Project co-ordinators want to hear your memories of Tusket River

TUSKET, N.S. — A new collaboration between Argyle Township Court House & Archives (ATCHA) and Blooming Ludus, a participatory theatre company, has people fishing for memories to contribute to a new project – Tusket River Reminiscing.

The river and its tributaries flow through many of this region’s communities, including Hubbards Point, Tusket and Tusket Falls, Quinan, Kemptville, Carleton and others.

Municipality of Argyle heritage development officer Judy Frotten says the river and its tributaries have been an integral part of the First Peoples’ and locals’ lives for as long as humans have resided in these parts.

“This project will seek to capture our memories and experiences, from many different perspectives, and perhaps offer insight on how the river has changed, on climate change, and environmental impacts/conservation measures,” she says.

ATCHA’s mission is to preserve Argyle history and share that history with the world through its museum and archival programs. The organization also seeks innovative ways to engage with the community.

“The Tusket River project fits right in there,” says Frotten.

Francine Dulong, co-artistic director of Blooming Ludus, says the theatre company explores humankind’s connection to the planet. During shows, audiences are invited out of their seats and into the action.

“I’ve always wanted to do a project in my home village of Tusket,” says Dulong. “I want to understand how our human relationship with the Tusket River has changed over time. As an artist, I hope that the sharing of our stories will give us ideas for a sustainable future.”

Although she has spent much of her life abroad, she says she feels that Tusket and her father's family are a key part of who she is. Her father (Damien Dulong) was a musician and always encouraged her in her theatre work.

“ATCHA is a wonderful and irreplaceable community resource that I had visited many times when I'd be down home. When I started thinking about returning to Nova Scotia and doing a Blooming Ludus project around our community history and river conservation, they leaped out as the perfect partner. So, I gave them a call with the initial idea and here we are!”

Besides the sharing of photos, videos and memories, organizers are pleased to see that folks are having conversations and engaging with each other (on the Tusket River Reminiscing Facebook page) about their experiences at various points along the river.

Here are a few examples:

A short video was shared by Emma Corporon showing the popular (youthful) tradition of jumping off the Tusket bridge into the cool waters below.

Gil Surette, of Surette’s Island says he and his good friend Bill Brown fished the Tusket River “many moons ago.”

“We would spend two days going down the river and fishing its many pools. Some of the scenery was breathtaking," he says. "I still remember some springs you could still see where the ice had gone down the river a few months before scraping the banks on the corners and slowly widening the river thru the passing of seasons. There were always lots of people on the river during the long weekend in May. There were also many rapids to navigate. Seven Branches and the "bad pitch" were just a few that I remember.”

Betty Easton, of Tusket says she lived on the “beautiful” Tusket River for most of her life and spent her childhood exploring its shores. “Many years ago, when ships were sailing to Tusket village they would unload their ballast upon entering the river. Among this ballast (if you were lucky) you could find abalone and mother of pearl. One of my fondest memories as a very young child is of rowing with my father in a dory from Sluice Point to the shores of Plymouth in search of these precious shells. My father (Augustin Bourque) was well known for crafting beautiful musical instruments and he would use these shells as inlay in them.”

Project coordinators are encouraging participation on Instagram (#ATCHA, #tusketriverproject) and on Twitter.

They would also like people to “Like” the Facebook pages called “Tusket River Reminiscing” and “ATCHA” to follow the project.

Submissions for content will be collected until the end of January 2021. These can be in the form of photographs, videos, or written works.

More info

You don’t need to be on Facebook in order to participate in this project. You can contact the Archives directly at: 3162 Highway 3, P.O. Box 101, Tusket, NS B0W 3M0, by phone: 902-648-2493, or by email.

Material collected from this project will be used to create a virtual exhibit for Argyle Township Court House & Archives.

The Argyle Township Court House & Gaol is the oldest standing courthouse and jail in Canada, and is a museum and National Historic Site.

The Argyle Township Court House Archives is one of the largest archives and research centres in the province, housing both municipal and private sector records.