Welcome to our new newsletter. In this we hope to keep our
SS Atlantic Heritage Park Society members and friends up to date on what's going on. No guarantees on how often it will be sent but right now we have the best of intentions. This one is long as we have a lot of news to catch you up on. Feel free to send comments or ideas to the email link at the bottom of the newsletter.
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We Have the Quarterboard!
We're thrilled that one of the most significant artifacts from the SS Atlantic has come into our possession. It's called the quarterboard and was used to identify the ship while in port. It's eleven feet long and made of wood with nautical carving surrounding the name. Thankfully, it was not restored by the previous owner, so it still bears the original colours. It's just a bit faded, as you would expect after 143 years.
It hung for fifty or more years above a fireplace in Indian Harbour and generated a lot of interest from visitors to Barb Corbin's home. Now it hangs in the SS Atlantic Heritage Centre in Terence Bay, thanks to Barb's generous donation.
Barb told us that it had been stored in a friend's barn and her friend gave it to her to jazz up the wall of what was then a cottage.
It's a must see!
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Opening Weekend
Saturday May 20–Monday May 22
Enjoy a free coffee/tea and baked goodie.
Say hello to the new staff and meet some friendly mermaids.
Weather predicted: sun and cloud. Temperatures
in the range of 2 digits. High visibility of the sea.
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Introducing our Summer Staff
We are delighted to have two talented students staffing the Centre this summer, thanks to the Nova Scotia Student Summer Skills Programme. Jevan lives in Hammonds Plains and has completed 3 years of his B.BA at Mount Saint Vincent, majoring in Marketing. Lexie is studying Computer Science at Dalhousie and hails from White's Lake, just up the Terence Bay Road from the Centre. With a successful application to the Canada Summer Jobs programme, we are thrilled to hire a third student for 8 weeks in July and August. Emma lives in Hatchet Lake. She will graduate from Halifax West High School in June and start her degree in Biology at Acadia in September. She is hoping lots of French-speaking visitors arrive at the Centre so she can use her bilingual skills.
Jevan, Lexie and Emma come with great credentials and are excited to work with us as are we with them. The Board of Directors expects to keep them busy achieving several of our goals during their term of employment.
Come and meet them at the Centre!
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Paint Night Out
Paint nights are a fun social participatory gathering with a paint leader who talks you through the process of creating a painting. Even if you have never painted before, something wonderful will appear on your canvas. Lots of fun and we just enjoy the pleasure of brushing colours on the canvas. No judgement here, just fun.
In March, Kathy and Lynette, from our board, ran a Paint Night Out event at the Bay Landing on a quiet Thursday evening. By the time the evening was over it was no longer quiet! Everyone enjoyed the companionship and the chance to have a drink and play with paint.
Many thanks to the Bay Landing and a special thanks to Don, the bartender.
Watch for the next Paint Night Out and join in!
No experience necessary.
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April 2nd Fundraiser
Delicious corn chowder or chicken soup followed by gingerbread was enjoyed by more than eighty people on April 2—the 144th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Atlantic. The community hall in Terence Bay rang with chatter and laughter as friends met with one another. A wonderful community spirit of cooperation impressed the elected representatives present: Councillor Stephen Adams, MLA Iain Rankin, and MP Bernadette Jordan.
The SS Atlantic Heritage Park Society worked with the Terence Bay Lighthouse Committee to put on this meal—an excellent joint effort—for a second year. A total of $953.60 was split between the two organizations. Heartfelt thanks to all who provided food for the luncheon, baked goods for the bake table (which was very successful), bought 55/50 tickets, and worked to prepare, serve and clean up, and to all who came to eat and enjoy the talk that followed.
Bob Chaulk, historian, author and diver gave a detailed account of the heroism of the villagers in saving the 420 survivors of the disaster. Many were moved to tears as they listened to the story for the first time. Bob is always ready to meet descendants of these brave folks. Please contact the society if you have any family information to share with him.
The Society also paid tribute to one of its Directors, Valda Kemp, for her tireless, continuing, extensive and dedicated work over decades since the inception of the Society and the Centre.
Again thanks everyone for your support!
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Out and About
Watch out for our ad in the
Travel / Food Summer Saltscapes issue.
Read Bob Chaulk’s article in the Prospective.
Bob enjoys giving talks about the Atlantic and especially about the role played by the people of Prospect Bay in the rescue of survivors from the ship. He has spoken to historical and social groups from Sydney to Yarmouth about the history of Nova Scotia as he finds it while scuba diving. If you know of a group that would be interested in one of his presentations, he would be happy to bring them up to date on the Atlantic story.
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