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Please understand that the following history is a work in progress.It is almost certain that some
names have been misspelled, some information may not be entirely correct, and some dates may be
off. If you notice any of these mistakes or any glaring omissions please either come to the
lighthouse to discuss the error or write down the information and mail or deliver it to the
Green’s Point Light Association.
In 1867 a storm the likes of which had never been seen in these parts blew through southern
New Brunswick. The Saxby Gale, as it came to be known, did a great deal of damage along
New Brunswick’s southern coast. This destruction included the wholesale removal of a natural
causeway connecting a small point of land jutting out into L’Etete passage from the mainland.
It was at this point in history when the sea decided that Green’s Point should be an island.
No longer would it be possible to reach Green’s Point (island) without the aid of a boat except
at the low of the tide. Luckily the island was uninhabited at the time so no one was terribly
inconvenienced by the event.
All that quickly changed however ten years later when the Department of Transport decided that
the island would make an ideal site for a foghorn. After all, foghorns were becoming quite
necessary due to the amount of ship traffic in the area. [This was] An area known for its
abundance of rocky ledges, strong currents and extremely thick fog.
By 1879 a large two-story, cedar-shingled house had been erected on the island’s highest
ground (where the present keeper’s house now stands), and a steam powered foghorn was
constructed below the house on the western tip of the island (near where the helipad
now sits). As was common in those days the foghorn was tended by a retired sea captain.
Captain (George) Helms first began tending the horn in 1880. Having sailed these waters and
those further south for many years there could be no better choice to mind the horn and oversee
the safety of the ships frequenting the passage. For this same reason Captain Helms was well
acquainted with many sailors of the North Atlantic. One sailor in particular would play a big
part in the captain’s career as a foghorn keeper, his name was Charles Dines.
Charles Dines was a sailor from Mississippi. Being a young sailor, and having to spend long
periods of time at sea, it presented him with an enormous problem when his wife died shortly
after giving birth to their son Sidney in the early 1880’s. The solution that he set upon was
to give his son to his old buddy George Helms who was now nicely settled down as a foghorn
keeper. By 1882 Sidney had become a permanent resident of Greens Point (island). Even though
he was still an infant Captain Helms made him the first assistant keeper at Green’s Point
(island). It is unclear however, whether this was an act of affection for the young fellow or
an attempt by the good captain to make sure that he earned his keep. Charles himself eventually
became a captain in his own right and later settled down in Eastport.
We have no record of what became of Captain Helms, whether he died at the point or just
retired, but by 1897 Sidney had taken over his job as the keeper (at the age of 16). Many
things were happening in the life of young Sidney at this time. He had only recently been
married to his new bride Mary and by 1898 she had given birth to their son Prescott.
Sidney, Mary and Prescott witnessed many changes to the island over the following 20 years.
The biggest change came in 1903 when Green’s Point (island) became a light station. The
lighthouse itself was constructed in St. Andrews by the contractor C.L. McKeen and was barged
down in pieces from St. Andrews. It was reassembled on the spot where it stands today. The
station already consumed about 70 tons of coal each year to keep the steam engines for the fog
horn running, and now a large volume of kerosene would be required to maintain the light.
Department of Transport vessels routinely delivered these fuels to meet this demand. This
unenviable task was accomplished by loading the coal and oil drums into row boats and rowing
them to shore on the North side of the island, they were then carried by hand to the old whistle
building. In the meantime the rowboat was rowed around to the south side of the island where
the empty oil drums were discarded.
The next great change took place in 1907 when a wooden causeway was constructed between
Green’s Point and the mainland. The Point’s 42 year career as an island had ended, making life
much easier for Sidney’s family.
Between 1918 and 1919 a new fog alarm building was constructed nearly on top of where the old
fog alarm building had been. At that time the road around the point took a wider circuit and
allowed room for a small pond beside the whistle house. Besides being a lovely little pond to
sit beside and feed ducks it was primarily used as a source of water for the steam engines.
