4 minute read
Building on History
Photos and Story By Dennis Flynn
Local retiree creates a model tribute to his hometown of Gaskiers-Point La Haye
On a sunny weekend in July
I tested out my new fat bike in scenic Gaskiers-Point La Haye on the Southern Shore. I was finishing up a meandering coastal route, crossing a stunning barachois and looping out the headland shouldering up to the Gulch Beach, when I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a structure that no longer exists.
I studied the original red-andwhite 1883 iron tower lighthouse, famous for the kerosene-oil powered light that had travelled all the way from Paris, France. Cozying up to it was the cottage where Patrick Mooney, the first keeper of the light, resided. I took out my camera and crouched to get a good angle on this intricate model figure carefully set on someone’s well-manicured lawn.
A gentleman’s voice, nearby but from a COVID-19 safe distance, greeted me. “Great day for a bike ride. If you like the models, come along and I will show you some of the other ones I have made.”
Peter (Pete) St. Croix proceeded to give me a tour of about a dozen miniature structures he has built as part of his folk-art hobby documenting local homes and historic land- marks. The retired construction trades worker has a wide variety of life and career experiences behind him, including working on fishing draggers as a younger man.
Pete St. Croix with his model buildings honouring the history of Gaskiers-Point La Haye
So for a pleasant half-hour, Pete gave me a private tour of his collection. They included replicas of the house he grew up in; his current home; several dwellings belonging to relatives; a church; the famous lighthouse; a boat shed (replete with tiny wooden punts); a barn (with a horse peeking out the open door); and a version of the St. Mary’s landmark John Gibbons Store as it looked in the days of Pete’s childhood.
Pete chuckled as he pointed out a detail on one recently finished model, saying, “You come by at a good time for a photo. I just finished painting the curtains on this one this morning.”
He said, “It takes me about a week or two to build each little house, but I really enjoy it. Another fellow who makes excellent replica ships told me that he calculated it out once, and not counting materials he figured he made about 25 cents an hour for the months it took him to make a large model. So this is not something you do for any reason other than you love it. I just think it is important to be able to show folks what was here before they came, who lived here, and maybe in some small way tell stories of people long gone.”
I noticed two structures that were set apart from the group and looked a little different than the rest. Pete paused for a moment and said, “That’s a good eye you have. Yes, those are special to me. I didn’t make them, but I think a lot of them. An older gentleman from the community made that second lighthouse and I wanted to give his a spot of its own, not close to the version I did, so as to not take away from his work. The other little building is a cabin that was made by my grandson, and he did such a fine job on it I wanted it to be somewhere apart as well. Nice to have something from an older generation of model builder next to a younger generation. Kind of hopeful to see something that started before me being kept going.”
