THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
OUR PEOPLE, OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR STORIES
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Q&A: Brooklyn Douthwright
History and outreach at St. Mary’s
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To Riverview via Anders’ Army
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Russell Kay recalls landing at Juno Beach
“L
eading up to D-Day, I was in the Canadian Armed Forces. We were stationed in England, in Southampton. They took us out for ‘a little sail.’ Halfway out they told us, ‘you’re on your way to France. You’re not going back this time.’ That was quite a surprise. Everyone reacted a little differently, of course.” With those words Russell Kay, now 99, recalls the day he embarked for Juno Beach in Normandy as a member of the Allied forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He was nineteen. When they landed in the early hours of the morning, he remembers, “everything was happening at once. The Air Force was bombing, our guns were firing, Navy guns were firing, there were rockets, and of course the Germans were firing the other way … on the beach, it was unbelievable. We were operating on adrenaline and training.” After that day’s ferocious battles were won and the beaches secured, Kay participated in the long Allied battle march through the Netherlands and Belgium. By the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, they had reached the town of Aurich in northwestern Germany. That route is almost 1,000 kilometres driving directly on modern roadways; it was long and tough for the Allies as they fought a series of battles along an irregular path. One of Kay’s earliest experiences was not what might have been expected.
“My first encounter with the enemy, I saw two people coming, one had a wheelbarrow, and the other guy was in the wheelbarrow. I didn’t know who they were. When they got down near me, I could see swastikas on their uniforms. They were German soldiers. One was wounded so bad that his buddy put him in the wheelbarrow to carry him.” Encountering the enemy in a wheelbarrow was not the norm. The fighting was often fierce; “just two or three days in we met stiff resistance. A gunner got his hand hurt quite badly and our Sergeant got killed.” The village of Caen, Kay recalls, “was nothing but a pile of rubble by the time we got to it. “By the end of the war I was the only gunner who ended the war on that same gun. The others all got replaced.” Early in the campaign he participated in the pivotal battle of the Falaise pocket, in
August of 1944, which helped turn the tide of the Second World War in favour of the Allies. That battle featured a friendly fire incident in which Canadian and Polish soldiers were mistakenly bombed by Allied forces, at the cost of Continued on page 3
Russell Kay of Parkland Riverview.
A map traces the path of the Allies’ long march from D-Day until the end of the war.
Russell Kay of Parkland Riverview.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PUBLISHER:
Welcome elcome to the inaugural issue of The River
Eric Lawson
W View. Our goal is to bring you the stories of
DESIGNER:
the people, events, and communities from Alma to Salisbury. The River View will publish on the first Thursday of each second month.
Rachel Sheldrake
Published the first Thursday of every second month by A View of the Tides Communications Distributed free in public buildings, retirement residences, convenience stores, and retail and service waiting rooms from Alma to Salisbury.
You can find us, free of charge, in public buildings, convenience stores, retirement residences, and retail and service waiting areas throughout our coverage area. In this issue we introduce you to Russell Kay, age 99 and a resident at Parkland in Riverview, who participated in the D-Day landing on Juno Beach in 1944; the story of one Riverviewer whose family faced enormous challenges during and after the Second World War; the unique structure and history of St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Hillsborough; recipes from Evelyn’s Kitchen; and Brooklyn Douthwright, an accomplished swimmer and potential Canadian Olympian from Riverview. The mayors of Riverview, Fundy-Albert, and Salisbury provide their views on the challenges and opportunities awaiting our corner of the world.
For advertising information, please contact Eric Lawson at 506 863 7364 or via viewofthetides@gmail.com
And we introduce a variety of local enterprises, both businesses and voluntary organizations, who help make the world covered by The River View a great place to live. You will also find a miscellany of reader’s photographs celebrating our communities. If you have comments or story ideas, would like to submit a photograph, or would like to distribute free copies of The River View at your location, please contact me at viewofthetides@gmail.com.
OUR PEOPLE OUR STORIES
Thank you. We hope you enjoy our first issue!
Eric Lawson Publisher
2024 PUBLISHING DATES JANUARY 4, 2024
JULY 4, 2024
MARCH 7, 2024
SEPTEMBER 5, 2024
MAY 2, 2024
NOVEMBER 7, 2024
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023 Continued from page 1
several hundred lives. “Falaise was a terrible place. That’s where we were bombed by our own bombers. We lost a lot of men there.” Kay returned to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019. He believes that he and his generation fought a destructive but necessary war for the important cause of liberty, but his greatest wish is for there to be no more war.
We were operating on training and adrenaline.” “We had a job to do, and we carried out our job the best we could. But sometimes, I wonder if they ever got the message. As the Bible says, ‘there will be wars and there will be rumours of wars,’ and there’s both, and it is still going on. As long as there are humans on earth there will be wars, and it is too bad. “I don’t think it is the people who want the wars. You get certain leaders, it’s all about them, about power. As far as war goes, that’s the worst way I know to settle an argument. Nobody wins.” After returning to Canada and receiving an honourable discharge, Kay rejoined the Armed Forces and served for an additional 25 years in a variety of roles. He served most prominently as a gunnery instructor and also carried out peacekeeping duties. He then worked for Corrections Canada following his retirement from the military. Today, spryer than many people a third his age, Kay lives at the Parkland Riverview retirement community.
PHOTOS COURTSEY OF RUSSELL KAY.
