Number 55 February 1, 2008
Beck Family Reunion, August 1, & 2, 2008 in P.E.I.
By Jim Beck REGISTRATION fees for the reunion have been set at a very reasonable rate to encourage maximum attendance. The price is $10 per adult or $20 per family with children under 18. A fact-filled program will be provided to each paying adult along with a souvenir of the Reunion. In addition, we have a few sponsors who are contributing $100 each to help defray the costs of the event. We would like to have as many sponsors as possible, so we invite anyone to contribute any amount they can afford to help ensure a successful reunion. Cheques may be made payable to Beck Reunion, John B Herring and mailed to him at 1 Lake Thomas Crescent, Fall River, NS B2T 1E6.
An OUTLINE of the activities is given below.
OPEN HOUSE on Friday August 1, 2008 at the Murray Harbour Community Centre, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Relatives from far and wide will have a chance to meet and mingle with each other and greet the speaker and his wife, Clive and Joan Killick from England.
A wide variety of items will be on sale. First, the family lists will be available. Kathie Sencabaugh (ksenca@aol.com) is compiling the list which will be primarily available on CD. If you have corrections or additions regarding births, deaths and so on, provide the information to Kathie in the next month or so. Paper copies with a spiral binding and plastic cover will also be available but must be ordered in advance for delivery at the Reunion. The cost is $40 a book; if it is mailed, the cost is $50 a book. Contact Jim Beck (beck@msu.edu) to order.
CD's recorded by family singers, books and cookbooks, unique souvenirs of Vere's land and hobby items are to be available for purchase.
If you have CD's of songs/hymns that you have recorded, books or cookbooks that you have written, hobby items that you have made, pictures that you have drawn or whatever that you can make available for selling on a consignment basis, please let us know. Other relatives would be very interested in seeing and buying them. Please contact Jim (beck@msu.edu) or Jim Beck, 1935 Danbury W., Okemos, MI 48864. Tel. no. 517 349 6688).FRIDAY EVENING, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm Clambake at Cape Bear
One child-friendly feature of this year’s reunion will be the revival of an old maritime tradition, the clambake, or more simply put, a feed of shellfish at the shore. While clams are not as available as they once were, there are unlimited supplies of the famous Island Blue mussels and Stephen & Allison Nicolle have made their home at Cape Bear (beside the lighthouse) available for a get-together on Friday evening. The cost will be $7.50 per person for all you can eat mussels and a chance to see lots of relatives. For children and others who may not want to eat mussels, hot dogs will be available. Children under 5 years old will be admitted free and for those from 5 to 12 years old the cost is $4.00 each.
Because of space limitations only about 60 people can be accommodated so a pre-registration is required. To pre-register please contact John Brehaut, jhbrehaut@pei.sympatico.ca , (902) 569-3758 as soon as possible to insure a spot for you and your family.
For those not interested in the clambake, arrangements will be made for a group attendance at a lobster supper. Also groups of relatives may want to have picnics in a park or visit with relatives at restaurants or homes.SATURDAY MORNING August 2, 2008. Relatives are encouraged to take a tour of a lighthouse, see the Log Cabin Museum, go on a boat ride for seal watching and so on. Information about some of these and other activities will be available at the Open House at the Centre.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON. 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. At Northumberland Arena. Time to meet friends and see displays.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Main program. Clive Killick from England, main speaker. A program for children will be available during this time.
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm. Dinner at the Arena. Reservations will be needed. More on this later.SATURDAY EVENING. 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Closing program.
CHILDREN’S WRITING, DRAWING AND/OR COLORING CONTEST
A contest for children is going to be held. The topics are to be related to Vere Beck (1783 – 1878), his family, his neighbors and his times. The stories and pictures may be based on a true event or a fictional story about life in the early to mid 1800's. Prizes will be given to winners of different age levels and categories.
THE NEW MONTAGUE BRIDGE IS OPEN FOR TRAFFIC
The official opening was held on the afternoon of December 17, 2007. Members of the official party lined up just before 2 pm to take part in the crossing, while dozens of others watched the ceremony. The first vehicle to cross was the Montague Fire Department's 1961 fire truck. It was driven by Bardy Nelson, a retired firefighter, and he was accompanied by his son, Jeff, a firefighter, and Lenore Lubbert, Montague’s first female firefighter.
