Cape Breton's Magazine

first thing they did was build two churches!) Aunt Annie: Here was the majority--they kept the church and the manse. (Oh, the ma? jority kept the church and the manse, and the minority would have to build a new church. There must have been a business in church-building.) Did they ever! Oh, my goodness, even North Shore, Boularderie, and all through the country. (Annie Mae: I don't know how many churches our father-- Alex "Sandy" MacDermid. Aunt Annie's broth? er- -built . He built one in Ingonish, and one on the North Shore there, the Bethel, and in Eng? lishtown, and at North Riv? er, and at South Haven, and Boularde? rie- -two in Boularderie. In 1925.) There really should have been a story written about him. Because he built a lot of schools, and he built all those church? es and manses, and he never got credit for it, he never really--it was very disap? pointing. Not just because he was my broth? er. But my gosh, any man that did that-- anyone knows what he did. (Annie Mae: Sisters and brothers were on the outs with one another.) (Over the church vote?) (Annie Mae: Oh, yes. I remem? ber of one woman, she lived at Breton Cove. She was married and living there. And when she'd be going down to Ingonish, she'd go by this house, she'd be sitting like this in the seat--she wouldn't look up to the house. And that's a fact. She wouldn't look up to the house, she was so mad that she wouldn't even look up. That was her sister, going by her sister's place. You remember two old ladies--they met in the road going to church, they didn't speak to one anoth? er. They went by, and they never had any? thing to--they were mad. Oh, they were really mad. Oh, they were awful worked up about it. Really, it was unbelievable.) Alex "Sandy" MacDermid. in World War One uniform (Dannie: It's almost impossible to believe that people who profess to believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who taught love and forgiveness and caring for your brother, and peace. The Prince of Peace.) (Annie Mae: Those two old people--they didn't know what church union was all about. They didn't understand it at all.) (Dannie: I put a lot of the blame for that on the clergy of the day. Oh yes, they fed the fires.) (Annie Mae: But the poor old people, they didn't understand what it was all about at all.) Aunt Annie: No, it was just the leaders, you know, head ministers. It was really bad. (Annie Mae: There's places where it helped, I guess, where the churches went together. Don't you think? But down in the country where there was on? ly the Presbyterian Church anyhow.) Aunt Annie: Well, in the first place, it was no good. It was too bad it ever hap? pened. Really crazy, that people went like that. If they had been religious enough, they would say, "Well, whatever--as a ma? jority, we'll all go together." (Dannie: By that time the fires of hatred and distrust and prejudice were stoked by the clergy, so that that was almost impossible. It's wish? ful thinking to think that it could occur. The way church union started, of course, was in western Canada. It was a grassroots thing. It wasn't imposed from the top, it was imposed from the bottom. They had Meth? odists and Congregationalists and Presby? terians on the prairies, you know, and it was crazy to have churches for each denomi? nation. So they began to unite and work to? gether, you know. And if they had allowed it to grow like that, eventually, possibly, it would have found its way into one united church.) (Our conversation turned tP forerunners and other things seen. Aunt Annie gave a couple Qf examples she h'd hg'rd about- Then ve asked her. Did you ever see anything like that--boards, lights?) Well, we did one night, but I don't know. It's hard for me to believe that we saw it. We were up at Uncle Angus's, and we came down to the FOR PERSONS IN DISTRESS HELP UNE 539-4357 8 p. m. to 8 A. m. Best Western Clapmore Mn and Conference Centre ANTIGONISH, N. S. (902)863-1050 Indoor & Outdoor Pools / Sauna / Hot Tub / Licensed Dining Room & Lounge Golf & Tennis Courts: 5 Minutes * Adjacent to Antigonisfi Shopping Mall Cassette Tapes for Sale: (See Page 96) IVIike iAacDougairs Tape for Fr. Hector Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald: House Parties and 78s