You will note that this October will be the 150th Anniversary of that sad event. Ed MacDonald wrote an excellent article on this subject in the Island Magazine [Winter 1995]. He was helped by Thomas Schley of Gloucester and I hope between them they will continue to provide us with more information.

Another great connection with Gloucester is the LePage Glue Company story. William Nelson Lepage, formerly of Charlottetown developed that product from fish oil and established his business in Gloucester in 1876. "He gathered up hake sounds and made glue out of them" an old Islander reported.

So like so many Islanders LePage left in the middle of The Exodus when Islanders were leaving by the hundreds. In 1887 there were 399 Islanders living in Gloucester, 2712 in Boston proper, 135 in Lowell, 10 in Beverly etc.. Islanders could sail right out of Charlottetown Harbour for Boston or in later years they could go by train to St. John and take a boat ride that lasted nineteen hours for a price of $10.00.

Islanders liked that land so well that at one point "The Prince Edward Islanders'Association" in Boston passed a resolution in favour of an annexation of this province to the United States!

There is much that ties us together and I do hope Mayor George and Arlene enjoy their visit with Altantic Seaboard Mayors in Since the settlement of the eastern seaboard the relationship between New England and Prince Edward Island has been strong and family ties have moved back and forth across the boarders. The fishermen from New England, many of them out of Gloucester, came by the hundreds into Atlantic waters. By the mid eighteen hundreds it wasn't uncommon to see as many as 600 sailing ships of the north side of the Island at once. One of the saddest occurrences, related to this part of our history, was the Yankee Gale that occurred in October 1851. A terrible storm hit with the barometer falling within twenty four hours over 1.2 inches. Gloucester had 140 fishing vessels in the gulf that night. Nine were lost. I am sure their names are on that wonderful Sailors' Monument that stands as a beacon on the Gloucester Waterfront.

You will note that this October will be the 150th Anniversary of that sad event. Ed MacDonald wrote an excellent article on this subject in the Island Magazine [Winter 1995]. He was helped by Thomas Schley of Gloucester and I hope between them they will continue to provide us with more information.

Another great connection with Gloucester is the LePage Glue Company story. William Nelson Lepage, formerly of Charlottetown developed that product from fish oil and established his business in Gloucester in 1876. "He gathered up hake sounds and made glue out of them" an old Islander reported.

So like so many Islanders LePage left in the middle of The Exodus when Islanders were leaving by the hundreds. In 1887 there were 399 Islanders living in Gloucester, 2712 in Boston proper, 135 in Lowell, 10 in Beverly etc.. Islanders could sail right out of Charlottetown Harbour for Boston or in later years they could go by train to St. John and take a boat ride that lasted nineteen hours for a price of $10.00.

Islanders liked that land so well that at one point "The Prince Edward Islanders'Association" in Boston passed a resolution in favour of an annexation of this province to the United States!