Both the steam engines and the pond eventually met their demise when the engines were buried
in the pond some years later (1970’s). By 1919 the new kerosene and diesel-powered, compressed
air foghorn was fully operational (much to the relief of the men who used to have to deliver
the coal). Sidney however, held no great love for the new engines. Another important event
of 1919 was their adoption of Lloyd Leavitt, Prescott’s nephew. His mother (Prescott’s sister)
had passed away. Four years later they had a child of their own: Merril Dines.
In 1920 a Passamaquoddy Indian named Wallace Nicholas from Pleasant Point came to Green’s
Point and the surrounding area for the first time. On this first occasion and on a couple
thereafter he was accompanied by his brother Horace. Wallace proved to be a superb hunter of
porpoise. He became a local fixture during the summers for many years and could often be seen
camping by the shore or paddling about hunting porpoise in a canoe with a shotgun. He was also
known to make many crafts that he gave as gifts to local children.
By 1935 Sidney Dines had retired, and for his 54 years of service was awarded a medal by the
Queen. For about a year a local man named Russell Matthews and his assistant took over tending
the lighthouse. In 1936 however Prescott Dines and his wife (Lillian Hooper) had replaced him
in the light keeper’s house and Lloyd became the assistant keeper.
Things remained much the same for several years. Green’s Point was without a well and
electricity had not yet reached the point (although it had long been available on the mainland).
The fish were plentiful however, and the Dines clan got along quite well tending the
lighthouse, fishing, tending a few lobster traps and running a pretty successful little
blacksmith shop. The blacksmith shop was located just below the keeper's house and was kept
fairly busy due to Sidney’s reputation for strong welds. He was helped by Prescott and by
young Merril who worked the bellows. One unhappy event did occur during this time, however.
Wallace Nicholas passed away in Blacks Harbour after a lengthy stay in L’Etete under the care
of the McNichol family. He was sorely missed.
When World War II rolled around both Lloyd and Merril left Green’s Point and joined the air
force. Luckily neither were lost to the war and both eventually returned to the point. In
1946 Lloyd was back as assistant keeper. While he was gone the position had been filled
by Joseph Lesley, Lester Spires, and Clayton Dick. In 1951 However Lloyd left a second time
to return to the air force and was replaced by Lester Murray. One wonders if he would have
left had he known that only a year later a well would be dug and electricity finally provided
to Green’s Point (even though the rest of L’Etete had electricity since 1937). With
electricity came yet another fog alarm, this one of course was powered by an electric motor.
It was not long until the old kerosene light was replaced with a new electric one either. In 1954 Merril Dines became the assistant keeper and remained until 1959. Willard Holmes
then took over as the assistant keeper and moved to Green’s Point along with his family.
The Holmes family was decidedly pleased with the location and began to settle in. The kids
discovered the wonders of the Fundy coast and often picked dulse. This actually served as a
source of much amusement when their son Allen occasionally had to explain to tourists that
the dulse (which had been spread out to dry) did not actually grow that way (and would they
please leave his dulse alone and stop picking his). By this point in time an era in lighthouse keeping had passed. It was becoming less and
less likely that the son would replace the father at the lighthouse, technology was changing
the way the station was run. In some cases not necessarily for the better, as with the new
foghorn which people still complain about as lacking the same character as the old horn.
