A Visit to Clyde River

This writer hasn’t added anything to this blog for some time mainly because we, Vans and I, haven’t spent much time in Clyde River. However, it’s been a beautiful September and I feel a sentimental reflection might be timely for the viewers of the Clyde River site.

Recently, through the kindness of Kevin Ross, we had the opportunity to travel the beautiful West River by boat and we enjoyed the immense beauty of this river and this area. It is very peaceful to travel by boat, or to sit at the river’s edge and watch the beauty of the clear blue waters surrounded by golden fields and many shades of green.

Visiting Murchison Place Park is always a pleasure as it brings back pleasant memories as our Park Committee designed and planned this lovely quiet park. I recall, as if it was yesterday, Doreen Pound’s comment the day the gazebo arrived from Holland College’s carpentry unit, namely, “This is a dream come true.” The four Story Boards have kept well. I chuckle when I remember that we feared the pictures and wording would fade as the shade in this park helps to protect everything. It warms my heart to remember the many volunteers and hours of volunteer work that helped, and still helps, to make this park a gem for Clyde River. It obviously has been well looked after this summer and I commend the Friends of Clyde River for their continued interest and commitment.

The Clyde River Road is beautiful to drive down and new houses are showing up here and on other roads as well. The new homes are a contrast that actually enhance the lovely historic homes such as the Brown’s home and Alex and Audrey MacPhee’s farm. Both the History of Clyde River and the Landscape picture books have helped to preserve these settings and stories plus the wonderful photo collections at the Riverview Community Centre shows this community values the past while continuing to change and grow. For example, Burnside Community Care is a real asset to the community and to the residents who enjoyed this facility. Of course, the Baltic Road and its quiet beauty continues to be special to us.

It is just too easy to take this Island we live on for granted and not take the time to reflect on the luxury of living in a peaceful area with beautiful scenery and changing seasons. This year, we have volunteered as Cruise Ship Ambassadors. It has been a wonderful experience. We have greeted people from all around the world and they have many questions and offer interesting perspectives. Consistently, they comment on the pretty well kept properties, the pastoral beauty and the peacefulness of seeing animals grazing on the open fields. These comments go a long way to remind us to open our eyes and appreciate what we have on Prince Edward Island.

Our recent visit to Clyde River has been a wonderful experience for us and we are grateful to the entire Ross family for their hospitality and inspiration.