By Jim Brown
Janet Cotton, one of several volunteers involved in a fundraiser at the New London Community Complex for the Fyfe family of Stanley Bridge, was thrilled at the turnout and money raised.
“I think it was a really fantastic evening,” said Janet, of the more than $23,000 raised during the March 22 benefit.
“I’d say it exceeded expectations,” she said, estimating the number of people who attended the event at more than 300.
The $23,000 haul includes money donated to an account at the Malpeque Bay Credit Union, which is still accepting donations.
A total of 185 items were auctioned off during the evening.
An earlier Gofundme campaign raised $14,385, which was substantially more than the $10,000 target.
Alfred and Karen Fyfe, and their daughter Michelle and her fiance Kristen Rochford, were living in the nearly two century old building when it caught fire on Feb 20, and burned to the ground.
They were fortunate to escape, along with the family’s dog and a cat, but they lost nearly all of their possessions.
The historic farmhouse had been in the Fyfe family for six generations.
Donations are still being accepted, and in addition to the Malpeque Bay Credit Union, would be donors can also contact Janet Cotton at 886-2528, Bethany Cousins, 439-6723, Sandra Blackett at 886-3239 and 303-3164, Stephanie Moase, 886-2599, Nancy Sanderson, 621-1958 and Angie Matheson at 626-9902.
Monthly Archives: March 2019
Groundhog Day in Ottawa
Justice committee could take a while to get to bottom of SNC-Lavalin scandal
Story and photos by Jim Brown
It’s Day 334 of the House of Commons Justice Committee’s hearing into the SNC-Lavalin affair.
There’s been a federal election since the committee started its work in February, of 2019 and the Liberal majority has been reduced to a thin minority, propped up by the Green Party’s 35 seats.
On this day yet another high-level bureaucrat has demanded an appearance before the committee. An earlier witness said he observed the bureaucrat putting milk in his coffee, to which the indignant bureaucrat responded: “It’s a bald-faced lie! Everyone knows I’m lactose intolerant!”
The committee member says this will continue until everyone is exhausted or there’s another election. “It’s the Canadian way and a lot cheaper than throwing people in jail.”
Several members phone in sick and the justice committee adjourns for an indefinite period.
Fyfe family rebuilding after devastating fire
By Jim Brown
For decades they were surrounded by history but in just a few minutes it had all turned to ashes. A nearly 200-year-old farmhouse, built 40 years before Confederation, was reduced to a smoldering firepit.
This is all that is left of the Fyfe family’s 190-year-old farmhouse.
The historic home prior to the fire.
The Fyfe family lost nearly everything in the Feb 20 blaze. They may have felt alone in the immediate aftermath, but they soon learned they had an entire community standing with them during the difficult rebuilding process.
Alfred Fyfe, his wife Karen, their daughter Michelle Fyfe and her fiancé Kristen Rochford didn’t have to wait long to find shelter. A good-hearted neighbor, Leslie MacKay, invited the family to stay as long as they wished at his farmhouse.
“We’re just overwhelmed by the support and the affection we’ve received from the community,” said Karen.
“It really is humbling to know there are so many people like this in our community.”
Friends and supporters organized a benefit for the Fyfe family for Friday, March 22 (snow date March 23) at the New London Community Complex. The Fyfe family benefit, featuring items for auction, a 50/50 draw and a cash bar, will start at 7 pm, with the doors opening at 6. Monetary donations will be accepted at the Malpeque Bay Credit Union.
A GoFundMe campaign is trending and by March 6 had already exceeded the campaign’s $10,000 target, with close to $14,500 raised for the Fyfe family in just three weeks. One of the benefit’s organizers, Sandra Blackett, said more than a hundred items had been donated so far, which included overnight stays at hotels in Summerside and Charlottetown.
“We’ve got people everywhere who are helping out,” she said.
Karen Fyfe said the family farm hasn’t missed a beat since the fire, with her daughter, her husband and her daughter’s fiancé all carrying the load.
There are 35 “momma” cows on the property and several have given birth since Christmas Eve Day and the birthing season will continue into April and May, said Karen.
All considered, things could have been much worse. The fire could have spread to a nearby barn and threatened livestock, she said.
“That barn could have been gone, Alfred’s workshop could have been gone,” said Karen.
The family is still counting their blessings everyone escaped without injury. The family dog and cat are alright, as well as three pet ducks and several laying hens.
The family has insurance and will be able to build another farmhouse, but it won’t be nearly as big as the 3,000-sq foot historic building that had been on the property since the late 1820s and had been in the Fyfe family for six generations.
“It was built and lived in before Canada became a country,” said Karen, wistfully.
“It’s a huge loss…the history and the craftsmanship,” said Karen of the home where five children had been raised and she had lived since 1981.
Anyone wishing to donate items to the Fyfe family benefit can call the following numbers: Janet Cotton, 886-2528, Bethany Cousins, 439-6723, Sandra Blackett at 886-3239 and 303-3164, Stephanie Moase, 886-2599, Nancy Sanderson, 621-1958 and Angie Matheson at 626-9902.
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Strange crop for this time of the year along Highway 6, near Margate
Story and photos by Jim Brown
Motorists travelling this stretch of Highway 6 on March 1, near Margate, saw something unusual on the road’s shoulders and in streaks in the middle of the pavement – thousands of tightly-packed kernels of corn. Provincial officials did not return phone calls by 5 pm of that date to explain the presence of large quantities of this crop, but an internet search unearthed stories in other parts of North America of corn replacing road salt for melting ice. The corn helped reduce the environmental damage caused by large quantities of salt washed into nearby watercourses and absorbed into vegetation. It is not known whether the corn was dumped by accident or deliberately.
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