The Inverness Oran

-by Beverly Phillips

A sewing class in the ’80s has culminated in a fabric art show at the J. Franklin Wright Gallery in Port Hawkesbury.

                Sherrille MacKeigan of Port Hawkesbury took a sewing class at SAERC in 1982 and began making clothes, dresses, and handmade quilts for her girls. She only makes quilts now, but has diversified her craft, employing new techniques such as foundation paper-piecing, English paper-piecing, machine embroidery, appliqué, and long-arm quilting to create intricate patterns.

                Modern quilting techniques come with advantages. “When I first started quilting, it was all by hand,” said MacKeigan, “so, it took much longer to do a quilt then. But now they are machine quilted; and the kids use them, they're washed, and they last so much better.”

                The quilts she makes today still take months to create. “They're all different,” she said. “So, some may be over a period of a year, but the ones I made for my daughters, probably three or four months. It just depends on how much time I have.”

                Sometimes the biggest quilting challenges create the most precious quilts. What MacKeigan fondly refers to as “the quilt from hell” is one of the most special to her personally, which she completed just before her youngest child left home for university. “It had a black background with a different flower [to sew] each month,” she said. “Some of the pieces were small, like one inch square. It was very time consuming.”

                MacKeigan doesn’t sell her quilts, but gives them away to friends, family, and charities. Quilts of valour, the IWK, and mental health organizations have all been lucky recipients of her work.

                She simply enjoys making them and is always looking for something interesting to try. “I find a pattern that I want to make,” said Mackeigan, “and I make it, and then it finds a home. I don't do it for specific people, but usually it's just a pattern I want to try or explore, and it ends up in my collection.”

                MacKeigan continues to develop her skills, taking classes when she can, and always looking for a challenge. “I've been working on one since the new year,” she said. “And it's taking a while. It's paper piecing [a quilting technique that uses a paper template to create precise and intricate designs], and I've got half of it finished. It’s taking more time than I thought it would, but I like to take on a challenge quilt every year.”

                To check out her exquisite quilts in person, they are on display until September 23^rd at the J. Franklin Wright Art Gallery in the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, at 606 Reeves Street. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-by Bill Dunphy

Three-year-old pacing colt Captain Tate extended his win streak to seven while competing against older rivals in the winners-over class at Inverness Raceway on Sunday.

                Facing five foes at least three years older, Captain Tate cruised wire-to-wire in the $2,000 featured finale for the 1:59.3 victory.

                With driver-trainer Walter Walker on the reins, he established the lead from post four and set fractions of :31, 1:01.2 and 1:31.2 before building up an insurmountable five-length lead to hold off his competitors in the sprint to the finish.

                Pocket-chaser Crime Boss (Greg Munro) finished a length behind in second and Hippyjohn (Carey Romeo) followed in third after a first-up Talk Some Smack (Keigan Madden) leveled off.

                After going winless in five freshman starts, the Captain Crunch-Ginger Tree Nina colt has found his groove for Walker and owner James MacInnis.

                From 16 sophomore starts this year, Captain Tate now boasts a dozen wins – a total only eight other horses in North America have topped in 2026.

                Captain Tate, who won the winners-over on Aug. 12 before a pair of victories during Old Home Week on Prince Edward Island, paid $2.80 to win in his Inverness return as the 2-5 bettors’ choice.

                Walker, who has been a force this season with more drives and predominantly with his trainees, was a double winner on Sunday, including a win in race seven.

                Leaving post two with J.J. MacDonald’s three-year-old colt Drink Up Mouchacho, Walker took the front and went wire-to-wire for a new lifetime mark of 1:58.2.

                Keigan Madden also enjoyed a good day at the track, putting up a driving double of his own.

                With D.F. Beaton’s driver Rodney Gillis in Summerside with their two-year-old colt Victor, Madden made the most of his catch drive with Beaton’s Shir Gain, winning race six in wire-to-wire fashion in 1:58.3.

