Read the November issue of the Cooperator.
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This file contains the texts of articles from the 2025 issue of the Eastern Shore Cooperator. See the PDF version for all photos and photo captions.
Art, Culture and Cranes
By Mary Elizabeth O’Toole
When artist Aja (pronounced Asia) Shipperley and her husband, both musicians, moved from Toronto to Malay Falls two years ago, they hoped for a slower pace, space for their children to grow close to nature, and creative opportunities. They found all of that—and more—in the creative circles of their new coastal community.
“We immediately felt so accepted,” Shipperley says. “We have both had chances to be active in music in the community. And I joined an art group at the library where people bring projects and chat while they work. There’s gentle critique, but mostly encouragement. That support gave me confidence to start painting.”
She joined Artists of the Eastern Shore, where she recently began a term as president. The group, she says, nurtures artists at every stage, and wants to encourage more youth participation. “We already offer a youth bursary,” she explains, “but I’d love to expand the program—have students show their work, share why they’re applying, and maybe match them with mentors.”
Shipperley’s art roots run deep. Her mother is an expressive painter whose work often reflects emotion; her father, a musician who had a recording studio, encouraged her through competitions like Canadian Idol. All of her grandparents pursued creative paths late in life—her paternal grandmother published a family history at age 83. “Everyone in my family is artistic, but most of us were late bloomers,” she said with a laugh.
The family tradition of creativity continues. Her daughter, just eight, sometimes joins her at market tables, selling cards printed from her own drawings. “She didn’t want to sell her paintings,” Shipperley says, “but she wanted to make cards like her mom. My son, 10, has a different creative approach. He loves robots and wants to be a mechanical engineer.”
Shipperley’s acrylic paintings feature bright, whimsical animals which she has used to illustrate and write a book, Whisper of Birches, Luna's Watch. She is working on a second book featuring sea animals and is exploring seascapes and rainy scenes, pushing her skills while maintaining her signature warmth. She imagines another book—this one celebrating the women who shaped her life. “It’s about the women who made me who I am,” she says. “My mother, my grandmothers, the friends and artists who’ve encouraged me. I already see the pictures in my head.”
Her art also includes paper crane jewelry, which has become a cornerstone of her displays. Cranes—symbols of health, longevity, and hope in Japanese culture—connect Shipperley to her heritage. “I am half Japanese, and my grandmother taught me how to fold them,” she says. “The tradition of folding a thousand cranes, senbazuru, is about making a great wish. I started making them and kept going. For me, it keeps me connected to my grandparents and my Japanese roots.”
She has folded well over two thousand cranes, including a thousand for her own wedding. “We hung them from the ceiling,” she recalls. “The centerpieces were large paper cranes, each with a glass bowl placed in the centre to hold a floating candle.”
The cranes now appear as earrings, necklaces, ornaments, and even hanging dreamcatcher-like pieces. Shipperley is experimenting with mobiles and continues to try new items. “I’ve made tiny cranes as small as a centimetre and would love to experiment with much bigger ones,” she says.
Turning those paper cranes into wearable art took some experimentation. Describing her process, Shipperley explained, “I tend to think everything through and know how I want to approach it before beginning the work. For earrings, I played with medium and methods until I found an application that made them more durable without compromising the delicate construction.”
At markets, Shipperley’s booth is alive with colour, cranes, and cheerful energy. “I love when people come around the corner and suddenly see it,” she enthuses, “Their faces brighten and they smile. That’s what I want my art to do.”
Learn more on FB or IG @ShipperleyVisionStudios. Upcoming markets include the Mystic Moon Faire (Halifax -Oct 24-25), Seaside Christmas (Petpyswick Yacht Club – Nov 14-16) and Christmas on Main (Sheet Harbour – Nov 30)
Tourism Roundtables Coming Up
By Richard Bell
The Eastern HRM Tourism Readiness Pilot will be holding a series of six roundtables in November to gather community input on the vision of tourism for Eastern HRM. The pilot program aims to unlock the area’s tourism potential while supporting local economic development and job creation. Despite the region’s natural beauty and cultural richness, the Eastern region currently only attracts approximately 2% of tourist traffic to HRM due to limited tourism experiences and infrastructure.
This community-led initiative is supported by a steering committee comprised of representatives from Discover Halifax, Tourism Nova Scotia, Halifax Partnership, Labour, Skills, and Immigration (LSI), and CBDC Bluewater.
