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right ingredients) will appeal to a provincewide au- dience. In reading about funeral customs (p. 87), I was made to recall going to a wake in 1954 with my grand- mother where 'the deceased was “laid out” in the

mtraditonal way. I recalled too that it was the last time I

saw Harry Ellis, a colourful older resident of our “lot 36” community who did not himself survive the oncom- ing winter. It was really not so surprising that later in this book I would encounter the story‘ of Harry’s son, who in the pattern of Island life moved as a war veteran to his mother’s community innearby lot 34 to run a ser- vice station and to raise a prosperous and active family. The “history” therefore functions as a vehicle for both nostalgia and information. It encourages us to lament

V the passing of the old ways and, better, it appeals to ‘our

“nosey Parker” love of gossip about familiar families.

Although Stanhope: Sands of Time is much larger than the average community chronicle (478 pages), it follows a format that has become set in recent years and in shear bulk proves that the formula cannot be developed further and still appeal to its audience. Logically, this is really two books, but neither of its two parts. would have a market as single volumes. Part One is the “history" with its coverage of the various categories of activity (agriculture, education, organiza- tions, etc.) and Part Two is genealogical. It is the second part that has all the gossipy appeal of a letter from home, particularly for all the readers who are Islanders away-from—home. I found this to be my own reaction in the instante of Ellis family. This is the formula of the

’ good community newspaper.

Anumber of emigre Islanders like myself enjoy col- lecting local histories from their home province. These books are easy to purchase. The P.E.I. Museum has a catalogue and, when the spring mud clears and you

. finally resist your yearning to drive down those raw red

‘ back' roads, you can always visit Beaconsfield, the

Museum’s headquarters in Charlottetown, and look for

' the latest production among the gamut of works on

display there. -

Ken MacKlnnon is the Director of the Gorsebrooke Research Institute, Saint Mary’s University.