I'd Like to Know.......

Debert Military Museum

One of the other highlights of our tour with Fonda on Sunday was driving through Debert.  I was surprised to learn that there was an RCAF Station there as well as a large army base that was used for the marshalling of troops headed overseas at the beginning of World War Two.  100 km north of Halifax, it was on the main rail line from Montreal and was massive in size, with over 6,000 civilian employees and a population at many times exceeding that of Truro.  The air field became part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan which trained thousands of pilots from Australia, New Zealand and India before they embarked for Europe.  Today, many remnants of the base are still visible in the area.  Permanent married quarters have become smart little homes and all the streets have the names of World War Two era aircraft - such as Lysander Street and Lancaster Road.  The base was also home to eastern Canada's only Diefenbunker which provided communications and alternate government accommodation during the Cold War.  I had been wondering if Dad had spent time there but since the station was built in 1940 - he was already in England and had been involved in the Battle of Britain by then.

Lost at Sea

Graves of Captain John Dill and his brother
David Dill.

These young men came to my attention as we were photographing the Folly Village Cemetery the other day.  It is not often that you see such a large and grand tombstone with the names of two men on it.  So I went investigating and this is what I found:

This is the story of John and David Dill (3rd cousins, twice removed) and William Henry McLellan (3rd cousin, 4 times removed)  and their tragic deaths in the Bay of Fundy.  The brig "Phoebe Ellen" was a two masted vessel, square rigged on both masts and had been built by Captain Robert Dill (father of John and David) in the 1860s near Great Village.  On January 8, 1872 the ship was loaded with goods bound for Cuba.  John Dill had just taken command of the ship and his younger brother, David, had left his position as school master to come on the voyage.  It was his first time as a crew member and he worked well with his cousin William McLellan.

As the ship neared Toney's Cove near Digby, all sails were furled and the crew was on deck.  Everything looked ship-shape.  Inexplicably, in a freak northwesterly gale and thick fog  the vessel was drive aground and lost.  The weather was extremely cold.  The question then became: "Why did the Captain not take measures to prevent this grounding?"  Of the many things he could have done to prevent the wreck, he did nothing.

An investigation showed that the accident took place on a Sunday and being a staunch Presbyterian, Captain John Dill practiced what he preached - and that included not working on the Sabbath.  Unfortunately, this left the ship in peril when the weather turned on them.

The body of Captain John Dill was found ashore, cut in half by the ice packs in the Bay.  His young brother, David and cousin William McLellan were found frozen to death, lashed to the deck of the ship.

The young Dill brothers were laid to rest together in the Folly Village Cemetery.  William Henry McLellan was buried at the Portaupique Beach Cemetery just down the road.

A sad day for all involved.

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I'd like to know how the cat can find the geological centre of my bed at night and then spread out in all directions, leaving me hanging onto the edge of the mattress to keep from falling out!

I'd like to know how the guy who mows the lawn here knows when we have guests for dinner and chooses that moment to cut the grass beside our site.

I'd like to know where the Old Barns at Old Barns went.  Apparently they were remnants of an old Acadien settlement that were still standing when our family settled that area in 1761.

I'd like to know how so many bustling old communities in rural Nova Scotia like Londonderry and Castlereagh have become nothing more than a few houses by the roadside.  Such a shame.

I'd like to know how many tombstone photos we've taken since we arrived here but I'm betting it's more than 1500.

I'd like to know when I'm going to find the time to process all those photos.  First I edit the picture in Picassa to make it clear and readable, next I rename each one using my own naming convention and then I try to match it up with my genealogy database.  When I don't find the person there, I go off searching through a myriad of sources to try and figure out how they fit into the family.  I think our success rate is about 85%.

Bugger

I'd like to know when Ann is going to get tired of tromping through cemeteries with her grass shears, bristle brush, and Off Clip On insect repeller (which we call the "Bugger").  She's captured some amazing shots!

I'd like to know if we will ever get tired of Slippery Chicken and Cole Slaw, followed by a Skinny Cow ice cream cone for dinner.

I'd like to know how 2 adults and 4 kids fit into a pop-up camper trailer on a rainy day.

I'd like to know where the breaker switch is located in this motor home, so I could flick the switch and turn the air conditioner back on.

I'd love to know how I ever existed without my iPhone.

And I'd love to know if anyone is having a better summer.  Somehow I doubt it.

To be continued.....................