families and forced to join the army, and food was very scarce. These years witnessed the beginning of a great out-migration of people and the migration continued, especially during times of crisis, right up to the present time. The two main points of entry into Canada were Quebec and . After World War I, Lebanon became a French mandate and many spoke French fluently, so Montreal would have been a natural destination. Those who came through the port of likely started off as peddlers selling their wares throughout Nova Scotia , New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island , eventually setting up their own businesses. The first recorded Lebanese immigrants on the Island arrived in 1888. Elias Basha , according to an 1888 excerpt of MacAlpine's Directory, was a peddler who later opened a store in 1900. It was also believed that George Shelfoon came at that time. Other early immigrants were the Josephs, Solomons, Sharbells, Sumarah, Fren, Zaib, Francis, Tulle, Shama, Michael, Reid, Kays and Koury .It is believed that the Tweels, Mamye, McKarris, Weatherby , Zakems, Ghiz , Dow and Rasheds arrived later. Most settled in Charlottetown , but a few, like the Sharbells and the Shelfoons, operated out of Portage and Tignish , and the Solomons settled in Georgetown . The majority of the early immigrants were from the southern part of Lebanon, where they lived in small communities and made their living from the land. It was a hard life. Lebanon was a small country with a relatively large population and very little economic opportunity existed outside of Beirut. Constant occupation by other powers forced them to become hard workers and resilient survivors. I think that is one of the reasons why they fitted in so well with Islanders who also had to work hard to make a living from the land. Most of the Lebanese that came to the Island had limited education or trade skills and could not speak English, but they seemed to have a good business sense. So peddling became a natural occupation until they were able to start their own businesses. Many interesting stories are told by Islanders about their experiences with the peddlers. It is believed that the peddler referred to in Anne of Green Gables was Thomas Michael , who operated a grocery store on , and was the father of the Michael Brothers , who operated a large wholesale business on . He was likely the best known and widely travelled of all the peddlers. Although peddling was considered a man's job, there were a few women peddlers as well. Talk about equal opportunity! One of those peddlers was Mary Lubra Marji . She was a sister of my grandfather on my mother's side. She peddled the Montague area and she would often stay overnight at the former Annear house next to the Presbyterian Church. She 9