The White FenceNo. 79

January

2018

ISSN 1913-4134 N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E T A N T R A M A R H E R I T A G E T R U S T

Tantramar Heritage Trust29B Queens RoadP.O. Box 3554

Sackville, NB E4L 4G4

(506) 536-2541tantramarheritage@gmail.com.

heritage.tantramar.com

Tantramar Heritage Trust, Inc.

Executive Directors 2016-2017President Barbara JardineVice-President Geoff MartinSecretary Rebekah CantTreasurer Paul Bogaard

Staff MembersExecutive DirectorKaren ValanneBookkeeperSandra Niles

Editorial-Dear friends,

This special newsletter consists primarilyof requests for your assistance. Theworking of the Trust is largely based onthe efforts of a board of directors andnumerous committees. Many of us havebeen on these committees since their creation. We could use some new blood!And I must be clear: these are not oner-ous tasks. Their activities are actuallyquite enjoyable and very fruitful. Somecommittees might meet once a year oronce every few months – depending onthe season. So please read carefully andjoin us in our efforts to preserve our pastif you can. If this newsletter does con-vince you to do so, please contact KarenValanne at 536-2541 or write to her attantramarheritage@gmail.com andexpress your preference(s). You will bewelcomed with open arms! And if yourequire some convincing that these effortsare indeed worthwhile, at the end of thisnewsletter read the letter and see thephotos of a very special gift presented tous by Senator Stewart Olsen. It can’t getany better than this. Please join us!

We begin this newsletter with the story ofa special photo. Ten years ago, Al Smithwas given a copy of an old photographtaken across from his present home inSackville. Any comments you may haveabout this photo and the family membersit depicts would be most welcomed by

Al (also via tantramarheritage@gmail.com). It is a beautiful historicphoto and we encourage any of you whomight have similar ones in your attics orfamily albums to pass them along to uswith their respective stories.

Similarly, Colin MacKinnon found oldphotos of ads in the local newspaper(1879 and 1902) from the Doull brothers,cabinet and furniture makers searchingfor work. Many older homes in Sackvillemay still have fine wooden (now antique)furniture (or fancy house renovations/decorative additions) made by the Doullbrothers near, or at, the turn of the 20th

century. Any information regarding thesespecial furniture makers/carpenters fromolden times would be much appreciatedby Colin (see contact information withColin’s request).

We look forward to welcoming some of you to our organization and others to pass on information to Al and Colinregarding the Palmer and Doull families.Furthermore, any historic photos of family and friends (with their associatedstories) that any of you may have to passon to us would be much appreciated.

It is for all of us to enjoy and learn from.

Peter Hicklin

More than Just a Family Photopage 2

Information Requestfrom Colin MacKinnonpage 3

The Mission, Membership,Goals and Tasks of theTantramar Heritage Trustpage 3

Senatorial Citationpages 7-8

DEDICATION

This notice is to inform all of our readers that the board of Directors of theTantramar Heritage Trust has chosen to dedicate our latest publication of 2017on The Histories of Church Congregations in Sackville New Brunswick to the lateEldon Hay – a dear friend and mentor.

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played in as a child with the Kilcupchildren whose parents owned the oldPalmer place at that time.

The 1920 photo shows a rutted andmuddy springtime Main Street notpaved until 1944. However, look carefully behind Ralph Palmer andyou will notice a four plank wide sidewalk. That boardwalk went fromdowntown to at least as far as theMariner Wood property (now theDoncaster Farm at 280 Main St.)whose buildings you can see in thedistance above Ralph Palmer’s head.Possibly it went on further to MiddleSackville but as a boy I rememberseeing evidence of a once functioningsidewalk only as far as the old Woodproperty. Plank sidewalks had longbeen a feature of Town streets andwere fastidiously maintained byCaptain William Pringle the town’sRoad Commissioner. However, thetown boundary at that time was nearthe present day Booster Pump so one

wonders who paid for, and main-tained, the walkways farther out.

The interesting board fence and gate(just to the left of the hydro pole inthe photo) was the entrance to theAlder Trueman home built in 1855(260 Main Street). Trueman was thebookkeeper for Mariner Wood. Thefence is long gone but the house andbarns are still there.

Yes indeed, “a picture is worth a 1000words”.

By Al Smith

It is rare that one comes across anhistoric photo that is not only dated

but was from the neighborhood inwhich I grew up. The photo at rightwas taken on May 24th 1920 and shows members of the Palmer familystanding under a large chestnut tree infront of their family home (currentlycorner of Main and MarshviewStreets, Sackville).

