Anne gets around!

JULY 2010
Dear Kindred Spirits,
The summer we’ve been
waiting for on PEI is finally
here. It’s been hot and sunny
for almost three weeks now,
with a lovely ocean breeze to
cool us off. The rain even holds
off until after dark!
Green Gables is wonderfully
busy with visitors, as are we at the
Anne of Green Gables Museum in
Park Corner. What a pleasure it is to
welcome visitors from all over the
world!
We were down to The Balsam
Hollow Trail the other night for a
walk, and it just smells heavenly
there. Some of the shrubs along the
brook are giving off a spicy smell.
Wish you were here!
Bye for now!
Anne
gets
around!
Hello Kindred Spirits!
My name is Amanda Drury and as this photo
shows, I live in Sydney, Australia. I have two
daughters, Alexandra (7) and Charlotte (5), and
being the huge Anne fan I am, Charlotte's middle
name is "Anne" in honour of that beloved redhead. Like Anne, I am also a redhead, with considerably more freckles than her, but without her issues about hair
colour! I made a pilgrimage to PEI in September 1998 and have many happy
memories of the time my husband and I spent there. Having enjoyed the works
of L.M. Montgomery for over 30 years, I am also the owner of 46 books (plus a
number of duplicates, in the form of different editions) either by L.M. Montgomery or about her. While it's difficult to narrow it down, Rilla of Ingleside,
followed closely by A Tangled Web and Kilmeny of the Orchard, are my favourite
L.M. Montgomery books. I am thoroughly enjoying reading the articles in Kindred
Spirits and especially seeing the photos of PEI at different times of the year.
George Campbell, managing editor
Regards, Amanda
P.S. This photo was taken a sunny winter's day in Sydney, with a temp of around
17 degrees Celsius/63 degrees Fahrenheit - somewhat different to a PEI winter :-).
Dance of the Fireflies
by Linda Boutilier, Prince Edward Island
BLINK! BLINK! BLINK!
The fireflies twinkle in the night sky like blinking lights on
a Christmas tree. It’s July and the fields are a glow with the
dancing of the fireflies.
fly flashed its yellowish-green light through the cracks of his
chubby little fingers, like a caution light going on and off. The
dancing firefly would tickle his hands and make him laugh so
hard that that he had to let the firefly escape to freedom.
Catching the fireflies in the jars was fun too, and during
the night we would see how many we could put in a jar before
letting them go. We often wished the jar of fireflies was the night
light in our bedroom, but realized they are the night lights of
the skies.
A favourite pastime of my childhood was trying to capture
these wee insects of the night. When given the permission to
sleep outdoors my siblings and I would go equipped with flashlights, glass jars and handmade quilts. The long grasses would
When we grew tired we wrapped ourselves in the warmth of
tickle our bare legs as we ran to our favorite apple tree in the old the old quilts and settled under the apple tree on a bed of fresh
orchard to wait for the magcut hay for the night. My
I’ll join the dance of the fireflies in Lover’s Lane and
nificent light show to begin.
little sister would snuggle
visit
Hester
Gray’s
old
forgotten
garden
.
.
.
and
sit
out
on
close to me when she heard
While waiting we
the owl give a haunting hoot
the back door step under the stars and listen to the sea
munched on the sour green
from the giant spruce trees
calling in its sleep. - A N N E O F W I N D Y P O P L A R S
apples that hung low on the
overhead.
crooked old apple tree
branches.
From the nearby fields we
could smell the sweet scents
of clover, daisies and the
newly cut hay.
The cows in the night
pasture would lean their
heads over the fence with
curiosity and give us a
friendly snort.
A chorus of crickets
announced the dancing of
the fireflies and the show
began.
We would scurry about
trying to catch the little flies.
We had to be quick as most
times they were too fast for
our little hands to grasp. My
brother was always the lucky
one. He would leap high in
the air like a kangaroo and
grab them so easy. Cupped in
little hands the blinking fire-
2
KINDRED SPIRITS / JULY 2010
As we drifted off to sleep
the silvery full moon shone
on our innocent faces, the
fireflies kissed our forehead
and continued to dance into
the night.
The morning would
come and the little lights
were gone. We didn’t know
where but, they resting
nearby on the tree-trunks
and in the grass waiting for
the night to come again.
