance Hall in Great Village. It was used as the I.O.O.F. Hall for awhile and today it is the Community Hall.

Since the first days of the Iron Age, its membership has been steady, averaging 80 (meetings averaging around 50, so the occasions are truly social events). The Iron Age did not admit women until 1871, though prior to this time women could attend as visitors. The admittance of women was controversial, and some members withdrew rather than submit to “petticoat government.” But now women are full members, holding many of the offices, and no one thinks anything of it. Indeed, many of the men acknowledge that without women the Iron Age Division would not be as active as it is now.

The Sons of Temperance also supports the Band of Hope for the children and young people. Great Village has always had an active band pointing youth in the community in the right direction.(2)

The Iron Age is more than just a temperance organization. It has always strived to be a social and educational force in Great Village. There is a good deal of socializing with other divisions in the area ─ the Steel Edge Division at Acadia Mines, the Riverside Division at Portapique, or the divisions from Bass River, Glenholme and Truro. Great Village has also hosted meetings of the District Division and the Grand Division of Nova Scotia. One of the most popular activities is for members to pile into a sleigh or hay wagon, or, in these days of modernization, to motor to a neighbouring town where the local division will host a supper or an evening musicale. Such invitations are always reciprocal.

In 1878 the Iron Age established a newspaper, The Stray Sunbeam, which was filled with interesting matter, composed of “prose, poetry and funnyisms.” In the 1890s, it published a weekly newspaper called The Iron Age Intelligencer, a successor to another short-lived journalistic effort, The Cork Screw, which the division published in 1888-1889. The division no longer publishes a newspaper, but it sponsors many lectures and debates at the hall. This evening the members have organized a series of spelling matches for the young folks who do not want to go to the missionary lecture at the Presbyterian church. Spelling bees are so popular in Great Village that some of the best, most competitive spellers in the county live here. The division’s weekly meetings, Thursday nights, are suspended for the summer; but it will continue to have special events, like this “bee” until fall resumes the regular schedule.

In November 1889 a branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union was organized in Great Village. While women are active members and officers of Iron Age, the W.C.T.U. has not wanted for members of its own, and has been a steady organization since its founding. While its focus takes in temperance issues, the W.C.T.U. also engages in charitable activities. One of its programmes is the Flower Mission, and the attention to the sick and shut-ins of the community is laudable. The W.C.T.U. also has close ties with the Women's Missionary Societies of both the Baptist and Presbyterian churches and often co-sponsor lectures from visiting missionaries. The W.C.T.U. usually meets Wednesday afternoons, but because of the lecture this evening, the ladies have decided to waive the gathering until next week, and support the lecture with as many of their members as possible.

Temperance in Great Village continues to flourish. There are no establishments in the area which sell liquor. The Elmonte House is respectably dry.(3) There are bootleggers and moonshiners in the mountains around, and drinking has not vanished completely. Indeed, even some of the most abstemious Baptists will have a hot toddy on cold winter nights, strictly for medicinal purposes, of course; and sometimes on a hot summer afternoon, when the ladies gather for this or that meeting, a raspberry cordial or dandelion wine is served. But with the Iron Age and the W.C.T.U. doing its steady work, drunkenness is the exception rather than the rule in the village.

Notes

1. The Canada Temperance Act or Scott Act (so named because of its sponsor, Secretary of State R.W. Scott) became federal statute in 1878. It provided the framework for communities to hold elections to bring the act into force. The act was quickly adopted by many Maritime municipalities, though enforcement was always problematic and inconsistent (Davis, 46-7).

2. In her memoir, “Memories of Uncle Neddy,” Elizabeth Bishop remembered the pledge of the Iron Age Band of Hope, which her uncle, Arthur Bulmer (called Uncle Neddy), could recite to her from memory, “although he had broken it heaven only knows how many times by then”:

Trusting in help from heaven above
We pledge ourselves to works of love,
Resolving that we will not make
Or sell or buy or give or take
Rum, Brandy, Whiskey, Cordials fine,
Gin, Cider, Porter, Ale or Wine.
Tobacco, too, we will not use
And trust that we may always choose
A place among the wise and good
And speak and act as Christians should.

Bishop wrote, “but why ‘Iron Age’? Uncle Neddy didn’t know and I never found out” (Collected Prose, 234-5).

3. The Royal Canadian Legion in Great Village is a dry legion even today.

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Musical Notes, The MacLachlan Family

Far and wide in Colchester County and beyond, Great Village has a well-founded reputation as a musical place. Music is part of nearly every gathering of villagers from church services to temperance society meetings. “The Maple Leaf Forever” and “God Save the King” are sung every morning in the school; military bands, Boy Scouts and Foresters have filled the streets with patriotic airs on parade; and of an evening the strains of a violin or piano can be heard in many a home. It could be a musicale or simply one of the youngsters practising their lessons. Many of the children and young people in Great Village take piano lessons, and one of their favourite teachers is Alberta E. MacLachlan (née Layton). Mrs. MacLachlan has been giving piano and voice lessons in the village for some years. She also directs the choirs of the Presbyterian and Baptist churches ─ and her success is attested by the congregations, which some say have swelled because of the guarantee of fine hymn singing. Under Mrs. MacLachlan’s able tutelage the fame of the village as a centre of musical talent and expression has certainly grown.

The MacLachlan family is a highly musical one. Mrs. MacLachlan’s husband, Donald, is a violinist and fiddler much in demand for concerts and square dances all along the shore. He also has a fine tenor voice which all audiences enjoy. With Mrs. MacLachlan’s own advanced accomplishment as a pianist, this household, with its flock of bairns, is festive indeed. The oldest children, Thomas, Annie and Margaret, are all well on their way to mastering the piano, showing definite signs of having inherited the musical ability of their parents, and nothing less is expected of the younger children.(1)

Don and Bertie, as their friends call them, were married in December 1899, and friends and family rejoiced not only in the couple’s happiness, but also in their own delight that two such musical young people were joined together, a perfect duet. Mr. MacLachlan operates a small but busy farm on Scrabble Hill road and Mrs. MacLachlan oversees their bustling household and growing family of six children: Thomas, Annie, Margaret, Harland, Muir and Donalda.(2)

The MacLachlan family in Great Village

Even in the midst of all the tasks and chores such an active farm and family demand during the day, the MacLachlans regularly find time to attend neighbours’ musicales and to host musicales in their own home. On Monday next Mrs. William DesBrisay (Bertie and Annie are related) has invited them to her final gathering before she leaves for the West in July. A grand musical night it will be as Mrs. DesBrisay is a fine pianist herself. The MacLachlans are planning to have some friends in for an evening’s entertainment to mark Dominion Day in two weeks’ time. Rev. Gillespie’s brother James will be in town. James Gillespie is another accomplished violinist who villagers have got to know well since Rev. Gillespie arrived. James and Mr. MacLachlan have great fun performing together, and everyone present benefits, too! Tonight Mrs. MacLachlan is playing the organ in the church before Miss Harrison’s lecture. As is Mrs. MacLachlan’s way, she took time to ask Miss Harrison for a list of her favourite hymns so she could put together a programme to complement this much anticipated talk. It is not surprising that Mrs. MacLachlan is also in demand to play at all the Great Village weddings, and she obliges as often as she can, her rendition of Lohergrin’s Wedding March being one of the most frequent requests.(3)

Mr. MacLachlan is up bright and early this morning, as he always is, in the barn getting the chores done. He reminds himself that he must go check the new windmill he has built. Later in the morning he goes to Hill’s store, Ruth Hill having told him that the new rakes and a scythe he ordered have arrived. A trip to Truro and the hubbub of the election yesterday kept him from picking them up. He also knows Ruth will have heard how things are at the Bulmers. Though there is quite a difference in their ages, Mr. and Mrs. MacLachlan are good friends with Will and Elizabeth Bulmer. Will has always been willing to give him a hand with extra work which comes up on the farm, and that is often. Mrs. MacLachlan has given Mary Bulmer many piano lessons over the years, and Mary can always be counted on to help out with the younger children when Mrs. MacLachlan has a full slate of piano students at the house.

