1
Wallace (Remsheg) Harbour Today21st Century,
Wallace, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Credits:David Dewar
2
Wallace resident Francis Grant - telegraph operator, storekeeper, author, historian and poet20th Century
Wallace, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Credits:Wallace and Area Museum
3
Francis Grant was a telegrapher, a store keeper, a veteran of the Second World War, a historian, a writer and a poet. He was one of the reasons the people of Wallace know so much about their heritage. He has written five small books of poetry and two books of short stories. Mr. Grants poem about the Acadian people, though not always historically accurate, generates strong feelings about these unfortunate people.The Dykes of Remsheg Bay
For Marshy miles along the shore,
Where ebbs and flows the tidal Stream,
Stands forth a mute but manifest
Memorial to a peoples dream;
Where now but muskrats parth the weeds,
Where mallards nest in salt marsh hay,
There once Acadian kine grew fat
Beside the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
By Francis Grant
4
Natural marsh grass, rich from centuries of decaying vegetation21st Century. Circa August 2010
Brown's Bay, North Wallace, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
Credits:David Dewar
5
In seventeen hundred and ten they'd comeInto primal forest land,
Then raised their dwellings, log on log
And roofs contrived, with adept hand'
Of poles, and bark from ancient birch;
Built chimneys, stout, of stone and clay;
And that their flocks and their herds be fed,
They raised the Dykes of Remsheg Bay
The men-folk shaped with axe and saw,
Bed, board and bench; their wants were small;
With skillful knife, carved bowl and spoon
And for the toddler's dog and doll:
The cradle by the hearthside stood
And lulled by many an ancient lay
Babe after babe was rocked within,
Born by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
The women helped to shear the sheep,
Then washed the wool till snowy white
They carded, spun and wound the yarn
By fire and tallow-candle light:
They knit and wove the family clothes,
With song and myth of work made play;
They dyed their garments brilliant hues,
Near-by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
The Children many tasks performed;
They watched the sheep and pulled the weeds,
Picked berries, red and blue and black,
In great abundance for their needs;
They loved the early weeks of spring,
When maple sap flowed day by day,
And reveled in the toothsome sweets,
Made by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
6
Mural of Acadian Settlement in Nova Scotia, by Barbara Clark18th Century
Credits:Barbara Clark, Artist
7
In winter furs were worn for warmth,Of fox and beaver, bear and moose,
Of muskrat, otter and raccoon,
And feathers from the migrant goose
Were prized by householder for the beds,
With well filled ticks whereon to lay,
In comfort cold and frosty nights'
By ice bound dykes of Remsheg Bay.
The earliest settlers had no school,
The Priest alone could write and read,
They farmed and fished and hunted game,
Of learning had but little need:
Acadian people liked to dance,
To tell old legends, sing and play,
And many a fiddler's lively tune
Rang o'er the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
Four decades and a half they lived
On Remsheg shores, and prospered well
By shipping food to Louisburg,
A practice Britian sought to quell,
But greedy for the French King's gold
Continued in their stubborn way
To send their kine, grown fat upon
Lush grass by dykes of Remsheg Bay
8
Mural by Barbara Clark showing Acadian farm life of 1700 - farming and building a dyke using oxen21st Century, Circa 2005
Wallace and Area Museum, Davison /Kennedy property
Credits:Barbara Clark
9
Shrewd Governor Lawrence saw that warWould soon break our with sword and gun,
And off to England letters sent,
Suggesting what should now be done,
As threats to Nova Scotia loomed
Acadians must be shipped away,
From every hamlet in the land,
Including chose at Remsheg Bay
Swift sailing frigates of the fleet
The orders carried overseas,
But ships of sail are subject to
The wind and weather vagaries;
Time sped away and fall drew near,
No longer could there be delay
At ease they laboured on their farms
Beside the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
And so it was that Lawrence, then
With neighboring Governor Shirley's aid,
Moved forward on expulsion plans-
The dire and dread decision made:
Ere the reply had been received,
10
Acadian expulsion orders being carried out in Remsheg15 August 1755
North Wallace Road, Wallace Bay Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Credits:Barbara Clark
11
Two centuries and more have passed,Almost unknown their doleful tale;
Alone the toil wrought dykes remain,
No other trace o'er hill and dale
But year on year the mounds stand forth,
"We mourn our loss," they seem to say,
And marsh winds add their haunting wail,
Along the dykes of Remsheg Bay.
- Francis Grant
12
Historic Marshland of Remsheg BayAcadian Settlement Period. 1710 - 1755
Remsheg Bay, Wallace, Nova Scotia, Canada
Credits:David Dewar
 |
 |
 |
 |