Louisbourg Blog

Trip to Louisbourg

2012-01-01T21:22:00.001-04:00

Nice Blog
http://yachtkerrydeare.blogspot.com/2010/07/louisbourg-i-sat-24-jul-louisbourg-town.html

The Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing

2011-11-09T13:46:00.000-04:00

TV too loud? Trouble hearing on the phone? The Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Nova Scotians will be having a Devices Display at the Mayflower Mall on Tuesday, Nov.22 from 1:00pm-4:00pm. Come see what we have available to help you hear better on the phone or to hear the TV. We do not test or sell hearing aids. (United Way Member Agency)

(42) Gary LeDrew:

'via Blog this'

Gary LeDrew

2011-11-04T12:17:00.002-03:00

Gary LeDrewhttp://wxtoad.com/campgrounds/loui.htm

Louisbourg Memories by Harold LeDrew

2011-09-18T10:45:00.001-03:00

A page written by my father Harold LeDrew

about 1937

Gary LeDrew

Fab Forts Weekend - August 19-21, 2011

2011-08-16T15:11:00.000-03:00

http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/celebrations/even/cfc-ffw.aspx
Gary LeDrew

Whisky, hidden gems and Scottish oatcakes

2011-08-03T15:14:00.002-03:00

CAPE BRETON ISLAND—We see gently rolling hills with mist whispering over the tops of a thick deciduous forest. There’s a crystal clear, gently flowing brook cutting through the quiet glen with the distinctive aroma of good whisky permeating the crisp, fresh air.

Looking as if it had been transported directly from the highlands of Scotland, the Glenora Inn and Distillery sits in a rural area of western Cape Breton Island, near the village of Glenville. The first, and until recently, only single malt whisky distiller in North America, Glenora turns out spirits that have captured numerous international awards, including two recent gold medals in Chicago against ten and 15 year old Scotch single malts.

“It’s the water that makes our whisky so special,” says Inn Manager and Whiskey Ambassador, Donnie Campbell, as we sipped samples before the fire in the Inn’s cozy bar accompanied by a young Cape Breton fiddler and pianist. “We own 900 acres of pristine wilderness and this stream passes no houses or industry. It runs over granite and marble as well as roots from apple and maple trees. This adds distinctive elements and minerals to the water for our whisky. Our founder looked at 200 potential water supplies on Cape Breton Island and this was the best.”

Glenora’s oldest product is a 15-year-old single malt aged in American Oak barrels called “Battle of the Glen”. Clad in a box covered with newspaper headlines, it was produced to commemorate the legal victory against the Scotch Whisky Association. The SWA objected to Glenora’s use of the term “Glen” for its signature Glen Breton 10 year old whisky, claiming consumers might think it was from Scotland (Canada cannot and does not use the term “Scotch”). Nova Scotia won the nine-year battle and Glen Breton Single Malt remains to tantalize taste buds with its heady aroma and ultra-smooth taste.

Not renowned just for its whisky, Cape Breton is the most Scottish part of “New Scotland” and we spent four delightful days exploring hidden Celtic gems and savouring unique treats that are raising the bar for fine cuisine along the Cabot Trail and in Sydney and Louisbourg. At every stop we sampled traditional Scottish oakcakes (a flaky square or rectangular cookie with an oatmeal base) and seafood chowder that’s among the best in the world.

The Inverary Inn in Baddeck has been serving its distinctive oatcakes for decades. Sitting on the shore of the Bras d’Or Lakes, Baddeck is a popular summer resort area and the seasonal home for 30 years of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel. Parks Canada supports a major museum in Baddeck filled with artifacts from the life and times of the inventor of the telephone. Bell and his wife are buried in Baddeck on his nearby estate called Beinn Bhreagh, Gaelic for beautiful mountain.

The Gaelic language and culture survive and thrive on Cape Breton Island (many of the road signs are bilingual) largely because of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Ann’s, near Baddeck. For almost 75 years, the campus has featured classes in the Gaelic language, music instruction on bagpipes and other Celtic instruments, step-dancing plus Scottish history and kilt making. Up to 100 students come for weekend classes or stay for a week or two. Visitors, Scottish or not, are always welcome and can be ceremoniously fitted with a Great Kilt, made from five metres of fine tartan. And yes, we left with some delicious oatcakes.

