Looking back at Yarmouth County history
From 1968
Yarmouth’s mayor said he felt a new ferry service to sail between Yarmouth and New England was coming. Fred Emin made the remarks during a meeting in Yarmouth of municipal government representatives from the tri- county region. Yarmouth’s harbour was deep enough to accommodate the proposed new ferry, he said. As far as the terminal facilities were concerned, the only thing needed, he said, was a new loading ramp for vehicles. There was word that the keel for the new ship was to be laid within a month or two, the mayor said. ***
An architect had been chosen to design a new regional vocational school to be built in Yarmouth. The Halifax firm of Leslie R. Fairn and Associates had been picked for the project, the official announcement coming from local MLAs George Snow and Benoit Robichaud. The new school, which was expected to be able to accommodate about 600 students, was to be built in the north end of town.
*** Canada was experiencing a postal strike, although most rural post offices in the tri-county region reportedly were operating. The post office in the towns of Yarmouth and Digby were exceptions. These post offices were said to be closed, with no mail entering or leaving. At the national level, preliminary talks aimed at settling the dispute reportedly came up empty.
***
On the Yarmouth business scene, there were some new eateries in town, notably the Colony Restaurant and Dairy Queen. The Colony was starting with a staff of nine, but Frank Thibeau, who owned the business, said he expected the number of employees would grow very shortly. The Dairy Queen was owned and operated by K.C. (Cal) Boudreau, who opened with a staff of eight but who also said he expected that number to increase in the coming months.
***
The Maritime Provinces Economic Council said the concept of the fishing industry as being an occupation of “hard work, long working hours and little pay must be changed if it is to attract more young and energetic people. The fishery of the future will have to compete in every way with other industries.”
From 1978
A site on Yarmouth County’s Hardscratch Road was being eyed as a location for a sanitary landfill. A local solid waste committee had been looking at three potential sites for the landfill and the Hardscratch Road site was the one the committee preferred. At a recent public meeting, no objections had been raised to the Hardscratch Road proposal, the Vanguard reported at the time. The site was said to be a mile from the nearest residence.
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The NDP was the first of the political parties to announce its two Yarmouth candidates for the upcoming provincial election of 1978. Hartley Wickens and Charles Paddock would run for the New Democrats here. (At the time, Yarmouth was a dual riding, with two MLAs representing the town and county combined. The election would be held Sept. 19, although the date had yet to be announced.)
***
In sports, a team from SteAnne-du-Ruisseau was triumphant in a new local fast- pitch softball tournament, thanks to a stellar performance by Hubert Surette, the winning pitcher in all four of SAR’s tournament games, including a 1-0 victory over Bridgewater in the semifinal round and a 2-0 win over Greenwood in the title game.
From 1988
A big story in southwestern Nova Scotia over the past year or more had been the effort by the fishing industry and environmentalists to keep oil rigs off Georges Bank. The latest development was the passing in Ottawa of legislation putting a 12-year moratorium on petroleum exploration on the bank. It also called for the establishment of a review panel prior to the expiration of the ban to assess the environmental impact of any future drilling.
*** Popular musicians performing in Yarmouth in July 1988 included the Scottish rock band Nazareth, who appeared at the Red Knight, and Cape Breton’s John Allan Cameron, who was slated to perform at Th’YARC.