| Number 5 | November 1, 1999 |
TWO REALLY GREEN THUMBS
They've flashed on the scene like a meteor shower. In a matter of only two growing seasons, Bill and Elayne VanIderstine (1.4.6.5,3.2,) have come from nowhere to world-class status in pumpkin growing competition. The Montague couple each entered pumpkins at Windsor, N.S., on Oct. 2, 1999 in the official weigh off for the world title. Bill's entry tipped the scales at 862 lbs, good for second place in Windsor and 11th in the world. He was just 13 lbs behind Howard Dill, the master himself, in Windsor. "If I'd known how close I was to beating Howard this year, I'd have pushed it a little harder," said Bill.
Elayne's entry weighed 751 lbs, coming 9th in Windsor and 51st in the world. It also provides a comfortable seat for her grandchildren.
After a showing like that on the world scene, it was almost no contest back on the Island. Bill's pumpkin lost just over 10 lbs by the time it got back home but it easily set a new provincial record, beating the old one by more than 100 lbs. Elayne would have placed third but did not enter.
"This was our second year competing," Bill said in a telephone interview. "The biggest we grew last year was 413 lbs." He has a heart condition and cannot participate in competitive sports, "so what I'm dealing with here is a competitive sport with scales, so there's no frustration."
When he decided to try his hand at growing pumpkins, Bill bought seed from Howard Dill .. perhaps the best known man in the Giant Pumpkin industry. Dill's pumpkin seeds have fuelled the entire industry and he sells world-wide. Ironically Bill and Elayne did not use the seeds from Dill, but through the internet contacted other people in the sport who sent them seed in exchange for a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
So what happens to the monsters after they come home from the fair? Often they are put on display. Bill was offered $1,000. US to send his to New York for a showing the week of Oct. 17th, but that fell through when a trucking schedule couldn't be worked out. "So both of my big ones are sitting at the edge of my driveway all carved up," Bill said.
The seeds have been removed and are drying in the garage. "I'll use some of those seeds next year and I'll be sending them out all over North America probably, because I've had a lot of requests for them."
He's not selling them .. but gives them away to anyone sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope. "This is strictly a hobby, not a money-making project," he points out.
The VanIderstines live on a two-acre lot in a residential area just outside Montague. Bill is an electrical engineer and never grew a thing in his life before 1998. "I never got my hands dirty in clay before last year."
Unable to work due to his heart condition Bill, who is 57, says, "this gives me something to get up for in the morning. You can see them grow overnight. They can put on 20 to 30 lbs a night. You go out in the morning .. and they're either busted open or they're growing great."
Bill says he'll definitely be involved again next year if his health allows. However, he's expecting some stiff competition close to home. "Elayne is an avid gardener so I expect her to beat the pants off of me," he says with a chuckle.
THE "ROWBOAT" HITS THE ROAD
You will recall its a story about Inkerman House in Charlottetown, the home of Colonel John Hamilton Gray...one of the Fathers of Confederation. The story was that Colonel Gray had expected the Island to be hit by a tidal wave, so he had a fully equipped rowboat in the attic ready to sail off at a moment's notice. The play was first staged at Province House in Charlottetown in September.
From 1895 until it was lost in a fire in 1980, Inkerman House was the summer home of the Boyles, Hughes, and Lawsons, Nancy's ancestors on her mother's side. The play relates the many stories, parties and pranks that were part and parcel of the old house. In addition to the stage performance, Nancy had a companion photo display available for viewing after the show.
MASCOT SUFFERS FROM A HOT SUMMER
The statuesque carving is showing serious signs of weathering. "Our mermaid is splitting,'' said Rick Beck, (1.11.8.3.4.1) former chair of the community festival group that commissioned her. He told a Montague council meeting in October that, "We need to get her under some protection for the winter and fix her up."
Exposure to heat and humidity is threatening to split the seven-foot, 400-pound chainsaw carving right down the middle. Rick requested that the town relocate the mythological creature from the waterfront to an indoor setting where efforts can be made to patch the breach in her torso.