An excellent lunch or dinner stop on the Artisan’s Loop of the Cabot Trail is the Chanterelle Country Inn and Cottages. Chef Earlene Busch is an advocate of the Slow Food movement and her restaurant features Cape Breton fresh cuisine. Visitors give Chanterelle rave reviews and it’s featured in “Where to Eat in Canada”.

Parts of Cape Breton are actually trilingual, with a strong Acadian influence on the west coast of the island. One hidden gem of a museum is Les Trios Pignons in the French community of Cheticamp. In a modest whitewashed building, the work of rug hooker Elizabeth Lafort is featured. Starting in her teens with complex landscapes, this acclaimed artist created realistic hooked tapestries of people, places and events. The luminous detailed works, all in wool that she dyed, include giant historical tableaus of Canadian and US history (featuring all Prime Ministers and Presidents), religious works and portraits of people like Queen Elizabeth and Jacqueline Kennedy. Visitors stand in awe of her talent.

Leaving Cheticamp and heading to the island’s east coast there’s a visual wonder around almost every bend of Cape Breton’s highways but we also found a number of hidden culinary gems. The Dancing Goat Café and Bakery, on the Cabot Trail in the Margaree Valley, doesn’t advertise but is always filled with locals and tourists. The sandwiches, on fresh multi-grain bread, are stuffed with roast beef, chicken, ham or veggies and the desserts (including oakcakes, of course) are delicious.

The Fortress of Louisbourg is the ambitious reconstruction of an 18th century fortified French town. Built to harvest the plentiful seafood and to defend the French empire in North America, Louisbourg was eventually destroyed by the British in 1758 but, in the 1960s, partially rebuilt by the government of Canada as a living history museum.

Only 20 per cent of the Louisbourg Fortress site has been excavated and rebuilt but archeologists continue to explore the area and the surrounding sea (26 known shipwrecks are in the vicinity). More than 10,000 artifacts are uncovered each year to add to visitors’ pleasure of wandering among the many buildings, streets and gardens as they were in the 1740s (along with costumed inhabitants).

The 18th century theme is continued at another local gem, the Beggars Banquet in the village of Louisbourg, within sight of the Fortress. Linda and Tom Kennedy and their team provide comfortable seaside accommodations but the banquet is not to be missed. Every evening visitors can choose to dress up in period costumes provided by the Inn (most do) while servers and grumpy (but witty) wench, Luscious Lady Linda, present a feast of locally-caught lobster, giant local snow crab, halibut or chicken accompanied by live music and merriment. It’s a great way to top off a day at the Fortress.

Many visitors return to nearby Sydney after visiting Louisbourg. The Cambridge Suites has the number one accommodation ranking at TripAdvisor and the hotel’s fish chowder is divine. Some locals say the Cambridge Suites has the most reliable kitchen in town but we found Governors Pub & Eatery, on the main drag with an excellent view of Sydney Harbour, to be outstanding as well. Its pulled pork sandwich is pungent and tasty.

Gordon Stewart, the Executive Director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, told us that fine cuisine has now become a key feature for increased tourism. “People want good value and great food,” he said. “At the high end, travellers will pay a premium for something different and extraordinary.”

In addition to spectacular scenery, Cape Breton has recognized the need for great food with two annual events that started this year. The just-completed Savour Food and Wine Festival gathered together three dozen top Island restaurants and beverage purveyors for an evening of sampling the best dishes and the best wine. And in August, ten world-class chefs from the US, France, Spain, Australia, Peru, Belgium, Switzerland and Hong Kong will fly to Sydney to work with local chefs across Cape Breton for the Right Some Good Foodie Adventure. International expertise and local culinary passion will join forces on an Island that Alexander Graham Bell loved.

“For simple beauty, it outrivals them all,” he wrote.

John and Sandra Nowlan are freelance travel and food writers based in Hal

VoteMyFundy.com - Vote for us as one of the New7Wonders of Nature

2011-07-03T15:56:00.000-03:00

VoteMyFundy.com - Vote for us as one of the New7Wonders of Nature

LATEST NEWS

Canadians form giant 7 to promote Bay of Fundy in global New7Wonders of Nature quest

HOW TO VOTE

Together we can make the Bay of Fundy one of the New7Wonders of Nature!

There are two ways to vote for Bay of Fundy:

VOTE ONLINE via the New7Wonders website (once per email address).
TEXT VOTE using any Canadian smart phone – text FUNDY to 77077 ($0.25 per text vote).

