Tag: History
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Hex Signs
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Driving around PEI, I saw lots of barns and houses with stars, octagons, and tulips inside a circle. These are hex signs. How odd! Hex signs are said to have been brought to Pennsylvania by the Germans in the 1700s who were called Pennsylvania Dutch. Initally they were used to ward off evil spirits,…
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Acadians/Cajans
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Who are the Acadians? How are they related to the Cajans? The Acadians are French who came to “New France” during the 17th century and settled in the region called Acadia, located in what are now the Maritime Provinces of Canada.. They primarily came from the central western region of France. Being…
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The Potato
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Ever heard of Potato Fudge? Come to Prince Edward Island. The potato is one of their claims to fame. And you can taste and buy potato fudge., PEI is located north of Maine; the potato was cultivated by the Incas in Peru over 1800 years ago. How did it migrate? Spanish conquistadors are said…
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Paro
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Paro is known as the Gateway to Bhutan. Not far from the airport sits the Rinpung Dzong or Paro Dzong, a fortress monastery that watches over the Paro Valley. It is the religious and administrative center of the region. While the word “Dzong” means fortress, each dzong includes a Buddhist monastery, which…
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Bottle Houses
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A unique tourist attraction on PEI is the Bottle Houses and Gardens in Cap-Egmont. Here there is a chapel, a six gabled house, and a tavern made of recycled bottles cemented together. Over 25,000 bottles have been used to create this place surrounded by beautiful gardens and a fishpond. The serenity of the…
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Searching our Family
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Our first trip was to Central PEI. We were looking for Margate which turned out to be a wide spot in the road with a church and a few houses. It was at the cemetery beside the Southwest River United Church that we hit the jackpot! We found many graves of the…
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Prince Edward Island
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For years my husband has wanted to go to PEI to look for family information. His mother’s family came from there. Getting older, we are at the point of doing something if we want to, so we booked a week on the island. His goal beyond enjoying the beauty was family research; mine…