Cavendish- August 9

After three weeks of missing church due to being in areas that were French and Catholic,it was a thrill to walk into the United Church of Canada in Bedeque. I did not realize how much I really missed attending church. The United Church of Canada came about with the combining of the Methodist,United Church of Christ and Presbyterian churches in 1925. The church we attended today is over 100 years old,and was originally Methodist. During the fellowship hour we enjoyed talking to several members who were very obliging in talking to us about their lives here on the island. We also met an elderly woman who was proudly showing off her adorable two great-grandchildren. They were adopted Cree Indian babies from northern Canada. Apparently there is a big need for people to adopt these children from that part of Canada. After church we headed for Cavendish to finish our tour of the L.M.Montgomery sites. We first toured the Campbell home in Silver Bush where she married Reverend Ewan Macdonald. Mongomery referred to this place as “the wonder castle of my childhood”. Here I have posted a picture of the pond on the premises which was the inspiration for Anne’s” Lake of Shining Waters”. After that we went to her paternal grandparent’s home in Park Corners. There we were given a tour by a man who said that his father was a first cousin to L.M.Mongomery. His mother had lived in that house until about ten years ago,after which it was turned into a museum. So fortunately it had a lot of the original furnishings in it. Our final stop was the site of the home where the author grew up. All that is left is the well and the cellar foundation of the house. I have here a picture of the wooded path which the author spoke of in her writings. It was the path she took to her church where she was the organist while she was still living at home with her grandmother. We had a chance at this place to speak with the lady whose husband is the great-grandson of the author. She and her husband decided to restore whatever was left of the author’s home and grounds. I am thankful they did- it was interesting to see the areas which Mongomery so lovingly incorporated into her stories,as the old well and the forest path. What was also great about the day,actually this can be said about every day on this island, are the flowers that are present everywhere. They are seen outside homes,in gardens and by the roadsides. Wherever there is a patch of ground there is some type of flower. I have taken so many pictures of them I will have to start posting them wherever I can fit them in!