THE RIVER VIEW
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COMMUNITIES
Riverview’s sense of community defines its past – and drives its future R
iverview in 2023 has been basking in its 50th Anniversary celebrations – but of course, any community needs to look forward as well as celebrate its past. Mayor Andrew LeBlanc identifies continued growth as the town’s biggest opportunity - and challenge. “If you look at the statistics, we’re looking at a population increase in Greater Moncton and that includes Riverview. More and more people want to come here, which is great, but we need to have the housing and we need a good mix of types of housing. “So, for the next five years I think that is going to be a real focus of the town of Riverview. We have a 0.2 percent vacancy rate. We know we need more diverse housing options to meet all the different types of demands.” LeBlanc adds that, as operating costs for municipalities rise, meeting the housing challenge will require diversifying the tax base. “Riverview has traditionally been thought of as a bedroom community. Most of our tax base is residential. That said, we are trying to make Riverview a place to work, live, and play. So, we are trying to increase the commercial side as well as the residential side.” LeBlanc sees that balancing act as central to Riverview’s future. The town presents itself to potential businesses and residents as a place that is clean and quiet, a town that features bountiful green spaces and safe neighbourhoods for its citizens, but that also wants to grow. “Over the past decade we have really grown the business side of the community and we do have a strong focus on that. Our commercial tax base right now is about 11% of the total, so we are looking to
get that higher. “We now have a business liaison so she’s a direct contact for local businesses who want to get support from the municipality, for businesses who are looking to grow and to set up shop here. So, whether it’s a restaurant or whether it’s retail, we have that resource.” Affordability is not the only issue driving the need for greater diversity in housing types. “There is a mix of seniors who may want a smaller house,
feel that our residents really enjoy,” says LeBlanc. “I think that really comes from the opportunities we have to get together as a community, the festivals that we run, the outdoor recreation spaces that we offer, a lot of amenities, it’s a great place to raise kids but it’s also a great place to retire. “That’s the piece we’re going to protect, the view that our residents want a close community.”
We need more people coming in and I think that’s something to be celebrated.” of young families who may want a bigger house, or young couples who may want to rent, and of multi-generational families. That change in demand is also driving the increase in housing types. You can’t just build one thing anymore. “Change can be difficult, especially when for fifty years your community has had one particular focus and now, we’re looking to change and adapt.” And, LeBlanc notes, “we do need a mix of housing options to address affordability.” Even with population growth the average age in Riverview has actually crept up, despite the town being home to many young families. Affordability is only one issue that will help Riverview reverse its aging trend by attracting new, young families. “There’s just an atmosphere that attracts people to the town, that we’re the fifth largest community in the province – there are four cities smaller than our town – but we’ve been able to maintain this closeness, the small-town
Reducing the average age is important in the long run. By 2041 population growth will start to decrease if the average does not come down. Says LeBlanc, “the reality is that we need population growth. It works too for our jobs that are unfilled because we don’t have people to work in those roles. When you talk to the Chamber of Commerce one of the top things the business community is saying is that not having a large enough workforce is an issue. “We need more people coming in and I think that’s something to be celebrated.” Immigration, says the mayor, will also be part of that equation. “I think that is going to be one of the biggest factors in population growth over the next few years. “We created a committee when our council was elected specifically to look at diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the town, at representing all the underrepresented voices. “Over the last couple of
Andrew LeBlanc
years, we’ve started to see an increase in cultural festivals that are happening in the town … we’re starting to see a lot more of that cultural diversity in the town of Riverview. Part of that population growth has come from newcomers, and we recognize the importance of that.” And what will Riverview look like on it’s one-hundredth birthday? “I think that as long as we stay on the path that we’re on now, that we maintain the values we have, I think Riverview will be physically bigger but still have the same feel that it
has now. This is a community that is rooted in relationships and so no matter what the community looks like one hundred years from now, it will still be about coming together for festivals, for different celebrations, I think we will have more people and more businesses but that we will have the same feel.” All of that will be challenging, but, says LeBlanc, “it is better to be dealing with the challenges of growing than with the challenges of shrinking. I’ll take dealing with the challenges of growth any day of the week.”
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
BROOKLYN DOUTHWRIGHT
Brooklyn was part of teams that captured 5 medals for Canada at the Pan Am Games in Santiago Chile, in October.
Riverview swimmer Brooklyn Douthwright graduated from the swimming pool in her family’s backyard to joining the Aquasouls Synchro Club of Greater Moncton when she was seven years old. She has not looked back. Her resume includes the Codiac Vikings Aquatic Club, the Club Natation Bleu et Or, the Ontario Swimming Academy at the High Performance Centre in Toronto, and now, the University of Tennessee swim team. She has also represented Canada internationally and hopes to represent her country again at the Paris Olympics in 2024. She has been recognized by Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program, a process known as carding and which provides support to high-potential amateur athletes, beginning when she was thirteen.
