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Diviner

I was thinking lately of when we built the cottage at Inkerman Shore. It was 1942. I found the bill for the lumber the other day. We bought it from Wilheim Madsen in Wood Islands. It cost $108.10 delivered in Charlottetown!!! I remember the man, he had guinea hens. The first time I ever saw them and I loved them then and I still do today. We needed a well. Our father went to find a diviner and he found one - down east somewhere. It was a big event at Inkerman. All the men and the kids hanging around. The man was very serious and took his defining stick and moved carefully around the back yard. He suddenly declared the spot and it was very clear that the rod was pointing directly to a spot. That was where Jimmy the Pump dug the well and we always had great water from it. The story of the digging is one I will share with you another time. Now you might think that "Oh sure, silly stuff", but the evening didn't end at our place. Two neighbours were watching and they were having a terrible time with their pumps. Salt water all the time. One, Harold Pickard, you could understand . He was right on the shore. Roddie Gillis was on the shore, too, but he had a high bank in front of him. Our diviner took off to investigate. He declared Harold Pickard's spot to be away off by a hedge row on even flatter land - almost on the shore and he put Roddie's spot across the lane from his cottage. When they dug their wells, they never had salt again. Magic? No there is something far more serious about that exercise and I'm glad I saw it all happen when I was a kid. I do believe it has affected my thinking throughout my life. If I ever build in the country again, I am certainly going to seek out a diviner.

Written Thursday, April 03, 2003 at 09:58 PM

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