Before this point it had been the light keeper’s responsibility to hire and pay the assistant
keeper, but more and more the Department of Transport was deciding who would work and where. Willard’s son Allen proved to be the last holdout of the old tradition by working as the
assistant keeper during the summer during his high school years (1963-64.) Before this the
lighthouse keeper’s job included maintenance and the operation of some very stubborn
kerosene/diesel engines to run the fog horn, and manually lighting the kerosene lamp as well
as the daily and nightly vigils. Actually it may well have been a stroke of luck that the
kerosene/diesel engines were replaced seeing how Prescott was the only magician around capable
of keeping the contrary devices running for any length of time. With electricity however,
the job was simplified to the constant vigil and maintenance (especially painting and
polishing). After all, just because the old equipment was not being used did not mean that
they did not have to look good for the tourists! With the new equipment, if the fog came in
and the man on duty could no longer see White Head, White Horse, and Adam Island he no longer
had to go and start up an engine et cetera, he only had to hit the on off switch. The next era had problems entirely its own to deal with. For more information on the life
and times of Prescott Dines please see appendix AMan Spent Life Tending
Green’s Point Light by Dick Wilbur. In 1963 Prescott Dines retired and was replaced by a man named Kitchener Randall. Kitchener,
his wife Velda and the rest of their family moved to Green’s Point from St. Martins where
Kitchener was the lighthouse keeper at Quaquo light. It was no secret that the Randall family
was unhappy in St. Martins and had made every effort to be relocated. By this time a
circulation program was in effect whereby the Canadian Coast Guard (who had taken over the
responsibility from the Department of Transport) moved lighthouse keepers around to provide
a little variety to those unfortunate enough to be stationed on otherwise deserted islands.
As such, when the Randalls moved to Green’s Point all were very happy with the arrangement.
In fact, it was described as heaven-like in comparison to Quaquo by Velda, and an ideal place
to raise a family. It was a good thing too because Velda was pregnant at the time with their
daughter Mary to whom she gave birth only five days after having moved. In the first year of their stay they saw the demolition of the old cedar shingled house.
This was seen as a great loss by many since it held fond memories of days past and also because
the house was still structurally sound. The new keeper’s residence was then constructed on
the same spot as the old one and a new assistant keeper’s residence had been completed by the
following year on the eastern part of the point (where the parking lot is today). Willard
Holmes remained on as the assistant keeper until 1964 and his son Allen filled in for him
during the summers until 1965. By this time and for some time after Stewart Matthews was
filling in as the assistant keeper a lot of the time. In (1965-1971) the lighthouse got its first taste of automation. The electric light shone
24 hours a day and a new automatic fog horn device had been installed. In 1972 Charles
(Charlie) Gilespie became the assistant keeper. He and his wife Maxine took up residence in
the lower house. With the automation of the lighthouse one would think that the work load
around the station would have diminished. The lighthouse was still a tourist attraction however,
so cleaning and maintenance were still a problem, records still had to be kept and a vigil of
the waters still had to be maintained. One other problem was that the automation of the
lighthouse did not go entirely smoothly. Many different devices were tried and junked before
automation was successful. In one particular instance for example, the newest whistle house
had to be completely rewired three times before the automatic foghorn would work properly.
The Gilespie’s children were already grown and out of home when they moved to Green’s Point
and sadly instead of their family expanding during their stay here, it diminished somewhat.
Their son David and James Calvin died in a boating accident while the two were trying out a
new aluminum boat that David had recently purchased. This event on February 3rd, 1974 serves
as a grim reminder of how cruel the sea can be and also that the story of this lighthouse is
not entirely a happy one. Things went relatively smoothly for the next couple of years, Kitchener and Charlie kept
the place in order and a couple of extras were hired during the summers. Stewart Matthews
returned Periodically and Harry Bryan stood in for a while from 1974 to 1975. One hundred and nine years had passed since the last truly fierce gale had blown through
and we were well overdue for a good storm. We were not disappointed. In 1976 the Groundhog
Day Gale blew through and again the point was made an island as the wooden causeway (which
had even been paved by this time) blew out. The storm was such that one was unable to see the
lighthouse from the keeper’s house. The front windows were blown out and the front rooms and
basement were flooded with salt water. By the time the gale had passed, all of the vegetation
from the North side of the Island had been deposited on the South. Velda and Maxine were
acutely aware of this when they had to try to cross over the rocky remnants of the causeway
later that evening. The job of replacing the causeway was contracted out very soon after the
storm. The contract called for the construction to be comprised of nothing smaller than 500lb
rocks. This was promptly accomplished, and just as promptly blown out again in the very next
storm. The huge stones that now make up the causeway were then brought in. (And will
presumably last much longer.) In 1978 Charlie quit as assistant lighthouse keeper. He was thoroughly fed up with the
employment policies of the Canadian Coast Guard. Charlie had been hired as a term employee
and was not given the same benefits as regular employees even though he paid all the same dues
and followed the same rules as the regulars. Another bad turn which Charlie still seems to be
disgruntled about today is that his union dues were never returned to him even though he was
apparently unable to be a member of the union. In 1979 the lower (assistant’s) house was sold
for a token sum and moved to Back Bay. In the early 80’s, the Randalls started to think about retirement. By 1982 they had done
just that, but not before Velda served as the Point’s only female lighthouse keeper. (She
filled in for her husband for 6 months in 1981.) The next keeper to fill the position was
Richard Mullen. He and his family moved to Green’s Point after a short period at Pea Point
in Blacks Harbour. Like the Randalls, they too were glad to be leaving their previous location.
