My friend Andrea is so good for my soul. This morning I woke up to a message from her asking if I want to go to the beach this morning to ground my energy before tackling this day. I quickly got ready, hopped in her car and we were off to Pomquet beach! It’s October. In Nova Scotia. So we didn’t go to swim. We went to just be. We strolled along; we enjoyed the sunshine on our faces and our feet in the sand as we listened to the crashing waves. And, as Andrea predicted, we grounded our energy for the day!!
While gazing out across the water that leads to the mouth of the Northumberland Strait, I couldn’t help but think about the ancestors that came to this country by sea only a few short generations ago. You see, yesterday I went with my Mom and my cousin MJ to the play, Bochans and a Birthday, put on by the Ships of 1801 Concert series. It was all about life way back when and how it was lived on Keppoch Mountain. My ancestors came from Morvan Scotland, five generations ago, landing first in Saint John, New Brunswick before moving on through to land in the Keppoch of Antigonish County. So when I watch this play, which even mentions my great grandfather by name, I can’t help but think about my own family’s experiences, in real life on the Keppoch. And looking out over the water in a spirit of contemplation this morning? Well, it made me think about what a huge sacrifice those ancestors made to give up everything they knew and loved; their country, their homeland, their family, their friends…to come to the “new world” to try to build something better for themselves and future generations. It’s unfathomable to me to think about picking up and moving somewhere I’d never been; knew nothing about; without connections or financing or stability of any sort.
But luckily for me and all my relatives, my ancestors had that gumption.
They built a life for their children; and created traditions of their own – steeped in influence from their homeland of Scotland but with a New Scotland twist. Generations of my family gathered in ceilidh houses, as was depicted in the play…where neighbours would gather to hear the news, to share stories and culture and music and dance. Neighbours relied on each other then for their very survival!!
I sat in the audience watching the play, for the second time, thinking about my own ancestors and three of my cousins were on the stage. Billy Murphy played an Irishman. Joan Dewar played Joan MacDonald, a mother and fiddler. Marion Dewar played a piano player. All three characters had lots in common with their real life counterparts. Seeing their talents on full display made it all the more real to me; like I was really seeing into Allan C & Minnie’s house on a Saturday night!
When they sang the song about the children leaving the Keppoch, I fought back tears. The song went something along the lines of, just as the river runs down Keppoch mountain, so do the kids, off to find a better life. And voiced the heartbreak of a mother watching her children grow up and move on to their own lives away from her. So these ancestors forged a life on the Keppoch, raised their children…and then when those children grew, they needed to leave to find their own paths, often far away from all they’d ever known. The parents understood cause they’d had to leave Scotland to forge their lives…but it doesn’t make it any easier on those left behind.
Hot on the heels of that song, they did another one about 16 souls….a song about coming across an abandoned home where once lived 16 souls who had all moved on to different locations. Leaving behind the culture and traditions that were forged on the Keppoch by their ancestors. My great grandparents had 16 kids so all of a sudden, it was like I truly was watching the history of my own family…and the ladies singing were speaking of the 16 having to move away to find jobs and lives of their own, but never realizing their leaving marked the end of life as they knew it on the Keppoch. I thought about my grand aunts and uncles that struck out to find their dreams in California and Detroit and Alaska and Winnipeg…how could they have known that their little Ohio community would be forever changed by their leaving (and others of their generation)? Elders pass. The family home sold. Generations of our family are now being raised around the globe. Those 16 souls will always have a connection to the Keppoch and to the Ohio…but it’s forever changed. Do we recall the exact day we all stopped going outside to ride bikes with our friends? The last time we played jump rope? The last time all the cousins gathered? By the time we realize the moment’s past, it’s far too lost to be retrieved.
And yet, I look at my talented cousins up there on that stage and I see them keeping our history and traditions alive through their stories and their songs and their musical abilities. Where would we be without those traditions? Is an Allan C really an Allan C without a story or song? I’m so incredibly proud of Billy and Joan and Marion for being such incredible tradition bearers in our family. It is such an enormous responsibility that no one ever asked them to tackle but everyone benefits from!!
We are extraordinarily blessed in our family not only because we have tradition bearers like Billy, Joan and Marion, but because we also have the likes of Marion’s baby brother, Gene who, together, with his wife Sheri have worked so hard to provide a home in the Ohio for all the generations of our family once again. To provide a space that tells the history of our family and shares the pictures and stories and songs and music of our ancestors. And to all of those in the family who help Gene to keep that space sacred for the multitudes of family members who need to feel that connection; the connection to the past; the connection to those who have gone before. It’s only in knowing our past that we know who we are!!
A cousin of my generation, who I don’t know very well as she grew up in California…as her grandmother had been one of the 16 to follow her dreams to the West coast, just had a baby in Austin, Texas on Friday. In her branch of the family tree, she is three generations removed from the Ohio & the Keppoch. She will grow up a third generation American. But thanks to the tradition bearers in our family, that sweet little girl will always have a place and a connection to here. That’s absolutely mind blowing and beyond amazing. I hope she grows up to discover that connection, to feel the connection to BE connected to all those who left Scotland for Canada; to all those who created Ceilidh houses; to all those who sang and danced and prayed and played and spoke to keep their culture alive!! And to all of us who benefit from the fruits of their labour.
My goodness we have a lot to be grateful for as we start this Thanksgiving week…our fearless ancestors, our traditions and culture, our tradition bearers, the leadership and kindness and thoughtfulness of family members, our connection to each other, to the land, to the sea and to the Ohio. And for good theatre right here at home. Well done Ships of 1801 Players!! I know you’ve certainly inspired this fifth generation Canadian to reflect on the generations who have come before…and the ones who continue to be the heart and soul of this MacDonald family I find myself at home in. Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement to grab my own torch; I can’t wait to see what you come up with for next year!
PS, those are my great grandparents in that picture…Allan C and Mary (Minnie) MacDonald
Dandelion Wishes 