The MacLachlan family home

Ruth tells him that Mr. Bulmer, Gertrude and Grace left early for Londonderry Station. Indeed, as Mr. MacLachlan puts his rakes and scythe in the back of his wagon, he sees Will Bulmer drive down the hill and across the bridge. Mr. MacLachlan walks over to the yard and gives Will a hand unharnessing the horse. Will says the train was a few minutes late and very full, but Gertie and Grace got off okay. He doesn’t say much else, but Mr. MacLachlan doesn’t expect him to. They chat about the election, the weather, the horses.

Towards tea time as he comes from the barn, Mr. MacLachlan sees Elizabeth, Gertrude’s daughter, marching proudly behind the Bulmer’s cow Nelly, bringing her home from Chisholm's pasture. Mr. MacLachlan knows the cow could just as easily find her own way down the hill, but he thinks the Bulmers are wise to give the wee child something purposeful to do. He already has Harland and Muir help him out in the barn. He smiles and waves at her. She waves back with a big smile of her own, and runs quickly to keep up with the cow. As he washes up at the sink he talks quietly to Bertie who is setting the table. Margaret is in the parlour practising on the piano. Annie helps her mother with the cooking. Thomas is in his room studying for his exams. Mark has Harland and Muir in the hallway playing “farm” with their toy wagons and horses. Wee Donalda is in her highchair waiving a spoon, like a conductor, he thinks and smiles to himself. Looking around at this little tribe he grows thoughtful and says to Bertie that he hopes Gertie will soon get better.(4)

Notes
1. Thomas MacLachlan went on to a career as a composer, musician and music teacher in the United States, living for most of his life in New York State.

2. Muir MacLachlan was an exact contemporary of Elizabeth Bishop. When Bishop entered Grade Primary in the Great Village school in September 1916, Muir was one of her classmates. She wrote of their encounter in “Primer Class”: “When I went home the first day and was asked who was in Primer Class with me, I replied, ‘Manure MacLaughlin [sic],’ as his name sounded to me. I was familiar with manure ─ there was a great pile of it beside the barn ─ but of course his real name was Muir, and everyone laughed. Muir wore a navy-blue cap, with a red-and-yellow maple leaf embroidered above the visor” (Collected Prose, 8-9). In 1973, on another visit to Great Village, Bishop encountered Muir again. She wrote to Loren MacIvor, “Nova Scotia was awfully nice. We went to Great Village and Muir MacClachlan [sic] in the MacClachlan General Store remembered me and he looks just as he did, aged 6 in ‘Primer Class,’ except for being bald” (One Art, 582). One son, Mark, had died of whooping cough in 1908, at the age of fourteen months. One more MacLachlan, Malcolm, was added to this lively family in 1917.

3. Though he continued to farm, in 1919 Donald MacLachlan opened a store on the east side of the Great Village River in partnership with his brother-in-law A.G. Benson. Donald’s wife also helped out in the store over the years. In 1920 Donald took over the business entirely and operated it until 1930, when Muir MacLachlan took the helm, and, along with his wife Helen, steered a prosperous course until he retired in 1981. The building which housed the MacLachlan’s store still stands in Great Village, and is now a convenience store. In his old age Donald was a familiar figure on the streets of the village riding his bicycle to the store. Donald MacLachlan died in 1955. Alberta MacLachlan died in 1968.

Donald and Muir's store


4. Elizabeth Bishop was deeply fond of the MacLachlans, though she never seems to have been able to spell their name correctly. She includes them in “In the Village” (under the name McLean, an easier one to spell): “We pass the McLeans’, whom I know very well. Mr. McLean is just coming out of his new barn with the tin hip roof and with him is Jock, their old shepherd dog, long-haired, black and white and yellow” (Collected Prose, 263). The story of the deaf dog, which comprises much of the “In the Village” encounter, may have had a contemporary source (i.e., in 1916); but in 1946, when Bishop visited Great Village, she encountered the MacLachlans and their dog and wrote about it to Marianne Moore in a letter dated August 29. This encounter came only a few years before Bishop wrote “In the Village” and clearly influenced that story: “I went to call on a family in the Village, the MacLaughlins [sic], and as I can up Mr. Mac was coming out of the barn with another farm collie ─ a very old one, his face was all white. He came up to me wagging his tail and barking in a very loud rather hollow-sounding way and Mr. Mac said to him, ‘Stop it, Jackie!’ and then to me, in a sort of polite aside behind his hand, ‘He’s stone deaf.’ We went in the house and as soon as I sat down Jackie promptly brought in a very old small bone and dropped it at my feet. Mrs. Mac shouted at him, ‘That’s very hospitable of you, Jackie, but take it away!’ and then said to me in the same polite aside, in a lowered voice, ‘He’s stone deaf.’ I asked how old he was and they said about fifteen. ‘Yes,’ said Mrs. Mac. ‘Last winter they said we’d never keep him through the winter. But he has a very good winter, yes, a very good winter, didn’t he, Don? He went to the woods with Don every day, and he only had rheumatism in one leg.’ And they both sat back and looked at him admiringly” (One Art, 140).

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Great Village School

“Me thinks that any person who was in Great Village last Saturday, would have said that the small boy, who wrote the essay on Great Village and said that the principal exports were school teachers, spoke truly.” So quipped an observer in January 1899, noting the names of a baker’s dozen of young people heading off to take up their posts at schools near and far.

Great Village has had a school since the early 1810s, and so good has been the pedagogy conducted in them that dozens and dozens of its students have gone into the teaching profession. It has been generally believed by villagers and many other folks that no township with the same population in Nova Scotia can boast sending out more well-qualified teachers than Great Village.

Every July a new crop of students write the license exam and go out among communities far and wide to teach another generation. In July 1899 the same observer noted, “We think that it is creditable to our Village that we can send out in the neighbourhood of twenty teachers every year.” Their quantity and quality has not diminished in recent years, though, of course, the war has taken away some of the lads who might embark on the teaching path; but the young ladies keep up the statistics.(1)

This year a number of young folks are trying for their licenses: Misses Marion Williams, Isabel Blaikie, Martha Peppard, Irma Geddes, Annie Starritt, Edna and Mamie Robinson, and one lad, Tom MacLachlan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald MacLachlan. At the moment, the students are preparing to write the Provincial High School exam. In July they go to Truro for the license exam. The success of the teachers in Great Village speaks to the excellence of the education which has been available to them for decades.

