Kevin, Bryant and myself met with Mayor Greene and Village Council staff to sign the MOU so it is now official. I took three copies with me, having signed many documents that involve government.
We are planning this year's Earth Day event in April and hope to get some work done on the Ross Island boat house and pump house at the top of the hill, plus plan for the deck. The winter rains have eroded the road down to the stairs again so that will need to be fixed. A pipe also appeared out of the roadway which must have had a purpose at one point of which I do not know. The winter plowing and frost heaves must have brought it to the surface. It had been bent back and we removed that section but will need to remove all of it that extends to the building. We will keep people posted about what our schedule will be and a work plan.
Frank Longstaff will be putting together the lease and checking with ServiceNB about the requirements of the lease that will allow us to qualify for property tax exemption.
There are some other exciting possibilities brewing that I can't divulge at the moment but will do so as soon as I can.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Waiting on the Village
Unfortunately, there were not enough council members at the Grand Manan Village Council meeting on Mar. 2 for a quorum and the meeting was cancelled. A decision on our memorandum of understanding has been postponed until the next meeting. Apparently, there will be a special meeting some time in March before the next scheduled council meeting the first Monday of April.
We should have known everything was against this meeting happening - we were in the midst of an ice storm coating everything and making for extremely slippery conditions, it was the beginning of March break (two of the councilors are on vacation) and the video camera wouldn't work for the local Cable 10 broadcast!
We should have known everything was against this meeting happening - we were in the midst of an ice storm coating everything and making for extremely slippery conditions, it was the beginning of March break (two of the councilors are on vacation) and the video camera wouldn't work for the local Cable 10 broadcast!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
This image was submitted by Deborah Upton who is re-establishing roots on the Grand Manan and will have the reverse view of Swallowtail (southern side) from her new house on Net Point. This view is from Hole-in-the-Wall Park on the northern side of Swallowtail. She took this last summer.
It isn't difficult to see why this point of land had inspired so many and why so many people are passionate about it. As lighthouses have been destaffed and automated, most of the associated lightkeeper buildings have been removed or torn down. To be able to keep all of the buildings on Swallowtail intact is a challenge and also a wonderful opportunity to preserve a way of life that is disappearing very quickly but represents an important part of maritime history.
The view of Swallowtail is a bit different today with -12 C air temperature and strong northwest wind driving sea smoke or vapour up and over the lightkeepers house from the Sawpit. Sea smoke forms in the winter when the air temperature is significantly lower than the water temperature. It swirls and dances on the surface of the water and if cold enough, can be incredibly dense and forming banks of clouds. Around Grand Manan, the ocean does not freeze because of the strong tidal action keeping ice pans broken up and mixing warmer bottom water with surface water, although ice pans do form in sheltered areas where there is fresh water input and prolonged periods of cold weather.
A peculiar phenomenon occurred a few winters ago when the water temperature was at its coldest (usually March) and during a snow storm without strong winds, the snow actually accumulated on the surface of the water until the tidal action broke it up. The snow covered water had an almost gelatinous look to it.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Village council sends MOU to their solicitor
A number of our SKS members attended the Village council meeting last night. It was great to have a member of the Grand Manan Rotary Club speak to council about their international project with the Seminole Rotary Club in Florida. Up to 24 members are planning to come to Grand Manan in September and spend a day and a half working on the buildings at Swallowtail.
We were also pleased to see that the village now has a historic building register which will be beneficial if the older lighthouses can be designated historic and thus fall under the federal Historic Lighthouse Bill. This bill will give the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) a budget to maintain these historic lighthouses. Actual money directed to maintaining these structures has not been in the CCG budget previously and with budget cuts, maintenance of buildings has been a struggle, so much so that it was the local Rotary Club who raised the money to paint Swallowtail Light.
The Memorandum of Understanding, drafted by our solicitor and discussed at length with a committee of council, has moved a step forward. A motion was made to have it sent to the solicitor for the Village for his opinion. We are hoping for a positive response within 30 days.
It was reassuring and a constant reminder throughout the council meeting, which took place in the North Head hall, that the foghorn at Swallowtail could be heard reverberating through the walls. A thick fog had formed in the afternoon as the temperature rose above freezing and the humidity level rose with melting snow and continued into the evening.
All in all Groundhog Day was a good day on the 33rd anniversary of a severe gale that did a lot of damage to the wharves and shore buildings on Grand Manan, including washing vehicles off the wharf at Ingalls Head and floating shore buildings out to sea. The decommissioned lighthouse on Ross Island, Fish Fluke Point or Grand Harbour Light, was also severely damaged but it is a testament to the strength of construction of the old wooden lighthouses that even today, the main tower is still standing, although most of the structure around it has completely collapsed. A number of the small wharves including the one at Whale Cove and Castalia were damaged so severely they were never rebuilt. A concrete ramp was installed at Whale Cove and the only thing that remains of the wooden wharf are the anchor rocks, large boulders that formed the interior of the wooden wharf and now form a rock breakwater.
