‘It's nothing like the lull of the early 1920s'
Hantsport's prosperity tied to its people as much as its industry
ANNAPOLIS VALLEY - The ebb and flow of industry in Hantsport is much like the tides that once carried the gypsumladen vessels out to sea: a continuing series of highs and lows.
Whether a bustling port town building world-class ships, an industrialized mill town, or a community featuring quaint mom-and-pop shops, Hantsport seems to continually reinvent itself when needed.
The resiliency and entrepreneurial spirit of Hantsport residents has helped guide the area through even the most challenging of economic times.
In the last decade, the community has dissolved its town status and lost much of its industrial base, yet, they persevere. And now, new businesses are beginning to set up shop.
“The social aspect of Hantsport, being a very friendly little community where everybody knows everybody, has always been, I think, one of the really solid things about this community that you can't destroy,” said Brian Bishop, who has fond memories of growing up during the prosperous 1950s and ‘60s. “You can take away the businesses, but you can't take away... the heart of the community.”
From the 1800s to today, Hantsport has had its share of ups and downs, booms and busts, but it’s always persevered, says Judson Porter, the president of the Hantsport and Area Historical Society, and Bishop, a society member and former teacher.
THE BEGINNING OF A 'BOOM TOWN'
“It was a boom town, there's no question, in the shipbuilding days,” said Porter.
The mid to late 1800s saw Hantsport embrace the age of sail. Hundreds of vessels were built in or near Hantsport, with multiple shipyards scattering the shoreline.
“At that time, it was boom times for Hantsport because shipbuilding and ship repair were a big thing,” said Porter.
The region was considered to be among the fifth largest in terms of shipping and shipbuilding in the world.
Names like Ezra Churchill,
J. B. North and Fauquier and Porter, are synonymous with Hantsport's rich shipbuilding heritage.
“Shipbuilding, of course, went until around the end of the 1890s. And the reason why it ceased was basically twofold. The age of sail was coming to an end, steelhauled ships were coming and steam ships were being
Physicist Roy Bishop, a retired Acadia University professor who is the grandson of entrepreneur businessman Roy A. Jodrey, helped make the Dorie and Garnet McDade Heritage Centre in Hantsport become a reality.
CAROLE MORRIS-UNDERHILL
built,” said Porter, who grew up in Hantsport and now lives in Wolfville.
The Churchills carried on, even building some steam tugs near the end of Hantsport’s building boom, but ultimately, couldn’t compete on the world scale anymore.
“The winding down in the shipyards was, of course, a big blow to Hantsport because the workers would generally stay here,” said Porter, noting many of the master carpenters, builders, riggers and their families were affected.
“So when the age of sail and when the shipyards stopped, these people moved away, so a downturn for Hantsport at that particular time,” said Porter.
Around the same time, how
This portrait of Roy A. Jodrey hangs in the Dorie and Garnet McDade Heritage Centre in Hantsport. Jodrey, who launched several successful businesses, starting in the late 1920s, was known for his grit and determination.
CONTRIBUTED
ever, people with an entrepreneurial spirit began investing in Hantsport.
George H. Yeaton started his candy manufacturing company, Yeaton’s Candy Factory, with just 50 cents worth of sugar. This enterprise was hugely profitable, requiring him to expand and open a manufacturing plant and store.
Joseph (J.A.) Mumford created the Hantsport Foundry and Machine Works Company Limited, developing and patenting a number of specialized machines — including a shingle-sawing machine.
Charles Samuel Chesley founded the Chesley Artificial Limb Company, expanding to even offer a space for clients to stay.
“He had lost a leg himself and wasn't happy with the artificial limb that he purchased. So he said to himself, ‘I can do a better one.’ So he did and then started to make them for other people and then it blossomed into quite an active business at that time,” said Porter.
SECOND WAVE OF INDUSTRY
In 1927, Roy A. Jodrey started Minas Basin Pulp and Paper
Mills Limited (which later became called Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Limited). And then shortly after that, in 1933, he formed Canadian Keyes Fibre, which later became CKF.
These industries reinvigorated the workforce, providing highpaying local jobs to both men and women.
Porter says Jodrey’s grit, determination and vision helped keep him in business, even during the Great Depression.
In 1929, the stock market crashed, affecting businessmen near and far.
“R.A. Jodrey basically lost just about everything but managed to stay afloat,” said Porter.
“It's really a very interesting story of somebody that persevered; basically, he owed the banks all kinds of money and managed to keep the business afloat and was able then to move on to bigger and better things,” said Porter.
And his businesses helped employ hundreds over the decades, as well as countless youth during the summers.
“As a young boy, with Fundy Gypsum, Minas Basin Pulp and Power, and CKF, when it was time for you to get a job, if you were looking to either go to university or looking to get into full-time employment, there was always the opportunity to be able to have a job,” said Porter.
Jodrey’s grandson, Roy Bishop, who went on to become a physicist and taught at Acadia University for 31 years, recalls what it was like to work at the mill.
It was his second job, and it paid handsomely.
“My second job was 90 cents an hour and I felt I had it made,” said Roy Bishop, noting that when inflation is factored in, his wages were nothing to sneeze about.
“In my own lifetime, the dollar today will buy what eight or nine cents would when I was a child,” said Roy Bishop. “To give you an example, I bought a brand new Volkswagen when I was a