Georgetown Stories : 1891-1900 34

James Church, Charlottetown. An extension of ten feet to the building has permitted ten additional pews to be put in and the seating capacity thereby increased by ﬁfty. The old pews have been replaced by others of modern design built in ash with imitation oak trimming. The walls have been papered, the woodwork of the interior nicely painted. Two additional hanging lamps are provided and the whole building thoroughly renovated. A much larger space on one side of the pulpit has been assigned to the choir who formerly had rather limited accommodation in front of the pulpit. A railing has been placed in front of these seats. The work of repairing the church was done by Dewar & McKenzie of Montague, contractors, and the pews were put in by Mark Wright & Company.” (From Patriot July 3, 1900) Mr. Fraser’s sermon on “Divine Election “ was printed in a succeeding edition of the paper.

The Gale and Tidal Wave of Oct. , 1900

“Georgetown suffered heavily in the recent storm, and the water front is strewn with the debris and wreckage from all the wharves. About 150 feet of the Queen’s Wharf has been carried away from the slip outwards. A .A. Macdonald & Bros.’ wharf is minus a portion of its make—up. A large part of Macdonald and Westaway’s wharf has been washed away. Sencabaugh’s wharf has vanished completely. Capt. Fairchild’s breastworks have gone to join the majority. The railway wharf is badly damaged; the three sets of tracks were lifted up bodily and prevented only from tumbling overboard by the telegraph poles. On this wharf the violence of the wind and waves was such that a track with a carload of stone resting on it was forced from its position. Two abutments of the ferry wharf have been disintegrated and their component parts have parted to meet no more, while the scattered relics of its Lower Montague companion are strewn along the shore. The schooner Emerald broke free from her moorings at the Queen’s Wharf, collided with the ruins of the Zebra which faded away into nothingness, and then ﬁnished her course with a wild plunge on shore landing some distance from the water’s edge in the ﬁeld below A. A. Macdonald & Bros.’ brick warehouse. The schooner Laura E. Douglas, which had been ﬂoated a few weeks ago after laying for about nine months on the shore at the entrance of Pictou Harbour, is now reposing

among the ruins of one of the wharves. Mr. W. S. Easton, of the ﬁrm Cogswell & Easton Lobster Packers, set out to look for the lobster factory, formerly situated on Burnt Point about two miles from the town and brought back a piece of board, the sole relater of a dismal tale. This morning we understand that the factory has been discovered at the foot of Main Street. During the gale, the warehouse on A. A. Poole’s wharf, Lower Montague, was partially inundated and ﬂour and lime to the nature of about $600. badly damaged. A large quantity of their lumber was cast upon the waters but will be recovered in a few days. The schooner C.W. Ada , Capt. Brundage, being at the wharf loaded with potatoes was driven ashore--vessel and cargo are probably both destroyed.” (Patriot, Oct. 13, 1900) A further report in the Oct. 15th Patriot estimated the damage from the tidal wave at $10,000. The wave was said to have lasted 20 minutes and was 8 feet beyond the highest water mark known for years. The Dicks vessel, Laura E. Douglas, was recovered but its cargo of 1,000 “bush potatoes” had to be sold off cheap.