The Cooperator sat down with Natalie Joseph, Program Coordinator, Eastern HRM Tourism Readiness Pilot with Halifax Partnership to chat about the role.
Originally from Dartmouth, Joseph spent many years in Toronto building a successful career in the QSR industry. From developing local store marketing plans for McDonalds restaurants, to leading national & regional brand strategy for Burger King and most recently served as the Sr. Int’l Field Marketing for Baskin Robbins.
After more than 20 years in the fast-paced corporate world, Joseph felt the call to come home. In 2021, she returned to the East Coast—trading Toronto’s gridlock for coastal views and community connection.
“Our goal of the Eastern HRM Tourism Pilot,” Joseph said, “is really to bring members of communities together and encourage open dialogue so we can potentially uncover opportunities that can help drive tourism. By coming together as a collective, we may recognize possibilities we hadn’t seen before or fully realized the potential of. We want to hear directly from grassroots businesses and community members to understand what tourism could and should look like for this region.”
Joseph acknowledged that there have been previous efforts to promote tourism in Eastern HRM.
“I wasn’t here then,” she explained. “I’m coming to this with fresh eyes and ears — as someone who hasn’t been directly involved in past initiatives. I feel that this gives me the opportunity to really listen and understand what people are saying from a fresh perspective.”
Joseph notes that her role is to bring those voices forward and share with the steering committee what the community is expressing. The outcome of the November roundtables will shape the next series of community meetings which will happen in Feb/March of 2026.
Repurposing ESDH:
Take the Survey
The Infrastructure Committee of the Musquodoboit Harbour and Area Chamber of Commerce and Civic Affairs recently held 9 community conversations during October. Sixty-seven people participated in person.
The committee heard a lot of great ideas from the community on what the region needs and what the opportunities might be for the repurposing of the ESDHS building and property. Now we’d like to hear from you!
Your feedback and insights, which are crucial for ensuring the needs of our community are heard, will be shared with everyone and all three levels of government in a “What We Learned” report once we have reviewed all the feedback. The survey will be open for completion until November 24, 2025.
Go here to review the background information and then respond to the questions.
https://musquodoboitharbour.ca/your-mhaccca/community-conversations-high-school-survey/
Learning to Love Mushrooms
By Richard Bell
“There’s just so many uses for mushrooms!”
Britton Proulx should know. As the founder and owner of Mushaboom Mushrooms, he’s been learning the ways of mushrooms since he started growing them in his basement in mid-2022.
“I think the majority of people think of mushrooms just as the button mushrooms that you eat, or like psychedelic mushrooms or poisonous mushrooms. But so many of them are delicious. You can cook them up and make them taste like chicken or pork chops, or you can cook them and get them crispy. And you could, I swear, you could trick people into thinking it's meat sometimes.”
Proulx came to mushrooms after he moved to Nova Scotia. A native of Calgary, he had been working in Toronto in digital marketing and video production when he and his partner (a Wolfville native) decided to move to Nova Scotia.
”We started looking on the South Shore,” Proulx said, “but we came across this great house on the Eastern Shore. We were really impressed when we drove in and all the Simpsons characters were on the side of the road at the bowling alley on Highway 7. We were like, whoa that’s cool!”
Proulx’s conversion to mushrooms took place after he watched the documentary Fantastic Fungi. “I was blown away,” Proulx said. “And around the same time I’d been walking our dogs in the woods a lot and just seeing lots of weird random mushrooms around and taking an interest in that. And that just parlayed into the idea of starting a business. The grant I got from CBDC to start the business was really helpful.”
Proulx credits reading a book by Paul Stamets, one of the world’s leading promoters of the multiple uses of mycelium. “Paul’s book is the one book I learned a lot from,” Proulx said. “I learned basically everything else from YouTube videos.”
“I've converted my whole basement into a workspace,” Proulx said. “I started with one tented grow room, and now I have three. One is nice and warm where they incubate. The other two are a lot cooler and really humid. I pump in the humidity and then I have an air intake and outtake. And all of that has to be balanced in a way that appeals most to the mushrooms. There was a lot of trial and error.”
Proulx starts off with a little syringe filled with a mixture of sugar water and mycelium, the underground “roots.” The mycelium begin growing in the syringe, which he then injects into a jar of sterilized grains. The mycelium grow and take over the whole jar of grains. “Then I transfer the jar into a bag of sterilized sawdust and soy hulls” Proulx said. “Once the mycelium takes over the bag, then I just cut it open and mushrooms start growing out right away, in a week or so after I open the bag.”
