Nova Scotia-1999
Page 3

Fortress Louisbourg, with Frederic Gate at the end of the road.

On our last full day in Nova Scotia we took a trip to Louisburg which is a restored French fort. The British completely destroyed it in the mid-seventeen hundreds and it stood in ruins until the provincial government began to rebuild it in the nineteen sixties. The trip is about two and a-half hours and took us across the southern end of Cape Breton. The road, Highway 104/4 twists and turns up and down hills and follows the shoreline of Bra D’Or, or Arms of Steel, as picturesque an area as exists. A beautiful vista was at every turn of the road and there were many, many turns. Steep, rocky hills, mostly covered with pines bordered the inland sea. We stopped for lunch at the Harbor View Restaurant in Louisburg. Dad had his favorite, roast beef with mashed potatoes and plenty of gravy. Jamie had a coke and fries with plenty of salt. Mary had fish and chips and I had a huge bowl of New England style clam chowder. Because I was the scribe, I don’t have to mention the hamburger, but I will anyway. We all enjoyed the food.

The Village area.

We spent several hours at the restored fort admiring the craftsmanship of the restoration. There were original architectural documents found in France to show the way. Much attention to detail was found in the buildings, furnishings and people playing period characters throughout the fort. The chapel in the Garrison was the finest restoration, in my opinion. We read that they have restored about thirty-five percent of the fort. As a side note, we found playing cards and a cribbage board amongst other period games in pub!

Barracks, Chapel and Governor's Apts. / Interior view of the Chapel.

On the return trip we took Highway 105 which follows the north shore of Bra D’Or. This time the light fog held onto some of the mysterious beauty of the region. We ate at Smitty’s Restaurant in Hawksburg-pretty good fare. We didn’t get to Arichat as Rose had suggested. This will leave an adventure for next time.

We departed Havre Boucher and bid farewell to our friends Rose and Carl Mossberg. Fog remained our companion, if not our friend as we headed back to Truro. Our plan was to get back there early enough to see the Tidal Bore which sometimes reaches up to forty-two feet! Or so we heard. Well, Mary drove and I navigated the way back. We did very well until reaching Truro, where I had her drive by the viewing location three times before Mary spotted the signs. Actually, the phase and closeness of the moon and other factors affect the Tidal Bore, I am sure. To be kind, there was very little to see. On the day we were there, the river water rose up two or three feet in about a half-hour. If you would like to see more I suggest you contact tourist information in Halifax to schedule the right time to be there.

We drove back to Truro and had a pleasant lunch with Henry DeLorey and his friend Jane. After lunch they took us to the train station and we loaded up, headed back to our families in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Green Bay, WI.

The train left Truro in a light rain, about three-thirty in the afternoon. We settled in, comfortable now with the routine of the train, meals in the dining car while attendants turn down of the berths and prepare the cars for sleeping, at ease with the motion- back and forth, and the sound- clickety-clicking along at sixty-five miles per hour at times.

We ate and slept well that evening and awoke early. Our return trip was a playback in many ways, in reverse, of our excursion outbound to Nova Scotia with the sounds and sights the same. We saw the trees, changed trains in Montreal, played cards and read books.

We came back different, though, having established new connections to our ancestral heritage, the people and the lands of our past. Even more cherished are the connections to the people of the present, Mary Delorey, Henry Delorey and friend Jane, Tony Kennedy, Lloyd Boucher, Francis and Evelyn DeCoste, and Rose and Carl Mossberg. Thank you for allowing us into you lives. Thank you Mary, Jamie and Dad, too for these memories of this wonderful trip.

Patrick Stephen "Pat" DeLorey
927 Fox River Drive
DePere, WI 54115-2416
Phone: (920) 336-3785
Fax: (920) 983-1232
E-mail: pdelorey@gbonline.com

Trip information and references:

Mary Anne DeLorey Ferguson
Jamie Lynn Ferguson
1131 Mixtwood Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3034
Phone: (734) 913-8170
E-mail: mferg@worldnet.att.net

Donald Robert DeLorey
9947 Seminole Ave.
Redford Township, MI 48239
Phone: (313) 937-0593

Lloyd Boucherlboucher@aehs.ednet.ns.ca

Evelyn and Francis DeCoste edecost@ns.sympatico.ca

Mary Delorey’s Family:
Margaret, married Christian LeBlanc
(William) Henry div., Catherine MacDonald
Mary Marcella, deceased
Joseph, married Claire MacDonald
Teresa, married Lawrence Bobko
John, married Margeret MacDonald
Martha, married Albert Carnegie
Philip, married Annette Bailey
Agnes, married Sam Kennedy (Tony's parents)
Charles, married Mary Tulkens delorey@ns.sympatico.ca
Michael, married Elizabeth

Harbour Light Bed & Breakfast
Rose and Carl Mossberg, Hosts
156 Wharf Road
Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia
Canada B0H 1P0
Phone: (902) 234-2292