The River View: What got you started in swimming? Brooklyn Douthwright: My grandfather and now my uncle own a pool business, so naturally we had a pool and that is where I got started. I tried out for the swim team when I was about five, but I ended up leaving the try-outs. Then when I was seven, I went out for synchro and then about two years later I realized that I actually like racing and the competitive atmosphere is what I really love about swimming. Then I went to the Codiac Vikings Aquatic Club and that is where I really started competitive swimming. I understand that at one point you swam the Northumberland Strait when you were twelve years old? Yes, That was definitely exciting and something that I wanted to challenge myself with, so I was really happy. I finished in around 4 hours. Are you still the youngest person to have done that? Yes. That is amazing! What happened next as you developed the competitive aspect of your swimming? I actually stayed in synchronized swimming for the first maybe three or four years and so it was kind of trying to find a balance between the two. When I got more serious about competitive swimming, I think the year I got carded, I started to focus more on racing and started to go to Ontario to train with the swimming academy up there. That helped me with just progressing through the levels in my club and finding opportunities where I could and just
working on meeting my goals. You have represented Canada at international meets. What is that like? I went to World Juniors in Budapest back in 2019 and then this year I went to Worlds. That is the dream for every swimmer is to be able to represent their country. To see my hard work paying off and getting that experience with such an amazing group of athletes and coaches, to experience the amazing level of professionalism that is there, is amazing and so good for my development. What is your competitive specialty? I do freestyle; the 100 and 200 (metre) “free” is usually where I Iand.
is just trying to “win the deck.” People are at the side of the pool just screaming. It is such a different environment; you really have to bring your A game. It really brings that out of you. What are your goals for this coming year? Well, trying to get on top of that podium! And, this is an Olympic year, so I am really focused on that, as that has been my biggest goal since I started swimming. So, just working hard with my coaches to see what I can accomplish, just putting my best foot forward every day to see what I can do. Brooklyn Douthwright competes for the University of Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).
How did you come to go to the University of Tennessee? I was a little lost during the recruiting process. It was very overwhelming! In the NCAA system there are so many schools with so many resources. But eventually just getting to talk to the coaches and the facilities that Tennessee has I just knew that that was the place for me. I couldn’t be happier with my decision. It is just such an amazing program with such amazing people. I finished my second year in May and then I swam there this summer, so I am going into my Junior year. Tell us about your experience there – that is a very high level of competition. It is. It is quite different because every team is going to competitions with twenty-two women and twenty-two men, and it is like half of the competition
Douthwright in competition.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
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RECIPES w
EVELYN’S
KITCHEN
Essential Ingredients:
Instructions:
•
1/2 cup butter
1.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
•
1/2 cup brown sugar
•
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
2.
•
6 cups large flake oats
Put the butter in a large bowl and microwave until the butter is just melted. Stir in the brown sugar, add the maple syrup, and stir well. Microwave for one additional minute. Stir again until ingredients are mixed well.
Optional ingredients: •
1 cup sliced almonds (or for a nut alternative try one cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds)
This month’s recipe is for
•
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Maple Granola
•
2 tbsp ground flax
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1 tbsp raw sesame seeds
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1 cup dried cranberries
the ingredients.
3.
Add the almonds, coconut, ground flax, and sesame seeds. Stir well.
4.
Add the oatmeal. With a large spoon move the syrup mixture up through the oatmeal and again thoroughly mix
5.
Spread the granola evenly on two medium baking sheets and place in the oven, one on an upper rack and one on a lower rack. After 20 minutes remove from the oven and thoroughly mix the granola. Using a spatula for this works well.
6.
Return to oven, reversing the placement of the pans. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool. Stir in the cranberries (or raisins) once the granola has reached room temperature.
7.
Enjoy
(or one cup raisins)
This family favourite is made with maple syrup. It is easy to make, and you can change the combinations of dry ingredients to suit your taste.
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 40 minutes. Total time: 50 min
Note: you can add or omit ingredients to taste other than the first four!
Linda G. Manship snapped this fall scene in Highland Park in Salisbury.
Gibson Falls in Elgin, as viewed from under the bridge by Linda G. Manship.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
OUTDOORS
WHITE ROCK RECREATION AREA’S NAME IS NO MYSTERY W
hat is today the White Rock Recreation Area began life as a gypsum mine, operating near Hillsborough from the 1850s to 1980. When the mine closed the land was used by the local school district for its Outdoor Pursuits program. The property, filled with tunnels and sinkholes, was eventually deemed unsafe for students. The land reverted to the village of Hillsborough. The village made a portion of the land available to what is today the Hillsborough Golf Club; the remainder stayed as trails, although they were not extensively maintained. In 2016, a new organization entered the picture. Recalls president Jean-Guy Babineau, “we formed a group called Codiac Cycling Trails. We wanted to maintain access to mountain bike trails in the Greater Moncton area. We approached the village of Hillsborough with a plan for how we would revive the trails, maintain them, get more people coming to the trails, and they signed us on as the managers of the property.” Babineau notes that when
the Codiac club first began to restore the trail system, it needed a lot of work. “People would end up on a dirt road or get lost. We began to fix that by developing trails and putting up signs, building new trails, and mapping the trail network.” Initial work began with the help of a grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). “We spent a lot of time walking through the woods with GPS to map out the trails.” The result is that land that could not be reclaimed for other uses – particularly not for housing or commercial buildings as mining rendered the land unusable for structural purposes – has been reclaimed as a natural space. “It is perfect for park land,” says Babineau. Some of the trail names reflect the area’s natural beauty and wild inhabitants – like Porcupine and Raccoon; some the area’s history – like Gesner’s Dream, named after New Brunswick geologist Albert Gesner, who first distilled kerosene from a mixture of local mineral Albertite and pitch in the 1840s. Others display no small
amount of whimsy. A trail builder once found a pair of sunglasses on a trail, which brought to mind the 1980s pop hit Sunglasses at Night, and led to the trail being named Corey Hart. Half Pint is the first trail Codiac Cycling Trails built. White Rock features a mix of beginner, intermediate, and expert trails. Although used primarily for cycling, the trails can also be walked. Most are designated non-motorized, with some access for motorized vehicles in selected areas. Throughout, anyone cycling or walking these trails will be immersed in the area’s natural beauty. And will notice the gypsum. It is still visible in large quantities throughout the White Rock Recreation Area, including underfoot as part of the composition of the trails themselves. Its prevalence gives the recreation area its name. “When you think of how much gypsum they would have hauled out of here during the time the mine was open, and how much is still left, it is pretty impressive,” notes Babineau. The area’s uneven terrain, created partly by the natural
Gypsum is still in evidence everywhere at White Rock Recreation Area, which is carved out of a former mine.