Following the fire truck was Gilbert Clements, who was the first to cross the former bridge when it opened in 1954.
"It’s a repeat performance," he said. "It’s wonderful to be alive, and it’s wonderful to be asked," he added.
Lea MacKinnon was the first official walker to cross the bridge. After countless daily walks across the old one, he said public support for him to cross first was the reason he was there.
Ron MacKinley, provincial minister of Transportation and Public Works, chose to walk across as well, as did Carolyn Bertram, provincial minister of Community and Cultural Affairs.
Mayor Pat McGowan and Montague-Kilmuir MLA Jim Bagnall came next.
The youngest members of the official party were two Beck descendants, Leah Jordan, 11, (1.4.3B.7.2.2.2,1,) and Katie Jordan, 9, (1.4.3B.7.2.2.2,2,) daughters of Christie Beck and Christopher Jordan of Brudenell. The girls took the afternoon off from school to participate.
Benoit Hebert, general superintendent of bridge construction, said the Montague bridge is the first of this kind that he’s built, using curved girders, not conventional straight ones.
Mr Hebert also said Montague is one of the tightest spots he’s ever worked in, with the site in a valley and in close quarters with buildings and roads.
The new bridge cost $4.9 million, and was paid for with federal money. HR Civil Contractors of Fredericton received the tender for the project in early March, and construction of the temporary bridge began at the end of April. By mid-June, construction of the new bridge was underway.
Mayor McGowan gave the history of Montague’s bridges, and said the first one was built in 1829 by local workmen for about $50.
NICOLLE ACCEPTS SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITION
Stephen Nicolle (1.4.6.7,7,2.) has joined March Networks as acting Chief Operating Officer, reporting directly to the president. March Networks, based in Ottawa, is a leading provider of digital video and data applications used for security surveillance, monitoring, and analysis.
Steve has more than 22 years experience in the communications technology industry, having held senior positions at Nortel Networks, and Bell Northern Research among other companies. He will be responsible for leading March Networks’ research and development and global operations initiatives, with a focus on enhancing the company’s development, product life cycle and fulfillment strategies.
“I am delighted to be joining March Networks,” Stephen said, “and excited by the opportunities ahead for this world-class company.”
The company president, Peter Strom added, “We are pleased to welcome Steve to our senior management team. His skill set is an excellent addition to March Networks as we focus on strategic initiatives aimed at expanding our presence globally.”
Steve is a member of the Beck reunion committee and has a cottage at Cape Bear, where he spends time in the summer.
BIRTHS
Dr.Kim Soloman and Jamie Laviolette (1.5,4.2B.5.2,4.) are pleased to announce the birth of twin girls on October 25, 2007 at the IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax.
Martha weighed 2lbs 11ozs and Lucy was 2lbs 4ozs.
Because of their size they spent the first few weeks in the hospital where they could be monitored closely.
Both are now at home in North Tryon and doing well.
Proud grandparents are Roger and Sheila Soloman of Georgetown and Linda Penny, Montague. Their paternal grandfather, Conrad Laviolette, is dead.
DEATHS
BELL: Watson Craig Bell (1.4.2.1,2.2.) died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Friday, January 4, 2008 at the age of 75. He was the son of Austin and Sadie (MacLeod) Bell. Craig is survived by his wife, Esther (Williams) Bell, and by children Pauline (Kenneth) Campbell, Montague; James (Lana), White Sands; Alan, Murray River; Patricia (Winston) Bryan, Charlottetown; and Austin of Sydney, Australia. He is also survived by grandchildren Michael (Tanya) MacPherson; Jaime Bell (Steven White); Amanda (Jeremy) Millar; Craig, Krista and John Bell as well as great-grandchildren Chelsea and Jordan MacPherson and David Millar. He is survived by a sister, Betty (Seaman) Glover of Thamesford, Ont. and by sister-in-law Elva Bell, White Sands and brother-in-law James Hickson, Dorchester, Ont. He was predeceased by his brother, Gavin and his sister, Pauline Hickson.
The funeral service was held at the Free Church of Scotland in Murray River on Tuesday, January 8, with interment later in the Murray Harbour Cemetery.BELL: Joan Audrey Bell (1.4.6.5,1.1,) died at her home in Murray Harbour on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. She was 73 and is survived by her husband, Alton Bell. (1.4.2.1,5.4.)
