Item

Courier

June 8/1972

Town of St. Andrews to lease Katy's Cove for swimming area.

1972

Tara Manor Inn and Restaurant opens—Willa Walker

Courier

July 27/1972

Passamaquoddy Lodge Campaign underway

Courier

Aug 3/1972

New Charlotte Co Mall open October

Courier

Aug 10/1972

Part of Calais Shopping Complex opens. (site of future Wal Mart)

Courier

Sept 21/1972

Canadian Tire store erected

Courier

Sept 28/1972

Operation Katy's Cove. First year leased to Town from Algonquin Properties. Algonquin to have own pool. (sounds like pool built for summer of 1973)

Courier

Oct 5/1972

Story of Rollingdam continued.

Courier

Oct 5/1972

By All Rights—St. Andrews is Where It Is. Boston Globe. .

. . . A town named St. Andrews has to have a golf course and this one has two, a nine-hole course and an 18-hole championship course. Both are owned by the Algonquin Hotel but operated separately and open to the general public. The Algonquin is a rambling 200 room pile built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1914 during the years when St. Andrews was the Canadian equivalent of Bar Harbour. The town became a millionaire's playground in those days and spacious Edwardian mansions joined the stately homes of the loyalists along St. Andrews leafy streets. For the well-heeled visitors, most of whom had made their money with the railroad, the Algonquin was the club house and social center. Like similar resort hotels in New England, the Algonquin had been in a decline in recent years, but an aggressive new management is trying to revitalize it. Rates are $20 to $29 per person per day for a couple, including breakfast and dinner, and most of the rooms have superb view of Passamaquoddy Bay. As a promotion the Algonquin offers a "King for a Week" plan during the first two weeks of September that lets you live like an old-time railroad Baron. For $277 each per couple, the hotel offers accommodations for six nights and seven days, use of the golf course and all Algonquin facilities and all the food you can eat and liquor and wine you can drink.

Businesses mentioned: Stickney's (local agency for Wedgwood China since 1842), Sea Captain's Loft (Spade, Royal Copenhagen, Scotch stoneware, only registered Cdn gov. outlet for Eskimo prints and carvings), Cottage Craft, St. Andrews Woollens, block away, Shiretown ($ 12 to 14 per day) for single. Huntsman has small aquarium. Conley's Lobster Company largest live lobster distributing plant in world (12 million pounds of lobster every year). Pounds capable of handling 2 million lobster. Own restaurant next door.

SCC

Oct 15/1972

Story of Rollingdam

Courier

Oct 19/1972

St. Andrews Town Council holds meeting. Katy's Cove. Sewer/water extensions.

Time Magazine

Nov 6, 1972

Sir William's Legacy

Jointly administered by Canada and the US, the Campobello Island retreat of Franklin Roosevelt in New Brunswick's Passamaquoddy Bay attracts 100,000 visitors each year. The tourist ferry from St. Andrews passes within sight of another, almost forgotten landmark, Covenhoven, the 500-acre island estate of Sir William Van Horne, the builder of the Canadian Pacific Railway. For all of the Federal Government's new interest in preserving Canadiana, Covenhoven has been overlooked. Now Norman Langdon, a Maine Real estate developer, plans to carve the island into lots for well-to-do vacationers.

That would hardly have appealed to Sir William, who first bought land on the island in 1889 [sic] "to get away from the world." Despite that resolve, Covenhoven scarcely became a hideaway. IN its prime at the turn of the century, it was a showpiece of Victorian elegance and a social Mecca. Indulging his fondness for big houses—"fat and bulgy like myself"—Van Horne built a baronial 40 room mansion and staffed it with 28 servants. Scattered about the rest of the summer estate were barns, silos, a windmill, stables, vineyards, greenhouses and flourishing gardens—all designed by the owner himself.

A major source of pride for Van Horne: the 60 head of white and black Dutch Belted cattle he had spotted on a trip through his native Illinois and had shipped to Covenhoven.

