Sunday, December 10, 2006

Bay of Hope

Notice posted in Milltown Valufood: "Benoit Community Aid in Conne River - Curtis and Marie Benoit lost their home in a fire July 20, 2006 - all contents lost - we have set up a bank account..." notice continues with information on where to make donations. A small, neat and no doubt close-knit community where neighbours care for each other. When I was there on assignment this fall, the air was scented with wood smoke and punctuated with trickling sounds from numerous streams, the thickly wooded slopes wore a mantle of green and gold.

Milltown is near the top of Baie d'Espoir (pronounced despair), on the south coast of Newfoundland. It's about 30km from Little Passage (see previous blog). Looking at the topo maps of the area is an adventure in itself: closely contoured coastlines, crazy indentations, and place names such as Goblin Bay, Dragon Bay, Pushthrough (resettled community), Blunder Cove, Muddy Hole, Hares Ears Point.

2 comments:

Michael said...

When we first moved to where we presently live, friends told us we were crazy, "Those people are 20 years behind the times!" they cried. Perfect! There was community spirit and a genuine sense of caring for each other back then. It's changed a lot since, but my wife still takes Sunday dinner to the old lady down the road...

Alison Dyer said...

20 years behind the times sounds about my speed too :)