Maritimers Ashore and Afloat, Vol. 1: Interesting People, Places and Events Related to the Bay of Fundy and Its Rivers

Richard Wilbur is supervisor of the Legislative Research Service, New
Brunswick Legislature, and author of The Rise of French New Brunswick.

Stan Spicer knows the history of this part of the world. He was born on
Spencer’s Island at the head of the Bay, and returned there about a
decade ago to retire and write. This is a collection of mostly reworked
subjects, including some only remotely connected with Fundy. Alexander
“Boss” Gibson, the founder and architect of Marysville (at the mouth
of the Nashwaak), is a fascinating example of 19th-century
entrepreneurism, and one who deserves a full academic study, but he is
hardly a Fundy person. And while Joshua Slocum was born in Nova Scotia,
his oft-told tale of his round-the-world exploits is almost too
well-known to be repeated here.

Regardless of the somewhat misleading subtitle, the subjects Spicer has
chosen are well worth knowing about and his clear style and eye for
human-interest detail make this a good read, especially for those with
little or no knowledge of Maritime history. He is particularly effective
with nautical themes, which are featured in Chapter 5. His account of
H.G.C. Ketchum’s nearly realized dream of a ship railway across the
narrow Chignecto Isthmus joining New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is
riveting stuff. So for that matter is most of this short collection,
which is the first of two volumes. Spicer has even given us the table of
contents of the second work, still to be published.