There is a well-known old expressionwhich states that “a picture is worth a1000 words”; the photo tells a storywell beyond being a family groupphoto. I was given a copy of this photograph over ten years ago whilevisiting the home of Lois andSherman Estabrooks who lived on theold Robson property at the end ofBridge Street in Sackville. The lady inthe centre of the photo, Helen Palmer(1896-1975) was Lois’ mother.

Descended from the Loyalist family ofGideon Palmer, the family groupingin this photo consists of the childrenof Frank (1862-1932) and Lois(Estabrooks) Palmer (1865-1946).Frank was the grandson of Gideon’sson Philip (1786-1873) who wasknown as “Philip the Squire”. He served 20 years as an M.P.P. forWestmorland and was also a CrownLand Surveyor and did many of theearly plans in Sackville Parish. His sonCharles G. Palmer (1817-1885) wasalso a Crown Land Surveyor and waslikely the one who planted the chest-nut tree in front of his family home.That tree, shown in the photo behindthe group, was still there in the mid1970s when my wife and I purchasedthe property directly across the street(256 Main Street). It was a tree that I

More than Just a Family Photo

24 May, 1920 (Middle Sackville)

Foreground left to right: Marian Palmer (age 15), Fannie Palmer (29), Helen Palmer(24), Gladys Palmer (21), Nita Palmer Ayer (31) holding baby Florence and in theback, to the left, is Ralph Palmer (age 12 or 13). Boy in front of Helen is unknown but possibly Truman Hoar.

Circa 1950 sketch of the former AlderTrueman property by J. William (Bill) Black

Sources: 2006 interview with Lois (Robson)Estabrooks, Palmer Family genealogy, The PalmerBrothers in the Chignecto by Helen Petchey published1990, Early History of Dorchester and SurroundingArea by W.C. Milner – 3rd printing 1981,Aboushagan to Zwicker by Al Smith, 2004.

Tantramar Heritage Trust Page 3

• Bring about awareness throughengaging and interactive programs.

• Facilitate outreach and new membership opportunities.

• Engage community members andvisitors of diverse and multi- generational backgrounds.

2. Collections Management

In order to fulfill the terms of its mission, the Tantramar HeritageTrust acquires and manages collections of artefacts and holdsthese collections in trust for the public. The Trust aspires to maintainthe integrity of its collections and theassociated records in accordance withprofessional museum standards.

The Trusts’ permanent collections arehoused in the Boultenhouse HeritageCentre, the Campbell CarriageFactory Museum, the THT Archives,and the Alec R. Purdy History andGenealogy Research Centre.

3. Your Board of Directors

Barbara Jardine (president), Geoff Martin (Vice President), PaulBogaard (Treasurer), Rebekah Cant(Secretary), Al Smith (Publications),Peter Hicklin (newsletter), WendyBurnett (collections), Bill Snowdon(Boultenhouse), Bob Bowser (Boardof Management), Christiana Steevesand Demian Hammock.

By Peter Hicklin

1. Mission Statement, Vision and Principles

MissionPromote the preservation of heritageresources in the Tantramar Region.

VisionStimulate public interest in the historyof the Tantramar Region and its heritage resources.

Principles• Value the history, people, places

and heritage properties of theTantramar Region.

• Contribute to the knowledge andunderstanding of the TantramarRegion.

The Tantramar Heritage TrustIts Mission, Membership, Tasks and Goals

For an upcoming article, I am seekinginformation on brothers John WesleyDoull (1849-1954) and CharlesAlexander Doull (1856-1903). Thesemen “Cabinet Makers” from PrinceEdward Island, lived in Sackville inthe late 1800s. J. W. Doull made furniture in Middle Sackville while C. A. Doull had a furniture shopwhere Ove Samuelson’s law officenowstands at the corner of Squire andBridge Streets. I would be interestedin seeing any documents or photo-graphs of these families that mayhave survived. Specifically, receipts,trade labels, letters, ledgers, or examples of their work… would beappreciated.

I can be reached at 506 536 4283 orby emailing the Trust.

With thanks, Colin MacKinnon.