Codiac Cycling Trails president Jean-Guy Babineau with some of the exposed gypsum that gives White Rock Recreation Area its name.
The trails at White Rock Recreation Area.
landscape and partly by sinkholes and quarries left over from the mine, is perfect for testing the fitness and skill levels of cyclists. The trails are built entirely by volunteers, many by hand, some with the moderate use of equipment. The trails are built to be challenging, but also scenic, and always safe. Says Babineau, “when we
build the trails, we usually hike them first to get a good feel for what is there, and if we see something interesting, we will either (build the trail to) the interesting spot or to somewhere we have a good view of what we want to see. “So, even though we build them as mountain bikers ourselves, they are also nice to walk.”
He acknowledges, however, that “some of the more challenging trails are, shall we say, a bit of a hike!” White Rock Recreation Area remains the primary focus of Codiac Cycling Trails. Babineau says, “we always have great people. Next, we plan to look for sources of funding to build new trails. We always like to build trails.”
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
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“I LOVE MY CUSTOMERS” S
Salah Elby has expanded into Halal Mediterranean cuisine at KoolFood on Hillsborough Road.
Even four-legged music lovers enjoyed the summer concerts in Riverview’s Caseley Park.
alah Elbey, who came to Canada in 2007 from Tunisia as a student at the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC), never doubted what he wanted to do. “When I finished my schooling I took different jobs, but only to figure out what kind of business I wanted to go into. I always wanted to be a businessman, to have my own business. Always, I wanted to have a business myself.” Elbey came to NBCC, he says, because after researching a number of options he thought NBCC would give him the greatest opportunity to find work after graduation. “NBCC was the right fit for me.” He comes from Menzel Bouzelfa in the Nabeul Governorate in Tunisia, which is fabled for its orange trees. That background even led him to Michaud Farms in Bouctouche for a time after graduation, but his desire to be an entre-
preneur outweighed his desire to be an agriculturalist. He ultimately settled on a Freddie’s Pizza and Donair franchise in Riverview and has expanded into Halal Mediterranean cuisine with KoolFood next door. “People from the other side (of the Atlantic) want that food, they miss that ‘back home’ food. The cuisine is primarily from three countries in the north of Africa, the food is Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian.” Elbey is letting his customers help shape the menu. Several items are already available, but he says he is open to feedback from his customers on what they would like to add. He would like to see KoolFood eventually become a franchise in its own right. Kool derives from the Arabic takul, meaning “to eat,” and of course plays on the idea of “being cool” in English.
Elbey sees the appeal of Halal cuisine continuing to grow. “I want to go far with that name.” And KoolFood offers what may be a first in Riverview and in Greater Moncton; first served in France in the early 2000s and hence nicknamed French Tacos, these items are in fact more similar to burritos or quesadillas. They feature meat, cheese, sauce, vegetables, and French Fries in a flour tortilla. Elbey’s secret to success? It all comes back to the way he is asking his customers to help shape the menu at KoolFood. “I love my customers. Customers make a business work. Business these days is not easy. You need to be organized, to watch your costs, but you have to know your customers. We’re doing business in a small town with people you see every day, every week – they are the most important thing.”
Linda G. Manship captured this autumn colours scene in Salisbury.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Hillsborough, which dates from 1896.
HERITAGE
History and outreach – and romance – meet at St. Mary’s
P
Peter Jubb and the church’s deacon, The Reverend Barbara Haire.
erhaps it was inevitable that a shipbuilding community would bring to life a church that mirrors the hull of a ship. Well, at least the roof. “A lot of the people who built the church were shipwrights and ship’s carpenters, because you had that expertise within the area. There was a whole wealth of woodworking and building knowledge here,” explains lay reader Peter Jubb of St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Hillsborough. Those shipwrights put a
unique stamp on the church’s interior. Looked at from the floor of the nave, the roof “resembles the upside down hull of a ship. The structure, the way the struts are built, is exactly what you would find there. The logic was, if a ship can withstand the pounding of the seas, then an upturned ship can withstand the weather of Albert County. “It has been proven so because it is still strong today.” The sturdiness of the roof, with its robust central line resembling a keel braced by
solid timbers, is offset by the delicacy of the stained glass that graces the sanctuary. The window was imported from Venice by Joseph Tomkins, the nascent church’s most prominent citizen. He had come to Hillsborough from New York to lead what was at the time the area’s primary industrial concern, the gypsum mine and associated plaster works of the Albert Manufacturing Company. Tomkins is also believed to be responsible for another of Continued on page 9
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW Continued from page 8
the church’s unusual design features – a fireplace that faces into the vestibule rather than into the main body of the church. Jubb says, “the original plans in the Steeves’ House Museum show the fireplace facing the congregation. Now, I say this tongue in cheek, but rumour has it that Mr. Tomkins wanted the fireplace facing the other
up there since in her memory. He has never come down.” Haire has been deacon at St. Mary’s for nine years and was a lay reader for 10 years prior to that. St. Mary’s has been linked with other Anglican churches in the area for a number of years, rather than having its own fulltime priest; Haire fills a key role as deacon. Recalling her call to the
The logic was, if a ship can withstand the pounding of the seas, then an upturned ship can withstand the weather of Albert County.”
