From One Belfast to Another

Way back in on Halloween night in1969 I arrived on Prince Edward Island for the first time. Driving from the ferry terminal at Borden to Charlottetown I heard Stompin Tom sing for the first time, Its Bud the Spud from the big red mud!!! Quite an introduction to this quiet little Province nestled in the Gulf Strait. I was very surprised to learn that PEI had a place named Belfast, especially as Belfast Ireland was my birth place. A few days after arriving and getting settled in, I jumped in my car and headed for this new Belfast. It wasn’t quite a city, not even a town just a tiny picturesque village. The only building of note was the very beautiful Presbyterian Church. I headed to the local post office which appeared to be the front room of a private house. The very old post mistress was a lovely lady and very helpful. I wanted to buy a postcard with a picture of the village featured to send home. The lady left to go hunt down a suitable card, she was gone for what seemed like ages. Eventually she returned with a dusty looking shoe box full of cards, she flipped through them until she said aha!!! here we are. I was handed a somewhat faded postcard picture of the church with Belfast PEI printed at the bottom. I bought the card and scribbled a quick note then handed it back for her to mail to my home in Ireland complete with a Belfast PEI post mark. It was not a monumental moment in my life, but did mark my arrival in this beautiful province and I have never forgotten that day of long ago. Its so sad looking back some 44 years later and remembering how gentle the Island was in those days. Today the Tourist dept promote us as the Gentle Island but its hardly that with all the chemical farm sprays, polluted rivers and destroyed forest land. We are overwhelmed with golf course, huge outdoor concerts, and fees to use our beautiful beaches and parks. What ever happened to the Province once called the Garden of the Gulf???

God Bless and keep reading.