SEVEN REASONS TO VOTE FOR CANADA’S BAY OF FUNDY

The Bay of Fundy is Canada’s finalist in the prestigious global campaign to declare the New7Wonders of Nature and you can help! The top seven will be determined by popular vote and announced on November 11, 2011. The Bay of Fundy is located between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast and is truly one of the country’s most extraordinary natural wonders. Seven reasons to vote:

Highest tides in the world.
Marine ecology comparable to the Amazon Rainforest.
World renowned dinosaurs and fossil discoveries.
Home to over 12 species of rare and endangered whales.

Best site on planet for green tidal energy.
Rich in history and culture.
Home to 2 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, one World Heritage Site and a Geopark.

Read more about the 7 reasons to vote Bay of Fundy as one of the New7Wonders of the World!

Louisbourg Playhouse to open new season Sunday - Entertainment - Arts - The Cape Breton Post

2011-06-24T07:30:00.000-03:00

Louisbourg Playhouse to open new season Sunday - Entertainment - Arts - The Cape Breton Post
Other performers scheduled to take the playhouse stage this year include Dave Gunning, J.P. Cormier, Carl MacKenzie, Jason MacDonald, Colin Grant, Kyle and Sheumas MacNeil, The Men of the Deeps, Brenda Stubbert, Jennifer Roland, Evans and Doherty, and the One Night in a Cape Breton Kitchen production which will run nightly from Monday to Friday throughout July, August and the first week of September. There’s music every night of the week at playhouse from Sunday until mid-October, with the exception of July 30 when it will be closed for the local crab festival.
Gary LeDrew

Fortress of Louisbourg, pink double-deckers ways to market island as world-class destination

2011-06-23T07:13:00.002-03:00

Published on June 21, 2011
Chris Shannon

Topics : SYDNEY — Cape Breton’s regional tourism agency says it has $740,000 in the kitty to market the island as a world-class destination this year.

Destination Cape Breton Association , Cape Breton regional council , Louisbourg , Cape Breton ,Sydney

Mary Tulle, chief executive officer of Destination Cape Breton Association, said money raised through the accommodation levy will earn $460,000 for the organization this year, with an additional contribution from Enterprise Cape Breton Corp.

During a presentation to Cape Breton regional council Tuesday evening, Tulle said the marketing of Cape Breton must focus on its best assets such as the Fortress of Louisbourg.

“It’s an anchor of Canadian history. And when is the last time you saw it used in a provincial piece of marketing?” she asked.

“One of our primary goals is to turn this amazing piece of Canadian history that’s right here, that’s not something some people haven’t come across, but that it’s something people choose to visit when they cross the Canso Causeway.”

At visitor information centres across Cape Breton in 2010, Tulle said there were no bilingual staff people on hand to assist francophone tourists.

This year, the association plans to ensure bilingual staff are at visitor information centres in Sydney and Louisbourg.

“Eighteen per cent of the visitors who go to the Fortress of Louisbourg come from Quebec, and we were not able to service them in both of our official languages. We can this year,” she said.

Destination Cape Breton is also expanding its presence on mainland Nova Scotia with a Cape Breton-styled kiosk on the Halifax waterfront. Another kiosk is also open to visitors at J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport.

As Tulle spoke to council, she held a miniature pink double-decker bus in her hand. She’s a big fan of the possibility of bringing a “hop on, hop off” tourist bus service to Sydney that easily moves people from one area to another, increasing the pleasure of the experience at the same time, particularly for cruise ship passengers.

“There are 44,000 passengers who disembark from cruise ships that dock here, and they get off and they’re not quite sure what to do.

“Part of it is we’re not collectively educated enough about how to service our cruise passenger, and part of it is we don’t quite have a method to do it yet.”

The pink buses were introduced to Saint John, N.B., last year and will begin service this summer in Charlottetown, Tulle said.

She said she’s actively courting the service with the hope the pink double-deckers could be headed this way next year.

“If we don’t increase the quality of the experience, we don’t want to lose the cruise ships that are coming. And that’s one of the biggest concerns that we have to face.”

cshannon@cbpost.com

kayak/canoe event

2011-06-23T07:11:00.002-03:00

The Mira Boat Club will be putting on a kayak/canoe event of the Mira River on Saturday August 6th (if weather is not good, Sunday August 7th).
There will be different starting points along the river, depending on how far you would like to paddle (e.g. Marion Bridge to Boat Club, Victoria bridge to Gut). Afterwards BBQ at the Mira Boat club in the evening.
Anyone interested please contact Mark
markmacd@eastlink.ca

workshop on Hearing loss

2011-05-30T08:56:00.002-03:00

A workshop on Hearing loss will take place at the William Oram Centennial Library in North Sydney on June 9 from 1 - 4pm. Guest Speaker, Heather Grant, Audiologist, Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres. Please register by calling 564-0003. Funded by Northside the Lakes Community Health Board.

