Ida Red

At the Authors Market, I picked up two books : Geoff Butler ‘A Troubadour’s Journey’ and Bob Bent ‘Ida Red’. Heather started with Ida Red. Now, it is my turn. From the back cover, Garry Leeson:

“Bob Bent has taken the torch from Ernest Buckler of “The Mountain and the Valley” fame and created a fresh original glimpse into a disappearing way of life in rural Nova Scotia. The love story takes place in East Appleton. As the author notes, “Except for a few minor changes in Geography, East Appleton is Clarence.”

From Avery Jackson, a speech marking the designation of the Clarence East School as a heritage property, 16 June 2022.

“For communities such as Clarence, people, families and industries come and go, but the one thing that remains are these structures. They are in fact what defines and characterizes a community.”

“From a student of the school from the 1940’s which reads the following.

“Turning right from the Station Road in Clarence, we arrive in a quiet country setting, nestled under tree covered North Mountain.”

“A small orchard remains.

And two houses still stand

Close by on the Appleton Road.”

“Some people must go

Still the blossoms will bloom

On the boughs of the Ida Red trees.” Anonymous.

As you will note Ida Red refers to an apple variety. To date, I have read the first six chapters (50 pages) in this forty chapter Love Story.

At the Authors Market, Bob Bent told us that the setting was Clarence.

We lived in Clarence from 1981-87. We purchased the Buterbaugh house. It lies on the North side between the Elliot’s and the van Roestel ‘s. After the van Roestel’s , you hit the Bent family farm and the Mount Hanley road. To the west, it was the Barteaux and the Shaw farms, at the top of the Fitch road.

Last year, the Buterbaugh house was torn down, and replaced with a new house.

Today (Saturday) I picked up my rural mail at Lunn’s Mill. There was a flier from NSCC Annapolis Valley campus. They were looking for student housing. It listed the programs at the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) in Lawrencetown,

Forest Geomatics and Biometrics Technology

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – in person and online

Geomatics Engineering Technology

Geospatial Data Analytics – online

GIS – Cartography and Geovisualization- online

GIS technician

IT Programming

Marine Geomatics

Remote Sensing

Survey Technician

The list shows the changes in both in-person and online programs since my day (2011).

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bob Bent for book. To the NSCC for the campus flier.

References

Bob Bent.2023. Ida Red. Self-published.