Ditch Cleanup

May Day, Saturday, May 1, saw 12 eager people busy cleaning the ditches in North Head. Two people who were going to be away had actually taken it upon themselves to clean a section before the May Day cleanup. This is becoming an annual event. After last year's thorough cleaning, the ditches were in much better shape and perhaps people aren't throwing as much stuff out their windows, heeding the mayor's advice to Keep Grand Manan Litter Free.

While one member was climbing down into a ditch to get some trash, the owner of the house beside the ditch asked him what he was doing. He explained and was asked to come in the house. The owner gave him a significant donation which more than doubled the money raised picking up the litter! All monies will go towards the 150th anniversary celebrations in early July.

Village of Grand Manan Historic Places Registry

A grant from the New Brunswick provincial government allowed the Grand Manan Historical Society to begin the Village of Grand Manan Historic Places Registry. Twenty-four places have been added and can be viewed on the http://www.historicplaces.ca/ website. A search of the Canadian Register of Historic Places for Grand Manan, NB will bring up everything that is listed for Grand Manan, including the Swallowtail light keepers house and boathouse. Also three light towers (Swallowtail, Gannet Rock and Machias Seal Island) and another keepers house (the house attached to the Gannet Rock lighthouse) have been listed as Recognized Federal Historic Buildings, a precursor for the Federal Historic Lighthouse Bill. The brick government building in North Head, known for the Post Office, is also a Recognized Federal Historic Building. The final listing is the National Historic Site in Seal Cove, encompassing the herring smoke houses and seawall.

Canadian Coast Guard photo of Swallowtail Lighthouse taken in 1990 from www.historicplaces.ca

The push to save Swallowtail was helpful in kick-starting the Village Registry. It is hoped that this funding will continue so more of Grand Manan's historic places can be listed.

Not all Work

I often think of tending a light as being one of work, whether maintenance of the property or the light but because families often lived at these light stations, there was time for entertainment. Norma Neves loaned me this photo of her mother Alma Naves on a seesaw with Doris Moses, taken in 1959. You can see Swallowtail lighthouse in the background. This seesaw would have been in the yard of the old house, just above the new house. The new keepers house was built in 1958 and replaced the original 1860 house which was torn down. A replica of this seesaw would be a great addition to the property. Notice also the bird houses. There were a number of these around the keepers house and lighthouse. Not sure what species they were built for but would be a good question to ask those who lived at Swallowtail. You can also see the chimney that heated the bell house, the small addition on the lighthouse. This building was moved in 1922 from the extreme end of the peninsula to the lighthouse to make ringing the fog bell easier for the keepers, instead of hiking back and forth from the lighthouse to the bell house on the point. anyone who is familiar with the Bay of Fundy can appreciate how much work this would be in our often long stretches of fog, particularly in the summer but can occur year round , as it is today as I write this post.

Norma also had an undated photo of herself on the boardwalk leading from the keepers house to the lighthouse. You can clearly see the detail in the windows that used to grace the lighthouse, removed to reduce maintenance and water leakage. The windows were single pane, 12 over 8. The porch covering the entrance to the lighthouse also no longer exists and when the soil was removed from around the lighthouse to remove lead from years of scrapping and painting the lighthouse, the soil level is significantly lower. There was concern that the lead in the soil was slowly leaching toward the coast and could one day end up in the ocean. The boardwalks no longer exist as well, although they were an original feature when the lighthouse was built in 1860. This extensive system of boardwalks would be a wonderful asset to rebuild, however, because of the wind and winter gales, maintenance of the boardwalks was a challenge with storm damage frequently occurring. They would have to be firmly attached. The style of the railings is similar to the existing railings on the footbridge.

Thanks Norma for the loan of these photos.