The roof resembles the upside-down hull of a ship, reflecting its ability to weather storms.
The fireplace famously faces into the vestibule, where a prominent parishioner’s pew would once have been.
way. His pew was at the back of the church facing the fireplace. “He also had full access to depart when he wanted. A set of curtains would go across the back and completely block it off, so that if he wished to leave halfway through a sermon he could do so. Or so rumour has it.” St. Mary’s boasts original features that have been in continual use since 1896, including pews, the lectern, the font, and a hand-worked wooden cross in the sanctuary. You may not commonly encounter a menorah, an important symbol of the Jewish faith, in a Christian church. One occupies a prominent place in St. Mary’s. Parish history recounts that, when the church first opened, St. Mary’s and the Baptist church came together to help a Jewish tinker, an Isaac Selig, through that year’s particularly tough winter. The Selig family presented the two churches, during either the 1950s or 1960s, each with a menorah in remembrance. “We use that menorah on Christmas Eve, which is a service of light, and it ties in with the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukkah). We do that to show that different churches can work together, different faiths can work together. For us it is always a reminder of love, care, and compassion.” And most original of all is the church’s toy Easter bunny, which nestles in a crux of the roof beams. Recalls Deacon Reverend Barbara Haire, “we had a past lay reader, God love her heart, who we lost a couple of years ago to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. She placed Mr. Easter Bunny up there when we gave out Easter treats to the children and that bunny has stayed
diaconate, Haire says, “Reverend Rob Salloum was our priest and he encouraged me to study to become a deacon, which I did. I very much enjoy my work here at St. Mary’s” and at St. Alban’s, a sister church in Riverside-Albert, Haire’s home church also presided over by her. She speaks with pride about the church’s outreach efforts, which have ranged from providing dresses for children after an earthquake in Haiti, in partnership with the United Church and the Girl Guides, to providing meals to those in need closer to home. “For about 12 years now we have been providing a free monthly community meal because this area has a lot of low-income, single parent, struggling families. We saw the need. It started very slowly but it has grown. During the pandemic we were feeding over a hundred people every month and we still continue to feed 80 to 85 people every month. It takes time to gain peoples’ trust. “The needs have always been met. We have helped
This Easter bunny was first placed in the church, for children at Easter services, by a lay reader who has since died. The congregation keeps the bunny in place in her memory.
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furnish apartments, we have helped feed people with groceries, we have supplied Christmas gifts to children. “We just ask the congregation, ‘we have a need in the community’ and it just seems to be met.” For Haire and Jubb, collaborating with their congregation to provide community outreach isn’t just a parish partnership; it is also a love story. The two met through St. Mary’s and began dating when they were each widowed – Haire lost her husband to cancer and Jubb his wife to Parkinson’s Disease. Remembers Haire, “we were both lay readers at the time. I knew his late wife, he knew my late husband, we both lost our spouses. After being single for six years after I lost my husband, and several years after he lost his wife, he asked me out the night of my ordination.” Jubb insists that she asked him out after he offered congratulations. “I was so in love with her that I proposed on Valentine’s Day, and we’ve been together now for eight years.” They agree on the biggest challenge facing St. Mary’s, one they believe the church will meet. Notes Haire, “it is unfortunate that we do not see a lot of our youth coming back to the churches. We grew up in the church and it was very important in our lives … we need to find new ways to reach these young people … we have touched so many people through these outreach programs … we need to reach them (youth) where they are. “I do believe that the youth will walk back to their faith.”
