A5

BY JIM DUMVILLE

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[This column appeared recently in our sister newspaper, The Woodstock Bugle-Observer. Managing Editor Jim Dumville, who is also the editor of The New Brunswick Business Journal, was home for the Escuminac Homecoming 2008, which we reported on recently. Dumville is a native of Escuminac, and, we were told, volunteered his time working at events during the Homecoming, a festival which was indeed a credit to the tiny community which put it on.]

It was 100 years in the making, more than 12 months in the planning and 10 days in existence. But the 100th anniversary of the community of Escuminac delivered a lifetime of memories, especially for a former resident returning home on vacation.

Each year I spend most of my summer holiday at my old homestead in Fleurant Point on the Gaspe Coast of Quebec. This year's visit included 10 days of constant enjoyment which will be forever etched in my memory —like a snapshot in time showcasing a special moment in a lifetime.

I knew heading into this vacation it would be different. For starters, this visit home would be the first since my mother's death last September. For the first time — probably since it was built more than a century and a half ago — the old farm house now, for the most part, stands empty, even in summer.

But it came to life in a big way during a 10-day period this July. In fact, the old farm stood as the focal point of a community's centennial celebration. I arrived home on July 9 to see a massive tent standing proudly on the property now owned by my brother and me. Over the next week and a half the temporary shelter played host to a series of shows featuring some of the region's top entertainers.

The 10-day event — the Centennial Homecoming 2008 Retrouvailles — celebrated the founding of the municipality of Escuminac in 1908. It didn't escape my notice that year also marked the birth of my father, who was born and spent his entire life on the farm which played host to the community celebration.

Coinciding with the homecoming was the 60th anniversary celebration of the Escuminac School, which only enhanced the joyful glimpse into the past. That snapshot in time was comprised of a series of special moments over the 10-day period. There were solitary moments, such as sitting alone on the verandah of my old Fleurant Point home taking in the sounds of summer I remembered from my childhood — and having those sounds broken by the music of talented artists doing a sound check in the entertainment tent across the road.

There were those special moments of catching up with old and dear friends and reliving magical experiences of the past. There were the special moments of forming friendships with those I previously only knew as a passing acquaintance; and the joy of meeting and forming friendships with exciting people, many of who now serve as the driving force for the small, but vibrant, community I left behind.

At an event designed to rekindle old memories, the 2008 Homecoming created cherished new memories to be forever shared with new and old friends. Memories of dancing into the early hours of the morning with friends and family; of watching talented locals, including young relatives, take the stage and take the audience's heart with their uninhibited performances; of sharing time with local seniors, who in their 80 or 90 years in the community could not recall any event of such magnitude; of helping serve breakfast to early morning visitors — more than 70 on some mornings — at the refurbished and enlarged Fleurant Community Hall.

My summer vacation also proved the community is in good hands. The Municipality of Escuminac is comprised of three small villages — Escuminac, Pointe-a-la-Garde and my home "town" of Fleurant Point. Even together, they are far too small to host such a massive undertaking as a 10-day festival complete with nightly entertainment, daily community breakfasts, a bingo night, a salmon dinner, a smelt supper, a parade, ice cream socials, strawberry socials, moonlight walks, children's game days and more. But someone forgot to tell the executive, directors and members of the Club Communautaire Point-Fleurant that such an undertaking was impossible.

Led by club president Darryl Gray — a former MP and Tory nominee for the next federal election — and executive members Dot Bujold — the 2007 Gaspe Coast Volunteer of the Year — Marlene Wafer and Angela Woolf, as well as members and volunteers, the club made the impossible happen. They built upon the co-operation of neighbouring communities like Miguasha and Nouvelle to deliver an event for the ages.

Working side by side with the local club members were the homecomers — including me — ready to build upon the incredible foundation formed over the past year through detailed planning and long volunteer hours. Those returning home — after decades away in many cases — were thrilled to see the raging community spirit. I was particularly moved by the dedication of relative newcomers to Fleurant Point. While third and fourth generation families too often take the community assets for granted, the new arrivals recognize the special nature of the hamlet by the bay.

After a wonderful holiday in my old home, I returned to my new home with a sharper understanding of what homecoming is all about. Perhaps for the first time, I truly recognize the importance of Woodstock's Old Home Week. Former Carleton County residents return to their old stomping grounds ready to rekindle special moments of their past. It is the job of those who now live here to make sure our visitors leave with a new collection of special memories.