Category: capebreton

How AI created a new Time Zone for Cape Breton, and other stories of out East

I like to collect stories of where I was born and raised and the surrounding areas, which in this case is Cape Breton, a very special place. Perhaps not as special as Newfoundland, which has it’s own time zone. Or maybe it is as special as Newfoundland. Turns out when you ask Google if Cape Breton has it’s own time zone, it thinks it does! More on that story, here: No, Meta and Google, Cape Breton doesn’t have its own time zone.

Cape Breton may not have it’s own time zone, but it does have it’s own university. Alas, Cape Breton University faces budget cuts up to $20M due to international student cap. That’s grim.

There’s housing crises everywhere these days, and Nova Scotia is no exception. Reading these two statistics from Stats Canada, 1) 3 in 10 residential property buyers in N.S. were investors in 2018-2020: StatsCan and 2) More than 65% of Nova Scotians experienced a housing challenge in the past year: StatsCan, I am reminded that one of the things driving up the cost of housing is investors, which makes it hard for the less well off to afford homes.  The fact that the NSLC has seen a 55% increase in thefts compared to last year tells me also that people are struggling financially in my home province.

Speaking of Maritime crime of a different kind, Bell says a subsea cable from Cape Breton to Newfoundland was deliberately cut — twice. This is the type of Maritime crime story that can only occur in that part of Canada: Father and son face charges in southwest N.S. lobster-buying intimidation case.

I found this story made me laugh and also shake my head: Changes to Glace Bay street will create more downtown parking, says councillor. There is a massive free parking lot behind the shops in downtown Glace Bay. The fact that some people think somehow that street parking will somehow cause people to suddenly shop more is bonkers to me.

In better news, this great maritime TV show has just celebrated 60 Years of being on the air. Yes, I speak of Land & Sea. I love that show.

The great Nova Scotia artist Tom Forrestall died recently at age 88. R.I.P, Tom.

Finally, this was a story about Cape Breton I did not know about: When Japanese vehicles were assembled in Cape Breton.

The Combo Pizza of Venice, and other things Glace Bay and Cape Breton

When I was growing up, there were only so many varieties of pizzas. You could get a pepperoni pizza, or a mushroom pizza, or the king of all pizzas: the Combo! The combo was pepperoni, mushroom AND green peppers. In my mind it was the best pizza ever. In some ways it still is. The last time I had such a pizza was seven years ago, from one of the places legendary for it: Venice Pizzeria.

Now people from outside of Glace Bay will tell you that the Combo was not limited to my hometown, and that’s true. The one above is from Kenny’s in Sydney, N.S. It is also good! But really pizza anywhere in Cape Breton is a good thing, and if you are visiting, try and get one. Ask for a Combo.

If you feel like something else and you are in Glace Bay, I recommend the food at Colette’s restaurant. In the morning I am a big fan of their breakfast with fried bologna. It’s fantastic. And if you are there on a Thursday, you can get their corned beef and cabbage. That’s also great. A classic, in fact.

While I haven’t been back to the Island in some time, I still like to keep up with what is going on. I was sad to hear of the passing of the great Peter Politte. The Cape Breton Post remembered him here, ‘A feel for the blade’: Legendary Glace Bay skate sharpener remembered:

When local hockey players wanted to get the edge — literally — on their competition, they turned to Peter Politte. For decades, Politte was widely regarded as the best skate sharpener in Glace Bay, if not the entire island. He died Saturday at age 91.

Everyone went to him, including me as a kid. If you had fresh ice and skates sharpened by Peter, you were bound to have a great game of hockey at the Miners Forum.

In doing some research on Glace Bay, I came across these sites that wrote about mines down home, including No 2 and the Caledonia mine where my grandfather dug coal. I even found this piece on a mining disaster at Caledonia mine in 1899. More on Glace bay mining at this link.

Finally, here’s more on the combo pizza. Here’s a recipe for corned beef and cabbage from Food & Wine if you want some and can’t get to Colette’s any time soon.

Here’s a YouTube video of  Glace Bay in 1992 that brought back memories.

Finally here’s a map of all the streets of Glace Bay:

Streets of Glace Bay

I used this site to make it: Draw all roads in a city at once.

On Davis Day, and other histories of Cape Breton

Today is Davis Day in Cape Breton. It’s now known as Miners Memorial Day, but growing up we honoured this day and thought about William Davis and all the sacrifices miners and their families suffered over the years as they struggled to live better lives. It was a solemn day. You can read more about it here: Miners Memorial Day: Davis Day | Museum of Industry. Here’s a good piece on how this day is still relevant in places like my home town of Glace Bay.

Over the last while I have been collecting these links regarding Cape Breton history which I thought worthwhile and you may as well:

(Image from a link and comes from the Beaton Institute)

The one problem with moving to Nova Scotia, especially if you are older

Halifax bridge

I must say, the thought of moving back to Nova Scotia appeals to me. I think of it often. I was born and raised there and still consider myself a Nova Scotian (although I will also say I a Cape Bretoner from Glace Bay. I am proud of all three). It’s a beautiful place and I have family there. I love it.

The one big problem, though, is this one: Nova Scotia doctor wait-list hits record high, topping 81,000 | CBC News.

I realize this problem is not unique to Nova Scotia. Finding a doctor in Toronto, never mind rural parts of Ontario or other parts of the country, is not easy. But it has always seemed to be a problem in Nova Scotia. I use to hear it all the time from my parents. They always felt fortunate when they could get a good doctor.

I also realize I am looking at the problem from a distance. People living in Nova Scotia now may disagree. But if you are thinking of moving (back?) to Nova Scotia, consider that.

(Photo by Harjinder on Unsplash)