A day of sadness

We had a sad day. Two reasons really: we visited the site of a town which had been re-located forcefully in the 1960's; and we had the death of one of our co-passengers. Both very difficult situations.
Emotionally, the easier part for us was our visit to Brake's Cove, an outport of maybe 200, which had been "resettled" under Smallwood's government in the 60's.




The government had decided they couldn't afford to provide services to all the small outports of Newfoundland, so decided that many would be resettled into some of the larger ones. So Brake's Cove, which had been a home for many families for a century and more, ceased to exist. Many homes were left intact, although some were put on boats and moved to "town". The land remained in the families, and some of those families continue to use the land for summer cottages. But nobody lives there permanently any more. It is very sad for those people, even yet. Joan, the wife of Tony Dixon(who is the Mayor of Cox's Cove), gets tearful when talking about the resettlement.
And we visited, with the help of some of the displaced citizens, this place of memories; went to the cemetery, walked the beach, saw the cottages, and generally explored.
Until the second sad event happened. Michael, a sixty year old man with Huntington's Disease, had bravely been part of our group, clambering down the ladders to the Zodiacs, walking the trails with us, and doing what he had wanted with little assistance. Today, however, was his day to die. He was eating a marshmallow cooked over a beach fire, when he likely choked and seized, and then collapsed. Many of us worked on him for over an hour, got him out by boat and ambulance to Cornerbrook, but failed to bring him back. It was terrible trauma for the staff who worked on him, and for the other passengers who were present. And of course for his wife Colleen. It reminded us all of the importance of living in the moment. Michael had always wanted to go the Newfoundland, and he had done it. It was the best day in terms of weather we have had so far. So in those senses he did well. But, well, you know.... Brake's Cove had another casualty.
Some of the day's program was cancelled out of respect. We still had a song and dance in the town of Cox's Cove, along with a ceremony that granted me (among other people) citizenship in Newfoundland (the "ceremony" included a challenge about their language; dancing a jig; a shot of Screech drunk quickly; and kissing a codfish!). This community was great, helping us to get through a hard day with grace and humour. We treated them to a tour of the ship, and they were out in force to wave us good-bye from the wharf, as we sailed off.








The evening on the ship was the showing of the NFB film "Hard Place" based on the book by Michael Crummey. A moving exploration of life in the outports, based on his life and that of his parents and grandparents in the old days, by an author I will read more from.
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Location:Cox's Cove