Thank you,

Clare Le Blanc

Community Liaison Officer/Interpreter

Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Nova Scotians

762 Victoria Road, Sydney,NS B1N 1J6

(902) 564-0003 (Voice/Fax/Video Phone)

(902) 564-0486 (TTY)

1-888-770-8555 Toll free within Nova Scotia

AMAZING art and fine entertainment.

2011-04-28T21:58:00.001-03:00

Tonight from 6-9pm,
a night of AMAZING art and fine entertainment.
Meet & greet our local budding artists
Refreshments served
Admission: a food bank item
Framed art available for $10,
proceeds to the Louisbourg Youth Center
See you there!!
Louisbourg Youth Center, Louisbourg Fire Hall, rear entrance

NEW FAMILY PRACTICE

2011-03-03T12:31:00.000-04:00

Dr George Burns is pleased to announce the opening of his Family Practice clinic at 7561 Main St., Louisbourg NS.

We are accepting new patients, with preference to those without a family doctor.

For more information, please phone 733-3232 or drop in to pick up registration form and book your initial consultation.

Gary LeDrew

Fine Art Exhibit

2010-09-17T11:55:00.002-03:00

Gary LeDrew

Take This Waltz

2010-08-31T09:09:00.000-03:00

It has been a quiet week in Louisbourg and the Movie Shoot of Take This Waltz has been a welcome relief. Except for a noisy all night party by some they have been pretty much unnoticed. I hope they lots of wide shots as Louisbourg has never looked better. The weather is spectacular

Take This Waltz (2011) More at IMDbPro »

Writer:Sarah Polley (written by)

Plot:A funny, bittersweet and heart-wrenching story about a woman struggling to choose between two different types of love.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cast

Seth Rogen ... Lou Rubin

Michelle Williams ... Margot

Sarah Silverman ... Geraldine

Aaron Abrams ... Aaron Rubin

Luke Kirby ... Daniel

Jennifer Podemski ... Karen

Raoul Bhaneja

Matt Baram

Danielle Miller

Diane D'Aquila

Albert Howell

Diane Flacks

Avi Phillips

Jean-Michel Le Gal

Dustin Peters

Vanessa Coelho ... Tony

Gary LeDrew

Louisbourg Lighthouse Day

2010-08-13T10:40:00.002-03:00

Louisbourg Lighthouse Day is on August 21, 11AM---- 3PM in conjunction with parks Canada celebratiing 276th year of the first lighthouse in Canada.Barbecue live music,cannon firings , drumming, costumed re-enactors, Talks about the light, last keeper of the lighthouse in Louisbourg, walk the new beautiful lighthouse trail.Everyone welcome.It will be a fun day!!!!

happening today Sat july 17th

2010-07-17T09:51:00.000-03:00

FREE ADMISSION TO THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG ALL DAY

Parks day at Mira Park - lots of events and fireworks in the evening

family beach day at kennington cove 1-4pm

Steak n Stine 3 til 6pm louisbourg legion

PUB NIGHT TONIGHT AT THE GRUBSTAKE. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT WITH JUSTIN VALLIS AND FRIENDS STARTING AT 9;30.WINGS, MUNCHIE BASKETS, NACHOS ,MUSSELS AND POTATO SKINS AND OF COURSE DRINKS

Louisbourg Playhouse - 8pm Alycia Putnam for tickets 733-2996

Out door Painting

2010-07-14T09:21:00.001-03:00

Open Air Painting At It's Best

The Under the Arch Plein Air Event invites you (Saturday, July 31 - Sunday, August 1, 2010) to enjoy a two day open air painting event in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.
This two day event features a chance for...
artists:

to paint some of Louisbourg's unique wonders;
to attend a unique artists' mixer where you will be immersed in 18th century life found at The Fortress of Louisbourge Historic Sight;
to present your art to an international market at the event gallery silent auction, located at the Fortress Louisbourg Visitor Centre;
to keep 60% of all sales made through the gallery.

visitors:

to see art being produced on the streets and shorelines of one of Nova Scotia's most historic and picturesque areas.
to meet artists from various regions of Canada and the US;
to bid on and buy one of a kind art.