The Groundhog Day gale was one of those superstorms, a combination of a number of systems, combined with high tides, and did major damage along the New England coast and Atlantic Canada. Because of the combination of the storm and the tides in the Bay of Fundy, the effects were devastating and the damage was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
We were also pleased to see that the village now has a historic building register which will be beneficial if the older lighthouses can be designated historic and thus fall under the federal Historic Lighthouse Bill. This bill will give the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) a budget to maintain these historic lighthouses. Actual money directed to maintaining these structures has not been in the CCG budget previously and with budget cuts, maintenance of buildings has been a struggle, so much so that it was the local Rotary Club who raised the money to paint Swallowtail Light.
The Memorandum of Understanding, drafted by our solicitor and discussed at length with a committee of council, has moved a step forward. A motion was made to have it sent to the solicitor for the Village for his opinion. We are hoping for a positive response within 30 days.
It was reassuring and a constant reminder throughout the council meeting, which took place in the North Head hall, that the foghorn at Swallowtail could be heard reverberating through the walls. A thick fog had formed in the afternoon as the temperature rose above freezing and the humidity level rose with melting snow and continued into the evening.
All in all Groundhog Day was a good day on the 33rd anniversary of a severe gale that did a lot of damage to the wharves and shore buildings on Grand Manan, including washing vehicles off the wharf at Ingalls Head and floating shore buildings out to sea. The decommissioned lighthouse on Ross Island, Fish Fluke Point or Grand Harbour Light, was also severely damaged but it is a testament to the strength of construction of the old wooden lighthouses that even today, the main tower is still standing, although most of the structure around it has completely collapsed. A number of the small wharves including the one at Whale Cove and Castalia were damaged so severely they were never rebuilt. A concrete ramp was installed at Whale Cove and the only thing that remains of the wooden wharf are the anchor rocks, large boulders that formed the interior of the wooden wharf and now form a rock breakwater.
The Groundhog Day gale was one of those superstorms, a combination of a number of systems, combined with high tides, and did major damage along the New England coast and Atlantic Canada. Because of the combination of the storm and the tides in the Bay of Fundy, the effects were devastating and the damage was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Charitable Status a go
The fog horn is blowing every 20 seconds today as the fog rolled in when the temperature rose about freezing. The three groundhogs Wiarton Willy, Shubenacadie Sam and Punxsutawney Pete would not have seen their shadows here so maybe we can look forward to warmer weather sooner than later, while everyone else has six more weeks of winter.
But the great news is that we have received notice that Swallowtail Keepers Society Inc. is now a registered charity in Canada. This is super and is thanks to an intern working at Lutz Longstaff, Drew Speight, who submitted all the necessary paperwork last summer. We are very excited to continue with this important work and can now offer tax receipts (valid in Canada) for any donations.
We are also keeping our fingers crossed that the Village Council will except our Memorandum of Understanding tonight and we can start work on our lease for the lightkeepers property. If this is accomplished we can then start the process to try to obtain property tax exemption with the provincial government.
It is very much like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces are starting to fall in place.
But the great news is that we have received notice that Swallowtail Keepers Society Inc. is now a registered charity in Canada. This is super and is thanks to an intern working at Lutz Longstaff, Drew Speight, who submitted all the necessary paperwork last summer. We are very excited to continue with this important work and can now offer tax receipts (valid in Canada) for any donations.
We are also keeping our fingers crossed that the Village Council will except our Memorandum of Understanding tonight and we can start work on our lease for the lightkeepers property. If this is accomplished we can then start the process to try to obtain property tax exemption with the provincial government.
It is very much like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces are starting to fall in place.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ship wreck propels construction of lighthouse
One of the propelling causes of building Swallowtail (or Swallow Tail as it was called in the 1850s) lighthouse was the wreck of the Lord Ashburton on January 19, 1857 and the death of 28 crew men. The Lord Ashburton floundered on the northern shore of Grand Manan after struggling to get to the port of Saint John from Toulon, France, loosing its anchorage and being driven back in a nor'easter to the rocky shores of Grand Manan. One man, James Lawson, climbed the rocky headland, now names Ashburton Head, in his bare feet and walked until he found a barn where he collapsed. He was found and related the tragedy. Seven others were found alive but died shortly afterwards. If anyone know this area it was quite the feat to scale those cliffs.
The need for a light house had been discussed in the New Brunswick Assembly as early as 1840 but it took the Lord Ashburton tragedy to finally have the lighthouse built.
Construction of the light tower and keepers house began in the summer of 1859 after purchasing the land from James Small. Because the lantern had to be shipped from England, it took until the next year to arrive and be installed.