The school house in the village has been as mobile as the teachers themselves. In the early 1810s the first school house was built of logs and stood opposite where the Presbyterian manse now stands, on the land now owned by Isaac McKim, on the Old Cumberland Road. This spot became known as “School House Hollow.” Later on, this building was moved up the road a bit and became an ell on the house now owned by Mr. and Mrs. MacLachlan. As the village grew two schools were needed and in the 1830s one was placed on the hill near the present home of Mrs. James Corbett, and the other near the property now owned by Mrs. Henry Trott. In 1860 the hall now owned by the Iron Age Division Sons of Temperance was built, the lower part being used for a school of two departments, and the upper part used for a Town Hall and public meeting place. At one time, there was also a school at the end of the road leading to Spencer’s Point.

In 1874 a new school was built on Hustler Hill opposite the Baptist church, and students from the nearby communities came to the village for their lessons. This school was a lively, active place for decades, establishing the strong tradition of concerts, theatricals and pageants which continues in the new consolidated school, which was built in 1904. The Hustler Hill school became too small and inadequate, so in 1903 tenders were issued for the construction of the lovely, big building which now houses the students. The contract was given to John Adams, and the work employed many men in the area. Dr. J.L. Peppard was the Chairman of the District School Board and it was his indefatigable zeal which proved the key in Great Village getting such a fine school. This new school opened on November 8, 1904, with much pomp and ceremony. The festivities commenced early in the afternoon and concluded at 10 o’clock in the evening. Revs. Miller and Crawford participated as well as Dr. Peppard, F.A. Lawrence, M.P., Revs. G.A. Lawson and J.L. Dawson, Dr. A.H. MacKay, the Superintendent of Education, Mr. L.C. Harlow, Inspector Craig, Mr. Percy Shaw, R.C. Hill, and a host of others.

The New Great Village School and its students, circa 1905

In 1914 the students of the school produced their first High School Annual. Miss Mary Bulmer wrote a history of the school and it is only right that we let her describe the benefits of the current building: “The school-house is situated in the centre of the village and is a very pretty locality, being near Mr. Peppard’ mill pond, which in the winter affords good skating. From the upper windows there is a good view of the Great Village River and the marshes. The school-house is a square, two-storey building, painted white. It is well finished throughout, the floors being of oiled hardwood. It has four rooms, two on each floor. These are well lighted and well ventilated. On the second floor there is a small library and a chemical laboratory, three of the rooms are in use for class purposes, while the other is used for Manual Training and Basket Ball. The basement is concrete and is under the entire building. The heading is done by two large wood furnaces. At the front of the school-house is a large play-ground, while at the back is the school garden and tool-house.”(2)

This year the students are planning to have a new edition of the Annual ready for distribution at the Christmas concert.

Great Village High School Annual, 1916

The school has three excellent teachers this year. The principal and head of the Advanced Dept. is Mr. R.N. Bagnell. The Intermediate Dept. is overseen by Miss Ruth Peppard. The wee tots of the Primary Dept. are taught by the capable Miss Georgie Morash.(3) Nova Scotia teachers are kept up to date with Institutes, held regularly during the year. The Great Village school is the site of the Institute for West Colchester and Great Village teachers often are asked to give the lessons. This October Mr. Bagnell is going to conduct the chemistry class and Miss Peppard will give the lessons in arithmetic and commercial geography.

The Great Village teachers are enthusiastic and encouraging and keep their students busy with all sorts of activities besides the regular reading, writing and arithmetic. The students love to get up concerts. One of the most enjoyable is the spring concert with its drills. In March an especially good drill concert occurred. The Primary Dept. did a Doll Drill, the Intermediate Dept. did the Maple Leaf and Scarf Drills, and the young ladies of the Advanced Dept. performed a Flower Drill. There is also a public presentation by the school children on Empire Day in May. This presentation is part of a programme put on by other groups in the community. This year the students marched in costume to the Temperance Hall and gave recitations and songs. The big concert, however, is the one at Christmas, and it takes months to prepare and practice the tableaux, skits, readings and songs. The students are able to raise money for books for the library or equipment for the laboratory with this event.

At this time of year, school work is winding down as the students prepare for the Provincial and license exams. With the warm weather of late the students have been spending lots of time outside in their school garden and also at their physical education activities. There is not only a keenness for theatricals among the students, but also for sports. And one can always see some of the lads and lasses practicing track and field or playing baseball in the yard.

Great Village Graduation Class, 1906. Grace Bulmer, standing third from right. Una Layton, standing, second from right. Georgie Morash, seated, centre. Courtesy of Acadia University Archives

Mary Bulmer is one of the most popular young ladies in the school. Like her classmates, she is preparing for exams. Today is different though. It is a difficult day for Mary, upset and embarrassed about Gertie’s leaving for the hospital. She decides to take a day off school and study and go fishing. Just after the wagon with her father, Gertie and Grace leaves for Londonderry Station, an automobile drives up to the front of the Bulmer house and Mary hurries out with a basket of food and a fishing pole. She’s off with Wendell Anderson, Harold Firman and Leslie Geddes. They are heading to Isaac’s Lake to catch their maximum allotment of trout, if they can. It is a day’s outing for the young folks. Her friends know that it will help cheer Mary up to be casting her line in the calm waters of the lake. She competes with the lads for the most trout, and usually wins easily. After all, she has taken lessons from her brother, Arthur, who can find trout in any puddle.

Notes

1. The History of Great Village, printed in 1960, lists 115 Great Villagers who entered the teaching profession. The heyday of teachers in Great Village was from the 1890s to the 1920s. A good number of young women also went into nursing, the other principal profession for them in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The History of Great Village lists nearly 40 women from the village who become nurses, including five women from the Bulmer family: Gertrude, Grace and Mary, and their nieces Eleanor and Hazel.

2. In 1997 the Great Village School was designated a Provincial Heritage Property. It is still used as a school today, one of the only buildings of that era operating as such.

3. Georgie Morash, a contemporary of Elizabeth Bishop’s beloved Aunt Grace, was Bishop's Primary teacher in 1916-1917. Bishop’s memory of Georgie was vivid, as revealed in her memoir about this inaugural pedagogical experience, “Primer Class”: “That was our teacher’s name, Georgie Morash. To me she seemed very tall and stout, straight up and down, with a white starched shirtwaist, a dark straight skirt, and a tight, wide belt that she often pushed down, in front, with both hands. Everything, back and front, looked smooth and hard; maybe it was corsets. But close to, what I mostly remember abut Miss Morash, and mostly looked at, were her very white shoes, Oxford shoes, surprisingly white, white like flour, and large, with neatly tied white laces....Miss Morash always carried her pointer. As she walked up and down the aisles, looking over shoulders at the scribblers or slates, rapping heads, or occasionally boxing an ear, she talked steadily, in a loud, clear voice. This voice had a certain fame in the Village. At dinner my grandfather would quote what he said he had heard Miss Morash saying to us (or even to me) as he drove by that morning, even though the schoolhouse was set well back from the road” (Collected Prose, 7-8).

