More Summerside Fun

The city that fur built – Summerside PEI

Well shipbuilding and potatoes were and are big here, but in its day, the silver fox contributed to the wealth of this city. A small museum devoted to the silver fox industry developed here in PEI educated us on this period of bounty in Summerside. At the height of its popularity, silver fox fur was a gold mine for the six men who unlocked the secrets of breeding and raising in captivity this rare fox. The museum gave us a chance to feel this soft fur and see the implements and devices used to exhibit and handle this furry gold mine which was based on Prince Edward Island.

Biking away the calories and exploring cultural links

To balance the tasty treats and meals we have enjoyed, we took our bikes to the Confederation Trail – built on the old railway bed.  Although the trail goes from one tip of the island to the other, we only explored a short section between Summerside and Miscouche – the home of the Acadian Flag and an Acadian Museum.  Here we rested up from our trail ride and learned about the Acadians who populated this island when the British expelled them from Nova Scotia in the mid-1700s.  This is a sad story as the lands originally occupied by the Acadians were constantly fought over by the British and the French.  Being more loyal to their French heritage, they were again expelled from Prince Edward Island before being allowed to return in the later part of the 1700s.  Some of these Acadians relocated to parts of the 13 American Colonies and even via France in Louisiana – linking the music and culture of pockets in the United States with this vibrant and unique culture. Many of the names we saw at the museum were familiar to us from our Louisiana friends. Even the Acadian star on their flag has been adopted by the state of Louisiana. In our world it does not seem remarkable that these links should exist, but for cultural threads to run so deep from a time when travel was difficult, and wars wreaked havoc on the already difficult lives of settlers, the endurance and richness of this heritage seems extraordinary.

 

for our mussel loving friends - we ate some for you :)