Richard, his wife Donna, and their two children Anita and James (Jimmy) were all in agreement
that Green’s Point was indeed a fine place to live. The change in keepers was not the only change that took place at the station in 1982.
The garage that is still on the premises now was moved there from Beaver Harbour Light, and
the computer building and stairs were also constructed. Then in 1983 the radio tower was built.
A computer was then moved into the computer building. For the first two years the Mullens were without the aid of an assistant keeper but this
was about to change in a very big way. First, in 1984, Ernest Matheson was hired as the
assistant keeper. In 1986 however, Richard was forced to retire due to illness. He and his
family then moved back to Grand Manan. Replacing him was Ralph Eldridge. Shortly after Ralph
was hired the computer system changed and Green’s Point became a central monitoring station
for 12 other lighthouses. This was all part of the budget cuts that were affecting the coast
guard at this time. This new function required more man-power at this particular station
(ironic since it meant destaffing the other stations) and two more assistants were brought in.
One was Graham Brooksbank who started in 1987, another was Darrell Hussey who started at about
the same time. Over the next couple of years two more joined the team (although there were
never more than four at any one time). These two were Gordon Clark and Wilfred McAdam. It was during this period that Green’s Point gained its most famous (and popular) residents:
the bunnies. Ralph was responsible for releasing them but it was the ample vegetation and
handouts of scores of bunny lovers that caused their numbers to soar. By the early 90’s, Green’s Point had become the central monitoring station for 24 unmanned
light stations. It employed 4 people full time, was a popular tourist spot, an excellent
place to watch bald eagles (thanks to Ralph’s work feeding them), and was a lovely spot for
locals to go to feed the bunnies. In 1996 however, all of that changed and Green’s Point
finally succumbed to full automation. It was on September of 1995 that a few local citizens had recognized the possibility that
they may lose their lighthouse, and one of them contacted the Canadian Coast Guard. By October
of 1996, three of these people formed the Green’s Point Light Association Inc. The purpose of
the non-profit group was to maintain the Green’s Point Light as an educational facility,
including structures and land access, for use by the community and general public. This
is meant to take the form of a multidisciplinary resource center for information on the
local coastal and marine environment, its ecology, biology, environmental issues, local
history and archeology. On the tenth of November of 1996, an information meeting was
held in the light keeper’s house, and the membership grew. Wilfred Tucker of the Canadian
Coast Guard facilitated the negotiations for the the agreement with The Green’s Point Light
Association. The agreement was later signed with Larry Wilson of the CCG on December 4 of 1996.
Thanks to the donations of private individuals, the provincial government and private
organizations, The Marine and Coastal Interpretive Center was open for tours July 1, 1997.
The bunnies however did not survive this transition, sorry.
