Little Sands

ittle Sands is situated between Wood Islands East,

the part known as Port Hill, on the west; High

ank on the east; Hopefield on the north; and the Northumberland Strait on the south.

Across the Strait can easily be seen the mainland of Nova Scotia, about 15 miles away, and the light from Pictou lighthouse can be seen as a flare in the sky on clear nights. Also, directly across the Strait from Little Sands is Pictou Island, which is about 10 miles away. The settlers on Pictou Island were quite smart, building their homes on the south, with woods on the north. As a result, one cannot see the homes from Prince Edward Is- land but it has kept Pictou Island from becoming a sand dune, as happened in the Magdalene Islands. Pictou Is- land was quite important to the people of Little Sands, as the Pictou Island lobster factories gave work to Little Sands people in the spring, and a few kept their boats there to take advantage of the southern fishing grounds.

In my younger days, most of the employment in Little Sands was on the farms. Other employment related to fishing and farming. There were lobster factories, one at Little Sands wharf and one at Milburn Dixon’s. There was a flour mill and a saw mill at Sam Dixon’s in my father’s time, as well as a large lobster factory at Lemmie MacLean's. Little Sands had a forge, a school, a large Orange Hall, a post office and a couple of large general

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