Gary LeDrew

Antique & custom Car show and a concert

2010-07-06T06:45:00.002-03:00

Antique & custom Car show and a concert next monday night july 12th from 7-9pm...on the louisbourg waterfront

10 reasons to move to Louisbourg,

2010-05-15T09:09:00.002-03:00

10 reasons to move to Louisbourg,
Wouldn't you like to live in the Friendliest and Safest place in Canada.

1: If you are lucky enough to live by the ocean you are lucky enough. The sea and the harbour is beautiful and always changing. There is always a new ship or a whale or something, plus the best looking lighthouse. Louisbourg is the most historic harbour in Canada. Battles here settled the course of Canada and the United States.

2: Complete range of houses and properties from $10,00 to $500,000. You can find houses that are half of what they are in Ontario especially if you want to downscale. Low property taxes that can be fixed for seniors. Or you can get a house at Louisbourg Resort, a 5000 acre gated community with a world class golf course.

3: Weather. The weather in Louisbourg is consistantly better then weather in Southern Ontario. It is milder and has less snow in the winter and is cooler in summer. The weather in this part of Cape Breton is completly different then the rest of Cape Breton even different from Sydney. Louisbourg is in its own climate zone. We might have more fog (not this year)and more wind but almost all major storms and hurricanes miss us even lighting storms are rare. No tornadoes, No floods, no avalanches.

4: Fresh Clean Air all the time. Excellent fresh soft Water right from the Tap (brand new 7 million dollar water plant. Fresh seafood, Best Lobster in the world, crab halibut etc.
5: Terrific Infrastructure. Highspeed internet and cable right at the door. Garbarge collection, Snow ploughing roads and sidewalks always clean. You can walk the streets anytime of year.

6: Many Organizations and Churches, Volunteer Work galore good community Services.

7: Major hospital 30 minutes away. Fast local Ambulance service (no traffic) Volunteer Fire Department. Airport is 30 minutes away. City is 30 minutes away.

8: Playhouse all summer, Recreation: World Class golf course 1 kilometer down the road 4 major golf course within an hour away. Unlimited Hiking, Hunting and Fishing. Swimming on clean sandy beaches. Great Hockey in Sydney

9: Great opportunities for Artists and Hobbyists. The tourist business is much under exploited

10: Friendly people, Everbody waves to everybody. Virtually zero crime rate.
Caveat:(only If you have an income)

Gary LeDrew

May is Hearing Awareness Month

2010-05-10T12:35:00.000-03:00

Do you have difficulty hearing on the phone? Does your family remark about how loud the television is and you can hardly hear it? The Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing is having a devices demonstration at the Mayflower Mall on Friday, May 28 from 1:00 – 3:30pm. Drop by and see what we have to offer. (United Way Member Agency)

Clare Le Blanc

Community Liaison Officer/Interpreter

Society of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Nova Scotians

762 Victoria Road, Sydney,NS B1N 1J6

(902) 564-0003 (Voice/Fax/Video Phone)

(902) 564-0486 (TTY)

1-888-770-8555 Toll free within Nova Scotia

BENEFIT DANCE

2010-05-02T11:34:00.005-03:00

Date: Friday May 7th

Place: Louisbourg Legion
Time: 9pm to 1am with DJ Bobby Burke
Cause: Wounded Warrior Fund in support of injured Canadian soldiers returning home from Afghanistan
**To read more on this charity go to www.woundedwarriors.ca

The cost is $6.00 at the door and all proceeds will be donated to t...he charity on behalf of this event.

Clipper introduces Cape Breton to many ports of call

2010-04-19T09:57:00.001-03:00

Oliver Moore

Halifax — From Thursday's Globe and MailPublished on Wednesday, Apr. 07, 2010 8:09PM EDTLast updated on Wednesday, Apr. 07, 2010 8:30PM EDT

Two faces of Cape Breton will be on display Thursday in San Francisco, where classic “kitchen party” music and food will be used to pitch the island’s future to business leaders, academics and expatriates.

At the Golden Gate Yacht Club, noshing on traditional island food including seafood, jams and a dessert known as Cape Breton Pork Pie, guests will be entertained by Howie MacDonald and Robbie Fraser.

“We possibly might even give them a little step-dancing lesson,” Mr. MacDonald said. “Our job is to provide some Celtic music and encourage them to come to Cape Breton.”