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Commerce and Contemplation: The Laytons and the Hills

The heart of Great Village lies just beyond the bridge, the spot where, as some villagers say with a smile, “all roads meet.” Actually, it is just three roads. It is the spot where the road from Truro and the road from Parrsboro link up. It is known as the Old Post Road, the principal highway for over a hundred years. Here, too, the Old Cumberland Road begins. This road takes folks up Scrabble Hill and through the Cobequid Mountains. At this convergence of roads is the common or green, the hub of village life ─ especially worship and business. The Presbyterian church towers over all activities, reminding people what is vital for well-being; but it has its say only one day a week. All around it the hustle and bustle of commerce is conducted the other six days.

Much of this commerce is conducted by two prominent families in Great Village: the Laytons, staunch Baptists, and the Hills, strong Presbyterians. The Laytons and Hills operate successful mercantile firms, providing villagers with just about everything they need and want, from apples to zippers.

The Layton store is located right at the corner, where the Old Post Road makes its right angle turn from Truro to Parrsboro. The Hill store is across the common, near the church on the Old Cumberland Road. With Arthur Bulmer’s tinsmith shop opposite it (on the corner of the Old Post and Old Cumberland Roads ─ a spot once known as Tan Bark Corner, when his father William Bulmer ran his tannery), the hub of Great Village is a lively place.

Both these firms have been operating for over forty years, and one could say Great Village wouldn’t be the same without them. Nearly every villager takes time out of his or her day to stop by the stores ─ they might drop off some eggs for credit, buy some thread or shoe polish, or inquire of the latest news, or gossip. Like the post office, the stores are the places to get the most up-to-date information on just about anything. Today everyone is talking about the election. Whatever the reason, rarely does anyone pass by the stores without stopping, even if it is just to say Hello.

L.C. Layton & Sons Limited

The year is 1774 and a hardy band of Yorkshire settlers, aboard the ship Two Friends, lands in Halifax. On board is Francis Layton, his wife and infant son. Also on board is John Bulmer, his wife and three brothers. Though they settle in different areas of Nova Scotia, the Layton and Bulmer families continue to have strong ties with each other, and eventually, branches of these families come together again in Great Village.

Francis Layton settled his family at Mount Denson, Hants County. In 1801 his son, also named Francis, married Abigail Stevens of Onslow, Colchester County, and they moved to Great Village. Francis Layton (2nd) was a blacksmith and farmer and the Layton home, situated on Layton’s Hill, was a stopping place for travellers. Francis and Abigail were Baptists and it is said that the first Baptist services in Great Village were held in their home.

Francis and Abigail had thirteen children. While many of them remained in Great Village, one of their sons, Jacob, moved to Upper Stewiacke (an area where some of the Bulmers also settled). Jacob raised his family there. As an old man, however, in the late 1860s, he returned to Great Village, bringing two of his sons, L.C. and A.N. Layton.

Mr. L. Carson Layton was born in Upper Stewiacke in 1848, so when he arrived in Great Village he was a young man with energy and ambition. He attended school in Upper Stewiacke and Truro, after which he began in the business world as clerk with the late Sheriff L.J. Crowe of Truro. He gave up this work to teach for a couple of years at Upper Stewiacke and Lornevale. Following this he spent a year with B. Douglas & Co., general dealers, of Amherst. By 1870, when he reached Great Village, he set up shop for himself as a merchant. In 1870 Great Village was a bustling community with shipbuilding reaching its height, employing many men and bringing continuous prosperity to the area. Mr. Layton began his business with a ready market and he prospered too.

Mr. Layton’s first premises were located in the building which now is occupied as a residence by Arthur Bulmer and his family, right next door to the tinsmith shop. But soon Mr. Layton moved across the common to the building the store now occupies. Mr. Layton opened his store in May 1870. In 1874 he joined in partnership with his brother-in-law, J.A. McDorman, and Layton & McDorman operated until 1898, when Mr. McDorman retired. In 1912 Mr. Layton brought into the business his three sons, Max, Raleigh and Welsford, and L.C. Layton & Sons Limited was born.

L.C. Layton's Store

From the beginning Mr. Layton not only exported and sold local produce (potatoes, apples, lumber), but also imported an extensive range of dry goods and merchandise. One of his early handbills announced, “We are now receiving from English, American and Canadian Markets a well selected stock of general goods, suitable to the country trade comprising dry goods, French merinos, lustres, winceys, cotton, flannels, fancy woolen goods, hats, hat and bonnet flowers, and a good assortment of fancy small wares.” This advertisement also announced that the firm accepted butter, eggs, pork, feathers, oats, cloth, yarn and other local products in exchange for goods. Barter was alive and well in the country trade of the day. Today, these goods are exchanged for credit, an amount of money which is used towards the purchase of other goods in the store. Wanting only the best and most relevant merchandise for his customers, Mr. Layton himself made regular trips to England to buy his wares. He also regularly visits the “Sample Room” at the Elmonte House.

From the beginning Mr. Layton’s motto was always “a square deal” ─ and his honesty and integrity have earned him the best respect of his many patrons. One amusing story which he still tells is that in the early years of the business a man gave a hearse as payment on his bill. Mr. Layton thought the hearse was worth $2.00, but he was offered only $1.00 for it by another fellow. After some discussion they agreed to split the difference and Mr. Layton got $1.50!

Ever the entrepreneur, Mr. Layton offers the market what is most in demand. One of the most popular additions to the store was a millinery shop, which Miss Eleanor Spencer has been operating for some years, in a cosy room off the main part of the store. Many a fine hat has walked out of Layton’s store. There has always been a tailor and shoemaker in the village, and the ladies’ heads cannot be neglected. Mr. Layton was also one of the first in the village to install a telephone in his store in the 1880s. In 1898 he modernized his home with the same convenience. Moreover, Mr. Layton was a firm believer in the power of advertising, and continues to be a liberal user of the printer's ink, his advertisements being regular features in the columns of all the local newspapers.

Mr. Layton has not only been an active businessman but he has also been a dedicated citizen. He has been a deacon in the Baptist church since his arrival in the village, and superintendent of its Sunday School for almost as many years. He immediately joined the Iron Age Division, Sons of Temperance, and has held numerous offices in that organization. He is one of the staunchest supporters of its principals. He was involved in the Reform Club when it was active in the late years of the last century. Mr. Layton is ever ready to assist his friends, neighbours and customers when they are in need. His own family of three sons and two daughters (Una and Elsee) are equally generous and active. Una is a nurse and has spent time in Boston training and working. She is home right now, but intends going back to the States soon. Elsee is going to Acadia College in September. Both are lively and bright young women with promising futures. The Laytons own one of the few automobiles in the Village and it is a common sight to see Welsford or Max motoring about with one of their sisters. Invariably, they are accompanied by friends or neighbours, who need a ride.

The Laytons are often involved in raising money for the Baptist church and its various organizations. Some of the most anticipated events in the village are the musicales and concert nights held at the large Layton house. As with most other folks in the village, music and song are never far from any gathering at their hospitable home.