The fireflies continue to
dance in the July sky and I
look forward each summer
seeing them along the island
shore, in the fields by the old
orchard and flitting in and
out among the ferns of
Lover’s Lane.
Left: Lover’s Lane,
at Green Gables
Young Anne fan
showcases
L.M. Montgomery
at heritage fair
Marianne Kim is a Grade 5 student
at Abbotsford, British Columbia. This
year she participated in a heritage fair
at her school, and chose L.M. Montgomery as her topic. She sent copies
of her presentation to us at Kindred
Spirits, so we could share it with you,
our readers.
Marianne has read all the Anne
books, and says that her favorite part
is when Anne and Gilbert marry. She
has also read Emily Climbs, and
Emily’s Quest.
She’s never been to Prince Edward
Island yet, but it is her dream to visit
here. In doing this project on L.M.
Montgomery, Marianne learned that
the Anne series was very popular in
Japan, and that Anne gave hope to a
lot of depressed women in Japan,
during World War II.
Marianne’s presentation:
Introduction
“L. M. Montgomery wrote her most memorable novel, Anne of
Gre e n Ga bl es, in the 1900s. Her contributions to Canadian history
are that she gave 3 generations of Canadian women an overpowering joy of literature and she exemplified independence to
Canadian women. Her popularity has not gone any lower than
before, and her beautiful stories are being treasured everywhere
in the world.
“Lucy. Maud Montgomery had a vivid imagination and eventually put it
to good use. For example, she would see two people in the glass cupboard
door. They were Katy Maurice and Lucy Grey. Katy Maurice was L. M. Montgomery’s best friend and they would tell each other stories and talk about
dreams. Lucy Grey was an old widow who told Lucy Maud Montgomery sad
stories.
“Even though there were many obstacles to overcome, Lucy Maud
Montgomery was still able to finish college with excellent grades and later
on, publish series of books. But many of other women from that time period
didn’t have the privilege of doing those things. The women in that era
couldn’t vote, get a job (if married), and argue with her husband. However
they were asked to do housework, take care of children, and acknowledge
her husband or father as man (master) of the house.
. . . continued on next page
KINDRED SPIRITS / JULY 2010
3
. . . continued
“Her personal life and career fell apart after World
War I. Her husband suffered from mental depression, and
her books weren’t selling as much because readers didn’t
Conclusion
want to know about a happy orphan girl when their own
lives were so difficult. She died of congestive heart failure
“The survey is based on my favourite
in Toronto.
Canadian authors. But I realized it was not easy
“She didn’t give herself enough credit but she was
to compare them since their work is from
the first woman to be honoured as a fellow of the ROYAL
different categories and their audiences are
SOCIETY OF ARTS IN BRITAIN. She also was invested in the
from different age groups and genders.
ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
“The results from the survey surprised me
since not many people recognised Lucy Maud
Montgomery and she didn’t win as many awards
as other authors. But she achieved so much with
Anne in Japan
limited surroundings and circumstances. She
helped young reader’s imaginations grow and
“Why is Anne so popular in Japan? That is an
with her beautiful words, she created a longing
unanswered question, and there are lots of possible
for the next book.
answers. One of the reasons Japanese women
“One hundred years after the first book was
admired Anne is that she was able to take care of
published, millions of people are still inspired by
herself. They weren’t treated respectfully in their
her novel. Over the last century, her work was
country. They also liked the settings of P.E.I which
made into movies, musicals, plays, and commercial
they thought a fictional place. The Japanese liked
products. I think Lucy Maud Montgomery is the
the red hair of Anne and the story of orphans.
most influential novelist in Canada and will remain
Many of the BUTTERCUPS (the largest Anne fan club
so for a long time to come.”
in Japan) do not like the
question. They think
that people in other
countries appreciate
Anne as much as the
Japanese. However,
Japanese public schools
require children to read
Anne of Green Gables.
They even have Anne
Marianne, left,
themed weddings. Every
celebrates
year thousands of
with her friend
Japanese fans travel to
Cavendish, P.E.I, to visit
Anne’s house.
4
KINDRED SPIRITS / JULY 2010
at the school’s
heritage fair.
A Shore Picture
BY
L.M. MONTGOMERY
Published in Canadian magazine April 1910
A windy, hollow sky of crystal clear,
Scarfed with a fringe of sunset in the west
A dim sail gliding by the headland near
And, hung above the purpling fir-wood’s crest,
A great gold star, like some calm acolyte
That watches steadfast by the gulf of night.
