Page 17 - Earle Peach: A Homeville Memory

ISSUE : Issue 54

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1990/6/1

shuffled it back into place. No sweat. In another couple of days this gem of our ad? miration had entered the deep lake and was steaming comfortably toward the beach. Now things would happen. But unfortunately things did not happen. In fact, the same thing happened as in the first attack from the outside. In spite of heavy protective pilings, by the time the drudge was halfway through the passage be? hind it, the passage had filled with sand, and it was again marooned. The dream was fading slowly. Carlo's singing stopped. Slowly and sadly the drudge retreated down the lake and was moored in deep water off Three Stick Point. And there it remains to this day. The enormous expenditure the drudge in? curred bankrupted the Hiawatha Coal Compa? ny, so funds were not available to rescue the drudge from the lake. For a year or two, watchmen kept an eye on it. Then they also disappeared, and the whole episode was forgotten. Alone and deserted, the drudge swung at its mooring, accumulating rust and barnacles. As leaks developed in the heavy planking, the drudge sank lower and lower into the lake. A final plunge left only the upper part of the cantilever arm protruding, like Excalibur, from the sea. Then, as its supporting cables rusted away, it, too, vanished beneath the waves. So ended the drudge, but not the story. In the early 1930s an earthquake centred in the At? lantic canyons off eastern Newfound? land rattled the Maritime provinces from end to end. A resulting tidal wave swept the coast, doing enor? mous damage to fishery installa? tions. It affected False Bay Beach and filled the lake with mountains of water, which, when escaping, cut a small channel through the beach at the end, far from the drudge's nemesis. Later storms enlarged the opening. By the irony of Fate, this beach has completely disappeared, and Homeville Lake has become Homeville har? bour. But coal has never again been mined in the area. This excerpt Is taken from Earle Peach's new book, Memories of a Cape Breton Childhood. It Is reprinted with permission of Nim? bus Publishing Limited, Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is available through all bookstores. $12.95, paperback. ' . . ''View the Fortress with a Different Perspective!" ' L'lTb'rg SEA-QUATIC VENTURES SCUBA CENTRE <= • "..- "'tZ leave • Aqua Tours • Harbouf Toufs • Wrcck Diving o'J'Ls atl2-3-Spj.. 564-5662 • LOUISBOURG onSlh-Century i' 7 DAYS A WEEK (Call or stop in at S & L Railway for more information) Man-of-War Wrecks Perhaps we can help... The Nova Scotia Department of Community Services provides a number of programs and services aimed at improving the quality of life for our province's seniors. CO-ORDINATED HOMECARE SERVICES SENIORS' SPECIAL ASSISTANCE PROPERTY TAX REBATE RENTAL ASSISTANCE HOMES FOR SPECIAL CARE If you would like further details or more information, please contact the Community Services office in your area or write: Nova Scotia Department of Community Services P.O. Box 696, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2T7 Department of Community Services

Cape Breton's Magazine