Light in the stormy night

We have had a stormy few days with ENE winds battering Swallowtail. Heavy rain and wind (over 90 kilometres/hour or 50 knots) last night knocked out the power for awhile. Swallowtail's light and foghorn are electrically powered and when the power goes off so do the light and foghorn. Backup systems used to be commonplace but transporting diesel fuel for generators by helicopter can be a risky business if anything happened to the bladder containing the fuel. This means that you don't have to look for the light to shine across Pettes Cove from Swallowtail when the lights go out because Swallowtail light goes out as well. And, of course, with no light keepers there is also no one to make sure a back up system kicks in automatically.

The only vessel plying the waters around Swallowtail the last couple of days has been the Grand Manan V ferry and even the ferry was tied up for 20 hours because of heavy seas. The guiding light of Swallowtail certainly isn't as required for navigation as it once was but it is a comfort to see the rotating light in all weather conditions, as long as there is power.

The ferry heading towards Blacks Harbour after being tied up from Thursday, February 25 at 3 PM to 11:30 Friday, February 26 because of stormy conditions. The ferry buried her bow going across Pettes Cove.

Here is a short video of the roiled waters in the Saw Pit February 25.

Fantastic Chocolate Tea

What a great success! Our chocolate tea was impressive from the old fashioned hot chocolate to an incredible assortment of chocolate desserts. The aroma of chocolate greeted everyone who came through the door. The approximately 55 people attending all went away smiling. We also offered $5 and $10 take-away plates of which many were destined for the largely absent male participants.

The eclectic range of the donated items in the jumble table also sold well and we have some remaining for a future event. We also had Swallowtail matted photos donated from a local photographer for future fund-raising.

There are so many people to thank from the North Head Baptist Church for donating their hall and providing some entertainment and decorations, to everyone who made desserts and sandwiches, to those donating items for the jumble table, to those organizing and working the tea, and several people who volunteered to bus tables and do dishes after they finished their plates, and of course, to everyone who came out and enjoyed the afternoon. The money raised will be put toward the 150th celebrations this summer of the first lighting of Swallowtail or Swallow's Tail as it was originally called.

Next year should be bigger and better!

Tracks in the Snow

Not many people wander around at Swallowtail in the coldest part of the winter. Even on the calmest days, it can be quite windy. However, it is still alive with activity. I walked out to the lighthouse on Wednesday (Feb. 10) with a consultant who is developing a business plan for Swallowtail Keepers Society. It had been several days since it had snowed and much of the snow had disappeared in the current mild temperatures but in protected, shady areas there were still patches of snow. Despite the mild temperatures, the wind chill was such from the freshening northeast wind that ear muffs were welcome. Footing was good in the snow unlike last winter when the path was predominately ice covered.

Swallowtail as seen from the top of the hill between the former Ross Island boat house and the pumphouse.

At the top of the hill there were numerous white-tailed deer tracks and those of a dog. Down the steps and past the footbridge, snow-shoe hare tracks criss-crossed the path, as did those of a red squirrel and probably meadow voles. A cat had also walked out along the path, perhaps one of the feral cats or possibly someone's pet. But ours were the first human tracks since the snowfall.

Meadow vole, cat and hare tracks (left to right) in the snow on the path to the lighthouse.

The consultant had been to Grand Manan many times but other than seeing Swallowtail light from the ferry, he had never actually walked out. He was so impressed with the peninsula and the amazing ocean views. The location of Swallowtail light is certainly unique, from first viewing the light after climbing the hill to look down upon it, the footbridge and long walk out to the light and then the tower itself with its unusual design with one less side at the top of the tower than at the base. There is something to see from one end to the other.

Snowy path on the way to the lighthouse.

Chocolate Tea - February 13

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we are looking forward to a fun event on the weekend, a Chocolate Delight Tea that we organized as a fund-raiser for the 150th anniversary celebrations this summer of the first lighting of Swallowtail light.

There will be a fabulous chocolate buffet table from which everyone can choose their favourites, plus tea, coffee and, of course, hot chocolate. Inn at Whale Cove Cottages (www.WhaleCoveCottages.ca) is providing a door prize of dinner for two. We will also have a small jumble table of new and used items.

This is a prelude to a much bigger event next winter that will also have a chocolate theme, music, auction and generally fun.