The Layton family home

Mr. Layton is always keen to keep his business au courant. Earlier this year he did considerable concrete work around the store ─ clearly L.C. Layton & Sons Limited is a solid establishment which is here to stay for awhile. He also painted the inside of the store, a fresh sparkling white, which makes it look cheery and bright.(1)

Mr. Layton is always at the store bright and early, but this morning he is a bit behind schedule. The excitement of the election yesterday kept him up later than usual, and last evening he also paid a visit to the Bulmers. The Laytons and the Bulmers have a long standing connection. The Two Friends, which brought their ancestors from Yorkshire, speaks aptly of their relation ─ these families are friends. When Jacob and his sons returned to Great Village, L.C. met William Bulmer and Elizabeth Hutchinson, who married only a few months after the young entrepreneur set up shop. L.C. himself was not long a bachelor. And their families grew up together. The store being right next door to the Bulmer house meant daily contact. And Sundays saw the families worshipping and socializing at the Baptist church. Mrs. Bulmer and Mrs. Layton were active in the Missionary, Sons of Temperance and W.C.T.U. societies, and entertained each other frequently in their homes. Their children ─ five in each family ─ are close, especially the daughters. Una and Grace are especially good friends, and have shared the experience of nurse’s training in Boston.

During this past winter, when Gertrude was so ill, Mr. Layton was called to the Bulmer house on a number of occasions to help try to calm her down. Gertrude is very fond of Mr. Layton and responds to his gentle but practical manner. He is a no-nonsense sort of fellow. Mr. Layton is also very fond of Gertrude, having watched her grow up. She was always running into the store to say hello, and more than once he’d give her a humbug, her favourite candy. Mr. Layton doesn’t sell as much candy these days, but he always takes Gertrude some humbugs. That’s why he went last night, to give her a bag to take on the train. Just after the polls closed and before the results started coming in, he went over to the house with Elsee. Gertrude was calm, but he could tell she was interested in the election and wanted to discuss it. But he knew it would only agitate her. So they didn’t stay long.

This morning he keeps checking out his office window, which looks towards the bridge, to see when William, Gertrude and Grace set off for Londonderry Station. Along with the humbugs, Mr. Layton took a little doll for Gertrude’s daughter. The wee Elizabeth would be upset to see her mother leave. But Mr. Layton knows well that the Bulmers are the kindest of people, and she will be well cared for.

Amos A. Hill Limited

There has been a store where the Hill brothers operate their establishment since before the 1850s. It was first owned and operated by R.N.B. McLellan. In 1859 Amos A. Hill and Suther Spencer joined the firm and McLellan, Hill and Spencer did business until 1872. At that time Mr. Hill took sole ownership of the store, and Amos A. Hill Limited has been operating ever since. This business conducted a busy trade especially with the farmers in the area, not surprising since Mr. Hill’s sons, Barry and Lucius, who took over the business in the 1890s, along with their sister Ruth, are two of the most active farmers in Great Village. Hill’s store offers a wide range of grocery and dry goods, but they also retail in hardware and farm equipment.

Hill's Store

Barry P. Hill is one of the most active breeders of Guernsey cows in the area, having caught T.D. Blaikie’s fever for these productive bovines. The cream from his herd of a dozen cows goes directly to the Blaikie creamery, but his biggest trade is in buying, breeding and selling stock. Like Mr. Blaikie, Barry Hill is winning lots of prizes for his Guernseys. Lucius Hill spent two years in California at the end of the 1890s, but couldn't stay away from home for long. He is more involved in the operation of the store than his brother, but he is also busy with animals. His love is horses and horse racing. One of his best is Captain Purdy by Captain Aubrey. Lucius Hill is always talking horses with the fellows who stop into the store. Miss Ruth Hill works as the main clerk at the store. She and her brother Barry live in the old family home, just behind the store and church, the lovely rambling Hill house, up on the little hill. Lucius, who was married in 1905, lives in a cosy cottage on Pleasant St.

Ruth is a friendly, pleasant woman. She attended the Ladies College in Sackville, N.B., and her gentle manner brings a touch of real class to the store. She is active in many community organizations. One of her favourites was the Literary Society. She hosted many meetings of this merry band when it was at its height just before the war. She also helps out regularly at the church. Barry and Lucius Hill are active with the I.O.O.F, Barry serving as treasurer for this secret brotherhood.

Like Layton’s, Hill’s store is experiencing prosperous times. The business went through a rough patch at the turn of the century, but the brothers turned things around. They have been busy with renovations to the building. They added a concrete platform for unloading goods, and put an extension on the back for storage. There was real excitement when they installed a large refrigerator, a still uncommon machine in the village. Lucius Hill has also built a new barn, which he painted as green as his fields. Barry Hill made extensive renovations on the barn at the home place, and has one of the finest farms in the village, rivalling Will Bowers’s place. Everything in the Hill barn is 20th century.(2) The Guernseys even have their own individual cups for feed and water.

The Hills are also very close neighbours and friends with the Bulmers. Indeed, Ruth and Gertrude are the same age and are best friends. They sat together in school all the while they were growing up. Lucius’s son Seth is the best friend of Arthur Bulmer’s only boy Billy. They are almost inseparable. Like the Laytons, the Hills have been concerned about the troubles the Bulmers have had lately. Ruth has been in to see Gertrude nearly every day for some weeks.

Gertrude Bulmer Bishop standing in front of the Hill family home

Ruth herself opens up the store in the morning. All the hubbub about the election has left the front stoop littered, so she’s out sweeping up the debris. She sees Mr. Layton open up. They wave. Ruth knows he too is only partly paying attention to his usual morning tasks, because William is outside getting his horse and wagon harnessed. Ruth notices Dr. Johnson’s automobile out front. She thinks to herself several times during the busy day that she will write to Gertrude while she is at the hospital. Surely they will allow letters. And surely Gertie won’t be there very long. She has much reason to get well ─ not the least of which is that darling little girl of hers, who is always lingering at the store windows, curious about the displays Ruth puts there, a new one every week in the summertime.

Notes

1. Layton’s store was designated a Provincial Heritage Property in November 1989. A celebration of this designation took place in Great Village in August 1990. The store received national heritage recognition a few years later.

2. The Hill brothers set up the first electric light company in G.V. in 1922, the Village Light & Carbon Co. Limited.

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: Miss Eleanor Spencer, the Milliner

It is not surprising, considering all the concerts, lectures and meetings, the parties, musicales and balls, the teas, suppers and church services held in Great Village, that the ladies and gentlemen, young and not so young, are concerned with the latest fashions. At any one of these gatherings, when the village turns out in force, the sight is impressive: men in their dark vested or elegant pin-stripe suits, the laddies in their Highland regalia, the ladies in their long skirts and full-sleeved embroidered blouses, the young girls in their starched shirt waists, and the wee tots in their sailor suits. But what is most impressive about a congregation of Villagers ─ or just a view of them strolling along the street ─ is their hats. The folks in Great Village love hats, and the person who keeps them well supplied is Miss Eleanor Spencer, milliner extraordinaire.

No one quite remembers which came first, Miss Spencer’s talent, which converted the village to bonnets, turbans, fedoras, panamas or straws; or the villager’s passion for chapeaux, which convinced Miss Spencer to set up shop and fill the great demand. Miss Spencer does a booming business.(1)

Miss Eleanor, known to her close friends as Ellie, lives on Scrabble Hill Road just a few doors up from Hill’s store, on the other side of the street. She and her sister Cassie keep a trim and inviting little house the front window of which always displays some of Eleanor’s latest creations. But Miss Eleanor principally works out of Layton’s store. Mr. Layton, with his acumen for business, realized a few years ago the benefit of adding a millinery shop to the premises. Miss Eleanor herself is not only an artist of high standards, but she is also a good business woman. Every spring and fall she attends the various millenary openings in Halifax, Truro, and even as far as Moncton. One of the reasons the ladies of the village patronize her so thoroughly (after all, Truro is not so far away) is because she offers the latest styles of hats and trimmings with her own imaginative adaptations.