The reception is being held in the latest port of call for the Cape Breton Clipper. Turned by taxpayer money into a floating billboard for the NovaScotia island, the 68-foot-tall ship is competing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

She is sitting in third place overall after finishing the fifth leg ahead of the pack, entering the California port flying the biggest Canadian flag sponsors could find and emblazoned with a huge eagle symbolizing the island. It was the race’s longest leg, from China to the United States.

But first crew and guests get to let their hair down at a reception that is a mix of party and business networking.

“It allows us to bring our contacts and show what Cape Breton is about,” said Cecil Smith, director of the Petroleum Applications of Wireless Systems Project at Cape Breton University. “Making contacts, talking with Stanford and Berkeley, we’re building the business side. The party really is just an attention grabber.”

The reception is part of a worldwide marketing and branding effort by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, which is partially funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

Lauri Taylor, development officer for ECBC, a Crown corporation, said it cost $500,000 to be sole sponsor on the boat. The corporation also expects to spend the bulk of its $750,000 annual budget for tourism and trade promotion on events in the race’s various ports of call.

Ms. Taylor put the sponsorship’s exposure value at more than $2-million so far, with another two legs in the race to go.

“Cape Breton is in every port that we go into,” she said. “We’ve got a floating billboard and tremendous ambassadors with the crew. They’re all honorary Cape Bretoners.”

And along the way have been a series of receptions showing off products and businesses connected with the island.

Tonight’s gathering is expected to attract people from such heavyweights as Google and Cisco, and from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Also well represented in the crowd, nearly 200 of whom had confirmed attendance by Wednesday, is expected to be a large collection of nostalgic ex-pats.

“A Maritime-themed kitchen party was thought to resonate with those folks,” said Robert Pelley, who will be there as senior adviser for Innovacorp, a provincial business development agency. “And it helps us stand out with foreigners. It’s unique, very identifiable and still very prevalent in Cape Breton culture.”

The ship is scheduled to head for Jamaica next week. But before it does, the musicians are hoping to get a quick run around the harbour.

“We’re going to be taking a little drive in the clipper and probably playing a little fiddle on it,” Mr. MacDonald said. “But we’ll probably take two fiddles, rather than a fiddle and a piano.”

Why Louisbourg matters

2010-03-08T07:46:00.004-04:00

CAPE BRETON, N.S. -For 2008, the historical focus

has been on Quebec City, marking its

400th anniversary this year. Fair enough,

as the establishment of Quebec and the subsequent

battle over it loom large in Canadian history.

But what about Louisbourg?

BY NATIONAL POSTAUGUST 14, 2008BE THE FIRST TO POST A COMMENT

PHOTOS ( 1 )

CAPE BRETON, N.S. -For 2008, the historical focus has been on Quebec City, marking its 400th anniversary this year. Fair enough, as the establishment of Quebec and the subsequent battle over it loom large in Canadian history. But what about Louisbourg?

Never heard of it? I was embarrassed a few years back to discover, at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, that I had never heard of a major colonial centre and site of a key battle. Perhaps growing up in Calgary, our schools focused on Western Canadian history, but even then Louisbourg should not draw the blank I would reckon it does for most Canadians.

Louisbourg was here on Ile Royale, as Cape Breton Island was called when France had it in the 18th century. Established by the French south of present-day Sydney, it was not only a strategic fortification at the entrance to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, but an important fishing and commercial town in its own right.

During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) -- what Winston Churchill call the "first world war" as it involved all the European powers and was fought around the globe -- the English and French fought twice for Louisbourg. The French held it in 1757. The English conquered it in 1758. This year marks the 250th anniversary of that summer battle.

Without conquering Louisbourg in 1758, would the English have taken Quebec in 1759? If they hadn't taken Quebec then, Canadian and American history would have been very different.

Louisbourg was established in 1713 as a key centre for Nouvelle France, and by the 1940s it was a fully fortified town of some 4,000 inhabitants -- not huge, but not insignificant either. The historian A. J. B. Johnston reports that in its 45 years of existence, Louisbourg had some 565 marriages, 2,200 baptisms and 1,200 burials. It was a growing and vibrant centre.

The strategic importance was recognized by both the French and English, with the former defending Louisbourg with more than 8,000 troops. The English

came in 1758 with 27,000 troops, so the Battle of Louisbourg involved nearly 40,000 people, making it a major battle in the Anglo-French war for supremacy in the North American colonies.