Greens Point Light overlooks the swirling tides of L’Etete Passage, one of the trickiest
bits of water on the entire Atlantic coast. For more details, talk to Prescott Dines. He was born at the lighthouse 88 years ago (at time of interview-1898), and from 1936 until
he retired in 1963, he kept that light - before it succumbed to peopleless, automatic
technology. Ask him about the winds around there - so fierce that during one winter gale, they
blew Mr. Dines mother right out of the family pung - a one horse sleigh. She landed on
the rocks six feet below - completely unharmed thanks to the big buffalo robe she had wrapped
around her. Another time, the outdoor privy blew over, just five minutes after a visiting relative from
Boston had left it. And the last year before his retirement the winds picked up Mr. Dines
(he still weighs only about 130lbs.) and deposited him in a ditch. Mr. Dines and his seven brothers and sisters were all born at the lighthouse, which his
father tended before him. In fact Sydney - Mr. Dines senior, was also born there and was
raised by the first keeper, a Captain Helms, who began tending in 1880. Mr. Dines has a tangible reminder of that wreck. His father approached the schooner captain
and offered to buy his telescope. "You might as well take it!" he replied, "I won’t
need one anymore." Mr. Dines still has it up at his cottage. "What about the time you heard that fellow hollering?" asked Mr. Dines friend and
neighbor, Ernest Wentworth, a retired weir fisherman. "Yes that was one December...", said Mr. Dines. "I had just lit the light when I saw this flare over on Mac’s Island, a scallop dragger
was just returning to L’Etete wharf and we went over to investigate. This boat was aground -
her stem was under and on top of her cabin was my son Merril." He told his father later that he
had taken his shirt, poured gasoline on it and used it as a flare. "Otherwise I wouldn’t
have known they were there," said Mr. Dines. "They would never have survived because that
ledge is completely covered at high tide." For years Green’s Point Light was a vapor lamp lit by kerosene. "We didn’t get electricity over there until 1952," Mr. Dines remembers.
"We should have had it in 1930 but a neighbor wanted to charge the power company $10 per pole
to cross his land and they refused." A visit by the deputy minister of Transport in 1952 resulted in a well being dug on the tiny
spit of land around the lighthouse. He asked for a drink of water and was shocked to discover
all water had to be brought in. He authorized the expenditure and they got good water 35 feet
down from high tide. Like his father before him Mr. Dines worked six hours on and six hours off, alternating with a
helper. His dad earned $50 - $55 a month plus the furnished house. "I got $80 a month,
and they threw in an extra $10 to cover the cost of fuel. When I retired in 1963 I was making
$300." In 1919 when Mr. Dines was his father’s assistant, someone reported the Roaring Bull Buoy
was out of position from her usual spot on the Letang chops. "They called it Roaring Bull" explains Mr. Dines, "because of the sound she made.
She was built so that the motion of the sea caused air to blow through this mechanism that
set off this whooshing sound. When you heard it at night, it gave you a start." No one could figure how a buoy securely anchored by one-and-a-quarter inch chain to a huge
weight on the ocean floor could be moved. So Mr. Dines got aboard the buoy tender that went
to investigate. They discovered a whale, with the big chain wrapped tightly around his massive jaw.
Somehow it had got entangled and in trying to free itself had dragged the buoy and its heavy
mooring two miles or more. Unable to breath it had drowned. When the captain of the buoy tender lowered the winch to haul the dead whale toward shore,
the boat listed so sharply he had to quit. "And that winch was able to lift 25 tons,"
adds Mr. Dines. "All we got to the surface was the whales head. We managed to remove the chain and buoy
but we had to leave the whale. We sold it to Pat Connors (one of the two brothers who founded
Connors Bros. Ltd.) who thought he could make some money from it." For the past 24 years, Mr. Dines has lived in the St. Andrews house he built when he retired.
He spends his winters in Florida, and returns home each spring and enters his driveway, he
is greeted with a reminder of the old days. It’s a three foot replica of the Green’s Point
Light. During the first part of the century, the Steamship HESTIA loaded with a general cargo from
the British Isles and on its way to Saint John, New Brunswick, ran aground during a southerly
gale and storm, on a ledge at the south part of Grand Manan Island. It was a total loss.
Like flies around a carcass, the Grand Manan fishing boats salvaged everything that floated
- valuable china, choice liqueurs and furniture. To this day, the odd piece of china or
bric-brac is raised by a fisherman’s net. The next disaster I recall vividly was a three masted schooner named the HORACE G. MORRIS.