The font is one of several original features still in use.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
PEOPLE
FROM THE GULAG TO LONDON, AND RIVERVIEW, VIA ANDERS’ ARMY I
n 1941 a handsome young engineering student, Jan Brachaniec, met a pretty soon-to-be nurse, Jadwiga Kamieniecka. The two travelled across the Middle East, fell in love, and were married in Egypt before emigrating to England to start a family and a new life. That would be one way to describe their love story, but it would hardly describe the full truth behind their remarkable tale of hardship, determination, survival, and courage. Brachaniec and Kamieniecka were Poles who were sent to the Gulag, the Soviet Union’s notorious system of remote prison camps, during the early years of the Second World War. They met during the arduous march made by what became known as Anders’ Army from the Soviet Union through what were then Persia (modern-day Iran), Iraq, Transjordan (modern-day Jordan), Palestine (before the creation of the State of Israel), and Egypt, culminating in what became known as the Italian campaign. Their children Jacek and Anna were born in England in 1949 and 1952, respectively. Anna still lives in London; Jacek Brachaniec, who today goes by Jack, lives in Riverview. Recalls Brachaniec, “my parents were both born in what was then Poland. My mother was born in Wilno, which today is Vilnius and is part of Lithuania, and my father was born near Katowice, which is still in Poland.” “As we know from history, World War Two began on September 1, 1939, when Adolph Hitler invaded Poland.” That August, Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression pact. They agreed they would not attack each other. “On the 1st of September, the Nazis attacked Poland
from the west … the Soviet Union did not attack from the east until September 17th … but Poland was cut in half,” says Brachaniec. “My parents at the outbreak of war both happened to be in eastern Poland. My father was in Lwow … he was studying to be an engineer at the Polytechnic there. My mother was in what is now Vilnius, so they were both on the borderlands between Poland and the Soviet Union. “The Soviet Union had lists of people that they wanted to arrest. The majority were anybody with an education … anybody that in the Soviet mind could be an enemy of the state. They felt that anyone with any kind of an education, anyone with any ability to think for themselves, was going to be a threat to the Soviet Union. “My mother was one of the first to be arrested from the northern part of the borderlands. She was a government clerk, she was not an intellectual, but she was on the list. My father, who was studying to be an engineer, was also arrested.” People were given minutes to pack a few belongings, loaded into cattle cars on trains, and
“shipped off into the depths of the Soviet Union.” Property was seized and never returned to its rightful owners. So began the odyssey which would bring Jan and Jadwiga to London, and their son to Riverview. “My parents did not know each other at that time. They were in labour camps in Siberia, where it is freezing cold in the winter, they were barely fed, the slogan was ‘if you don’t work you don’t eat,’ so if you were too sick to work, then you would just die. They were on starvation diets. It was not a life; it was an existence.” Just getting to the camps involved an epic journey of deprivation, hunger, cold, and the death of many of those around you. “They were putting thirty or forty people in a cattle car” in a train and sending them long distances, sometimes for months before they even reached the labour camps. “They would be in there for forty-eight or seventytwo hours at a time with no water, no sanitation. People would die. At a stop, they would throw open the doors
Jack Bracha
niec of Rive
rview displa ys a medal Monte Cass won by his father Jan ino. COURT during the Ba ESY OF BR ACHANIEC ttle of FAMILY
Continued on page 11
Jan and Jadwiga after
The wedding in
Egypt. COURTE
SY OF BRACHA
NIEC FAMILY
their wedding. COURTE
SY OF BRACHANIEC
FAMILY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
Continued from page 10
and say, ‘give us your dead.’” In June of 1941 Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, its massive but failed invasion of the Soviet Union. Being attacked by Nazi Germany, which violated the two countries’ non-aggression pact, persuaded the Soviet Union to fight alongside the Allied nations. The Soviets and the western democracies made common cause against Nazi Germany and its satellite countries in the Axis. Operation Barbarossa was the largest invasion force in history, involving millions of soldiers. Responding to an assault of that magnitude required all the men the Allies and the Soviet Union could muster – including released prisoners from labour camps if necessary. Explains Brachaniec, “what Operation Barbarossa did was, it gave the Soviets the idea that they are being attacked, and they have all these men in the camps. Why not release these men to fight against the Germans?” Polish General Wladyslaw Anders was released from the Lubyanka prison in Moscow to head up what would become the Polish Army in the East; formed from Polish prison camp inmates, the force became known informally as Anders’ Army, after its commander. The recruits came directly from prison camps and initially were what Brachaniec describes as “a ragtag group of men who were poorly clothed, untrained, filthy, lice-ridden, emaciated. They faced again a trek in cattle cars to meeting points where they would amass these ‘were-to-be soldiers’ and start feeding them and giving them a little clothing. “My father was one of those. He was freed from a work camp and ended up in what would become the Second Polish Corps (in Polish, Drugi Korpus).” As the Polish army-underconstruction grew, it needed to be housed, clothed, fed, and armed, which provided a strain on already-stressed Soviet resources. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin agreed to allow the force to leave the Soviet Union and to pass into British control. Anders’ Army marched across the Soviet Union to the Caspian Sea and then into modern-day Iran, known then as Persia. “There were also women
THE RIVER VIEW
in these labour camps,” notes Brachaniec. The women were not considered at that time for combat, but “the Soviets realized they were going to need women as nurses, as cooks, for clerical roles, for administrative roles, so they also freed groups of women. “My mother, who was only in her early 20s at the time, was one of those who was freed and who also trekked to join Anders’ Army. It was a long trek for these people, across Persia, Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine, and into Egypt.” Jan and Jadwiga had made the long journey as part of the same group of Polish ex-prisoners but did not meet until later in the trek. “My father met my mother in Egypt. They were stationed there for quite a while. My mother trained to be a nurse and then they were married in Egypt. They were married in an army tent.” Now under British command, the newly formed Polish units were better fed, trained, armed, and organized. They began to form into the combat-worthy Corps that would fight with General Anders under British General Bernard Montgomery in the Italian campaign, including the decisive Battle of Monte Cassino. Both Jan and Jadwiga participated – Jan as a meteorologist and aerial observer and Jadwiga as a nurse. “There were many British casualties, Indian troops suffered casualties there, and finally the Poles took the mountain which was held by the Germans. My father was awarded a medal from Monte Cassino.” The Polish army continued up the coast through Ancona all the way to Bologna. “They were instrumental with the British, including Canadians, in forcing the Germans out of Italy.” After the Italian campaign Jan and Jadwiga stayed on. Although not a pilot himself, he participated in flying missions over enemy territory, using his engineering skills to analyze weather patterns that could affect troop movements and battle conditions. “My mother was an ambulance nurse. She and her sister, who was also a nurse, followed th e forces along the whole campaign.” Many Polish units were demobilized in the United Kingdom after the war. By 1946,