Council went along with the suggestion and Lady Mary, named after the wife of Lord Montague, Earl of Sandwich, will come in from the cold for the winter. The mermaid image stirred controversy three years ago when some town officials objected to a bare breast being depicted on the town's new coat of arms. Her long hair was later rearranged in the interests of modesty, and the waterfront carving followed suit.
Lady Mary was officially unveiled to the region during the town's summer festival last year and stands watch over the marina and harbour.
GUARDIAN PHOTO
BIOGRAPHY.
Nancy Jane Faulkner (1.2,6,3.) was born in Economy, Nova Scotia, in 1867. She attended school there and went to Boston to work while still in her teens. One of her grandsons, Gwyn Phillips, said he remembered seeing pictures of her in an old album when he was child. Obviously she was working as a nanny because Gwyn said she was pushing a carriage on the street. He added that the Boston influence was obvious later in the names of some of her children. Nancy was not there very long, probably not more than two or three years, but she must have been well liked by her employers. Tara Phillips, Gwyn's daughter and the organizer of the 1999 Roberts reunion in Moose River, says she has a bedroom set given to Nancy when she left Boston.
When she returned to Nova Scotia, Nancy was hired as the school teacher in Moose River. It was there she met her future husband, Charles W. Smith. He was one of her pupils. Tara said that at one time she had a school register showing Nancy as the teacher and Charles as a student. He was two years older than her and they married about 1886 and their first child was born in 1887. Ten more arrived over the next 16 years.
Nancy was the subject of some discussion at the Roberts family reunion in Moose River last summer. As well as being a teacher, a housewife and a mother, she served as the postmistress in Moose River for many years. Rhodes Oulton, another grandson, discussed Nancy and Charles Smith during the formal part of the reunion program. He said there was no doubt that Nancy was the brains of the family, and even as a child he recognized that. If an important answer was needed people always went to Nancy. When work was going on around the farm she would be the one checking to see that everything was ready. At haying time, she'd be after the boys to test all the pulleys in the loft before they started hoisting the crop in.
Rhodes said she was also very kind hearted. "On a Saturday if we were going to the movies in Parrsboro, she'd come to me and say, 'here's 10 cents for a package of dulse.'" Rhodes considered that a special treat, and the edible seaweed apparently is still held in high regard among the Roberts descendants because small bags of it were handed out to all who registered for the reunion.
Nancy Faulkner Smith died in 1954 at the age of 87.
VITAL STATISTICS
Dear Ivan:
Just a note to thank you and tell you how much my wife and I enjoy
your newsy newsletters on the Beck clan as we drive around the country.
We're so happy that my brother Don Beck (1.11.1.6.2) formerly of Chatham, Mass. and now residing in
Williamsburg, Va. gave you our e-mail address for you to send your
newsletter.
Originally from Massachusetts, our permanent home for the past
15 years has been Marco Island, Fla.
Since retiring from the restaurant
business four years ago we have taken off the 1st of every May and driven
around the country in our little red convertible for six months. We stop
where we want, for as long as we want. There's no question what the best
part of our trips comprise. It's the people we meet, talk to, and learn
from. G.E. coined a phrase many years ago, "People are our Most Important
Product" and how right they were.
On our way home to Marco Island, Fla. next month, we will stop
in Dunedin, Fla. to see cousin Joyce Lockwood. Joyce (1.11.1.3.1,) is the oldest child of
my father's oldest brother, Charles Beck. She's nearing 80, her eyesight is
not the best, but what a spry, effervescent woman. We always try to stop once
a year, and catch up on the latest news. Joyce has two younger sisters, June
from Washington State, and Joan from California. I haven't seen either for
more than fifty years, but have made that a project for next years road trip.
The Travelinghobos
Dickie & Sandy
Beck
(1.11.1.6.1.)
The Vere Beck Family Home Page
We're always looking for news of Beck family members. If you know of any significant events drop me a line with the information. imunn@accesswave.ca
imunn@accesswave.ca