It occurred during a howling February storm when she mistook Bliss’s Point Light for Beaver
Harbour. She went aground with all sails set. When she struck the masts all went over the
side. Three of the five men aboard managed to reach the rocks and scramble to the keeper’s
house (Captain James MacLeod) to tell their sorrowful story. The cargo had been a full one of
laths. Fishermen in the vicinity had a bonanza, picking up enough laths to make a fence around
New Brunswick with enough left over to supply the territory in lobster traps. Another wreck took place in the days of prohibition, when several old vessels, similar to
the bluenose, used to lay off shore outside the three mile limit of any land. One of these
two-masted schooners, running for Bliss’s Harbour in an easterly gale and winter storm, under
reduced sail, ran ashore on the bold water side of Whitehead, at the entrance of Bliss’s
Harbour. She promptly sank with a good supply of liquor in the hold, which started more
Passamaquoddy men fishing than any run of fish could. For a while, more Gin and Whiskey than
cod came over the side. Many small boats used by sardine fishermen went aground in their day to day quest for fish,
but happily, in most cases, floated again in the next tide. It follows, in boating, as in any
other vocation, that anyone who never made a mistake, never made anything. I have always
admired the many smart boatmen and captains of vessels in the Sardine Industry, that go their
rounds day and night. In fog, rain, snow, and other many other adverse conditions. My
admiration is especially for the men of Deer Island and Grand Manan who learned early to
navigate the many channels and islands, knowing that in the darkness and constant fog, only
minutes separated them from disaster. Their daily lives were a constant struggle to survive
against the cold, darkness, water and the frustrations of the early gasoline engines that had
their regular fits of stop and start. Occasionally, these tireless men would indulge in what were called Fishermen Picnics. Either
in small groups or large gatherings, they would sing and yarn endlessly. As the throats became
better lubricated with spirits, the singing became the best you’d ever want to hear and
of course the yarns took on a quality that claimed the attention of all who listened. In the year 1910, the fishermen had one of their Grand Picnics at Back Bay. As a boy of
twelve, I was mesmerized....bands playing, booths selling the most wonderful things, games,
hot chowder, ball games and land and water races. Chowder was served in an old house near
the ball field and I ate enjoyed the steaming meal in the serving room of the old house.
Afterwards, my curiosity peaked by the doors leading to other rooms in the house, I decided to
open one of these doors and I looked in. I couldn’t believe my eyes, which probably looked
like they may pop out of my head anytime. There before me sat several women smoking, not
cigarettes, but real old T.D. (clay) pipes. These pipes were made of white clay and after
much smoking turned brown. When really old and ripe they became quite black. Several rowing races took place that day...four oars, two oars and single rowing races. As
I remember it, the Government Fishery Patrol Boat CURLEW was in port and of course none
of the local fishermen liked to see that vessel anywhere near by. The CURLEW had their rowing
boat all slicked up for the four-oar race. Soon a team of able bodied men from Back Bay
challenged them, using an old Saint John salmon skiff as their entry. The crew from Back Bay
included Zack McGee, Orbin Harris, Harlin Kinney and Wilfred Kinney and these men easily
out-distanced the CURLEW crew. Then the Leavitt boys from Leavitt Head challenged these
winners. John, Dave, Seymour and Ebin Leavitt effortlessly won the race in their 14’
Fisherman’s Lunenburg Dory. John and Seymour Leavitt went on to win the two-man rowing race in
an eighteen foot pea prud built by Fred Frye of Back Bay. The prize for this race was donated
by Dr. H.I. Taylor of St George. It was a pair of opera glasses, possibly valued at $25.
My dad afterwards bought them from the men for $10, as the men said the money would do them
much better than glasses. I have them today as a relic of much use at the lighthouse.