He has special UV lights. “Unlike the button mushrooms that will grow in the dark, the gourmet ones like a natural day and night light cycle,” Proulx said. “The light helps them grow bigger and have richer colors.”
Proulx started off with 15 different kinds of mushrooms. He now sells black pearl oysters, pink oysters, chestnuts, lion's mane, and blue oyster. He also grows some medicinal mushrooms, like Turkey Tail, which is said to have anti-cancer properties.
“I started giving turkey tail to our dog right after she was given two weeks to live with a big tumor,” Proulx said. “I made a powder and mixed it in with her favorite food. She rebounded within a few weeks, and two and a half years later, she’s still doing awesome.”
[You can order mushroom teas and powders at https://mushaboom-mushrooms.com. Proulx sells fresh mushrooms at farmers markets.]
Letter to the Editor
A Plea for Democratic Accountability
[Editor’s Note: We have been very concerned about Premier Tim Houston’s abrupt decisions to end the province’s long-established moratoriums on fracking and uranium mining. This letter below to the Premier touches on our concerns about the Premier’s actions on this file.]
Dear Premier Houston,
Is this a democracy, or are you the Minister of Musical Chairs now?
Another stunning move, the cabinet shuffle October 21st, 2025. The provincial release titled "New Cabinet Will Drive Development" laid out a dramatic consolidation of power. As Premier, you have now assumed the role of "Minister of Energy,” while retaining your positions as President of the Executive Council and Minister of Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs.
What we are witnessing is a political game of musical chairs. The music plays, the seats are shuffled, and when the music stops playing, the same person ends up taking the seat. You have made yourself Minister of Energy, bypassing the middleman entirely and consolidating power into a single seat.
Ministers who might slow the agenda have been replaced; the portfolios were realigned to match the accelerated resource rush. The government is redesigning the rule book so that oversight, accountability, and independent decision-making all sit in the same chair.
Let me make this crystal clear: I am not criticizing economic opportunity itself. Nova Scotians deserve good jobs, robust infrastructure, and a future in which everyone thrives: the economy, the environment, and the people. Renewables are the future, not reckless extraction.
We must also remember to demand that the “how” be as sound as the “why.” When the person tasked with developing our energy future is also the person responsible for governing and approving it, serious questions arise. The public deserves transparent progress, fully independent review, meaningful community and Indigenous involvement, and above all, the logic, not the illusion, of checks and balances.
There are too many situations where Nova Scotians are steadily losing their voices while political power tightens its grip. The lines of accountability are blurring, and decisions once made through public consultation are now issued from behind closed doors. What we are watching unfold here isn't democracy in motion, it's the opposite.
The leadership structure has become what I'm dubbing the "three T’s”...Tim, Tim, and Tim. One man, one party, one vision, consolidated at the expense of every dissenting voice. When government begins to speak with only one voice, it no longer represents the people; it represents itself. Profit before people. Money before life.
Our province's environment is not a sandbox. Our aquifers are vulnerable. Nearly half of Nova Scotian's rely on private wells, systems which are outside of large-scale monitoring frameworks. Geological studies show that in certain plutonic and bedrock aquifers in Nova Scotia, uranium levels already approach or exceed Health Canada's guideline limits, even before any new industrial development. Do we really need to add fuel to the fire? Hint, hint... This year’s drought should serve as the biggest reminder as to why we need to protect our environment at all costs, not destroy it further.
Given all of this, an administration rushing to push resource extraction under a "development first" mentality is profoundly irresponsible and doesn't just put the environment at risk, but also hundreds of thousands of people within the province, if not everyone, at risk.
The information is out there. The risks are documented. When oversight is cut, public trust fails.
Nova Scotia was not built on shortcuts, on expedited approvals, or on silenced dissent. This province was built on resilience, and institutions working with citizens, not around them. We must insist that meaningful and lasting development be rooted in accountability and public consultation, not just accelerated policies and projects while cutting the "red tape" to expedite profits.
Nova Scotia's land, water, and future should never become collateral damage. That is not the next headline we will be reading.
--Colby Sawler, East Dalhousie, Citizens Against Uranium Exploration and Mining in Nova Scotia
Birds and Porcupines on the Move
By Eric Cole
Driving along any of our rural roads in September, you might have seen more flashes of white than usual in the partial form of birds erupting from the ditches as you passed. Northern flickers and Dark-eyed juncos take to the roadsides in September for some reason, a real sign of Fall for me, but one I’d be hard pressed to explain.
