Maritimes Archives | Carol Patterson

Outside the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site there is a phone booth emblazoned with the name Bell. Fitting as Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. But until I visited the National Historic Site dedicated to him in Baddeck, Nova Scotia I had no idea those phone booths could have someone else’s name on them if not for the love of a good woman.

Alexander Graham Bell followed in his father’s footsteps as a teacher of the deaf. One of his students, Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, captured his attention. Wanting to woo her, he quit as her teacher and undertook a successful campaign to become her fiancé.

Bell had created the telephone in 1876 and Mabel and her father wanted Bell to present it to the world at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Dedicated to his students, Bell refused, saying it would take him away from his work for too long.

Mabel changed history when she told Bell she wouldn’t marry him if he didn’t go to the Expo. Bell hurriedly packed a suitcase and became the star attraction when Emperor Dom Bedro of Brazil ordered 100 telephones. Mabel and Bell were married the next year.

Other inventors challenged Bell’s patent but he prevailed. According to interpreters at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site key evidence in his court defenses was a letter he had written to his mother describing his invention. From that point forward Bell carried a notebook to capture his musings.

The National Historic Site offers White-Glove tours with the chance to see artifacts from Bell’s life and touch some of them while wearing latex gloves. I felt like a historian as I gingerly picked up one of Bell’s notebooks and looked at the pages the great man had scribbled in. As a writer I always carry a notebook and pen to capture ideas or quotes, never knowing where inspiration will strike.

Now I know that isn’t just whimsy to write everything down. If I invent something, my notes might help me win a court case or if I become famous enough for a museum exhibit, there will be something to put in it!

If you go:

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site is open from May to October. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ns/grahambell/index.aspxBr

The site overlooks beautiful Bras d’Or Lake. Take time to sail this inland sea with Sailing CBI Inc. http://sailingcbi.com

Keep your energy up with a lobster dinner at Baddeck Lobster Suppers www.baddecklobstersuppers.ca

TWEETABLES

Things you didn’t know about Alexander Graham Bell. Click to Tweet.

Discover how history was changed forever when Mable Gardiner Hubbard refused to marry Alexander Graham Bell. Click to Tweet.

My friend, @reinventure, is sharing the amazing journey of Alexander Graham Bell & the telephone here: Click to Tweet.

“My mother died last February and I came home,” said the elfin blonde waitress at Main Street Restaurant & Bakery seafood restaurant as way of introduction. “I grew up here in Ingonish Beach, but I moved away over thirty years ago. When I came back for my mother’s death the snow was so high. You know those clotheslines people hang their laundry on? I was able to step over it in snowshoes. We had to shovel a tunnel to the windows and the doors of my mother’s house,” she concluded with a shudder. “We couldn’t bury her until May!”
Looking around at the verdant green trees and freshly mowed grass, it was hard to believe Cape Breton winters could be that harsh although this island off Canada’s east coast is surrounded by cool Atlantic waters. “I could never spend the winter here again,” said the waitress, “I’m happy to be here for eight weeks in the summer but when it’s over, I’m out of here.” Sympathizing with her about the remoteness of the region and lack of facilities, she corrected me when I said there was no hospital. “Oh, there’s a hospital eighteen minutes away and a pharmacy and a senior’s center, so everything you need is here, but it’s just SO small,” she lamented, circling her fingers to depict a tiny circle.

I could picture the lack of privacy that living in such a small community would bring. Everyone would know your business but it seemed they would have your back too. As my husband and I watched the lobster fishermen roar into Ingonish harbor with the morning’s catch, we asked if a local man if he knew anyone who sold cooked lobster. “Rod sells lobster,” he muttered, scratching his head, “but he’s a fisherman too. He doesn’t start selling lobster till the season is over.”

Continuing the conversation, he asked why we didn’t cook the lobster ourselves. A lobster could be had for $8 a pound off the back of the boats. When we explained we were in a rental RV and didn’t have anything to cook lobster in, he pulled off his ball cap and scratched his head. “Well, I just live up the road. I could lend you a pot and a cooker,” he offered. We had to decline as we were headed down the road and had no way to get the pot back to him or use it before we left. But as we drove out of town, it seemed the hospitality here ran as deep as the snow drifts. It must be nice to be from Ingonish.

TWEETABLES.

Getting a Sense of Place in Canada’s Cape Breton – Click to Tweet.

How Canada’s Cape Breton spends the winter months: Click to Tweet.

My friend @reinventure shares everything you need to know about Canada’s Cape Breton. Click to Tweet.