Community 131

anyway?” was a frequent remark.102 It was the only building for such events at that time.

In 1890, to raise money to build a new hall, members of the Souris Benevo- lent Irish Society held a Tea Party in the field below where the Convent stood. The advertisement in the Charlottetown Herald of August 13, prom- ised good meals, refreshment booths, games, amusements such as bowling, slippery walk, swings, hurdles, races and other sports.

Professor Shuttleworth of Prince of Wales College was to give a lecture on scientific farming and agricultural education.

The day of the Tea, members of Charlottetown Benevolent Irish Society met at their hall and marched in full regalia, headed by the Artillery Band, to the railway station where they took the special train going to Souris for the event. ”3 The Tea Party was a success, as usual, and the Society was able to build their hall m 1891. It has been in continuous use ever since, first as St. Patrick's Hall and now as Souris Cinema. Contrary to fears, the Court House continued to be used for some concerts and public events.

This was just one of the many Tea Parties held in Souris, Souris West, Rollo Bay and other communities over many years. The special train leav- ing Charlottetown with, perhaps 200 on board, would connect with the Georgetown train and stop at other stations along the way, arriving in Souris with 700 or more passengers.“

As George Leard related in his article, “Souris Sixty Years Ago,” in the Guardian, August 20, 1958:

The Tea Parties of St. Mary’s Church, Souris, were gener- ally agreed to be among the biggest and the best on the Island...People came from all over the map. They ate large meals. Some danced, some bowled, some, with a festive air, smoked large cigars and paraded around in new suits. Caleb Carlton, the two—voiced master of the unexpected remark, auctioned cakes, some of them three-tiered ones festooned with gay pink tissue paper. The bidding was often highly competitive.

Only the discerning could guess whether they were get- ting a gingerbread or a fruit cake. Children as a special treat sucked oranges on the grounds and drank great quantities of raspberry syrup...

Strawberry festivals, chicken suppers, and basket socials all added to the social whirl of the closing century. A con- cert in St. Patrick’s Hall in aid of Souris sidewalks cleared $100. This concert would be solely by local performers, but doubtless talented ones, for it was at a time that some Souris-born families, notably the Marshall Paquet family, could, unassisted, stage a concert or fill a choir loft with trained melody.Souris at this time had a music teacher, Louis Marcou, who gave vocal and instrumental instruc- tion. The professional stage was much nearer Souris then than now... Indeed the actors’ colony at Fortune started in Souris. Charles Coughlan, the noted English actor first settled at Souris for a year or two before making his summer home at Fortune. In a little white cottage down near the lighthouse, he wrote one or two of his famous

plays.