Former British Columbia couple enjoying fresh start on South Shore
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a two-part series on couples who moved to the South Shore from Ontario and B.C.
In preparation for their nearly 6,000 km cross-canada road trip from their residence in busy South Surrey, B.C., to their new rural home in Hebbs Cross, Melanie Sora and husband Lee Hantelmann checked off items from their must-do list.
Arrange movers: Check. Pack suitcases: Check. Confirm travel itinerary: Check. Gas up vehicle: Check.
Place and secure 50 hens and roosters in mobile chicken coop: Check.
Wait, what?
Sora considers her chickens part of the family, and following her creed meant that none would get left behind.
“I asked a veterinarian to confirm that my intentions were humane. He encouraged me, saying the chickens would be resilient as long as we stopped a few times to let them free range and get fresh air,” said Sora.
Purchasing some flexible plastic snow netting, inexpensive curtain rods to stabilize the netting, and patio bricks to hold the rods upright, Sora fashioned a portable enclosure she could set up easily in five minutes. Both ends of the netting could be tied to the trailer, then the door opened to let out the chickens.
“The system worked nicely. No chickens escaped the enclosure during the trip, and all 50 made it to Nova Scotia in good health,” said Sora.
“It was the first time either Lee or I had driven all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast, so it was special that we could experience the journey together. We live in a beautiful country,” she said.
“We took a couple weeks to reach Nova Scotia, taking the scenic route as often as we could. With so many lives to care for, including our three dogs, we couldn’t really boot it from point to point,” she added.
Sora and Hantelmann owned a doggie daycare and rented a home just north of the Canada/ U.S. border.
Hantelmann said renting was not ideal, and even if they did qualify for a mortgage in the high-priced Vancouver region, he said they would have been “working until their dying days” trying to pay it off.
“There was no way we could afford to buy. If you don’t feel like you’re getting ahead, then you’re just getting by. It was frustrating. We decided to consider buying a home in another part of Canada,” he said.
“Two years ago, we put all our savings into one account, then asked ourselves what could we do with this amount of money. We love the ocean and started thinking about Atlantic Canada,” he added.
Sora said the couple flew to Nova Scotia several times before the move, looking at properties all over the province, except Yarmouth and Cape Breton, locations they considered to be too far from the Halifax area.
“We were attracted to the South Shore because of its good weather, usually far less snow than other parts of the province, and its close proximity to services. Also, the scenery is stunningly beautiful,” said Sora.
“The house we bought in Hebbs Cross wasn’t officially for sale. We learned about it through word of mouth, and the owner wasn’t sure if he wanted to sell. Eventually, he sold it to us. We were attracted to the three-acre property because it included several outbuildings in good condition,” she said.
All the couple’s hens and roosters chow down on organic fermented feed. Sora and Hantelmann conduct farmgate sales at their property, and regularly sell out of eggs.
Sora, who works as a spare school bus driver and at Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital determining if visitors pose a COVID risk before allowing them entry for appointments or treatments, said the move to a rural area nearly two years ago was a huge change, and it took a while to get used to their new lifestyle.
“Sorry, but I’m not a Tim Horton’s person. I really miss my Starbucks. Buying a Starbucks coffee when we go to Halifax every two or three months is a special treat for Lee and me,” said Sora.
(Halifax has just five Starbucks. In stark contrast, B.C. is home to 377 Starbucks, 100 in the city of Vancouver alone, including two busy downtown stores directly across the street from each other.)
Sora said most of the people she has met on the South Shore have been “amazing, warm and welcoming,” and before she and her husband arrived, she didn’t pay much attention to the founding provinces of Canada.
“Lee and I love history and genealogy, and now we live in a place with such a rich heritage,” she said.
Hantelmann works at a Bridgewater call centre.
“I have experience with call centres, and I work with some nice men and women. They are the type of folks with whom I could enjoy a beer and a barbecue, and that appeals to me,” said Hantelmann, who also feels fortunate to live in a community that has not been directly exposed to COVID.
Hantelmann pointed out that he identifies as a musician, primarily a drummer.
“I learned to play the drums when I was 14, and the next year I started playing professionally. I spent 20 years playing professionally in bands, from the late ’70s to the mid ’90s, including in a hard rock band called Matrex, formed in 1985,” he said. (Look it up, kids.)
“I would have to move to Halifax to play again, and that’s not going to happen any time soon. I would love to start playing casually, and jamming with musicians here on the South Shore,” he added.
Hantelmann said he has played many songs many times. For example, he figures he has drummed out Roadhouse Blues by The Doors at least 1,300 times.
Perhaps during their epic British Columbia to Nova
Scotia road trip with their feathered friends, Hantelmann drummed the steering wheel while Sora recited the opening lyrics of Roadhouse Blues: “Yeah, keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel.”