                And in race eight, Madden made it two in a row aboard five-year-old mare Stay Pumped. Owned by Michael Gillis and trained by Ethan MacLean, Madden took an overland route alongside pacesetter Mcseashore (Greg Munro) to the stretch and finished with a :28.1 last quarter for the win in 1:59.

                Speaking of Summerside, Monica Sutherland had a huge day on the island, winning the $13,880 Joe O’Brien Memorial for two-year-old pacing colts.

                Coming off a maiden mark of 2:01.1 set at Inverness Raceway on Aug. 5, Irish Rover came back from fourth at the quarter to win in 2:01. Sutherland also owns and trains the scion of Somewhere Fancy and the Bettors Delight mare Frenzie.

                In the second $13,880 O’Brien pace for two-year-old colts, Sydney owner and Inverness Raceway regular Kevin Bailey watched as Marc Campbell drove his colt Wilson Cassidy to the win in 1:58.3.

                Victor and Rodney Gillis came back from parked fifth at the three-quarter pole to pick up second-place money in a 2:00.1 finish.

                The other Hawthorne Gillis, Danny, was also at Summerside where John Stephen, a two-year-colt that he shares ownership with Beverley McIsaac, finished fifth in a third $13,880 purse.

                Following the cancellation of the Wednesday, Aug. 26, card due to a power outage, a make-up date for the final night under the lights has been confirmed for tonight, Sept. 2, with post time at 7 p.m. Live harness racing at Inverness Raceway continues on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Port Hood Station Olympic athlete Duncan Gillis

-by John Gillies, Chestico Museum

            Our Canadian prime minister and his government are promoting and supporting the undertaking of major development projects and calling on Canadians to build strong. From 1899 to 1901 Inverness County saw the undertaking of a major development project. In the construction phase it provided thousands of jobs for Inverness County workers. Upon completion, it provided dozens of permanent jobs for station agents, train crews, and section workers, among others. Today, it is one of Inverness County’s treasures – the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail.

            In 1874 the Inverness Railway Company was chartered and began promotion for the construction of a rail line to connect Broad Cove (later named Inverness) to the Strait of Canso area. It would link Broad Cove with the yet to be built railway which would connect the Strait with the town of New Glasgow. In the early years little progress was made toward this objective.

            In 1898 large subsidies amounting to $641,546 or $10,575 per mile were obtained from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Soon after, the firm of MacKenzie and Mann re-organized the Inverness Coal and Railway Company. A new contract granting more than the usual subsidy and providing not only for the construction of the railway but the development of the Broad Cove (Inverness) colliery was entered into, giving new life and hope for the building of the railway.

            The contract provided for the construction and equipment of 60 miles of railway from a junction  with the ICR (Inter-colonial Railway) near Port Hawkesbury and onto Broad Cove. It was to be put into operation on or before June 15^th, 1901. It was to be constructed to a coal mine or mines in Broad Cove and called for the equipping of the mine with an approved plant and machinery sufficient for the production of 250,000 tons of coal per year.

            The contract was signed on the May 23^rd, 1899, and the successful tender for construction was Donald Mann of Toronto with the firm of MacKenzie, Mann and Company. Location surveys were made, submitted, and approved. Actual construction began in the June following. Within the seven-month period from June to December 1899, an average of 1,000 men were daily employed. A construction plant of the most approved and modern form was imported and set to work. About 30 miles of the excavation, bridge sub-structure, and culverts within that distance were completed in this short time frame. The rails were laid from Port Hastings to Port Hood by the end of 1899 and some ballasting introduced to enable the work trains to run over the roadbed with safety. The sharpest curve was nine degrees and the steepest grade was 80 feet to the mile or one and one half per cent.

            The specifications called for 60-pound rails, sleepers eight feet by six inches by eight inches, ten inches of gravel, and 2,600 sleepers to the mile. Due to shortage of steel caused by high demand, temporary trestles had to be constructed with wood.