Winter storms are a part of life along our shores with a mix of snow and rain commonplace. Our streets are a glace of ice at the moment from a snow storm that turned to rain and then the temperature plummeted. The Bay of Fundy moderates the air temperature, often giving Grand Manan the warmest temperatures in the province in the winter (and some of the coldest in the summer). We also catch the tail end of hurricanes and some late fall and winter storms have winds of hurricane strength, although not hurricanes.
When the Swallowtail lighthouse was finally in operation, a number of storms including the Saxby Gale in October 1869 caused considerable damage to the light tower and the keepers house. Money to repair the lighthouse was slow in coming and it was discovered in 1873 that the tower was beginning to lean because the earth had been washed away from part of the timber foundation. These problems were eventually rectified and the tower has managed to last to this day, held down with heavy steel cables. The lightkeeper's responsibilities included helping with these repairs.
I look out at Swallowtail everyday or at least try to, it is sometimes shrouded in dense fog, and see its changing faces as the sun reflects off the brilliant white painted shingles or in the soft pink glow of the sunset or with a deep blue backdrop of stormy clouds. It is hard to believe all the changes that have occurred on this peninsula but the symbol remains a strong one.
As our neighbours to the south start a new history-making presidency, I am happy to be involved in trying to bring some of the glory back to the buildings that have been an important part of a lightstation whose rich history is entwined with that of Grand Manan's shipping and fishing history.
The need for a light house had been discussed in the New Brunswick Assembly as early as 1840 but it took the Lord Ashburton tragedy to finally have the lighthouse built.
Construction of the light tower and keepers house began in the summer of 1859 after purchasing the land from James Small. Because the lantern had to be shipped from England, it took until the next year to arrive and be installed.
Winter storms are a part of life along our shores with a mix of snow and rain commonplace. Our streets are a glace of ice at the moment from a snow storm that turned to rain and then the temperature plummeted. The Bay of Fundy moderates the air temperature, often giving Grand Manan the warmest temperatures in the province in the winter (and some of the coldest in the summer). We also catch the tail end of hurricanes and some late fall and winter storms have winds of hurricane strength, although not hurricanes.
When the Swallowtail lighthouse was finally in operation, a number of storms including the Saxby Gale in October 1869 caused considerable damage to the light tower and the keepers house. Money to repair the lighthouse was slow in coming and it was discovered in 1873 that the tower was beginning to lean because the earth had been washed away from part of the timber foundation. These problems were eventually rectified and the tower has managed to last to this day, held down with heavy steel cables. The lightkeeper's responsibilities included helping with these repairs.
I look out at Swallowtail everyday or at least try to, it is sometimes shrouded in dense fog, and see its changing faces as the sun reflects off the brilliant white painted shingles or in the soft pink glow of the sunset or with a deep blue backdrop of stormy clouds. It is hard to believe all the changes that have occurred on this peninsula but the symbol remains a strong one.
As our neighbours to the south start a new history-making presidency, I am happy to be involved in trying to bring some of the glory back to the buildings that have been an important part of a lightstation whose rich history is entwined with that of Grand Manan's shipping and fishing history.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A new beginning
Swallowtail lighthouse has guided ships around the northeastern tip of Grand Manan Island since 1860. The lightkeepers' house has seen many changes, including a brand new building built beside the original house in 1958. The ownership of the lightkeepers house, boat house and land extending back over the foot bridge to the old Ross Island boat house and pump house at the top of the hill were tranferred from the federal government to the Village of North Head in 1994. When the villages and local service groups on Grand Manan were amalgamated in 1996, the new Village of Grand Manan became the legal owners.
Run as a bed and breakfast for a few years, the lightkeepers house and associated buildings have been empty for a number of years. The Village had not been able to find a suitable use for the buildings and were considering selling the property, although they soon discovered this was not an option.
The Swallowtail Keepers Society, a group of concerned people, was established in 2008 to bring the buildings back to life and become a symbol of civic pride for the island.
We are currently negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding and lease with the Village and have lots of exciting plans, including celebrating in 2010 the sesquicentennial of lighting Swallowtail Light.
Anyone interested in helping with work projects or have great ideas for future uses, fundraising, etc. are asked to contact the committee.
Run as a bed and breakfast for a few years, the lightkeepers house and associated buildings have been empty for a number of years. The Village had not been able to find a suitable use for the buildings and were considering selling the property, although they soon discovered this was not an option.
The Swallowtail Keepers Society, a group of concerned people, was established in 2008 to bring the buildings back to life and become a symbol of civic pride for the island.
We are currently negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding and lease with the Village and have lots of exciting plans, including celebrating in 2010 the sesquicentennial of lighting Swallowtail Light.
Anyone interested in helping with work projects or have great ideas for future uses, fundraising, etc. are asked to contact the committee.
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