Hello Central!

Rita Bowers, pictured with the
older, candlestick-style telephone

January 24th, 1976 was a turning point in the history of Long and Brier Islands. On this date, the Islands changed from using crank-style telephones to the more-modern style dial-phones. Prior to having phone numbers, people who wanted to make an outgoing call had to turn a crank manually on the side of their actual telephone. During the 1940s, telephones were being serviced by Wilfred Gidney; he ran a telephone service for the Digby Neck and Islands' areas.

There were two operators or “Central”, one was based in Freeport, and one was in Westport. These individuals would literally, “hook you up” with the person that you wanted to talk to. One of the past operators for Freeport, Elsie Young was the operator from 1940-1967. As an operator, in her experiences, she would have to direct calls, as well as make calls to doctors, ambulances and other personnel to come to the islands for emergencies. This was also a 24/7 job.

Found at Islands Museum
Tiverton, NS

During this time, what is known as “party lines” were used extensively. Essentially, a selected number of homes would share one phone line. During the earlier times of use, there were only four phones and they accommodated forty telephones. It slowly grew into 300 telephones, divided among 112 phones lines. To the left, a "crank-style" telephone is pictured. Donated by a local resident, this telelphone can be found at the Islands Museum, Tiverton, Nova Scotia.

Each home would have a specific ring tone (if you will); some examples are two short and one long rings, or three long rings--- This specialized tone would signify that the call was for you. What is interesting to note about party lines is that it was much easier to eavesdrop on people's conversations. 

In 1945, Maritime Telegraph & Telephone bought the local company and continued to provide service up and past the 1970s.

Boat Building in the 1800s

During the 1800s, ship building became a popular mode of employment on the Islands.  Over 100 boats were constructed. In 1854, the ship building industry flourished due to the reciprocity agreement was made between Canada and the United States. Schooners would carry wood to New England, bringing flour and cotton back.

The large map displays the routes of
ships and locations of ship builders.

Between Long and Brier Islands, there were various ship building locations.  A local man, named Evan Powell was the first. Larger vessels were constructed in Digby and on the French Shore. 

There are several boat styles which were unique to this area. In Tiverton, the “double ended” and “cab aft” style boats were constructed. “Cab Fore” boat-styles were constructed in Freeport. In general, boats were made in an open-style, and tended to be at a length of 20 feet (or more). In later times, cabins and “squared” sterns were added. These boats were meant for fishing near the ledges of the Islands’ coasts.

Murray Pugh (from Westport) was built small ships for day fishing and general sailing. He then constructed boats that were used in American markets. Much like other ship builders, he received materials through purchasing wood, cutting the wood himself, or combing the beaches for wood that has washed up on the shoreline. Grafton Outhouse left his job aboard a patrol ship to build ships. Charlie McDormand constructed many punts.

The center display of the Marine Room
holds various ship building tools.

In a span of 80 years, the Islands have seen their fair share of ships; the village of Tiverton had seen the creation of 11 boats, the village of Freeport had 23 and Westport had 79, respectively. In contemporary times, there are no ship building sites on either of the Islands; only remnants can be found.

For this summer’s seasonal exhibit, the history of local ship building has been explored. For more information, or to visit the actual exhibit, please contact us! Click here to see photos of the Open House- Held on July 15th, 2011!