Yesterday, I had to go to Kentville for a doctor’s appointment. On my way, I noticed the Kings’ County sign is ‘Orchards, vineyards and tides’ then, as one approaches Kentville on the Highway #101, the sign is ‘A breath of fresh air’.
At the doctor’s office, we chatted about the fact that the town of Kentville is hosting a party for nine new doctors (including mine), with an invitation list of five hundred. Coming from Annapolis County, this was definitely, a breath of fresh air.
With time in hand, I visited the Shelf Life Used Books, I picked up a copy of The Nova Scotia Book of Fathers; a collection of short essays by twenty Nova Scotia writers about their father, including Lesley Choyce, Harry Thurston, Alexander Macleod, Joan Baxter and others.
The one that struck a chord was Alexander Macleod’s description of his father’s little house in Broad Cove, looking out over Margaree Island.
‘When he was a younger man, he built himself a little house, a separate connected place, where he could practise his craft without ever really leaving his other home behind’ p22.
As we prepare for the release of Hunter’s brandy, made from apples in our orchard, I am receiving a number of emails of photographs and memories of Raymond Hunter from his sons and family.
Meanwhile, Edward researched the ‘Naturally Connected‘ slogan from Richmond County. It seems that that may have been a community or private sign. The sign exists on Highway #105 between Sydney and the Causeway. However, it is not attributable to Richmond County.
If someone is driving that highway, please let us know which community owns the slogan.
This evening at the MacDonald Museum, the Valley Regional Enterprise Network (VREN) is hosting a public forum in Middleton. They are looking for citizen input ‘to create a brand for the entire Annapolis Valley region’.
Unfortunately, in The Reader, they had the wrong time. It was this morning at 9 am. Oh dear !
It’s an interesting scenario. Middleton is ‘the Heart of the Valley’ and yet neither the County of Annapolis nor the town of Annapolis Royal are members of the VREN. Meanwhile, Valley Waste municipal partners are reportedly suing Annapolis County.
Certainly, it is time for ‘a breath of fresh air’!
A further example can be found in The Grapevine (August 22 -September 5),
Both the Mayors of Kentville and Wolfville welcome students back to their communities. p3 and p15.
Acknowledgements
Edward for his research commitment. Anne Crossman for fact-checking.
References
Lesley Choyce and Julia Swan(Ed).2017. The Nova Scotia Book of Fathers. Pottersfield Press.
The Grapevine. Arts, Culture, Community. August 22 – September 5 2019.
Ernest Blair Experiment 