Flickers nest in tree cavities like other woodpeckers but they feed on the ground, and mainly on ants. I’d be on shaky ground to assert there’s a sudden proliferation of ants on roadsides and verges in September that draws flickers, but something does. Perhaps it’s also the seeds or berries of what we might call weeds, which probably is what draws the juncos too. And although both species are on the move as another breeding season is done, I’d be on even shakier ground to propose that they choose our roadways, efficient as they are, as their preferred migratory pathways.
I’ll stick to how the crow flies for avian itineraries. While these birds tend to veer up and away from the road as you pass, other September roadside regulars are not so cautious, and this can be detrimental to them. Ruffed grouse, which some call partridge, and Spruce grouse, are both fairly common here and are often seen at the side of the road on the edge of the bush. Heavy set birds, they prefer to ramble around on foot and when they do fly, it always looks like a reluctant decision followed by a cumbersome flutter into the bush. Cryptically camouflaged to blend into their surroundings, they more often opt to freeze in place until the last moment rather than fly away at the sight of danger. Many are killed on our roads thanks to this hard-wired strategy.
North American porcupines come out to graze at sunset as the summer wanes. On September nights we saw a mother with her toddler, and by October, only the kid was coming out for the evening graze in our yard. September is their breeding season, so mum has gone off to find dad so to speak. The youngster is the cutest thing, a roly-poly waddler of extreme nonchalance whose eyesight’s not half as sharp as his quills as he turns his coat towards me when he finally sees me approach. Secure in his quills, hopefully he can enjoy his slow and deliberate foraging lifestyle unmolested.
But just like the grouse, except deploying quills instead of camouflage, porcupines are helplessly prone to getting run over on our roads. Most road-kills occur at night In the Fall when they are dispersing, porcupines are one of the most common casualties. There’s nothing you can do if a deer jumps out of the ditch in front of you, but I always drive slower at night so that I might be able to react if I see an animal like a porcupine crossing the road up ahead.
On a lighter note, have you noticed all the Blue jays gathering? They are certainly restless but surprisingly little is known about their migratory habits. Some go south, some stick around. Some days hundreds of them can be seen streaming over the tree line in single file. A gang of them with their unruly kids in tow have been descending on us daily, shattering the peace and filling their faces from our feeders. I thought I knew every sound of their impressive vocal repertoire until a Sharp-shinned hawk went after one the other day. Just as it was being snatched at, the jay let out a grating screech the like of which I’ve never heard before. It may well have shocked the hawk as much as it shocked me, and saved its life.
People Rally for Families of Crash Victims
By Richard Bell
Friends and neighbors of the two victims of the head-on crash on Highway 107 on October 17 have mounted Go Fund Me campaigns to provide support for the grieving families.
According to the RCMP, on October 17 shortly after 7 a.m., an eastbound Mazda 3 collided with an eastbound Hyundai Kona, before the Mazda 3 then collied head-on with a westbound Mazda 3, resulting in the deaths of both drivers at the scene. The driver of the eastbound Mazda 3 was Katherine Anne McNeil, a 31-year old mother of three from Gaetz Brook The driver of the westbound Mazda 3 was Sean Wainwright, a 48-year old father of two from Porters Lake.
Hollie Quick has established a Go Fund Me page to raise money for Sean Wainwright’s wife and two children. The page is at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-wainwright-family-of-porters-lake. Tiffany Leopold has put up a Go Fund Me page to raise funds for the funeral and ongoing care of McNeil’s three children. The page is at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/katherine-anne-mcneil.
The RCMP is investigating the crash. They have asked for “Anyone with information or dashcam video of the collision is asked to contact the RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment at 902-490-5020. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca or use the P3 Tips app.”
[Editor’s Note: All of us at the Cooperator offer our deepest sympathies to the families of Katherine Anne McNeil and Sean Wainwright.]
Innovative Food Bank
Seeks Building Funds
By Richard Bell
The Marine Communities Food Bank on Highway 7 behind the West Chezzetcook Fire Station is a modest building. But the organization’s leadership has managed to achieve results that have brought the CEO of Food Banks Canada for a first-hand look earlier this year at their innovative work.
The group is running a “Shore Up Our Food Bank” campaign to raise funds to finish a much needed expansion of its storage space. The board invited the Cooperator to take a look at the ongoing construction, and to talk about the role that the food bank plays in dealing with the community’s food insecurity.
