Preface

You know, in a way the histories of Prince Edward Island are a lot like quantum physics. Over the past decades there have been great advances in research. The frontiers of knowledge are pushed ever forward. Theories old and new abound. Yet, practitioners still wait for someone to come up with a grand, unifying theory - a single, all-encompassing work that will take many disparate strands and weave them into a simple, coherent, comprehensive whole.

This ain't it.

My best friend and sometimes-mentor likes to say that the most important part of the word "history" is "story." Stories about the people, the places, the things and events that give shape and definition to the past of a place. Sometimes the stories aren't too neat and tidy. And sometimes the endings aren't particularly happy. But that's what this book is. Stories. About some of the people, places, things and events that define the past of this place. And they do share a common thread. They're all interesting.

At least, I  think they are.

Boyde Beck
Mount Stewart
Prince Edward Island
1996