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December 1997
By Noreen Burney (Dean)
Before I start on the wonderful experiences that I had
in Nova Scotia, let me tell you a little about myself. I was born
in Edmonton, Alberta. Although I have been living in the US for some
time, I am still a Canadian citizen. Up until now, I have never been
east of Toronto, Ontario.
 As
far as I knew, until March this year, all my relatives, other than
my husband and children in Indiana and Florida, were west of Toronto
in Canada. I found that our family originated on this continent
in Nova Scotia. I am a direct descendant of the Dean, Eisan,
Garrett, Siteman and Webber families from the Eastern Shore
and Upper Musquodoboit area.
My trip started early on Friday, October 17, 1997 at the bus station
of Indianapolis, Indiana. I would rather have flown, but I am a
coward about flying (one near miss in a plane was enough for me).
The bus trip was rather an unhappy experience, but that's another
story. After missing my bus connection in Detroit, Michigan, the
bus company was very helpful and taxied another lady and I across
the border to Windsor, Ontario. I stayed over night there.
Saturday,
October 18, 1997 |
My
Canadian journey began at 4:45 at an empty train station. I
had always understood that you should be at your departure area
an hour before you are to leave. So, there I was standing at
the locked and desolate train station. Thankgoodness, another
lady came along shortly and I felt much better.
My train left on time and
I was off on a great adventure. I changed trains in Toronto, and then again
at Montreal. From Montreal I had a roomette to Halifax. It was a very pleasant
experience. My first time on Via Rail was just great. One of the beautiful
sights along the way was the tidal bore area of the Bay of Fundy. I found
that fascinating. It was almost empty, looking like a wet, empty river
of mud. It is hard to believe that a tidal wave can rise and drop such
heights and depths, as 51', but I was told that is the highest tidal change
in the whole world. Amazing. On the return trip, it was almost full.
I arrived in Halifax at
4 PM and took a taxi to my hotel, where I had a message that a Richard
Graham, a very distant unmet cousin, wanted to take me on a tour of
Halifax and dinner at a very nice restaurant, specializing in - what else
- fresh fish.
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Sunday
October 19, 1997 |
I was so pleased to see
the beautiful city of Halifax - the Citadel, the harbour, the historic
area and the church that was hardly harmed from the 1917 Halifax explosion.
Richard told me the story of the explosion and the wonderful kindness of
the people of Boston, Mass. during that horrible time and that this is
the reason why Nova Scotia sends a gigantic Christmas tree to Boston every
year.
What a horrifying experience
that must have been for Nova Scotia and all those people lost and the town
devastated. I found that I had an ancestor who was crossing a bridge quite
a ways away, with a wagon and horses at the very time of the explosion,
and all he could say was, "Oh, my God, Halifax has just exploded!"
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Monday
October 20, 1997 |
Monday morning, found me making my way across the McDonald Bridge
and through Dartmouth to Highway #7 in my rented car and was
in for a real treat. The colors were still beautiful on the
trees, much nicer than we had this year.
Stopped and took pictures
at Jeddore Bridge and Oyster Pond. All the inlets with islands out in them
were so impressive. The solemn beauty was something to behold. Along the
way, I stopped into Webber's Store and met a distant cousin.
There were so many places
that I would love to have stopped and taken more pictures. Ate lunch at
Pearl's Family Fries and had great fish and chips
My next stop was at the
St. Stephen's Anglican Church and the cemetery, where I found many ancestors
graves. The story goes that 2 Dean people helped build the Church. I found
myself standing there imagining what these people went through when they
settled here so long ago.
I met Jessie DeBaie, and
she was so sweet and helpful. She gave me directions on how to find the
minister of the Church, but I guess I got mixed up and went to a house
that had a sign "Beware of Dog" I didn't see a dog, but turned
around and left - just in case. Found out later, I had the wrong house.
I saw the 2 houses on Hwy
#7 that were original Dean family homes and the Post Office before 1900.
My Great-Great Grandfather, Charles M. Dean was postmaster there for 30
years, and warden of the St. Stephen's Anglican Church for 25 years.
Along the beautiful drive down to Lower Ship Harbour, I stopped in and saw Lee Siteman. He is a very interesting person. For being almost 89 years old, he is so alert. He showed me a book that he had made up of the Siteman family history, and am going to try and see if I can get a copy.
Before I left home, I had studied a map to get a feel for the area, and when I can across a sign that said Eisan Point Rd, I was thrilled, as I had seen it on the map. Much to my surprise, it was just a private drive to another house that had a sign "Beware of Dog" Yet, I still did not see a dog, but
took no chances.
Driving back to Dartmouth/Halifax after dark, I managed to get lost a couple of times. Took a few wrong turns. When I got into Halifax, I got on this Loop-de-loop road and thought
I would never get off of it. It was really funny.
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Tuesday
October 21, 1997
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Tuesday, I visited the Public Archives. This was the first of several visits in my quest for family. I did find some interesting ancestors to record for my family tree.
 That
afternoon I went to Dean, Nova Scotia, and stayed with Neil
and Eleanor (Dean) Hamilton.
Eleanor gave a lovely tea for me and I got to meet many of the people
I had been corresponding with for months.
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Wednesday
October 22, 1997 |
Wednesday, found me at the cemeteries in the Dean area. Just
checking out more ancestors.
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Thursday
and Friday
October 23 + 24, 1997 |
The
Hamiltons were so kind to take me around the Province. It was
so beautiful, till we hit snow and sleet. That made driving
a little tricky but still an awesome, beautiful sight.
I was never
treated so nice, by people that I virtually had met for the
first time in my life. They were truly "Family".
I felt like I was a sister.
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Monday
October 27, 1997 |
After
a couple of days rest, Monday I headed back to the Eastern Shore,
from Upper Musquodoboit to Sheet Harbour. Unfortunately, it
was a miserably rainy day, but still stopped several places
just to look out at the harbours, inlets, rivers and islands.
I will always
remember that drive with so many beautiful views. Followed
my original route on Hwy# 7 back to Halifax. Of course, it
was dark again. I kept putting off going back to Halifax till
I had to. Just hated leaving the breathtaking views along
the coast.
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Tuesday
October 28, 1997 |
Went to see the Citadel on Tuesday, and the Public Archives
again.
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Wednesday
October 29, 1997 |
Wednesday I went to the Archives one last time, and when I had
to move my car after the 2 hr. limit, I couldn't find a space,
so - I played tourist again and went to Peggy's Cove. Really
glad that I did, as I did enjoy seeing the ocean one last time.
Had supper there, and back to hotel.
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Thursday
October 30, 1997
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As the
saying goes, all good things come to an end, and Thursday I
had to leave. I can honestly say that I have never been ANYWHERE
that is more beautiful or has such friendly, kind people.
Hopefully,
I can return again many times. The fall of the year is off
season, but then you can enjoy the beauty of the land so much
more. Reluctantly, I got on the train to retrace my trip home,
tired from the busy schedule, but with such marvelous memories.
Noreen (Dean) Burney
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Noreen lives in
Indiana, USA, and can be reached at norcon@ccrtc.com
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