“John Wesley Doull, oldest living graduate of Mount Allison Universityat Sackville, N.B., and probably theoldest man in Saskatchewan, died inSaskatoon. Mr. Doull graduated fromMount Allison in arts in 1873.”(Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta,Tuesday, 9 November 1954)

C. A. Doull advertisement (Semi WeeklyPost, Sackville NB, 31 January 1902)

J. W. Doull advertisement (Chignecto Post,Sackville NB, 6 February 1879)

Information Request

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4. Membership

In 2017, our membership attained atotal of 210 members made up of 22 honorary, 71 household (withnumerous memberships per household) and 45 individualmemberships. Every paid member isregularly kept informed of all Trustactivities and events and includes: i) avote at the Annual General Meeting,ii) free admission to the CampbellCarriage Factory Museum and theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre,including the Alec R. Purdy ResearchCentre and iii) copies of The WhiteFence newsletter sent at least fourtimes a year. Our 2018 membershipcampaign was launched beforeChristmas and, by mid-January, wewere halfway to our goal of matching,or exceeding, our previous year’snumbers.

5. Committees, members and their Tasks

Collections – Chair: Wendy Burnettwith members Paul Bogaard, Barbara Jardine, Christiana Steeves,Karen Valanne and Barb Jardine. The committee reviews items donatedto the Tantramar Heritage Trust andapproves the acquisition of artefactsof local interest, particularly thosepertinent to the history of theTantramar region. Following anaccessioning process, the artefacts and archival materials are exhibited in the museums or stored at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre and the Anderson Octagonal House.

Publications – Chair: Al Smith withmembers Carrie MacMillan, LeslieVan Patter, Sandy Burnett, PaulBogaard, Karen Valanne and NancyVogan. Copy editing assistance is alsoprovided by Rhianna Edwards andGerrie Baycroft. The Publications

Committee determines which manu-scripts to publish and decides on thestyle and binding for the publication,keeping in mind consistency as well as the look of the publication. Thecommittee arranges for the printing,marketing, distribution and sales ofall Trust publications. It also preparesPress Releases and facilitates booklaunches. Books are sold at our twomuseums and Trust functions plus atindependent retailers via consignmentagreements. Annual sales data andinventory are carefully maintained.The Trust has produced 32 publica-tions over the past 20 years and salesusually accounts for about $5,000.00in annual revenue.

Boultenhouse – Chair: Bill Snowdonwith assistance from Al Smith andadditional volunteer assistance forspring and fall clean-up work. This committee is charged with maintenance and upkeep of thebuildings and grounds of theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre including repair needs in the accompanying apartment. For major items, the Committee sourcescontractors and monitors the workwhile in progress. Coordination oflawn-mowing and yard maintenanceis also done in coordination with aLandscaping Committee.

Campbell Carriage Factory andBlacksmith Shop – Chair: PaulBogaard with assistance from Al Smith and additional help duringthe spring opening and fall closure.Maintenance, upkeep, repair, lawn-mowing and mower servicing etc. areall duties done by this Committeealong with major duties such as shin-gling repairs on the Blacksmith Shop.

The White Fence – Chair: PeterHicklin (editor) with Leslie VanPatter (formatting/layout). Volunteers

submit articles to the editor and thegoal is 4 issues per year althoughthere have been years with 3 or 5issues printed depending on circumstances.

Research Centre – Chair: Al Smithwith assistance from David McKellorand Karen Valanne. The aim of thiscommittee is to facilitate and assistpeople wishing to conduct research onlocal families. The committee gathersbooks, news articles, photographs andother documents related to local history and geneology. All items arecatalogued in a database.

Exhibits – Chair: Paul Bogaard withassistance from Christiana Steeves,Barb Jardine and Leslie Van Patter.With guidance from Leslie, Paul andChristiana, students and professionaldesigners were able to create andbuild “The Profession of House-keeping” exhibit that opened lastOctober in memory of Pauline Spatz.A popular Quilt Exhibit was alsoorganized by Barb Jardine and prepared by the Sackville Quilter’sGuild in 2017. Numerous additionalinterpretive panels were added insummer 2017 to augment the messag-ing on the Campbell Carriage FactoryMuseum. Also, new genealogical panels about the Boultenhouse andBulmer families were installed at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre.

Workshops – Chair: Rebekah Cant.No other formal members but,depending on workshop needs, volunteers are often required. An example is the popular annual workshop on Old-FashionedChristmas Decorations.

Events – Members: Bob Bowser,Rebekah Cant, Al Smith, ChristianaSteeves, Karen Valanne, Barb Jardine(and others as needed).

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Finance Committee – Members:Geoff Martin, Paul Bogaard, MarinerBlack and Bob Bowser. This commit-tee looks after Trust investments withoutside professional help.