after their long journeys first to the prison camps and then to Egypt and finally in combat through Italy, Jan and Jadwiga faced another odyssey – to what would become their home in London. Other family members arrived in the years following, while others joined what became a large Polish diaspora as many Poles relocated to countries around the world. Based on their military service, Jan and Jadwiga were given permanent resident status in the United Kingdom. They bought a home on Oakley Avenue in the London suburb of Ealing in 1949. Anna continues to live in the family home with her husband Stephen. Jan worked as a civil engineer and Jadwiga took care of the family. Tragically, both died young, Jadwiga in 1955 and Jan in 1963. Jack and Anna were raised by aunts after the death of their parents. Brachaniec completed physiotherapy training and worked in London. “But I had a bit of an itch to travel … there were lots of physiotherapy jobs around Europe, but there were always jobs in Canada advertised in the physiotherapy journal. So, I applied for one in Halifax, and they accepted me.” Brachaniec came to Canada in 1979. “I arrived with no idea if I was going to stay, but here I am.” He met his wife Mary in 1983 and they married in 1985. Their daughters, Claire and Elizabeth, live in Halifax and Toronto respectively; Jack and Mary eventually settled in Riverview. Reflecting on the hardships and deprivation faced by his family, and millions of others, and the courage required to endure them, Brachaniec says, “there is a basic human drive to survive. The strongest survived, the family units looked after each other, and of course many did not survive. But there is a basic human will to survive.” Brachaniec participates in memorial services at the Polish Canadian Brotherhood of Arms monument in Dieppe, New Brunswick, which honours Polish sailors who saved the lives of 85 Canadian soldiers during the Dieppe Raid in Normandy in August 1942. “Thinking back on everything that has happened since 1939,” he recalls with a smile, “if there hadn’t been a war, I might be a Lithuanian or a Ukrainian.”
Other membe ship Franconi rs of Jack Brachaniec’s fa mily who arriv a sailing from ed in Englan Port Said to Li Deszberg, an d, in this case verpoo d Falimirska on the are his relativ l in 1948. The family nam es Brachaniec es. COURTE SY OF BRAC HANIEC FAM , ILY
wiga Kamieniecka Jan Brachaniec and Jad iet labour camps. Sov in e tim ir the during ANIEC FAMILY ACH BR OF SY COURTE
There is a basic human drive to survive. The strongest survived, the family units looked after each other”
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
A sense of identity
COMMUNITIES
For Fundy-Albert, tourism will be an important driver of future growth
A
Robert Rochon
Linda Lawson of Riverview captured this glistening image of early morning dew on a spider’s web.
s the mayor of a municipality that is ten months old – and until January 1st was composed of three separate municipalities and five local service districts – Bob Rochon says his one of his biggest challenges is creating a shared sense of identity. “We don’t want to remove that individual sense of identity. We want to make sure that we embrace and keep the cultural aspects both of our former municipalities and our current municipality. We are going to continue to celebrate those various elements of Albert County we have (celebrated) in the past, those unique cultural experiences, and that’s an important part of what we want to accomplish.” The new municipality, created as part of local governance reform in New Brunswick at the beginning of this year, is Fundy Albert. The previous three were Hillsborough, Riverside-Albert, and Alma, along with unincorporated surrounding areas. Rochon was referring to tourism development, but it is clear he is sincere in his desire to navigate that high wire act: creating a new identity for the amalgamated municipality of Fundy Albert while respecting that residents also have long-standing loyalties to their original communities. Fundy Albert is also one of the largest of the newly-incorporated municipalities created by local governance reform – the largest local government reorganization in New Brunswick since the days of Louis Robichaud in the 1960s. Rochon believes that Fundy Albert’s location, stretching from Lower Coverdale to the boundary of Fundy National Park in Alma, positions the municipality well for tourism development. “We’re essentially on the corridor that runs from Riverview all the way to Fundy National Park, through the park and the Fundy Trail, all the way to Sussex. The opportunities are for increased traffic and volume of tourists. “There are some unique tourism assets that we think will attract people,” says Rochon, referring in particular to the
region’s rolling countryside, the Petitcodiac River and the tides at Hopewell Cape, Fundy Park itself, and the network of walking trails as economic drivers. With opportunity comes challenge. Rochon notes that Fundy Albert faces a familiar obstacle for rural and semirural regions, that of keeping people for longer stays rather than drive-throughs and overnights. While details are still in the works, Rochon says “we are working on that. “I am on a working group of what is called the Rural Upper Fundy Partnership, which is a group of tourism associations, chambers of commerce, and the Fundy Biosphere, where we are looking at tourism from a regional perspective … it crosses three regional service commissions.” One of the issues that group is reviewing is another testing issue for municipalities across Canada – housing, in this case for employees of the tourism sector. “We are looking at some of the options that are available, such as billeting, partnerships with non-profits, and partnerships with land developers. “The idea is to put the infrastructure in place so that (tourism operators) can stay open longer” during the year.
community at any time of the year, and especially not during tourist season. Alma has approximately 250 permanent residents but can host between five and ten thousand tourists a week in the summer. There is a temporary measure in place now in place now to supply water, but a permanent solution will cost between $10 million and $12 million. “That’s a lot of money for a community with 250 permanent residents.” The first phase of a Water Exploration Project for Alma is complete. Once water quality test results are available, a second phase can begin. “The application for funding for Phase Two from the federal and provincial governments has been submitted. We are just waiting on approval.” The population is growing, again creating opportunities and challenges. “What we’re finding is that folks are coming here from places like Ontario, perhaps on a visit, they come through as tourists and then they look and say, ‘what a beautiful place, why wouldn’t I leave the hustle and bustle … and come have a slower, calmer pace of life.” That keeps the residential tax base growing and schools open, but also creates the need for more housing.
