We began the day in the ornate and highly decorated dining room of the Guest-Lovitt House in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Our previous day had been marred by gray skies before the Yarmouth fog rolled in, erased the horizon and blurred everything in between. Today, however, was a day to write home about. The sky was perfectly blue and the sun, perfectly yellow.
Breakfast involved local sausages, smoked bacon, homemade brown bread with choices of local jams and eggs how I chose them. Big day, big breakfast. Susan and I took our rental ride out of the city the short skip to Tusket where sits the Argyle Township Court House & Archives. The archive was originally located in the Court House there but since 2006 had relocated to the former Seventh-Day Adventist Church and become one of the most modern archival facilities I've ever seen. It was a beautiful spot: two old historic buildings separated by an expansive green field and across from the choppy Tusket River.
Peter Crowell is the Municipal Historian and Archivist who along with a few hired students filled the main research area of the church. By the time we walked in, he had already laid out several old volumes, ledgers and photographs for us to film. He was on the ball, script in hand and eager to show us around. We filmed him all over the grounds: in front of the church and museum, in the main research room, the vault and in the downstairs staff room. Peter is a really amazing guy, well spoken, cheery and someone with an obvious passion for history and archives. He told Susan and me about the extraordinary fundraising efforts he has done and guided us through the fascinating Court House across from the archives.
The Argyle Township Court House is the oldest standing courthouse in Canada. Peter said it was built in 1805. He said, "This was originally meant to be a jail, the court house was added as almost an afterthought." The only windows in the jail area were angled skylights with dark metal bars on each opening. The cell doors were unbelievably heavy. On the top floor was a standard courtroom but I was amazed when I sat in the judge's chair and could see the river out of all seven of the windows. It was a perfect seat.
After filming, Peter handed us a map to a local graveyard so we drove a sort of gravel switchback up a grassy hill to a plateau that contained about 120 tombstones. The graveyard was different from the ones we had visited in Shelburne, not nearly as elaborate or decorative but with a solemn simplicity.
After finishing at the graveyard in Tusket, we raced the sun to Pubnico to photograph the Musée des Acadiens des Pubnicos et Centre de recherche before returning to Yarmouth. We're not filming there until Thursday but squeezed in some filming time on account of the good weather.
When we returned to our B&B we were suddenly famished and exhausted. Before eating, the owner, Bruce Rogers offered us a ride in his 1913 Model T. It was just a quick tour of historic buildings in the downtown. Bruce drove us down an alleyway behind the Holy Trinity Anglican Church where at the right time of day, you could see the sun through the front and back sets of stained glass windows. It was a fun tour and great to learn some of the colourful history of Yarmouth. Tomorrow, we only have to walk a short distance to the Yarmouth County Museum to meet the head archivist, Jamie Seran. Stay tuned!
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