Capital Projects Fundraising –Chair: Geoff Martin with the assis-tance of 6 to 12 volunteer canvassers.

Ad Hoc Website Committee –Members: Barb Jardine, KarenValanne, Christiana Steeves andDemian Hammock. Our very capablewebmaster is Charlie Scobie. A smallwebsite committee has been assem-bled and, advised by Chris MacKay,looks into recommending changes toupdate the website and make itmobile-friendly, among other things.

Student Hiring Committee –Karen Valanne, Paul Bogaard, Wendy Burnett and Barb Jardine are responsible for interviewing andhiring students for both museumsduring the summer months.

Personnel Committee – BarbaraJardine, as Trust President, providesoversight of the role of the ExecutiveDirector.

Nominating Committee – This committee is active in winter andearly spring and consists of BarbJardine, Bob Bowser, Rebekah Cantand Karen Valanne.

Membership and VolunteersCommittee – Members: Barb Jardine and Karen Valanne. This committee’sfunction is to maintain the annualmembership list, handle membershiprenewals and maintain the donordatabase. Additional volunteers wouldbe helpful especially to assist in keeping membership, volunteer list-ings and the donor database updated.

6. Financial Assistance

Crake Foundation and Town of SackvilleIn 2017, the Tantramar HeritageTrust received grant contributionsfrom The Crake Foundation ($5,600)and the Town of Sackville ($5,000).Both are significant not only theirgenerous financial contributions butespecially for their demonstration ofconfidence in the Trust’s activities inthe Sackville community. Both aregreatly appreciated! These financialcontributions allow us to undertakemany activities such as thosedescribed in this newsletter and others yet to be initiated in 2018.

Rotary Gold Mine Toonie DrawThe Rotary Club of Sackville collectsloonies donated by Sackville residentsand which are numbered; one isdrawn once weekly with 50% of thedonated loonies going to the personconducting the draw representing aschool or institution and the remain-der split, four times a year, between13 community schools and organiza-tions. In 2017, the TantramarHeritage Trust was one of the community organizations chosen bythe Rotary Club and we are pleased to report that the Trust received anaverage of approximately $600.00each time for an annual total ofapproximately $2,500.00. We extendour appreciation to the Rotary Clubof Sackville for this much-neededand valued assistance. This pastNovember, the Trust once again submitted an application for theRotary Gold Mine Toonie Draw 2018 and we are pleased to report thatour application has been approved!From all of us: Thank you Rotary!

7. Museum Visitation

As of December 2017, 1,653 visitorshad explored the BoultenhouseHeritage Centre while 1,463 visitorswalked through the doors of theCampbell Carriage Factory for a totalof 3,116 visitors spending some valu-able time at our two museums (and,we assume, the Town of Sackville!).

8. Committees currently notactive and in need of chairpersons and volunteers

• Communications• Historical Society• Retail Sales (non-publication items for our gift shops)• Discovery Committee

9. Heritage Events and Activities in 2017

April 11: The Battle of Vimy Ridge– interesting public presentation bySandy Fairbanks.

May 31: Annual General Meeting –Rhianna Edwards was votedVolunteer of the Year and Dr.Hannah Lane made the presentation:Youth in Mid-Nineteenth Century NewBrunswick.

June 18: Official opening of theCampbell Carriage Factory withblacksmithing demonstration, plantsale, children’s activities and livemusic from Meredith and MiriamHicks.

July 1: Annual Canada DayStrawberry Social at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre.

July 5: Make it Bake!Children’s Workshop.

July 13: Close Enough Trivia at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre hosted by our Crake intern Mitchell Gunn.

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July 19: Make it GrowChildren’s Workshop.

July 20: Baking Contest and Auctionat the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre.

July 26: Make it Paper!Children’s Workshop.

July 27: Exploring the Stars at theCampbell Carriage Factory featuring a presentation by Dr. CatherineLovekin.

August 13: Heritage Field Day at theCampbell Carriage Factory featuringlive music, folk dancing, BBQ lunch,blacksmithing demonstration andchildren’s games.

September 14-16: Canada 150 QuiltShow – in partnership with theSackville Quilter’s Guild at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre. Overthose three days, 150 visitors enjoyedthe museum and quilt display andmany more throughout the followingweeks. New Brunswick PremierBrian Gallant and MLA BernardLeblanc visited the Heritage Centreand quilt display on September 15.