Scrabble Hill Road, Great Village, N.S.

Misses Eleanor and Cassie’s household is a busy one, not only with friends and customers, but also with their nieces. Their sister, Mrs. Henry MacLean, of Amherst, often sends her daughters to the village. Next week Miss Pearl MacLean, who teaches in Amherst, will be coming to spend a few weeks of her summer vacation with her aunts. Frequently, Miss Ollie MacLean makes flying visits from Truro. Both young ladies enjoy helping out with the shop and they are well-known around town as a result.

Today Miss Eleanor is taking a much deserved break from her busy days ─ the past few weeks have been a steady steam of ladies ordering and picking up new hats for the upcoming Dominion Day festivities. Miss Eleanor is motoring to Five Islands with Mrs. Truena Batchelder and Mrs. Beletta Urquhart for afternoon tea at Broderick’s Hotel. They are back in plenty of time for the lecture at the Presbyterian church.

The MacLachlan family wearing their Sunday-best hats


Miss Eleanor is up early because she must go over to Layton’s store as soon as it opens to put out several hats due to be picked up today. Since she will be away only for the day she has not asked any of the many young ladies in the village to tend the shop, a cosy room tucked in the corner of the store. Most of the young ladies in the village are eager to help her out, to spend time in the shop filled with ribbons, veils, bows, beads and feathers ─ and every style of hat imaginable. When she’s away at the openings she usually hires one of the Peppard or Johnson girls to tend. Cassie is always too busy just looking after the house and tending to the customers who stop by there.

As Miss Eleanor walks past the Presbyterian church towards Layton’s store, she glances at the Bulmer house. Everything is quiet there right now, but she knows that Mr. Bulmer and his daughters must be on their way to Londonderry Station ─ the train to Halifax at the Station arrives around 10:00 a.m. Mr. Layton is busy opening up the store and getting things sorted out after the hubbub of election day. Miss Eleanor thinks that the effort by suffragists in Canada to get women the vote is a good thing. The war has diverted everyone’s attention from this issue, but she sees all the war work women in the village are doing, knows it is replicated across Nova Scotia and the Dominion. She thinks it is about time women were allowed to vote. She says nothing of these thoughts to Mr. Layton, who greets her warmly, though he seems slightly sad. She knows how sorry he is about Gertrude Bishop’s illness.

After arranging the new hats and giving Mr. Layton the list and bills, Miss Eleanor walks back home. She waves to Ruth Hill bustling around inside Hill’s store. As she dresses for her outing she glances out the window and sees Gertrude’s little daughter Elizabeth run by trying to keep up with her cow, Nelly.(2) She thinks it is a good thing that the Bulmers are keeping the child’s routine intact. Usually that annoying creature ─ the cow ─ makes a shambles of the big lilacs at the front of the house, rubbing herself against them to swish off flies. But this morning the cow ambles by without even noticing the bushes. Elizabeth runs after her with the switch. As she comes into the kitchen, Cassie, who has seen them too, pours tea. They sit down to their late breakfast and discuss hats, elections and the sadness at the Bulmers. Miss Eleanor says that she thinks she’ll make a hat for the child, since she often sees her staring intently at the display in the window ─ a little sailor’s hat with a flowing bow at the back.(3) Truena and Beletta arrive just after 11:00 a.m. and the trio drives off in the big Chevrolet Truena tours around in everywhere, their faces veiled, their hats tied down securely with bright ribbons.

Notes

1. Not everyone in Great Village got a made-to-order hat from Miss Spencer. Elizabeth Bishop remembers one Great Village lady who created her own hats and created a sensation with them: “Mrs. F.’s hats were a joy to all church goers. I had heard the women in my family discuss them for many Sundays ─ usually in a hard hearted sort of way. The Francises lived about five miles out of the village up towards Peek-A-Boo and except for the marketing done once a week by Mr. Francis, [it] was usually their only trip to town. As if to make up for their scarcity by really impressing these visits upon the villagers, Mrs. F. had devised the wonderful idea of wearing a new hat every time ─ or at least as new as she could arrange it. Instead of wearing her heart on her sleeve Mrs. Francis twists hers on her head at different angles.” (“Reminiscences of Great Village”)

2. Elizabeth Bishop remembered Miss Spencer in “In the Village”: “We are approaching Miss Spencer’s house. Miss Spencer is the milliner the way Miss Gurley is the dressmaker. She has a very small white house with the doorstep right off the sidewalk. One front window has lace curtains with a pale-yellow window shade pulled all the way down, inside them; the other one has a shelf across it on which are displayed four summer hats. Out of the corner of my eye I can see that there is a yellow chip straw with little wads of flamingo-colored feathers around the crown, but again there is no time to examine anything.” (Collected Prose, 262)

3. Coincidentally, Eleanor Spencer died in October 1934, the same year that Gertrude Bulmer Bishop died. Her obituary read: “Miss Eleanor Lynds Spencer died at Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, on Tues. October 23rd at the age of 72 years. She had been ill since spring and entered the hospital about a month ago. She was a life long resident of Great Village, where for many years she had conducted a small millinery business. Miss Spencer was active in all church activities and had a gift for friendship which endeared her to a wide circle. She leaves in her immediate family one sister, Mrs. Henry MacLean, now of Halifax, but formerly of Glenholme. J.S. MacLean, the popular accountant at the Halifax Chronicle is a niece of the departed. The funeral service was held in St. James United Church Thursday afternoon and was attended by a large number including folk from Bass River, Shubenacadie, Truro, Halifax and Dartmouth. Rev. E.A. Kirker gave a brief but touching tribute to the departed and the choir sang “The Lord is My Shepherd” and “Peace, Perfect Peace.” Many floral tributes were further evidence of the place which Miss Spencer held in the hearts of her friends. Interment was in Great Village Cemetery.”

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: The Red Cross

With the coming of war in August 1914, most of the eligible young men in Great Village quickly signed up to go overseas. Many of them first drilled in Truro, then trained further at Aldershot or Valcartier. By early 1916, quite a few of the lads had already crossed the Atlantic to England, then the Channel to France.

Almost immediately the women of Great Village, like most of the other communities in Nova Scotia, got themselves organized to help the Red Cross,(1) which does such good work for all the boys in Europe. The overwhelming desire was to do something tangible to support the brave lads. Since the early months of 1915 the Great Village Red Cross Knitting and Sewing Society has been meeting every Monday evening.


Great Village has had a sewing club for decades. Mail order catalogues mean that some folks can order their clothes ready-made, and several village merchants offer a wide range of clothing and footwear, and the professional tailor and dressmakers have plenty to keep them busy; yet many families still must produce their own shirts and dresses and underwear. The village has some of the best seamstresses in the county. It only seemed logical and patriotic to carry over the work of the sewing club to war work. The war has swelled its ranks though, and since the first meeting a membership of over forty ladies, single and married, have been knitting and stitching at a great rate.

