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by Mercedes Benoit-Penny (Author)
Much has been written about the Acadians, those pioneer French farmers whose lands spread from Northern New England, then throughout the Maritimes of Canada. They were partners with the Mi'kmaq and both were one with the good earth. Their "Acadie", a pastoral, farming, fishing and furring Paradise was also, alas, the envy of other colonizers. Then came the wars between England and France, with the Acadians caught in the middle. The English, having an eye on the French cultivated farmland, finally found a reason to expel them.
The "Great Upheaval" was a defining moment in Western Culture. We saw a so-called civilized nation use its power to uproot and scatter another Christian Society. The Acadian population was dispersed into the North Atlantic, to far reaching lands, which subsequently led to high mortality rates.
Over the years, survivors, clinging to the dream of what once was, began to return. Longfellow's Poem, Evangeline, created empathy for their plight and lead to society's realization of the tragedy. Gradually, a revival of sorts occurred and Acadian identity was restored. In the meantime, the forgotten ones, those who discovered a new found 'Acadie' in Bay St. George, Newfoundland, went unnoticed. This is their story.
- St. John's - oldest fog city in North America.
- St. Augustine, Florida - oldest sun city in North America.
- Reverend Sears' vision for the Southwest Coast gets fogbound in St. John's.
- Elizabeth II acknowledges dreadful wrongs to Acadians.
- With all due respect, the remains of Beothuk parents and newborn should be reunited at Red Indian Lake.
- Alas! History repeats itself (land taken again i.e. Stephenville).