“We’ve seen a three-fold increase in the number of people coming to the food bank,” said board member Peggy Gates. “Nearly 30% of Nova Scotians are facing food insecurity. One in three children in our province live in food insecure households. So just for the month of September, which is again one of our warmer months, we served 67 households with 148 adults and 30 children.”
Edie Rossiter started this food bank back in the mid-1990s, and incorporated as a society in 2000.Rossiter ran the food bank for 25 years, passing leadership along to the current three-person board.
Keeping a food bank well-stocked has never been more demanding, but the Marine Bank volunteers have gone above and beyond to help. “One thing we like to brag about is nobody is ever turned away,” said board member Yvonne Kilfoil.
They even offer help between the biweekly openings. “We have a cell phone that one of our volunteers always has,” board member Jane Ta-yan said. “Even if they get a call when it’s not a distribution day, one of us will make sure they get help.”
Community support has been essential to meeting people’s needs. “We get twice-a-month deliveries from Feed Nova Scotia,” Gates said. “But over the years, because of the demands on Feed Nova Scotia, we are not getting near enough to feed our clients. If we relied on Feed Nova Scotia alone, there would be very small bags going out the door. But this community is extremely generous. Without their help, these shelves would be bare.”
During Covid, they had to bring food out to waiting cars. As Covid wound down, two tech-savvy volunteers developed a program for their iPad to improve this outside delivery set-up. The program has icons for all the different kinds of food and other products (toilet paper, paper towels, etc.) on the shelves.
“This system lets us make it easier for people to make choices,” Gates said. “You can tells us how many cans of soup your family wants, say, and we can tell you whether we have the kind of soup you want, or if we’re out, whether you want something that is available. It makes keeping inventory much easier. We shared this with the CEO of Foodbanks Canada, and we shared at the day of sharing for Feed Nova Scotia for other food banks to see. We're very proud of this.”
The board decided they needed to build an addition to deal with the growing problems of maintaining their old building, which could not support the weight of new shelving. They got an HRM grant and two generous individual donations to cover the cost. But the water table was only 32 inches down, requiring more expensive helical piles. “We’re running this fund-raising campaign to make sure that the cost of the new building will not in any way impact the food people are getting,” Kilfoil said.
[They are accepting e-transfer donations at [email protected]. You can drop off cash or cheque donations at the Food Bank, 5531 Truck 7, Chezzetcook, or at Piper & Max in Porters Lake.]
Well-Being HUB’s New Peer Support Network
The Well-Being HUB is creating a Peer Support Program to connect community members across the Eastern Shore and Musquodoboit Valley with trained volunteers who can offer understanding, encouragement, and hope during challenging times.
"Our vision is a supportive community where residents can transition through life with hope and dignity, accessing the right care and services at the right time," explains Sarah Ryan, Outreach and Education Coordinator at the Well-Being HUB. "Peer support is a crucial part of making that vision a reality."
What is Peer Support?
Peer support is about connection — having someone to talk to who gets it. Someone who won’t judge but will listen and walk alongside you.
“We all face difficult times—whether it's feeling isolated, managing stress, dealing with life changes, or just needing someone to talk to,” says Julia Brown, Mental Health and Wellness Navigator at the Well-Being HUB. “Peer support creates that safe space where you can share what's on your mind without fear of judgment.”
Some of the most effective support comes from someone who understands what you’re going through. Peer supporters are neighbours, friends, and community members offering genuine connection based on shared experience—not professionals offering treatment, but people who understand because they’ve been there too.
Building the Foundation
The HUB is currently training community members to become peer supporters and has established a Peer Support Working Group to help shape the program before it launches in the new year. Peer supporters will provide:
- A listening ear without judgment
- Help with identifying resources and next steps
- Encouragement and hope
- Connection to community supports
- Practical strategies
Getting Involved
The HUB is actively recruiting people who have navigated mental health challenges and want to give back by supporting others. Training and education will continue throughout the year, supported by ongoing Community of Practice sessions where peer supporters can connect, learn, and share experiences.
Connections can happen by phone, email, or in-person—whatever works best. There’s no waiting list, no paperwork, and no cost. Conversations are confidential and focused on what matters to you.
Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, isolation, caregiver stress, or simply need someone who understands, our peer supporters will be here to help.
How to Get Connected
If you’re interested in becoming a trained peer supporter and helping build this program, contact the Well-Being HUB at 902-237-5065 or [email protected].
Community Well Exceeds Expectations
By Richard Bell
With a winter shutdown approaching, the community well at the Dale Bennett Memorial Ballfield in Musquodoboit Harbour has pumped almost 30,0000 gallons of potable water since early August.