Louisbourg 1758 was seen as key turning point. The English has tried to take Louisbourg in 1757, but failed in the face of the French navy and bad weather. In 1757, the Seven Years' War -- at least in its North-American theatre -- was not going well for the English. They had lost a series of battles, including at Oswego and Ticonderoga, and had they lost for a second time at Louisbourg it might have moved the Seven Years' War decisively in the French direction.

But the English took Louisbourg, and then took Louisbourg out. Almost all of the French inhabitants were deported quickly back to France, as many as 12,000. The English began to dismantle the fortifications almost immediately. Louisbourg effectively disappeared and became what it is today: a largely forgotten heritage site.

The success of Louisbourg emboldened the English to press on through the Gulf of St. Lawrence into the river itself, laying siege to Quebec the following year: 1759. No doubt the battle on the Plains of Abraham, with its world-changing consequences and the poetic balance of the twin deaths of Generals Wolfe and Montcalm, is a major reason that we forget Louisbourg today. Yet without Louisbourg, it would have all been different.

Historical counterfactuals can be fun to pursue. If the French had prevailed in the Seven Years' War and kept all of Nouvelle France, would history have unfolded to make Canada all French and the United States all English? Would the French communities in America have survived to be something like Quebec would become in a majority-English Canada?

A critical consequence of the English victory was that French Catholics experienced religious liberty under the English crown, making them more favourably disposed to English rule. If the French did not have that experience, would they have accepted the American revolutionaries' plea for assistance and joined in the Revolutionary War of 1776?

Such questions come to mind on Cape Breton Island -- which we all regard as a transplanted bit of the Scottish highlands, but may have become a new world version of the French provinces. Such questions are intellectual puzzles which cannot be solved, but asking them reminds us of the importance of what took place at Louisbourg. It reminds us to remember Louisbourg at all.

Cajun cooking starts on the foggy headlands of Cape Breton

2010-03-08T07:24:00.002-04:00

Cookin’ Cajun: Part 1 of 3
The story of Cajun cooking starts on the foggy headlands of Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia in the middle of the 18th Century. France had owned the Canadian Maritimes since the early 1600s and built a massive fortress city—Louisburg—to guard its New World holdings and protect the rich North Atlantic cod fishery.

In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, the French Canadians—the Acadians—developed a rich, largely agrarian and Maritime culture. But, despite being 3,000 miles from Europe, the Acadians could not escape the wars and turmoil that blanketed the Old World.

In an astounding piece of military oversight, the powerful guns of Louisburg all faced the sea. In 1748, during King George’s War (also called the War of Austrian Succession), a scratch force of New England Yankees landed a few miles down the coast, marched overland, and attacked the imposing stronghold from the landward side. With all of its mighty defenses pointed elsewhere, Louisburg quickly fell.

In the resulting peace negotiations, the fortified town was returned to the French. But 10 years later, during the French and Indian War, British regulars attacked again and leveled Louisburg. Cape Breton and Prince Edward’s Island became British colonies and the way opened for them to attack up the Saint Lawrence River to Quebec the following year. The Acadians were rounded up, sent into exile in what came to be known as Le Grand Dérangement (the Great Disturbance). About 3,000 Acadians sailed to Louisiana between 1765 and 1785 to begin new lives in that subtropical frontier. They intermarried with other ethnic groups--French, Spanish, German, and Anglo-American settlers--and evolved into a new ethnic group. In that far off place, the Acadians became the Cajuns and created a singular lifestyle and culinary tradition.

Coming next: Second course, Visiting the Cajun Homeland
Shrimp CreoleCourtesy of Harbor Lights, Big Lake, Louisiana.
Serves 10
1 stick butter
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
5 pounds uncooked shrimp
2 small cans tomato paste
4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons red pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch diluted in cold water
3 cups water

Sauté the vegetables in the butter until they are clear. Add the rest of the ingredients except the cornstarch and water, and mix well. Add the diluted corn starch and 3 cups of water, and stir until all is blended. Cook until the shrimp are done. Serve over cooked rice.

Reed Hellman is a freelance writer living in Alberton, Maryland. For more of his signature culinary escapades, read his articles in Travel Virginia, Destinations Travel, and Recreation News, in print or online. Visit his Recipe for Adventure Website at www.reedhellmanwordsmith.com. You can find more recipes in The Recipe Box on his Website.
Gary LeDre