Kejimkujik National Park Seaside Unit ...

For years I have been completely confused about ~ Kejimkujik National Park. I have seen highway signs indicating that the park is located north and inland from us in Pleasantville. Other signs indicate it is located east and is situated in a coastal area.

Yesterday, I looked further into this and found out there are in fact two Kejimkujik’s ~ one is Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site (north and inland from us) and the other is Kejimkujik National Park Seaside Unit (east and on the coast) and are a distance of 100km away from each other….

So, with that confusing issue finally resolved, today we went off for a visit to Kejimkujik National Park Seaside Unit. With it being a beautiful sunny day of which there has not been a lot of this summer, we decided to drive most of the way along the coastal road rather than the quicker Hwy 103.

Kejimkujik National Park Seaside Unit did not disappoint, it was absolutely stunning. It started with a hike along a gravel covered trail with warning signs about black bears, through a coastal forest and shrubby barrens which led us to glorious white sandy beaches, sheltered coves with beautiful ocean views, rocky islands, flocks of piping plovers buzzing around and seals basking on rocks.

Before the hike when we initially arrived at the car park, I was fascinated to see Land Rover Defender with British registered plates, more about that is written below.

As for the other Kejimkujik, since it is mainly forest, lakes and rivers, we will probably visit there in a couple of months when the fall colours are at their peak.

Bears don't shit in the woods, they do it on gravel trails

The Land Rover Defender ~

The vehicle belongs to Paul & Chrissie from Suffolk in England. I learned from their web-site their plan is to travel the world in “Stirling”, the Land Rover Defender.

I would thoroughly recommend viewing their web-site at ~

https://defender-adventure.com/ 

From the “Blog” link within their web-site, you can view a series of excellent YouTube videos of their travels, all of them look interesting and fascinating.

Another British registered Land Rover on worldly travels ~

Back in June 2015 on one of our reconnaissance visits to Nova Scotia, we came across ~ Moby the Land Rover.

You can read more about this encounter on my blog at ~

https://southshoretidewatch.blogspot.com/2017/02/moby-land-rover.html

A wander around Bridgewater’s Brookside Cemetery …

With nothing much else to do, this afternoon we took a walk around Brookside Cemetery in Bridgewater.

Back in my early days in Scotland, wandering around church graveyards or cemeteries was something I occasionally did with my dad. Graves in Scotland can often go back centuries, so it was always a challenge to go to such places and find the oldest grave and piece together some history of the location.

The earliest grave in the Brookside Cemetery dates back to 1860 in what is an attractive park like location with natural lily pond, well-kept graves on terraced hillsides surrounded by large mature maple trees.

Within the cemetery, there are six graves under the perpetual care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), five from WWI and one from WWII, this being the only CWGC grave I could find today.

It is the resting place of ~

Corporal Arlington Walter Mailman,

Royal Canadian Air Force,

Service Number R/88159

Died 14 June 1945, aged 46

Son of James N. Mailman and Martha M. Mailman; brother of Ruby Mailman, of Bridgewater.

According to some quick research Corporal Arlington Walter Mailman died from injuries sustained after being hit by a truck at WWII RCAF Dartmouth.

Below are photos of his grave at Brookside Cemetery and two others from his funeral on June 19^th, 1945 with a RCAF honour guard. It is interesting to note when comparing today's photos to those from 1945, his parent’s gravestone at that time was located just to the right side, while now what appears to be a newer gravestone is located behind that of Arlington’s.

I have also included a newspaper clipping and related documents about Arlington’s death and burial.

Another grave of some historical interest is that of Lee Nutting, a Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor. This medal is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and is presented "in the name of the United States Congress.”

Lee Nutting was born 14 October 1837 in Orange County, New York, he served as a Captain of Company C, 61st New York Infantry, Union Army. In actions at Todds Tavern, Virginia, May 8, 1864, Captain Nutting led the regiment in charge at a critical moment under heavy Confederate fire until he fell wounded. For courage in the face of the enemy, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on August 21, 1893. He died in Bridgewater during July, 1908 and buried beside his wife. Note that on his original gravestone his date of death is July 9 while the more modern plaque has it as July 11, sources on the inter-web also have July 11. 

The official citation issued August 21st, 1893 ~

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain Lee Nutting, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 8 May 1864, while serving with Company C, 61st New York Infantry, in action at Todds Tavern, Virginia. Captain Nutting led the regiment in charge at a critical moment under a murderous fire until he fell desperately wounded.

Below are photos of Lee Nutting and his grave in Brookside Cemetery.