Foreword Heron Island's Last Human Birth The Legend Of The Phantom Ship Of The Baie Des Chaleurs Some LaPointe Ancestry The Mercier Connection Beginning A New Life The Island The Children Some Strange Occurances The Day To Day Realities Unforgettable Christmases The Five Dresses The Family Grows Larger More Sons The LeBlanc Fortune The Last Son The War Ends It All Heron Island Today - a footnote Last Word - The Legacy Another Update On The Island and Some Photos

The Last Son Jean Douglas arrived the following summer, on July 5, 1935. He would be George and Stella's last son. He was promptly named "Joe" by someone, (whoever it was is now forgotten) and, just like his older brother,"Tony", the name stuck. He was the second of the children in the LaPointe family to be born on Heron Island. Around this time, the area experienced a total solar eclipse. George took time, a few days prior, to gather up some bottles; he broke them into eyeglass sizes, smoked them over an open flame, and gave them to the children and Stella, so that they might see the great sight without harming their eyes. Those members of the family who witnessed this eclipse say that it was an unforgettable experience. The election campaign of the same year found R.B. Bennett talking about a "New Deal". He was outlining programs of unemployment insurance, new laws on hours and wages, laws to control prices and the like. After his previous far-right stand, many of his customary followers were finding themselves utterly confused by his turn-about. MacKenzie King, meanwhile, had been occupying himself with a different kind of world while he was sitting on the sidelines. He was convinced that for the past decade he had been in contact with the world beyond the grave. He had talked with his deceased mother, with his dead brother and with Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who had passed on some time before. He had the help of a little group of mediums in England and Scotland. He was satisfied that, with their help, he had talked to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and even to his own departed dog, Pat. However, he never asked for any of his contacted spirits to help him with any political decisions. Without their help, he once again became the Prime Minister of Canada. On the eve of the election, Mussolini marched on Ethiopia. Canada's delegation to Geneva got Bennett's authority to join in condemning Italy as an aggressor. Economic sanctions were decided on. Before anything was done, King was elected. King announced that he would support economic sanctions, but would not consider military sanctions without consulting parliament. Canada proposed to cut off all shipments of coal, oil, steel and iron to Italy. A short time later, the Canadian government announced that the proposal had been made by a lesser government official, and that Canada did not support the embargo. Canada would go along if another country would propose it, but did not want the responsibility of the proposal on itself. The proposal of the embargo was shelved. Mussolini took Ethiopia easily. The inventory of Canadian armaments was stock inherited from the First World War. There was not a single modern anti-aircraft gun, not a single military aircraft, not an aerial bomb. The guns were obsolete, and there was only enough ammunition for about ninety minutes of fire. They were so defective that, for years, the army had not dared to use them in practice. The only military articles that Canada owned that was in good shape was its stock of harness. Very little use could be found for that. Although there had been a buildup of hostilities in Europe, Canadians had repeatedly been told that Canada was not going to be involved in any war so far away from home. They had been there once, in World War I, and that was enough. Canadians were enjoying going out on the town and more and more movies were being seen. They were generally not too concerned about what was happening in Europe. "The Wizard of Oz" was the big hit of the day. But on September 10, in the year 1939, Canada officially declared itself involved in the war to be known as World War II. This was the beginning of the end of life on Heron Island. Go To The Art Of Georgette Backs Main Go To The Gallery     A Moment In a Lifetime © 1998-2006, Georgette Backs - All Rights Reserved