Our enviable lifestyle, natural environment and affordable housing are attracting the right people to our small towns.
Dalhousie, my hometown in Northern New Brunswick, was a tourist destination before big industry ruined that. Ads promoted the quiet, peaceful, relaxing environment. The wealthy and sometimes famous spent holidays at the beautiful Inch Arran Hotel, built in 1894. Sir John A. Macdonald and his wife, Lady Agnes, vacationed for two months at the hotel in 1889; Lady Agnes returned several times to enjoy the refreshing scenery, saltwater bathing and salmon fishing on the Restigouche River. Unfortunately fire destroyed the hotel in 1921 and it was not rebuilt.
Construction of the railway in the late 1800s opened the area to industrial development. In time, Dalhousie became a three-industry town. There was a sizeable paper mill, a small chemical plant and a thermal power generating station. They provided the highest wages in the region. The mill operated on three eight-hour shifts; wives and mothers sent in hearty meals at appropriate times. Children toting the lunch buckets were introduced to the mill and felt some degree of pride as they climbed the steps leading to the front entrance of the industry that dominated the town. For many it was their own future.
There was a hum about the place in every sense of the word. Paper machines droned 24 hours a day. Log chipping motors pulsed throughout the town. Odors of groundwood and sulphur hung over the area—at low tide, the log boom flats reeked of a million rotten eggs. Clocks were set according to the mill whistle that called men to work and signified lunch time or shift-change. The 9 p.m. whistle was a curfew for all young children to return home.
Air, land and water pollution was high. Mill soot carried in the air turned the houses grungy. Winter snow was usually black. In summer the top layers of soil were pure soot. Laundry could only be hung out if the wind was right. Emissions from the thermal plant contributed to the air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The chemical plant was a known source of mercury contamination in the salt water. Dalhousie was no longer a tourist destination.
This is not a pretty picture, but it was a wonderful place to grow up. Any lifestyle was within easy reach. Hunting and fishing after school or work were just a few clicks from town. Saltwater swimming was a 10- to 20-minute walk from home. Winter recreation activities were legion. Buses didn’t exist; everyone walked to work, school or downtown. The time it took to walk anywhere in town depended on the number of friends you met on the way!
The town was a nice mix of French, English and Mi’kmaq, and the church buildings of six religions were filled on Sundays. Shopping was simple but adequate; major shopping was overnight by train to Montreal a couple of times a year.
The economic boom turned to bust a few years ago. The mill was shut down, and the buildings levelled with barely a trace of the 80-plus years in town. The chemical plant too is gone. The thermal plant’s days are numbered.
After the initial shock, many moved elsewhere for work. House prices plummeted as the numbers on the market increased. But now, instead of a hum in town, there is a buzz.
New people are discovering the advantages of the community; others with roots in the area are returning. It’s a delightful rural town in a paradise-like setting, now looking physically and environmentally clean. No more soot and grime. The slate was wiped clean. It’s time for a new pattern of progress.
It helps that Dalhousie is comfortably bilingual in French and English.
Sylvie and her husband vacationed on the Gaspé coast a couple of years ago and slipped over into New Brunswick. It didn’t take long for them to decide to move from Montreal to Dalhousie—where they could afford a house and enjoy nature. They both are web designers who can work anywhere there is an Internet connection.
Another new resident works as a financial analyst for a firm in another province—thanks to the Internet.
Then there’s Marie-Claude, originally from Dalhousie, who returned after 30-plus years away. Her plan was to buy a house and retire, but as a nurse, she finds herself putting in a few days a week at the Community Health Centre, where she enjoys reconnecting with childhood friends and relatives.
Small-town life often means becoming involved in what is happening around you. Dalhousie has a bevy of passionate residents determined to see their town rejuvenated in the right way. They volunteer their time for meetings; they tell two friends who tell two friends so the whole town is aware of what is happening with respect to development. They arrange welcome sessions for newcomers.
One recent arrival is Ann Synnett. Originally from Dalhousie, she spent her career teaching in Montreal and now divides her time between the small town and the big city, enjoying the best of both worlds. Ann has a magnetic, bubbly personality. Surrounded by children when in town, she engages them in a life of fantasy, making little fairy houses in her yard, teaching respect for nature and other people.
A mobile home park was recently developed next door to her. A friend of hers recounted how Ann handled conflicts that began to develop between the new and the local kids. There was bullying, younger kids were being intimidated. Ann took it upon herself to talk with all parents, and arranged for the children to get together to talk about what was happening. She threw it to the kids to suggest and work out solutions, remaining involved until it was evident that all was OK. Her door is always open to children to talk about anything they wish, to enjoy her fairy world, or merely to have a pizza.
People aren’t moving to the East Coast for the jobs available, but for the lifestyle. Rural and small towns offer a slower pace. Housing is very affordable. A dozen universities are not far from home. Children have the freedom to explore on their own and be safe. A few minutes from anywhere in town puts you in natural woodsy surroundings.
Do-it-yourself work is often the way to go. Entrepreneur twin sisters Michelle Newcombe and Monique Delisle have proven that they can conquer the world right from their living room in Sydney, Cape Breton. Their signature handbags, Michique, hang from the hands of women across the country, and even British royalty!
Lisa Drader-Murphy was a successful fashion designer in Calgary with 22 employees and two busy stores. On the verge of opening the third she returned home from her travels one day to discover her young child was speaking the native tongue of her immigrant nanny. That was an eye-opener! A slower pace was in order, so she and her husband decided a return to his home province of Nova Scotia would mean the best family life. They bought an old sea captain’s house in Falmouth, NS, and built a studio on the property—from where Lisa continues to operate her successful Turbine line of clothing and accessories.
Lisa has not one single regret about making the move to the East Coast. She is a true entrepreneur—her success was without outside financial support or government assistance. She attributes her success to the loyalty of clients, locally and elsewhere, and to the relationships within her community. She returns the favour by donating money and clothing to local charities.
Carrie Underwood’s song “Thank God for Hometowns” says it all, especially the line: “I always find another piece of me, walking down these old familiar streets.” The streets of communities like Dalhousie will be different but even better in the future.
There will be new dreams, new faces, new ways of earning a living. Dalhousie may even become a tourist destination again!