The Great Village Red Cross Society is only one of dozens in Nova Scotia, hundreds across the Dominion, giving thousands of women purposeful and practical work in aid of the war. To keep the boys warm, dry and clean, to bring them comfort of some kind, is an expression of patriotism its members fully endorse.


The army needs every pair of socks the members can knit and the Great Village ladies have already knit 215 pairs. But the society members do much more than knit socks. Members make surgical gowns, pyjamas, convalescent robes, pillow cases, and miles and miles of bandages and dressings. There has even been an occasional quilt. Every six months or so the members pack up the socks and bandages and ship them to headquarters in Halifax.

Each society raises all its own money to buy materials by holding suppers and sales. But there are also subscription drives for special projects. Last year a campaign was conducted by all the Red Cross Societies in Colchester County to buy machine guns for overseas. $3,000 was raised for the purchase of three Lewis guns. This local effort was part of a larger national one, which raised a large amount of money. This spring one of the guns was allotted to the 64th Battalion, Lieut. Col. J. Montgomery Campbell commanding. The other two guns went to the 40th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The Great Village Society is now conducting its own subscription campaign to raise money for the purchase of another gun, a Bren gun. A number of the young ladies are out and about collecting the money, and so far they have succeeded in getting over $50. The children of the Great Village school have pitched in wholeheartedly too, and are raising money by holding a fair and sports day, which includes an auction of old toys brought in by each child. It will take several more months to raise the full amount, but the Society hopes to forward the money early in 1917.(2)

Society members knit and sew in their homes every day, but the weekly meetings give them a chance to come together for encouragement, advice and even a bit of rivalry: who can knit socks the fastest? who can knit the most pairs of socks? Meetings are always lively social occasions, each member taking a turn hosting. Since the number is large this means the burden of entertaining comes to a member only once a year. A refreshment committee ensures the tea and sweets are plentiful for the always large turn out.

Great Village women have always gathered regularly because there are so many activities to bring them together: quilting bees, missionary and church meetings, temperance and literary societies. But the war has brought a stronger incentive to congregate. The meetings are times to support each other. Nearly all the members know a lad overseas: a son, a brother, a father, a nephew, a cousin, a neighbour, a friend. The meetings are a chance to talk about the latest news in the papers and share the letters which have started to come from the boys. The recent election has also generated lively debates among the ladies about the effort of suffragists to secure the vote for women. Opinion is about evenly divided among the ladies as to the necessity and benefits of this idea. Most women feel that getting too worked up about the vote is a distraction to war work, but some in the village feel that women are contributing so much to the war effort that they have proven their ability to take charge, organize and get results. A few even suggest that women are better at this sort of thing than men. These times are also for gossip and there is always singing. So many of the Great Village ladies are musical and nearly every home has a piano or organ. The hymns and patriotic songs can be heard after the knitting and sewing is put away and the strong tea and sweet cake is served. And the evening closes around 10:00 p.m. with “God Save the King.”

Mrs. Isaac McKim, Mrs. Lucius Hill, Mrs. R. Carter, Mrs Angus Johnson, Mrs. Boyd, Mrs. L.C. Layton, Mrs. James Peppard, Mrs. Cyrus Peppard, Mrs. Dr. T.R. Johnson, Mrs. Bernard Read, Mrs. Stewart Gould, Mrs. Robert Dill, Mrs. J.A. Blaikie, Mrs. A.G. Peppard, Mrs. William Bulmer, Mrs. Rev. Francis, Mrs. Fred Hill, Mrs. Lawrence Blair, Miss Harriet Carter, Mrs. Cyrus Peppard, Mrs. Carrie Spencer, Mrs. Edward Johnson. And the list goes on and on of the good ladies who are doing good work.

Today is not a meeting day; the ladies gathered at Mrs. Donald MacLachlan’s two nights ago. This very popular and talented woman played beautifully for the appreciative audience. Her “Abide With Me” made them all misty. Still, the members are busy because they are due to ship another box of goods to Halifax and several of them meet at Mrs. Albion Kent’s in the afternoon, a roll-up-the-sleeves packing session. One of the topics of conversation is Gertrude Bulmer’s departure. The story is that Gertie has been upset about all sorts of things, including the war and the agitation for the vote. Everyone knows where she is going, knows why Grace goes with her. When William comes back from Londonderry Station alone, around noon, he looks so sad. Most folks just nod or tip their hats and let him be. Several of the ladies intend to drop in to see Elizabeth Bulmer tomorrow, for they know she is feeling just as bad as Will.


The ladies also know that Grace herself is going back to the United States soon and will take up nursing duties in New York City for the American Red Cross. They have heard that Grace and Una Layton wanted to head overseas to do nursing work in England, but Elizabeth and Will objected. With Gertrude unwell, to have Grace so far away seemed just too much. Mrs. Kent tells the assembly that she spoke with Grace earlier in the week and though she’s disappointed, she understands her parents’ concern, and says she’ll still be able to do good work wherever she is. Grace is a most sensible young woman and always makes the best of any situation. Her nursing skills will be a boon to any branch of the Red Cross.

Notes

1. The Red Cross movement was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. He organized help for the wounded at the Battle of Solferino (1859), and wrote a book about his experiences which caused worldwide concern. Dunant’s work resulted in the signing of the First Geneva Convention (1864), which provided for the neutrality of medical personnel in war and humane treatment for wounded. The Red Cross was brought to Canada by George Sterling Ryerson, who, during the North-West Rebellion of 1885, used a red cross to protect his horse-drawn ambulance. In 1896 he organized a Canadian branch of the British Red Cross Society, which raised money during the Spanish American War and the South African War. The federal government passed the Canadian Red Cross Society Act in 1909, which established it as a corporate body. During World War I the Canadian Red Cross Society raised $35 million in relief. The society also maintained five hospitals in England and one in France. In 1927 the International Commission of the Red Cross recognized the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) as an independent national society, separate from the British organization. During World War II, the CRC contributed $80 million in goods and money. In 1986 The International Commission of the Red Cross changed its name to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. There are 175 recognized Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the world (Canadian Encyclopedia, p. 1982).

2. After the war the Great Village Red Cross Knitting and Sewing Society disbanded, but an auxiliary was set up which continued to provide comfort and support for the returning veterans. The need for the Red Cross was fully established and secured by the war, and it has been in active operation ever since, expanding its activities. During the 1920s, after her marriage to William W. Bowers, Grace Bulmer conducted many Red Cross nursing and first aid classes in Great Village and Glenholme.

[Ed. Note: Again, a reminder that you can read all the "A Day in the Life of Great Village" items by clicking on the Nova Scotia Connections link in the menu at the top.]

Nova Scotia Connections: A Day in the Life of Great Village: The Village Blacksmith

One of the busiest spots in Great Village is the blacksmith’s shop, run by Mayhew T. Fisher (folks call him Mate)(1), from Bass River. Mate came to the Village a couple of years ago, setting up in the shop once run by Oscar Hill, who’d been a farrier here for a number of years. Mate’s shop is near the green, just beside the Bulmer house ─ and the sound of his hammer and anvil can be heard for quite a distance on a still day. Even though automobiles are becoming more common, most everyone still has a wagon, buggy, or carriage and there are still many horses in the village and countryside ─ and all these horses need shoes. And with so many of Great Village's gentlemen into horse racing, Mr. Fisher’s shop is always hopping: the bellows creaking, the coals in the forge white hot and humming, the big barrels of water cooling the iron shoes with a sharp hiss and a burst of steam, and the hammer and anvil clanging their distinctive song.

