Historic Colchester: Towns and Countryside

Richard Wilbur is the author of The Rise of French New Brunswick and
co-author of Silver Harvest: The Fundy Weirmen’s Story.

Both of these slender books are part of a series by Nimbus Publishing
aimed at capturing and preserving the histories of Nova Scotian
communities. Parker’s study deals almost exclusively with the Bay of
Fundy community of Digby, while the Colchester book tries to encompass
an entire county but ends up dealing with the county’s main centre,
Truro. The organization of the two books leaves the reader with a
stronger impression of the historical roots and development of Digby
than of Truro. In addition, Parker made better use of the archives of
the Digby Courier than the Colchester group did of the Truro Daily News.
Even so, the Colchester study contains some charming shots—almost all
carefully posed—such as a country tailor shop circa 1900, or workmen
clearing the tracks after a train wreck. Finally, Parker seems to have a
better eye for a colorful story: his newspaper excerpts are generally
longer, and hence more vivid, and greatly enhanced by the salvaging of a
few of the thousands of shots taken by professional photographer Paul
Yates between 1906 and 1946.

In summary, the Colchester study whets a reader’s appetite, but the
Digby book, owing to its longer length and professional authorship,
provides a more satisfying account of the community’s history. From
both studies, one fact emerges: each of these two Nova Scotia
communities had an entrepreneurial tradition that kept them very
prosperous for more than two centuries. Nimbus Publishing is to be
commended for this series.