The community well was a long time in coming. The original idea was to demonstrate the existence of the major aquifer that the Department of Mines had first identified back in 1968. Proponents argued that Musquodoboit Harbour should tap into this aquifer and provide piped water to the village core (without the much larger expense of a sewage treatment plant on the back end).
“The Old School put in an application to Farm Credit Canada for an Agri Spirit Award in 2021, to build an off grid, solar powered well that could provide water for hikers on the nearby trail and emergency water during power outages, or the infrequent drought,” said Karen Bradley, who was then Chair of the Board at the Old School Community Gathering Place.
The entire project was done for a total of $27,000, with lots of volunteer help, including the ESDHS O2 program students who constructed the exterior of the pumphouse.
As the project moved forward, there were unavoidable delays from design changes and supply chain shortages. Getting approval from HRM for the site was also … time consuming.
By winter of 2024, all the equipment was at hand. Bradley said, “Kudos to Foster Bishop and Colin Cameron for persistence and care of this project.”
It took a while for people in Eastern Shore communities to discover the well. But as the drought began to wear on, the hours of access to the well were extended. From August 6 onward, there has been a steady stream of users from all along the Shore.
“Because of the drought, the demand on the well exceeded our expectations,” said Colin Cameron. “To make sure the well can serve everyone, we decided to ask people to limit themselves to 25 gallons per visit. As the days have gotten shorter and the nights colder, we have had to reduce the hours of access to what the batteries can support.”
“This project was not designed or constructed to be a year-round, fully winterized, heated facility. We will keep the well operating as long as possible.”
In an October 24 CBC Nova Scotia story on the drought, Bradley said, “I think this project is an example of community taking care of itself based on the assets it has.”
Hours are posted on the Old School Community Gathering Place Facebook pages and website: https://www.theoldschool.ca/aquifer
That Reminds Me of a Story
Old-Fashioned Seaside Christmas
By Edyth Shuman
During the early autumn of 1990, we, as in a couple of small business owners, were wondering what we could do differently from other small communities. The idea was to celebrate the up-and-coming Christmas shopping season.
As a result, the owners of Salmon River Country Inn [The Blanchette's] met at The Wood'N'Duck [The Shumans] home to build a plan.
The two couples split the list of 10-12 small businesses. The understanding was that all participants would "brainstorm" our ideas. We had a wonderful group ready to start something new!
The plan was that we'd have a three-day shopping weekend. We were careful to stay within a ten-mile radius of Musquodoboit Harbour center! Shoppers were given an entrance card at their first stop. In order to qualify for the "Winning Gift Card,” each business was required to sign the entrance card as people made the rounds.
It's important to mention that each business took on special features, such as clothing, treats, and music. An example of this was Henk Karsten, of Dutch heritage, who celebrated his heritage by offering special candies and cookies as well as dressing like Black Peter, "Holland's Father Christmas.”
Over the years as the Wood’D’Duck Carvings [Dave & Edyth Shuman] owners, we had hundreds of visitors who returned year after year as the event became part of many Christmas Celebrations.
The following is a list of the small businesses that were part of "the Old-Fashioned Seaside Christmas" those first few years: House Of Glass Crafts [Henk Karsten], Upsa Daisy Flower Shoppe [Marie Doyle], Camelot Inn [Charlie Holgate], Salmon River Country Inn [ Blanchettes], Wayward Goose Inn, Willy's Bakery, Harbourview Antiques [Marilyn & Keith Baker], Maggie J's Designs [Marilyn & Margaret Bennett], Large Wood Designs [John Tappan], and Old Times/ Old Friends Antiques [Margaret Hayes]..After 35 years, Margaret is the only member of the original group to open her doors to long time clients and friends, as Seaside Christmas continues to start our Holiday Shopping.
In closing, I'd like to pay tribute to a couple of local ladies who put their hearts and souls to this "Event"! Jean Young, a local fiddler, spent the three days wandering throughout our house full of crafters. Thelma Carmichael, a friend from up the road, was tickled to act as our hostess. She was decked out in her costume of the early 1900's. Both ladies are gone now, but our memories can easily bring them back each year.
A local sign-maker made Father Christmas signs for each business. ATV's "Breakfast Television" welcomed many of the owners during the weeks before.
[The Old-Fashioned Seaside Christmas now known as "The SEASIDE CHRISTMAS" will be held Nov. 14-15-16/ 2025. Watch for the special wreathes at participating businesses.]