            The work on the next leg of building the railroad to Broad Cove/Inverness continued immediately after reaching Port Hood. Work in rock cuttings, clearing of wooded lands, and other such work that could conveniently be proceeded with in winter was carried on. The strong manner in which line construction had been pushed forward in the summer and fall months of 1899 led locals to believe that the railway would be completed to Broad Cove Mines by the fall of 1900.

            Although the main contract was won by Mackenzie & Mann they assigned much of the work on the Inverness County Line to railroad builder, Michael J. O’Brien, who was then living in Renfrew, Ontario, but had been born and raised in Lochaber, Antigonish County. O’Brien chose John Kennedy of Ohio, Antigonish County, to oversee the laying of much of the track on the Inverness Line. In early 1900 Kennedy was pushing to get the railway job finished as fast as possible. The railway crews were making their way through the hilly region near Mabou. That summer John Kennedy supplied the following information on that project to The Casket newspaper in Antigonish. He is quoted in the article:

            We have now 300 men and 70 horses between the South West (Mabou) and Hillsboro, and in May intend to put on 1,500 men, so as to have the work completed by August, ready for the rails. Mr. O’Brien is away at present but is expected back shortly, after which he will start work at the Midland road at ballasting. “With such a demand for men, there is no need of any being idle.” With 1,500 men and 70 horses and good weather, boss Kennedy will, no doubt, make things hum. Like all good railroaders, he has no use for tender feet, they are no good.

            One of the workers who helped build this railway was Duncan Gillis of the South West. He would use the money he earned to pay his rail fare, beginning at Glencoe Station on the line he helped construct, all the way to Vancouver where he joined the city police force and a local athletic club. He would go on to win a silver medal for the hammer throw in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, and also become the first flag bearer for Canada in the opening ceremony of those Games.

            The Port Hastings to Broad Cove/Inverness section was completed on schedule and opened to the public on June 15^th,1901.

            For anyone wanting to do further reading on this railway I recommend the 1987 publication, The Inverness And Richmond Railway, written by Allister W. D. MacBean, a book which has provided much of the information for this column.

HOPE Starts HERE volunteers and supporters at the Inverness Raceway with Katie MacLeod, oncology patient and ICMH oncology nurses, Kelly Glabais-Cummings and Laura MacArthur.

-contributed by Brenda Rankin MacDonald

This weekend, the Inverness Raceway wants to help our local cancer patients, but they will need your help. Starting off on Saturday, September 5th, at 1:00 p.m. at the raceway, there will be a merchandise bingo. On Sunday, September 6th, at 1:00 p.m., “HOPE Starts HERE” race day will feature prizes for best dressed race driver and horse, best dressed person, merchandise for sale, kids activities and lots more. People can also donate during the day or go to www.icmhfoundation.com.
“There are not many homes in Inverness County that have not been affected by cancer,” says Inverness raceway driver, Redmond Doucet, “This is a good chance to be able to help those with cancer – 100 per cent of the funds we raise support our cancer patients at ICMH.”
ICMH Oncology nurses Kelly Glabais-Cummings and Laura MacArthur, members of the raceway, and special guest and local oncology patient, Katie MacLeod, came together to help promote this upcoming event.
“A cancer diagnosis can bring many unexpected financial challenges, and our goal is to help ease some of that burden,” explains Glabais-Cummings, “Donations from “HOPE Starts HERE” allows us to provide practical assistance to patients when they need it most including gas cards to help with the cost of travelling to appointments and treatments, co-op cards to help with groceries, and other everyday necessities, and medication assistance, through accounts established with local pharmacies to help cover prescription costs when needed.”
“Cancer affects much more than a person’s health – it can affect their ability to work, travel, pay for medications, purchase groceries and manage everyday expenses,” explains Laura MacArthur, ICMH Oncology nurse, “HOPE Starts HERE” helps give us the ability to step in and help patients and families during an incredibly difficult time. Every dollar raised stays within our oncology program and is used to directly benefit patients in our community.”
So come out this weekend to the Inverness Raceway, make a donation and help our friends, neighbours, and many others who need our help today.