Your Memories
This is what this site is all about. A place for folks to share memories of Port Albert. Anyone who has a story to tell that brings memories flooding back for the rest of us, then we want to hear from you.
Fishin' For Sculpins
This is a story of when I was a wee lad growing up down home. It was on one of those lazy, hazy days of summer and myself and Randy Pelley were sitting on the head of Grandfathers wharf fishing for whatever came along.
We each had a fishing pole made from alders, shop twine for line, a nail for weight and a penny hook. We had a wrinkle for bait, so we were ready for whatever came into view. We were both about 7 or 8 at the time and not very good swimmers, but were not afraid of being around the water. As we sat on the edge of the wharf , a huge ugly sculpin came into view and an arguement ensued over who was going to catch this fish.
Now we didn't know whose hook the sculpin was going to bite on but that didn't matter. I was sitting on the wharf and Randy was sitting up on the post that the boats were tied to, and even though he was much bigger than I was, he was precariously unbalanced and as the arguement progressed, a little nudge sent him over the wharf into the water.
I stood there dumbstruck as he struggled to remain afloat. In the blur of a second, Grandmother who had witnessed the whole ordeal, was down over the road, onto the wharf and was down into Grandfather's punt hauling Randy out by the hair and thus saving his life. All I could remember was her saying "My God, the boy's going to drown".
I had the opportunity to speak with Randy a couple of years ago and he thought for years that it was Stella Mercer that had pulled him out. I'm sure that it was Grandmother, but you know how sometimes memories can fade, so if anyone else witnessed this and can clarify this story it would be greatly appreciated. By the way no-one caught the sculpin and he went on to live another day.
Submitted by David Alexander - Riverview, NB
24 July 2008