Looking back at Digby County history
From 1960
Nineteen-sixty was a provincial election year in Nova Scotia. Premier Robert Stanfield – the Progressive Conservative leader – had announced that June 7 would be election day. At the time of the election call, the PCs had 24 seats, the Liberals (led by Henry Hicks) had 18 and the CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, led by Michael MacDonald) had one. In Digby, Keith Potter, a former MLA, was running for the PCs after Malcolm Leonard, the Tory incumbent, had not reoffered. Victor Cardoza, another former MLA and Digby’s mayor at the time, was running for the Liberals. In Clare, incumbent Liberal member Dr. Pierre E. Belliveau was running again and was being challenged by PC candidate Kenneth Weaver.
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Was a new ferry on the way for the Digby-Saint John run to replace the Princess Helene? A senior official with the Canadian Pacific Railway said the company had, for some time, considered replacing the existing Digby-Saint John ship with a larger vessel, one that could carry 800 passengers, twice the capacity of the Princess Helene, although nothing definite had been announced. The CPR also envisaged a new vessel being capable of carrying railway cars, according to a news story at the time. There was no urgency in getting a new ship, but the company was said to be “quite serious about it.”
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On another ferry note, some sections of the Princess Helene’s exterior decking were being replaced and the hull was to be cleaned and repainted. Some interior repairs were planned too. The ship also was about to get its annual inspection. The previous year – 1959 – the ferry had been out of service for most of May undergoing what was described as a “major overhaul” costing $175,000.
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There was no word yet from Digby municipal council regarding its financial contribution to a proposed new Digby hospital. Local municipal units were being asked to contribute different amounts to the project, with the Municipality of Digby looking at the biggest contribution of $160,000, according to a local newspaper article. The Town of Digby reportedly was looking at an $80,000 contribution and was planning to hold a ratepayers meeting on the matter. Annapolis had approved $40,000 as its share and Clare had approved a $20,000 contribution, the newspaper item said.
*** Participation was up considerably in the Digby Music Festival in 1960. Held over three days – two in Digby, one in Tiverton – the event drew over 300 entries all told, representing just over 1,200 participants. Those figures reportedly were double what they had been the previous year.
From 1971
It wasn’t the usual sod-turning ceremony that marked the launch of a major construction project in the spring of 1971. Instead, it was a blast of dynamite – “creating a sound to be heard for miles,” a media report said – that heralded the start of work on a new Bear River bridge. The nearly-2,000foot-long structure was expected to cost about $3.36 million. Garnet Brown, Nova Scotia highways minister at the time, said bridges similar to the one to be built here could be found in Europe, where they had resulted in reduced maintenance costs.
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Over 800 people attended the Collège Sainte- Anne graduation ceremony, which was held in St. Mary’s church. Forty students received bachelor of arts degrees. Rev. Leger Comeau, the ceremony’s guest speaker, paid tribute to the priests of the Eudist order for their efforts over the years in bringing higher education to the Acadian population in western Nova Scotia.
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In Meteghan River, an official launch was held for the C. Monty Macmillan, which was to be used as a ferry in Cape Breton (between Grand Narrows and Iona). Built at the A.F. Theriault and Sons shipyard, the vessel was named after a Cape Breton doctor. The ship was christened by the granddaughter of the vessel’s namesake.
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The Weymouth branch of the Canadian Red Cross wash hoping for 100 participants for its upcoming 10-mile walkathon. The event’s theme was “10 miles for 10 reasons,” a reference to the various services the Red Cross provided.