When Van Horne died in 1915 at the age of 72, his spinster daughter Lucy Adeline [sic] took over Covenhoven and preserved it in its original state until her own death in 1941. The property remained in the Van Horne estate until 1959 when it was bought by an Ohio syndicate that planned to build a golf course on the island and turn it into a private club. But that venture foundered and last year New Brunswick's then-Minister of Tourism, Charlie Van Horne (who is no kin to the railroader) took an option on the island for a provincial park. He failed, however, to convince the rest of the New Brunswick government that the property was worth the $400,000 price tag. Enter Langdon, who bought the estate last April for $325,000 and renamed it "Harbour Farm." [Langdon denied having told the purchase price to Time]

Despite its somewhat uninspired new name, Covenhoven seems safe from a tacky development. The many chimneyed sandstone and shingled house is in splendid condition, due in large part to Langdon's careful renovation. The oriental rugs Van Horne collected on his travels abroad grace several of the cavernous rooms. A huge mahogany billiard table squats in the center of one high-ceilinged room. In the massive living room, where Stanford White columns frame a gargantuan fireplace, a 300-year-old hand-carved cabinet still hold the paints and brushes of the master of the house, who was an avid landscapist.

A soft-spoken New Englander, Langdon plans to keep the house and 150 acres for himself. The rest will be divided up into 40 or 50 five- to seven-acre beachfront lots—with a starting price of $25,000. Says the new owner, who believes it would cost $1,000,000 to build Covenhoven today: "We don't want somebody coming up here and building a bomb. We're very much concerned about the image of the island. There aren't many places like this."

Courier

Nov 16/1972

Story of Rollingdam continued.

Courier

Nov 23/1972

Covenhoven, Minister's Island bought by American.
Covenhoven is now Harbour Farm.

Norman Langdon, a 39-year-old American has purchased the former estate of Sir William Van Horne, the famous builder of the CPR. Mr. Langdon purchased the estate in April and has offered to sell approximately 40 lots, each 5-8 acres in size, with a 300-foot shore frontage.

The island is approximately one mile long and two-thirds of a mile wide.

The largest building on the island is the 40-room Van Horne mansion. Architects have stated that this edifice could not be reproduced for less than one million dollars. In addition to the mansion there is a small farm, a bath house, stable, garage and windmill. Mr. Langdon intends to retain the mansion plus the surrounding 100 acres and 1 mile of shore frontage for his personal use. After the various lots are purchased approximately 120 acres will remain open land, free for all individuals to use.

Norman Langdon was born in Connecticut and attended Brown university. He left after two years there. He told the Courier, "I thought I knew more than they did. Ten years later I found out I didn't."

He took up residence in Maine in 1964. In addition to his island holdings he has investments in a shopping center near Ellsworth and a Holiday Inn. He intends to spend the winter on Minister's Island, in the mansion. The 39-year-old developer said his investment in the island is much like playing Russian roulette. "I have laid my cards on the table. Now I will just want and see what happens."

Actually, Langdon is doing little waiting. He is up at five each morning assisting the hired help. Since coming to the island, a small road network has been built and intensive renovations have been done to the buildings. The mansion itself had deteriorated badly and Langdon has found it necessary to renovate almost every room in the house. This winter only half of the mansion will be heated.

The cost of each lot will be 25,000 dollars and the minimum worth of each home must be 20,000 dollars. The land cannot be sub-divided. Any houses which border open land are subject to approval by Langdon. Langdon whose hobbies are nature, art and the sea, or more specifically reading, sailing and fishing, has taken much care to see that the islands' beauty is retained. He feels that a causeway would allow too much traffic and so has decided to leave the single entrance as it is. That is access by car will only be possible at low tide when the road is uncovered. All power lines are to be placed underground. The newly built roads were constructed with a minimum of tree loss. A herd of deer and a small herd of Scottish cattle inhabit the island. Langdon hopes that the herds will increase.

Langdon says that the advantages of the island are numerous. Thanks to Van Horne's Dutch heritage the land has taken on a European flavour. The harbour is deep and well-protected. The island offers almost complete seclusion, especially at high tide. There is much animal life, especially songbirds.

The vegetation on the island is under the watchful eye of Bill Clark, the witty son on Harry Clark, Van Horne's personal gardener. Clark delights in telling the history of the island and is an added assurance that the area will not be marred by a tourist invasion.

The name of Langdon's Real Estate organization is the North Atlantic land and Cattle Company. However he says "we only have four cattle." When pressed to release the actual price of the complete estate, Langdon declined and expressed disturbance that Time magazine reported he paid 325,000 dollars for the estate. He denies ever giving the magazine a price.

