The Coast

I have recently added the first copy of the Chevery News to The Lower North Shore Web Site. This is just an excellent resource, and it is incredible how much information is available in the first issue. I won’t steal too much of the thunder of the Netagamiou Community Learning Centre, but here is a list of the articles available in Volume 1:

• Route 138: Council of Mayors Report
• Community Forum Poster Competition
• Winter Wonderland: Community Snapshots
• Chevery Covered Rink Report
• Meals on Wheels Program
• Netagamiou CLC Update
• FAQs about the Netagamiou CLC
• Mother’s Day Brunch
• Netagamiou Idol
• Mother’s Day Lobster Supper
• Message from the MCNGSL Administration
• FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) about the NCLC
• New Lower North Shore Tourism Website
• Regional Craft Cooperative and E-Commerce Site
• Caring & Sharing Community Garden Meeting
• Telehealth Education Sessions
• Quebec 4H Club Information Session
• Petit-Mécatina Hydro-Electric Project
• “Eau Naturelle” Discovery Summer Camp ~ Elementary Students
• Telehealth Education Sessions
• Volunteer Appreciation Celebration 2007
• Chevery Municipal Local Committee Meeting Agenda
• The Closing of Aylmer Sound
• National Aboriginal Day
• CoastFest 2008 Celebrations – Lower North Shore
• CoastFest 2008 Festival of the Arts
• Other CoastFest 2008 ideas…
• REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT – LNS REVITALIZATION PLAN Renewal and revitalization strategy for the Lower North Shore
• DÉVELOPPEMENT RÉGIONAL - PLAN DE RELANCE DE LA BCN Stratégie de rattrapage et de relance de la Basse Côte-Nord
• Provincial Park Project Update
• Vitality Indicators II: Quebec Case Studies
• Western Region School News
• Christ Church & Canadian Junior Rangers

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You can see the entire article in pdf format by clicking on this link.

I have recently added a history section to the Lower North Shore web site, and also to the forums section, and I have uploaded lots of old photos which I obtained from Dwight Bilodeau, and Gros Mecatina, to get things started. There is not much detail to go along with the photos yet, but they are still very interesting to go through. An example of this, is the photo below which shows my great grand father (Samuel John Robertson) delivering mail via dog team in Mutton Bay. It also turns out that this was the last mail run on The Lower North Shore, using a dog team like this.

Unlike the Pony Express, which is very well know, most people aren’t aware that there was a similar system that was used in Northern Canada. Instead of horses, which would not be very practical in the North, the mail was relayed with dog teams, consisting mostly of Huskies. On the Lower North Shore, there were several different people, including Samuel John Robertson, and Joe Joncas, that would delivery the mail up and down the coast from Natashquan, to Blanc Sablon. Just looking at the photo above, and watching them pull their loaded komatic over rocks, you can imagine how much effort was required to deliver mail like this.  The photo looks like it was taken in the spring time, which would also have been very dangerous, since the ice would have also been starting to break up.

Like the Pony Express, the Puppy Express was replaced by the telegraph, then telephone, and other modes of transportation such as trucks and planes. Of course people currently living on the Coast sometimes still wonder if the Puppy Express might be actually faster than the current system.

Another interesting photo is the one below of Miss Massey and Abe Poland. The description that went along with the photo was “He would walk from St. Pauls to date Miss Massey, dressed to kill”. I am not sure who either of these people are, but I bet that there is an interesting story behind the photo and that description.

There are also several old fishing photos from Old Fort Bay, and Blanc Sablon, such as the one below. It is just amazing to see the amount of fish they were catching back then. I am sure that these old timers could not have imagined the cod fishery would be closed like it was recently, due to the large drop in cod fish stocks in Eastern Canada.