Page 15 - Cape Bretoners in World War One

ISSUE : Issue 33

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1983/6/1

Bill Daye: (Did you feel you wanted to fight?) No, Jesus, no, no idea we were go? ing to fight. In the engineers, you don't do any fighting. You're a working party. You go ahead--we'd be in towns in the night, two days before the infantry would go in there. We had guys used to take us in, in the night--work in the dark, put? ting up barbed wire and stuff like that-- entanglements, you know. Then we'd be building pontoon bridges at night. We put them across the rivers. And digging out mines. They'd be buried in the streets. We had detections to find out where the mines were. We'd dig them out in the night, too. We were a working party. Of course, we had had training in all kinds of places in England--marches and training. You had gas mask training. You had training in rifle shooting, throwing bombs, throwing grenades, going through gas. You had all that training. And bayon- i ake the time to get to know our history and you'i know us as well. 1 ARICHAT LENOIR FORGE MUSEUM Restored French 18th century stone blacksmith shop. Hours: June 15-Sept. 15 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Daily For appointment 226-2051 2 BADDECK ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK A modern interpretive complex highlighting Bell's experiments in flight, hydrofoils and work with the deaf. Hours: July 1 to September 30 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Daily Remainder of the Year 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Daily THE VICTORIA COUNTY MUSEUM & ARCHIVES Gilbert H. Grosvenor Hall. Houses a large and varied collection of archival material and artifacts, related to the history of the County Hours: Open 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Opening Date not yet determined. 3 BAY ST. LAWRENCE LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE Summer months only • check locally for times of opening. 4 CABOT HIGH SCHOOL ARCHIVES Summer by appointment, contact Fred Williams, Ingonish 285-2605 5 CAPE NORTH NORTH HIGHLAND COMMUNITY MUSEUM Large collection of photographs, documents and artifacts from local area. Hours: Mid June - Sept. 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Daily and 6 CHETICAMP ACADIAN MUSEUM A small display of relics of the Acadian people of this district. Featuring spinning, rug-hooking crafts. Hours: May 15 to October 15 Weekdays 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sundays 9:00 a.m..9:00 p.m. LES TROIS PIGNONS; ACADIAN I CULTURAL CENTRE. Hours: All year • 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Seven days a week 7 GLACE BAY THE MINERS MUSEUM A focus on the contribution of the coal miner and coal in the continuing advance of civilization. Hours: June 15-Sept. 4 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Daily 8 INVERNESS INVERNESS MINERS MUSEUM Housed in the C.N. Station originally built in 1901. Museum reflects the mining history and includes a tape collection and small archives. Hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 9 lONA NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLAND VILLAGE Devoted to the life of the early Scottish settlers in Nova Scotia. Includes a museum building, house (1875-1900), carding mill, forge, country store, school, barn, log cabin, a frame house (1850) and Hebridean stone house or "Tigh Dubh". Hours: June 15 to September 15 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. 10 LOUISBOURG SYDNEY &. LOUISBOURG RAILWAY MUSEUM A restored 1895 railway station with exhibits describing the history of the S & L, railway technology, and 11 LAKEAINSLIE MacDONALD HOUSE MUSEUM (run by Lake Ainslie Historical Society) Route 395, overlooking Lake Ainslie. Hours: June 15 Sept. 1-9-5 • 5 days 12 MABOU MABOU GAELIC AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM An DrcKhaid • The Bridge • in former store used a& centre for crafts, genealogical and historical records and research • local music and poetry Hours: Weekdays 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 13 NORTHEAST MARGAREE SALMON MUSEUM Exhibits related to salmon angling on the Margaree River. Housed in a former schoolhouse. Excellent collections of fishing tackle, photos, memorabilia of famous anglers. Hours: June 15 to October 15 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Daily MUSEUM OF CAPE BRETON HERITAGE North East Margaree. Collection of household items, arts and crafts of Cape Breton origin. Emphasis on textile patterns and techniques. Hours: June 15-Oct. 15 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Daily 14 PORT HASTINGS PORT HASTINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Collection of pictures of the community and residents over the years. Artifacts, genealogy, cemetery index. St. David's United Church Hours: Check at Tourist Bureau 15 PORT HOOD CHESTICO MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Contains a collection of artifacts that tell of the life of the early settlers of Port Hood and District. Hours: Enquire locally. et training with a big bag of sand--that's the man you're going to stab when you get there. If you ever would stab. But the engineers always had lots of work to do. Where there'd be a shellhole in the middle of the street, you had to fill it in. Find all the old timber you could a- round, and fill that hole in with whatever you could find, so the guns and that could go up. Most of that was all horses, those days. And mules. Pulling the guns and eve? rything around. We dug up mines. Planted mines. You were always digging holes, filling in holes in the streets • bank them up, crib them up, and then put in all the stuff you could get around them. And cutting wire at night. All kinds of pontoon bridges. One would be built, and the next day it would be torn to pieces. Try and replace it again, or put it in another place. I remember one fellow though--they were flood? ing this bloody place-- the Germans had let go a dam or something. It was morning. "I want one man to come with me," he said, "I'm go? ing to go down and check a certain place to see if the water's rising or falling." I'll never forget it. He said, "You, boy, you come." "All right." "Take your rifle," he said, "never mind the rest of your stuff." So we climbed down and we were creeping round the comers, looking here and there, watching. A- cross the canal, there was a fellow getting out of his boat. He was a sniper who was over all night. "Now," he said, "that's your job." He said, "I mean it. He might get you tomorrow night," So he was just getting out of the boat. I nailed him. I saw him falling in the water. Jeez, I felt queer, you know. I felt queer as hell. But your heart was hardened from see? ing what you saw. CONTINUED NEXT PAGE 16 RIVER BOURGEOIS River Bourgeois Historical Society working towards Museum. Hours: Mid-June - Sept. 1 9 p.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri. 17 SOUTH HAVEN SOUTH HAVEN GUILD OF WEAVERS, SPINNERS &. DYERS Proposed display of work shown during the summer months. Check locally for times and location. 18 ST ANNS GIANT MACASKILL MUSEUM In Gaelic College complex. Exhibits related to the Scottish settlers of the district. Features life of the "Cape Brefon Giant", Angus MacAskill. Hours: June 1 to October 15 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Daily July and August 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Daily 19 ST. PETERS NICOLAS DENYS MUSEUM Collection of local historical materials. Design of the building inspired by early French settlement. Hours: June 1 to September 30 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Daily 20 SYDNEY COSSIT HOUSE Residence of Rev. Ranna Cossit, first Anglican Minister of Sydney, Cape Breton and built c. 1787. Nova Scotia Museum Branch. Hours: May 15 to October 15 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Daily ST. PATRICKS CHURCH MUSEUM Restoration of an old stone church housing local historical collection, history of Sydney and surrounding area. Hours: June - Sept. - Oct. 1:00 p.m.-8.00 p.m. July - August 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. BEATON INSTITUTE OF CAPE BRETON STUDIES University College of Cape Breton Sydney • Glace Bay Highway Hours: 8:304:00 Mon,-Fri. 21 WHYCOCOMAGH , Historical display of area (sponsored by Whycocomagh Hist. Socty) 2nd floor. Fire Hall. Hours: 9A • S days July 1 - Sept. 1 f Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage Nova Scotia Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness Hon. R. Fisher Hudson, Q.C. Minister (15)

Cape Breton's Magazine