The feeling of many people in St. Andrews seems to be that it is a pity the island has again fallen into American hands. Some people expressed disappointment the Government did not acquire the island and establish a provincial park. They feel that the character of the island may well be destroyed.

However, Norman Langdon appears deeply interested in developing the island slowly and carefully. He has not yet settled any requests for property but it is being made available to Canadian and American citizens. Langdon believe that man destroys that which he loves and feels the beauty of the Island must be retained at all costs.

Courier

Nov 23/1972

Minister's Island—Monument to Giant

Minister's Island in St. Andrews was first occupied by a Church of England Minister who rode horseback each Sunday to the Sunday service. IN the 1890's the man who has been called America's greatest gift to Canada, Sir William Van Horne, bought a portion of the island and built a magnificent mansion. By 1929 the entire island had become part of the Van Horne estate. Originally intended to be a retreat from society for Sir William it actually became a Mecca for friends and acquaintances of the industrial giant.

Harry Clark, Van Horne's gardener, created a virtual Garden of Eden. He, like Van Horne, demanded perfection. Peaches, often weighing two pounds, and grapes were grown. Cattle, a Scottish breed, roamed the hillsides. The island was completely self-sufficient [not true]. Eggs and cream were exported to Montreal during the winter season. [interesting—the farm served as supermarket even in winter]

When Sir William visited the Island, with his wife and children, he would bring a special coach car, with his riding horses. The car occupied a personal siding in St. Andrews. He would generally arrive on the 15th of June and leave in October.

Despite the important place that Sir William Van Horne occupied in the building of Canada many Charlotte citizens seem unaware of the character of the man.

This article will present a brief history of the dogmatic, energetic man who build the CP railroad.

The most famous photograph in the Canadian Railroad history, the driving of the last spike, shows Sir William Van Horne, wearing a flowing white beard standing in the center. [!] This moment was the culmination of almost superhuman effort exerted by Van Horne and his associates. Against great physical odds, the railroad had been built but history has shown that without Van Horne's indomitable will it may not have been, and as a result BC may never have become a part of Canada.

This great man was born in 1843, at Chelsea, in Wills County, Illinois, the son of an impoverished lawyer. At the age of fourteen he worked in a telegraph office—sweeping out the station, tending the lamps. But within three months he became a licensed telegraph operator. Previously he had been forced to leave school for drawing caricatures of the teachers. His mischievous nature was not quieted however. At the train station he wired a steel plate in sight of his office to give passing yardmen a mild but startling electric shock and was fired when the local superintendent received the Van Horne hotfoot. In later years he was to carry out many pranks. When a member of the CPR Board of Directors accompanied him across the Rockies, Van Horne ordered the train stopped so the gentleman could see the Indian statues. Actually they were only a pile of leftover rocks from building the railway. But while the gentleman was peering about the statues Van Horne started the train and the gentleman was left nearly stranded.

After a succession of training positions, Van Horne was promoted in 1870 to superintendent of telegraphs for the Chicago and Alton. In 1866 he had married Lucy Adeline Hurd. From this union came one son, Richard, and a daughter Lucy Adeline. Another son died while very young.

When Donald Smith, George Smith and James Hill incorporated the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in 1881, Smith said, "Van Horne is the only man for the construction job—he's the best equipped mentally, and every other way," after interviewing him the others agreed.

Arriving in Winnipeg on Dec. 31st, 1881, Van Horne faced the toughest construction job in North America. He was assigned to build 2900 miles of track across a barely explored continent. Millions of dollars had already been spent but less than 300 miles of railway had been built.

The British engineers on the project resented the intrusion of the "fat Yankee with the big cigar subtlety of a starved wolfhound chasing a herd of sheep."

Van Horne promised to lay 500 miles of track in 1882. Only a hundred had been built the year before. And while snow was still on the . . . Winnipeg Sun, "but so does a buzz saw."

When the Blackfeet Indians tore up the tracks in night raids Van Horne presented a lifetime CPR pass to Crowfoot, their Chief, and warned him not to steal any more rails if he wanted to live to use it.

With 417 miles of track operating at the end of 1882, Van Horne faced the Rockies. He chose the Kicking Horse Pass and once drove a cab across a swaying trestle when the engineer refused to. When the engineer jumped in the cab after realizing that Van Horne was actually going to drive the train across the dangerous trestle, Van Horne said, "We'll have a double funeral—at my expense, of course."

