October
5, 2006
Hello from Nova Scotia: Putting My Car in
the Ditch in Chebogue River - A Valuable Lesson on Maritime Helpfulness
So after my visit to the Yarmouth
County Museum I said goodbye to this fishing town on the southwestern
tip of Nova Scotia and set off on my trip along the Lighthouse
Trail. It was an overcast and drizzly early afternoon when I
began my trip along the curvy roads heading east from Yarmouth.
A flat landscape with marshy areas and occasional rocks and forest
was stretched out in front of me. The odd farm house or small village
brightened up the drive.
Barely out of town I saw a unique scene that would tickle every
hobby photographer: a meandering river with a few small dark islands
stretched out like a huge animal’s paw prints. A ray of light
was shining down from ominous looking clouds. Naturally I had to
take a picture….
So I decided to park my car on the side of the road where there
was a patch of mowed grass and a patch of higher grass. I just wanted
to get my vehicle out of the path of the traffic that was moving
pretty fast on this cross-country road. What I did manage to do
was not only to move my car out of the traffic flow, I also succeeded
in putting my vehicle in the ditch!
The stretch of higher grass was not simply a continuation of the
mowed section, it was actually a two foot deep ditch!! So here I
was, with my vehicle at a 30 degree angle with two wheels in the
ditch and definitely no way to get out. Believe me, I tried, but
the wheels just kept spinning through.
Just as I was spinning my wheels and reflecting on my stupidity,
two vehicles approached my location, one coming from the west and
one coming from the east. Literally seconds after I had gotten myself
into this predicament both these vehicles stopped, and their drivers
came up to me to help.
My three good Samaritans, from left to right: Randy and Don Cook,
Sandy McCall
I felt very embarrassed for having put myself into this ditch and
apologized profusely. I explained that I was just trying to park
the vehicle to snap a picture of the interesting landscape that
was stretching out before us. The gentlemen laughed and introduced
themselves: Don Cook and Sandy McCall were driving a delivery van
for Cook's
Dairy Farm while the man from the pickup truck turned out to
be Randy Cook, Don’s cousin. Well, I always like to make connections
with the locals and meet the people behind the destinations, and
I always try to understand what makes up the collective psyche of
an area. My rather unfortunate predicament could not have given
me a better opportunity to meet some of the locals and to get some
real insights into their way of thinking.
Don, Randy and Sandy first tried to lift the vehicle, but my Chrysler
Sebring rental vehicle was way too heavy to even budge. So they
all got down on their knees to have a look at my vehicle and concluded
that the first course of action should be to bring in Uncle Hugh,
who actually owned the property that I got myself stuck on. He was
also the owner of a tractor, a powerful vehicle that might actually
be able to get me out of the ditch. So Don walked over to the nearby
farmhouse and I saw an older gentleman come out. They talked for
a bit, and Hugh Grimshaw went to the garage and fired up the old
tractor.
Uncle Hugh comes over with the tractor
Uncle Hugh tuckered over on his tractor, parked in front of my
vehicle and also evaluated the situation. Upon some deliberation
he said that if he tried to pull me out of the ditch, he might actually
damage the underbody or the muffler of the vehicle and concluded
that this was a case for a professional tow truck driver. At the
same time all the gentlemen reassured me that it is a relatively
frequent occurrence for people to go off the road right at this
point. Apparently various other people before me had mistaken the
high patch of grass for a safe place to park.
So after accepting my very embarrassed thanks Uncle Hugh and Randy
left while Don and Sandy packed me into their delivery van to take
me to Cook's
Dairy Farm from where Don would call a tow truck. Sandy got
into the back of the van and kindly offered me the front seat, and
Don drove us three minutes up the road to his family's business:
Cook's Dairy Farm.
This puppy won't budge - professional help is needed
We went upstairs into the office and Don offered me a coffee. I
took a glass of milk instead, indeed milk that was pasteurized and
packaged right here on site at Cook's Dairy. While we were waiting
for the tow truck to come, Don showed me around a bit and took me
to a wall in his office that held several old family pictures. He
explained that his great-grandfather, Francis Cook, was a sea captain
and a descendent of the Mayflower. Don’s grandfather Stephen
Cook had gone into farming and started the family’s cattle
farm. A number of years ago fire destroyed the barn, fortunately
the animals were outside at the time, but the family made the decision
to get out of the farming business. Today it is the third generation
of the Cook family that runs this dairy
operation.
Don also told me that as a young boy, he spend a lot of time on
the very river that I was trying to take a picture of. He went fishing
with his grandfather who had a very poignant saying: “There
are only two kinds of people: those that live in Chebogue River,
and those that want to live there.” A simple way to sum up
his sense of local pride.
Don runs a local dairy - Cook's
Dairy. I had a chance to try his products.
A few minutes later it was time to go to meet the tow truck driver.
A local gentleman by the name of Ken Gillieo arrived just minutes
after Don and I had gone to my car, and hooked up a cable to the
underside of my vehicle. He started his tow truck and within a minute
or two he had pulled my car out of the ditch with not a scratch
on the vehicle. My ordeal – and it had not really been an
ordeal at all – was finished in less than an hour from when
I went into the ditch. I was ready to roll again.
I profusely thanked Don Cook for his generous assistance and drove
off on my explorations along the Lighthouse
Trail reflecting on the lessons that I had learned: first, never
park your car anywhere unless you know what kind of surface you
are on. Secondly, the often talked about friendliness and helpfulness
of Maritimers is not just based on rumour – I experienced
first hand the generous instant help extended by the locals to a
complete stranger. I also learned about the deep sense of rootedness,
tradition and family that characterizes this area, and the pride
of place that people feel in this region. I also detected a preference
for a simple contented life, so different from our harried urban
lifestyles and our constant futile quest for happiness.
This is the landscape I wanted to take a picture of.
I drove off on my journey with
a warm positive feeling about my encounter and a real sense of gratitude
for the instant selfless help that these people had extended to
me – a memory that will stay with me for a long time.
Sometimes a road trip can teach some very meaningful lessons…
Useful books about travel to Nova Scotia:
Related articles:
My five whirlwind days in Nova Scotia
Acadian
history at the Grand Pré National Historic Site
400 years of history at Annapolis
Royal
Port-Royal, a French habitation from 1605
Dinner at the Garrison House
in Annapolis Royal
The Annapolis Royal
Graveyard Tour
The Garrison House Bed and Breakfast
Exploring the Evangeline Trail from
Annapolis Royal to Yarmouth
Learning about Mi'kmaq heritage at the
Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Center
Victorian heritage in Yarmouth
The MacKinnon-Cann Inn: Where Home
and Garden Television meets the Travel Channel
Yarmouth explained - the Yarmouth
County Museum
My car is in the ditch in Chebogue
River
The Lighthouse Trail from Yarmouth
to Shelburne
The Lighthouse Trail from Shelburne
to Lunenburg
The Town of Lunenburg - a UNESCO World Heritage
Site
An interview with the owners of the
Lunenburg Inn
The Lighthouse Trail from Lunenburg to
Halifax via Mahone Bay and Peggy's Cove
Arrival in Halifax and a stunning
musical performance - DRUM!
A Halifax city tour, the city's
connection to the Titantic and the 1917 Halifax Explosion
Exploring the Halifax Harbourwalk and
Pier 21 - Canada's immigration museum
A ferry trip to Dartmouth and saying
goodbye to Halifax
An interview with Pier 21 -
Canada's immigration museum
Helpful links for travel to Nova Scotia:
Tourism
Nova Scotia
Destination
South West Nova Scotia
Halifax Tourism
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