Annual General Meeting

The Rockingham Heritage Society will hold its Annual General Meeting on April 17, 2013 at 7:30 at St. Peter's Anglican Church Hall, 2 Dakin Drive.

Wayne Ingalls will speak on Climbing Your Family Tree, some tips on genealogical research.

All are welcome.

Heritage Dinner

On February 16, the Society hosted its 24th Annual Heritage Dinner. Eighty members and guests enjoyed a dinner of roast pork prepared by St. Peter’s Ladies Guild and served by the St. Peter’s Men’s Fellowship. Glenn Taylor again served as master of ceremonies for this successful event.

The audience was treated to an excellent presentation by retired Chief Petty Officer First Class JoAnne Cunningham on the story of the WRENS, the Womens Royal Naval Service. JoAnn described the formation of the service and its early years and the expanding role of women in the Navy up to their full integration. She also focused on many of the lighter moments of their experience, including participation in the very popular Meet the Navy Show. In addition, she highlighted some of the more important women from the history of the service. We were all pleased and surprised to find that there were two former Wrens in attendance, both of whom were related to members of the Society. Pictured below from left to right are Wren Florence Courtney, JoAnn Cunningham, Wren Jean Lloy.

Annual Fall Walk: September 30th, 2012: St. John's Cemetary

Despite torrential rains, Sharon and Wayne Ingalls led an intrepid band on the Annual Fall Walk, this year at St. John’s Cemetery. St. John’s Anglican Church was built in 1841, and its cemetery is the resting place of many Rockingham residents. Sharon and Wayne pointed out the graves of the Tremaines, William and John Gray, the Davisons and EE Burgess, J.J Carnell, William and Eleanor Evens, the Donaldsons and Dicksons of Birch Cove (the largest monument in the cemetery). While it was an interesting and informative walk, the participants were too wet to join Glenn Taylor’s tour group as he discussed the Titanic graves.

Annual General Meeting

The Rockingham Heritage Society held its AGM on April 18, 2012. The following were elected to the Executive. Glenn Taylor – President, Norman Duncan – Executive Assistant, Joan Anthony – Secretary and Phone Committee, Wayne Ingalls – Treasurer, Sharon Ingalls – Archivist, Carolyn Macdonald – Publicity, Hazel McLeod – Social, Don Babineau – Membership, Linda Swinwood – E mailing list, Yvonne Marshall – Member-at-Large, Reg Curren – Member-at-Large, June Dickie – Member-at-Large, Shirley Donaldson – Member-at-Large.

REMEMBERING ROCKINGHAM

Following the meeting, Bev Smith led a lively discussion that focused on Rockingham and Birch Cove in the 1950s. The enthusiastic audience of more than 40 shared memories that entertained the all, even those who did not grown up in Rockingham. Some members remembered catching, selling and sometimes eating eels caught in Station Pond. Vividly recalled were activities that created close community ties: swimming the basin, hanging out in the field, skating on local ponds, and attending dances, movies and concerts at Rockingham United Church Hall. Trips to town were made by bus or jitney, but frequent trips to Halifax were not necessary; everything that made up a close community was at hand on the shores of Bedford Basin.

Heritage Dinner

On February 25, 2012 the Society hosted its annual Heritage Dinner. Eighty-nine members and guests enjoyed a tasty roast beef dinner prepared by St. Peter’s Ladies Guild and served by St. Peter’s Men’s Fellowship Group. President Glenn Taylor served as master of ceremonies for the successful event. Nancy Faulkner won the door prize, a floral centerpiece.

The large crowd was treated to an excellent talk by Sara Beanlands, who grew up in Wedgewood Park and recently completed a master’s in History at St. Mary’s University. Sara’s talk focused on the Reverend Andrew Brown and his work on Acadian history. Born and educated in Scotland, Brown spent the years between 1784 and 1795 as the pastor at Mathers’ Meeting House, now St. Matthews United Church. While successfully carrying out his pastoral duties, the twenty-three year old Brown developed an interest in the Acadian Expulsion of 1755. After deciding to write a history of the people and the event, he went to great lengths to collect documents and interview witnesses. When he returned to Scotland, he taught at Edinburgh University and continued to collect documents for his history of the Acadians. A perfectionist, Brown could never bring himself to complete his work. When he died most of his Nova Scotian documents were thrown away by his heirs. Purely by chance, a draft manuscript of his work was saved and deposited in the British Museum. Some other papers that had been left at his university office were placed in the Edinburgh University Library. These documents were the focus of Sara’s research.

As a result of his extensive research Andrew Brown saw Governor Lawrence as the chief instigator of the deportation, urged on by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts and others from New England. Brown described the Acadians very sympathetically. He recognized that they had created a distinct way of life, and he saw their society in almost idyllic terms. The audience enjoyed learning about Brown and his interpretation of Acadian history.

September 25, 2011: Annual Fall Walk: Rockingham in the 1950s

Rockingham Heritage Society's Annual Fall walk was led by Bev Smith, a former resident. Bev pointed out the location of several family homes (many now demolished) and businesses, as she led us along the much changed Bedford Highway from the Rockingham Community Centre to the bottom of Tremont Drive. Her descriptions sparked discussions among the 24 participants, many of whom shared their memories of growing up in Rockingham during the 1950s.