Joan was the daughter of James and Gladys (Stewart) Harris of Murray Harbour. She is survived by her daughter, Virginia (Jim) Cook, her son, Jeffrey (Linnea) Bell, and by her grandchildren, Kyle Cook, Hailey and Jesse Bell and a sister, Shirley (Lorin) Brehaut. Joan will be remembered by many nieces, nephews and uncles and will always be treasured as a special aunt to Dot Ferguson. She was predeceased by her sister, Velda Harris.
By personal request there will be no visiting hours or funeral service. A graveside service will be held at a later date.
ACADIANS PAY TRIBUTE TO KEN EMERY In a public statement, the Acadian Museum Association of Miscouche said it mourned the passing of a great friend in Ken Emery (1.4.4,4.2,1.) of Wood Islands. He died last November.
“As president of the Belfast Historical Society, he heightened the awareness of Acadian and Scottish history in the Point Prim area, especially in regards to the preservation of the Acadian cemetery dating prior the Deportation of 1758.”
The chair of the Acadian Museum Association of P.E.I., Sue LeMaistre, said, “two years ago, he and our Association’s past president spearheaded a fitting commemoration of both the 1758 Island Acadian Deportation and the martyrdom of William Wallace, the champion of Scottish independence.”
This collaboration resulted in the installation, in the Acadian-Scottish cemetery of Eldon, of a six-ton cairn in the shape of the prow of a ship. Madame LeMaistre said, “we are proud of the fact that this monument may be the only monument in North America in memory of William Wallace.”
“In tribute to Ken Emery, who was himself a great Scot, our association conferred on him and the Belfast Historical Society our 2006 La-Petite-Nyctale award. Our hearts go out to his wife, Saundra, and their children, as well as to the members of the Belfast Historical Society.”
AN EXAMPLE OF LIGHTING IN P.E.I. MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO The Eptek Art and Culture Centre in Summerside is featuring an exhibit of how Islanders used to light their homes. And it's a big exhibit! One wall of the exhibition space is covered with shelves filled with a large collection of lamps, more than 500 in all.
The director, Paula Kenny, says,“traditional oil lamps have a base, a stem and a burner. The place where the oil is stored is the font. And the main oils used were whale oil and kerosene.
“But what most people remember is all the time they spent cleaning the chimney.”
The exhibition was designed by Boyde Beck, (1.4.3A.3.6.4.) Island historian, and editor of the Island Magazine.
The show features the private collection of Trueman Pate. A native of O’Leary and a longtime resident of Summerside, he started his hobby during the Great Depression. “When they put in the electric lights in O’Leary in 1937, they took out the hanging lamps and the oil lamps. And that’s when I started collecting them,” says the retired CN worker. His love for oil lamps inspired Boyde to use his collection, along with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, to tell the story of lighting from tallow to electricity.
“This gentleman has an amazing collection of kerosene lamps. And P.E.I. has a key place in the story of kerosene because Abraham Gesner, who invented it, demonstrated it down on King Square in 1846. It was the first time in the world that a kerosene lamp had ever burned in public, at the Mechanics Institute Lecture,” Boyde said.
WEBSITE FEATURES THE LATEST BELLS AND WHISTLES
Georgetown has a new “green” website and a new logo. The Town administrator, Patsy Gotell, said the site has lots of information for residents and tourists alike. The website was redesigned by Synergy Technology Solutions of Montague.
Debby Beck, president of Synergy, says the website is easy to navigate, environmentally friendly, and features built in security. She told Lorie O”Halloran of The Eastern Graphic that the security feature allows the mayor, members of council and the administrative staff to contact each other via the website to send documents and exchange other information instantly, thus cutting down on paper use.
The town office will manage and administer the website’s content keeping all documents up-to-date.
The new website contains information on bylaws, municipal services, current events, history, forms, tourist information and maps.
The Vere Beck Family Home Page
We're always looking for news of Beck family members. If you know of any interesting events drop me a line with the information. imunn@accesswave.ca
That's it .. please share it with relatives who aren't on line. The next edition will be out on April 1, 2008. 
Copyright © 2008 The Beck Bulletin