Before the Rockies were conquered Van Horne turned his energies to the Lake Superior section. Waiving an easier route through the US he laid tracks across two hundred miles through muskeg, quicksand, matted swamps, and stunted spruce forests. It was termed an "engineering impossibility," and men retired from the Board of Directors to demonstrate their belief in the plan's foolishness, but like everything else Van Horne attempted, it was done. [Canadian Sardine Company excepted]

Van Horne often faced creditors but always left them saying "Go sell your boots and buy CPR stocks." When Sir John A. MacDonald refused to give another penny to the scheme Van Horne shipped a contingent of soldiers to Winnipeg, by rail, to halt the Louis Riel Rebellion. The effort was successful and Van Horne received his loan.

Donald Smith laid the last spike at 9:22 am on Nov. 7, 1885. It had originally been planned to bring a British dignitary for the occasion and a special spike had been made in England. When the plan was cancelled, Van Horne, an avid collector, procured the spike for his collection.

The famous photograph shows a very sombre Van Horne, but he was obviously pleased. In less than five years he had created a nation-wide ribbon of steel. Always a gambler he bet a group of newspapermen that he could travel from Winnipeg to the Rocky foothills—840 miles from dawn to dusk. He won his bet by making the trip on June 21st, the longest day of the year.

Completion of the railway meant that Van Horne could devote all of his time to integrating the vast network. He built grain elevators, organized a tourist campaign, even suggested drilling for oil. He was told it was foolishness.

He gained a reputation for possessing a psychic sense. One evening he was tramping up and down the Sudbury station platform, waiting for his train to start. He was bundled into his furs beyond recognition. As he passed the caboose, he overheard the brakeman boasting about he sleep he got on his run. When he reached Montreal, Van Horne discovered the negligent trainman's name and despatched a telegram to the train's conductor: "Go into the caboose and you find John Rogers asleep. Wake him and show him this telegram—Van Horne." The frightened brakeman told and retold the story so effectively that CPR train crews from then on did all their dozing off the job.

After resigning from the CPR, during a mild recession in 1899, Van Horne devoted his interests to building a railway in Cuba and when the trains in Cuba had nothing to carry he bought a plantation. Only two ventures ever failed. One was a gold-mining operation in BC, and the other was a $200,000 dollar investment in a fish cannery near St. Andrews.

Sir William was a big man in every way. He was tall and massively built and in early life became somewhat corpulent. He had a tremendous appetite. While playing poker, which he considered an education, he would eat crackers with black caviar.

In later years he was ordered by his doctor to smoke only four cigars a day. He had been accustomed to smoking almost constantly so he solved the problem by purchasing large Cuban cigars. He puffed only four a day, but each one lasted four hours.

Van Horne's most ambition and best-loved personal project was his summer home on Minister's Island. Here he built a farm and raised cows, pigs and sheep. He won many prizes at exhibitions. He refused to eat peaches until they fell from the tree so nets were placed under the limbs to keep them from becoming bruised. Van Horne's serious interest in Art occupied most of his spare time. He painted in his studio on top of a specially constructed outlook tower at Covenhoven, the name he gave his estate. Van Horne's study was hung with 15th Century ship models. Velvet wall hangings provided the backdrop for El Grecos, Renoirs and Rembrandts. "The purchase of a picture is like the selection of a wife," he said. "Never buy one that you don't fall in love with."

He developed his own style of painting, and this often marred his works. His best painting was of the St. Croix River. It is a beautiful sea and cloud composition called "Moonlight on the St. Croix River."

At his death in 1915, the estate passed into the hands of his wife and two children. While at times since the many buildings on Minister's Island have fallen into disrepair, they remain a monument to a man of tremendous energy and capabilities. IN later life Sir William said that he wished he could have lived for 500 years. But a friend said of him that he had "done everything, been everywhere, and met everybody."

Shortly before his death, Van Horne summarized for a Montreal friend the philosophy which had guided his remarkable life. "I eat all I can, I drink all I can, I smoke all I can and I don't give a damn for anything." A very crude philosophy for a great man. We will not soon see the like of him again.

Courier

Dec 4/1972

Story of Rollingdam