Fall Fair weekend – Saturday,September 16: The CampbellCarriage Factory was open between10:00 am - 5:00 pm with guided toursand blacksmithing demonstrations.130 visitors were welcomed by museum guide Aidan Legault andwere given a tour of this historic carriage factory with assistance fromAl Smith, Barb Jardine and MariaO’Leary. Paul Bogaard and JohnKilpatrick opened the blacksmithshop and operated the forge, givingblacksmithing demonstrations andchatting with visitors about the blacksmithing process.

Tuesday, September 19, 6:00 pm -8:00 pm: Karen Valanne, AidanLegault and Krista Mix gave a tour of

the Campbell Carriage Factory to theGirl Guides (12 Girl Guides withthree leaders and parents and siblingsfor a total of 30) and sat around acampfire until darkness set in.

Thursday, September 21: 20 grade 5students from Marshview MiddleSchool were given a tour of theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre byKaren Valanne and ChristianaSteeves.

Tuesday, September 26: Al Smithtook 22 members of the SeniorsCollege for a tour of the CampbellCarriage Factory.

Thursday, September 28: BarbJardine began her series of fourgenealogy classes for the SeniorsCollege in the Great Room of the Anderson Octagonal House. 18 people were registered and classes ran for 4 weeks.

Tuesday, October 9: Al Smith brought22 students with the Seniors Collegefor a tour of the BoultenhouseHeritage Centre and ChristianaSteeves brought 16 Grade 5 studentsfrom Marshview Middle School for asimilar tour and associated activities.

Sunday, October 15 – Book Launch:At 2:00 p.m. in the old Bulmerkitchen of the Boultenhouse HeritageCentre, Al Smith introduced PeterHicklin who launched the Trust’s newpublication entitled The Histories ofChurch Congregations in Sackville, New Brunswick along with theannouncement that the book was dedicated to the memory of theTrust’s dear friend, supporter andmentor Eldon Hay. The launch wasfollowed with a presentation byChristiana Steeves who spoke aboutupcoming exhibits at the HeritageCentre. Punch, tea, coffee and cookieswere provided.

Sunday, October 22 – GenealogyWorkshop for Families: Rebekahorganized two sessions at theBoultenhouse Heritage Centre held at 1:30 and 3:00 pm.

Friday, November 17 – FallFundraising Dinner: 67 peopleattended the wonderful fundraisingdinner held at St. Ann’s Church Hallin Westcock. Catering was by LaurieAnn Wesselby and featured a deliciousAutumn Soup followed by MapleBBQ Chicken, Rice Pilaf and AppleCheese Cake. The tables were beauti-fully decorated by Wendy Burnett and Carrie MacMillan with candles,evergreens and colourful mapleleaves, all of which made for a wonderful meal, bringing fundraisingup to an all new level of excellenceand joy! In celebration of Canada 150,the evening was very ably emceed byBob Bowser and featured presenta-tions on three of Sackville’s Mr.Canadas: John Fisher, George Stanleyand Alex Coleville, by Charlie Scobie,Geoff Martin and Sandy Burnett,respectively. Rebekah and Aidan provided handouts of celebratoryCanadian songs with everyone joiningin with full volume! This was followed by a challenging game ofTrivia organized by Al Smith.

December 8: Christmas Decoration-Making Workshop working with natural materials and held at theAnderson Octagonal House.Heritage Week 2018 – February 12-19, 2018: New Brunswick has adopt-ed the theme Heritage Now! – Le patrimoine au présent! for HeritageWeek 2018. The period 12-19February includes Black Historymonth, National Flag of Canada Day(February 15) and National HeritageDay (February 19). The goal forHeritage Week is to provide New

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Brunswickers with opportunities tocelebrate their history at local levels.This year, in the promotion of histor-ical thinking, all interested communi-ty organizations, individuals, schools,museums, libraries, archives, senior’scenters and historic sites are invited toreflect upon the impact of the past onour present day.

Sackville’s Heritage Day – February18: A major change this year will bethat the traditional Heritage Breakfastwill not be held at Tantramar HighSchool (or anywhere else) althoughspecial presentations will be made inthe afternoon. Members will beupdated once a final Heritage Dayactivities program is completed.

9. Senatorial Endorsement –Letter to the Tantramar HeritageTrust from the Honourable CarolynStewart Olsen, Senator for NewBrunswick.

The following letter from SenatorCarolyn Stewart Olsen was receivedby the Tantramar Heritage Trust inNovember, 2017. We are especiallygrateful to Senator Stewart Olsen forher kind words.

Senate Medal, front and back. See Citation on page 8.

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