The leather on the outside is now worn off exposing the brass casings. By 1907 so much of the roadway and peninsula had been washed away by the storms and tides
that the Government decided to build a breakwater at the fog alarm and lighthouse, which came
under Marine and Fisheries Department and later the Department of Transport. Much of hewn
lumber (12x12) and logs that had to be sided on the site were towed from St. Croix River to
Green’s Point by the Fishing Patrol boat, CURLEW. During the latter part of the 19th century the Maguadivic River and that part of the Bay was
a thriving lumber area with vessels loading and awaiting loads. Gradually it became a lost
trade. The last vessels out of the river from St. George were pulp carriers that would be
towed by tug-boat out into the Bay of Fundy through L’Etete Passage. Just prior to World War I, 1913, two large German ships came through the Passage as far
as the mouth of the Maguadavic River to load pit props used extensively around the mines. In the fall of 1918 and winter of 1919, the Department of Marine and Fisheries (later
known as the Department of Transport) built a new fog alarm building and installed a new
type of Diaphone (Compressed Air Horn) with a much higher pitch sound than the old
steam horn. Many boatmen and fishermen, then and over the years, have said that the new
type were never as efficient as the old ones. This new outfit consisted of two semi-diesel
engines which would start on gasoline then switch to kerosene and keep going, sometimes. My father, being brought up in the steam era, had little faith in the gas motors, and
might well have given up as a keeper had I not agreed to do my best to keep them operating.
My experience with steam was not as deep-rooted as my father and I managed to learn and
understand the quirks of these putt-putts and succeeded with them until 1952 when
Hydro rescued us and introduced the fine new electric motor. We have had our share of cold winters in our part of the Bay of Fundy - some with an
abundance of snow and ice - some with just icy winds. 1923 will always be remembered as
one of the worst of this century. St. Andrews Bay was frozen solid - (men from Deer
Island took a dory on sleds over the ice to St. Andrews) and lots of places had five feet
of snow in the woods. There was not one harbour or wharf that the coastal freighter
Connors Bros. could call at except L’Etete. Just to make matters worse that year,
the spring and its welcoming thaw was delayed that year until May. This brought its own
kind of horror....the freshet floods. All river banks spilled their swollen contents and
washed out bridges and swept the outbuildings from the fields. The St Croix River flooded
the lower floors of the Mill at Milltown and washed the looms out the north end of the
brick building. At St. George, the Pulp Mill suffered the same kind of flooding - ending
in the loss of several hundred cords of pulp wood and hundreds of logs. By boat, I
personally helped pick up - (about eight cords) - drifting pulpwood, as well as enough
pine logs to build several boats. The rock off Green’s Point was called Morgan’s Rock by the old people. In those
times (1840’s) Jack Jeddrers from Saint John would hire a boat to go to Eastport for goods
to peddle. A man named Morgan hired a Mr. Hickey from Letang and Hickey said that the
boom swung across, knocking Morgan overboard. An indentured Irish girl working for Hickey heard he and his wife counting Morgan’s money,
she told a friend living nearby, the friend told Hickey’s wife. The next morning the Irish
girl was found hanging from an apple tree, but the chair she was supposed to have gotten up
on was not sunk into the soft earth and she was a heavy girl. Sometime later Morgan’s body was found on the rack off Greens Point and the dent
in his skull perfectly matched the iron pump handle on Hickey’s boat. No charges were ever
laid.
Man Spent Life Tending Green’s Point Light
by Dick Wilbur
First Question
Almost the first question anyone asks a lighthouse keeper is: How many wrecks did you see?
Remarkably few Mr. Dines will tell you, which suggests the superb seamanship of old
Charlotte County fishermen. But he can remember two.Saw Flare
Roaring Bull
Whales Head
Local History as Related by Prescott Dines
Local History, The Rememberings of Herbert Matthews
How Morgan’s Rock Got its Name
George Mackenzie James McLeod Samuel Dick
A. M. Leland Hilton Gates Will McVicar
Pete McDougall Fred Bell Alex Mahoney
James Sherrard Wallace McLeod George Barratt
Lewis Simpson William Gates Steve Young
Henry Hines (senior) George Dick Daniel Seelye