An argosy of crimson cloud at sea
Pennoned with primrose and, beyond the dune
Pallid as any fast-worn devotee,
The wan face of a lately risen moon
Above a landward valley whose deep cup
With dewy, placid twilight is brimmed up.
Far out, foam wreaths as wavering and as white
As some cold sea-maid’s gleaming arms uptossed
Athwart the splendours of the afterlight —
Seen for a moment, then forever lost—
And at our feet long waves that evermore
Lap silver-tongued upon the burnished shore.
On these fine evenings of
summer, people gather every
night to watch the spectacular
sunsets at Cavendish Beach.
5
Shore
pictures
Mussel lines along the shore of the
Hope River, near Cavendish
The shore at Bayview Bridge,
just outside Cavendish
6
KINDRED SPIRITS
One of the shore beaches on the
Homestead Trail in Cavendish PEI
It’s great
to be young
George Campbell, managing editor
of these Kindred Spirits, had his
60th birthday in June and spent the
day hosting an open house for his
many friends in Kensington, PEI.
That evening he played softball and
won the game for his team by hitting a home run in the last inning.
It was a great day and we wish you
many more of them, George!
Bringing George best wishes are
some of his older and wiser friends:
(l-r) Fannie Roberts, Betty Carr and
Dot Paynter.
with
Summer Anne
Marilla was out in the orchard picking a panful of summer apples.
ANNE
OF
A contest by
Sandy Wagner
GREEN GABLES
Fill in the blanks with these answers taken from the book Anne of Green
Gables, and found in our summer apple, at right. Answers in August issue.
1. Diana and I have our _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in Idlewild.
2. Anne was bound to get to the _ _ _ _ _ _ .
trout
3. Mr. Harmon Andrews took us all for a _ _ _ on the Lake of Shining Waters.
ice cream
4. The _ _ _ _ would drift down with the current.
5. It was splendid to fish for _ _ _ _ _ over the bridge.
fireflies
6. Matthew was coiling _ _ _ below the barn.
7. The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ were flitting over in Lovers Lane.
8. Miss Barry took us to see the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
buggies
moths
horse races
row
9. The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ was delicious.
hay
flat
hollyhocks
10. The road was full of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ all bound for the hotel.
11. White _ _ _ _ _ flew about the garden.
12. Behind the stone bench grew a row of tall pink and yellow _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
picnic
playhouse
7
LMM conference makes magic
at Cavendish homestead site
To hear the poetry of LMM shared
by kindred spirits on a soft summer
evening at the site of the author’s
childhood home in Cavendish, was
the magical conclusion of this
year’s L.M. Montgomery conference held June 23-27 on PEI. It
was getting on to twilight as
Benjamin Lefebvre, editor of
The Blythes are Quoted, read from
LMM’s work. Sharing their own
poetry with those gathered in
front of the old homestead site
were Island writers Jane Ledwell
and Deirdre Kessler.
Benjamin Lefebvre reads LMM’s poetry in front of the author’s
homestead site in Cavendish, PEI. Below, Island poet Jane Ledwell
shares her work. For more on this year’s conference:
www.lmmontgomery.ca/events/conference2010
Around our
Kitchen Table
I love bright red drinks, don’t you?
They taste twice as good as any other colour.
ANNE
OF
GREEN GABLES
Frosty Raspberry Fizz
In a large juice jug, mix 1 can of frozen raspberry
juice with 3 cans water as directed on the can.
8
Coming up in
Answers to our
In an ice cube tray, drop a raspberry or two in each
cube mould and pour a litte of the mixed juice
over them. Freeze, so that the berries will not float
to the top. When frozen, add more juice to fill the
ice cube tray and freeze again.
August
June contest, The
Fragrance of Flowers:
A Brook
Story
1. lavender
Place your drinking glasses in the freezer. When
you’re ready to serve, fill the glasses to half full
with the juice, add an equal amount of ginger ale
and one of the ice cubes. Enjoy!
by L.M. Montgomery
with photography
from the
Balsam Hollow Trail
4. apple
KINDRED SPIRITS / JULY 2010
2. rose
3. violet
5. heliotrope
6. lilies