We are going to continue to celebrate those various elements of Albert County we have (celebrated) in the past, those unique cultural experiences, and that’s an important part of what we want to accomplish.” Similarly, Rochon hopes that reorganization will allow the amalgamated region to tackle issues that each community would have had difficulty tackling on its own. Infrastructure is a challenge for Fundy Albert as it is for every municipality in the country, and a prime example is the village of Alma’s water supply. An aging system can no longer properly service the
Rochon believes the process of bringing the formerly separate communities together while respecting their individual identities, improving infrastructure, and housing, and developing tourism will function better with a strategic plan in place. “That’s on the horizon,” with work on a strategic plan likely to begin in 2024. “You have to have a plan. You have to have an objective.”
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
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This maple stands sentry at the Turtle Creek watershed.
Some of Riverview’s vibrant autumn colours.
Malcolm and Juno almost made it home without conking out … almost.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
COMMUNITIES
The Gateway to
Atlantic Canada
F
or mayor Robert Campbell, any discussion of Salisbury’s opportunities begins with its location at the junction of two major highways, the Trans-Canada and Route 112. “If you think about it, Salisbury is the gateway to Atlantic Canada,” he says. “All traffic passes through Salisbury.” “We see a strategy to bring people to the businesses near the highway, then along the Fredericton Road (as Route 112 is known in town), then into Salisbury, and then down the beautiful Coverdale Road and into the entire region. “From a connector perspective, we can bring people not just into Salisbury, which we do think is important, but we can also become the entry point of a whole regional tourism corridor. Salisbury will be part of that solution, particularly with the Fundy Parkway serving as New Brunswick’s Cabot Trail.” Campbell emphasizes the importance of a regional approach. Each municipality and tourism area will want to build on its own strengths and realize its own po-
tential, he acknowledges, but believes that everyone will succeed if the area from Salisbury into Greater Moncton and continuing to Alma, Fundy Park, and the Fundy Parkway is treated as a regional tourism opportunity. He sees that regional approach from his fellow mayors as well. “We are great friends with our colleagues in Dieppe, Moncton, Riverview, and Fundy-Albert. We are true regional partners. A strong region means a strong Salisbury. That synergy will mean growth in our area.” Talk of tourism turns, as it always seems to do in New Brunswick communities, to natural beauty and the outdoors. “There are more birds,” for example, “in our two wetlands areas than there are in Sackville’s wetlands. A lot of people are discovering that,” Campbell notes. Being located at an important transportation nexus drives other aspects of Salisbury’s economy as well. “People don’t realize we are now a larger milk producing area than Sussex.” Campbell
points to an expanding agricultural equipment industry; the Green Pig Country Market, which is in the midst of rebuilding after a devastating fire in 2022; and the iconic Irving Big Stop restaurant as just some of the businesses located at or near the junction of the Trans-Canada and Route 112 which help bring traffic in from the highway to the town. There, many other businesses thrive. That process in turn has helped to develop the town’s increasingly vibrant Main Street, which will also boast a new fire hall in the coming year. “Our local economy grew by 13% during Covid, as people discovered Salisbury,” Campbell says. Tongue only partly in cheek, Campbell notes that the traditional concept of the bedroom community, wherein people live in smaller satellite towns and commute to larger cities, may need to be reversed when it comes to Salisbury. “It is not uncommon for people living in Greater Moncton to travel to Salisbury to work.” In terms of challenges, Camp-
bell echoes every other mayor in Canada – providing enough housing will be critical. “We are in a housing crisis in New Brunswick, and in Canada. That is both a challenge and an opportunity for us, as we have a considerable amount of land available.” As one example, Campbell notes that there is a waiting list of one hundred seniors wishing to move into seniors housing in his community. “If they were able to downsize, their homes would be available for sale to the many young people wanting to move to our area.” But, he adds, “we have been collaborating with developers in our area and development has picked up to a level not seen in a considerable number of years. New houses are being built, new subdivisions are being built, so that is a good thing. It is just difficult to make it happen fast enough.” Council has also started a water study. The town is serviced now principally by wells; future housing and commercial needs, particularly multi-unit housing, will need a more fully developed
water system. Salisbury also scored a national coup in June by being named the most active community in Canada under the federal government’s ParticiPACTION competition. Townspeople recorded a combined 10.4 million minutes of physical activity during the month. That secured a $100,000 prize, coupled with a $15,000 prize earned by being New Brunswick’s provincial winner in 2022. Citizens will help select recreation projects on which the money will be spent – and plan to be number one again in 2024. That will also be the 250th anniversary of settlement in the area. The milestone will be recognized with events throughout the year that will include
recognition of Indigenous communities and the region’s varied cultural and economic history. Immigration represents opportunity as well. Campbell notes that in recent years immigrants have become increasingly willing to move to smaller communities, including Salisbury, reversing historical trends which saw immigrants focus on large cities. “Some newcomers will prefer bigger cities, no doubt. But some will come from small towns themselves, and they will want that quality of life. We are getting people from all over the world who are moving into Salisbury. “We’re a small town that does big things.”
Linda G. Manship captured this river image in Salisbury.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
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