Mayhew Fisher (right) at the door of his shop


While horseshoes are Mate’s biggest stock in trade, he also makes many other things, especially wheel rims and nails. He uses old mill stones to make the rims and they lie like monuments outside the shop's door.

Mate puts in long days, starting early in the morning. It is not uncommon to see a line of wagons along the road outside the shop. He’s doing such a thriving business these days that he's hired a young fellow, Mr. McBurnie, from Glenholme, to give him a hand. Even his brother, Leo, comes down from Bass River at times to help out.

There is another lad in the village who spends time at Mate’s shop, Eugene Layton, Harry Layton’s son. Eugene has been interested in smithing ever since he was a wee lad, and he has also been spending time at Charles MacLeod's blacksmith shop in Bible Hill. With the race track nearby Mr. MacLeod’s is one of the busiest shops in the district. Eugene is going to apprentice there when he graduates from school next year. When he’s not in school or out at Bible Hill he's at Mate's soaking up everything he can learn.(2)

The Great Village Blacksmith shop when it was owned by Oscar Hill

A blacksmith’s shop is a marvellous place with all the strange tools of the trade: nippers, clippers, cutters, clinchers, calipers, hammers, knives and nails. And the piles of iron bars out of which the horse shoes are fashioned. There are hundreds of types of horseshoes for racers, trotters, jumpers, pacers; for show and work horses; for use on snow and ice. Indeed, each horse gets shoes made especially for it, and when a horse has problems with its feet, therapeutic or corrective shoes are custom made. Depending on how much work or racing a horse does, shoes can last awhile or need regular replacing.

The most dramatic part of the process is the hammering out of the shoe. It is not really brute force which shapes the iron. Indeed, the blacksmith is an artisan, taking the raw iron, alternately heating and hammering it, and creating a shoe just right for each horse. To cool down the fiercely hot metal, big barrels of black water stand nearby. It is said that this water is a cure for freckles and poison ivy because it contains so much iron oxide.

Mate’s shop is also a gathering place in the village. While Mate is efficient and expert, making a horseshoe is not a speedy affair, so the fellows collect at the shop and talk about events of the day or latest war news. Today Mate expects quite a bit of discussion about the election. Mate is also known in the area as a reciter of poems. He comes from an artistic family, which includes a published poet or two. His favourite poet is Tennyson and he knows many of his poems by heart, as well as lots of traditional ballads. Mate has also been known to since a song or two, but he saves that mostly for when he’s by himself, though he knows the folks walking by the shop can hear him anyway. His wife has tried to convince him to participate in one of the many musicales that take place in the village, but he’s too busy, too tired at the end of the day to stand in someone’s parlour or in the church singing.

Arriving just about dawn, Mate busies himself getting the fire going so it will be hot enough for his first customer, C.B. Spencer. One of his Clydesdales has a sore foot and he has a load of stuff to take to Truro later in the day, so he needs his horse taken care of as soon as the coals are hot. As Mate goes about his morning's routine, he notices activity at the Bulmer house. The doctor comes by, then Rev. Francis, and Will is outside getting the horse and wagon harnessed. He knows he’ll be seeing Will and Nimble sometime soon, as Will mentioned a few days ago that the horse needs new shoes.

He feels sad for the Bulmers with their sick daughter. He knows it is a difficult thing. His mother-in-law has been ill for some time and his wife has been going up to Economy regularly to be with her. Illness is never easy, he thinks. He wonders if Gertrude’s little daughter will drop by later today. Ever since they came back to the village the wee child has been visiting his shop regularly. She’s quite a curious little thing and her smile brightens the dark shop. At first she was shy and would only peek in the doorway, but soon she ventured in and seemed to like just to stand and stare at all the activity, though she does so only when the gaggle of lads are not milling about right after school. When he’s not busy he makes her little rings out of horseshoe nails.

They’ve become good friends this past year, and his heart aches most for her, with her mother so unwell and now leaving for goodness knows how long. Later, he thinks, he'll make her a chain of rings with some of the old nails. He pauses at the forge for a moment to think about his wife, who expecting their first child. In time, they will have their own gaggle of little ones and he hopes that their own heath will hold so that they can bring them up.

Mate doesn’t see Will return from Londonderry Station, but when he’s out getting some air in the afternoon he sees the wagon beside the house. And he sees little Elizabeth playing with her dolls and that funny dog of hers under the trees. She doesn’t stop by the shop, though he thinks it would cheer her up if she did.

Notes

1. In her iconic story “In the Village,” Elizabeth Bishop calls him Nate.

2. Eugene Layton did indeed go onto become a farrier. After apprenticing with Charles MacLeod he set up shop in Great Village and ran his business for some years. Then Eugene headed for the United States where he ended up in Ithaca, NY, and joined the Veterinary College at Cornell University. For many years he taught the art and science of blacksmithing. He was regarded as the best farrier in the East and offered a rigorous training programme at Cornell, helping to keep the trade of blacksmithing alive and current well into the twentieth century. His expertise was sought by many in the world of horse racing. Through the years he shod a number of famous horses, including Bombs Away, Adois Betty and Bonny Brook Dean. He continued to makes visits back to Great Village for the rest of his life.

Art inspired by Elizabeth Bishop

If you read my earlier post about the Elizabeth Bishop birthday party, which was held this year on 12 February, you might remember that I mentioned being overwhelmed by a generous gesture of support by many friends, both near and far, overwhelmed by a gesture of support that had a direct, tangible and practical impact in my daily life. The gratitude I feel for this support is beyond words, though I have tried to express some of it directly to each person who participated in this group effort. Another lovely part of this gift came from the wonderful painter Susan Tooke, when she presented me with a painting of the Elizabeth Bishop House which she had done en plein air during the “Paint Great Village” weekend that took place on 5-6 June 2012. Paintings from this weekend (including the one Susan gave to me) were exhibited in Truro, N.S., in July-August 2012 and in Great Village, N.S, during the Elizabeth Bishop Arts Festival from 19-21 August 2012. I wanted to share an image of this lovely painting with you. You can see more of Susan’s amazing art on her website: www.susantooke.com. Thanks so Susan Kerslake for this picture.

Elizabeth Bishop House, painting by Susan Tooke

Another exciting development concerns the wonderful composer John Plant – an American whose home is now in Head of Jeddore, N.S. John was actively involved in the EB100 celebrations: he composed fabulous settings of three Bishop poems for Suzie LeBlanc, “Sandpiper,” “Sunday 4 A.M.” and “In the Middle of the Road,” Bishop’s translation of a Carlos Drummond de Andrade poem. "Sandpiper" was performed at the Scotia Festival of Music in June 2012. "Sunday 4 A.M." and "In the Middle of the Road" were premiered at a finale concert for EB100 in Great Village in early October 2012. John has just launched a new website, www.johnplantmusic.com, and I wanted to let our readers know about it, in part because he has posted audio and visual recordings of the Elizabeth Bishop pieces – but for the most part because all of John’s work is exquisite and inspiring.