Today's travels are taking us along the west coast of PEI - the oyster coast. We are not having oysters today - we are heading for the potato museum to try the Worlds Best Hand Cut Fries. It's going to be a hot one today - it's already hot at 10 am!
As we are heading through Summerside I notice the College of Piping and it has a Celtic Store. Unfortunately they don't have anything Ferguson left - there was a Highland Gathering at the end of June and most of their product went at that time. Hmmm! Oh well I think it is wonderful that there is a college to go to learn piping and highland dancing to keep the heritage alive.
Not far down the road is a church. An absolutely beautiful huge church with a rectory beside it.
There was a young man (18) and an older parishioner that were giving out information and tours. The older fellow was visually impaired but told me all about the area and how the church came to be built in the middle of nowhere. The Parish of Mont-Carmel was the vision of Father Arsenault in 1896. The land had been donated years before by a local family. Father Arsenault decided the church should be built out of brick as the last church was destroyed by fire. So he charged each parishioner .05 per brick and commissioned 450,000 bricks to build it and at that time the church cost $75,000 to construct. Most of the building was done with free labour and materials. He also asked the farmers and the fishermen to gather stones as well. Inside the pillars are painted to look like marble and so many years later it still looks good as new. The church seats 600 people! Today the local area draws from about 700 residents. When he died in 1927 the church, rectory and the three arched structures were fully paid. The young fellow that gave me the tour is one of five teens that still attend the church regularly. I had a very interesting discussion with him.
Beautiful!
Our next stop the village of O'Leary. It is advertised as the home of the world famous potato museum and the best Hand Cut Fries on PEI! So we have to have some to see if they are right.
There are approximately 330 potato growers on PEI with most of these being family farms. The potato industry is worth in excess of a billion dollars to the Prince Edward Island economy every year according to an economic impact study completed. Over 88,000 acres of potatoes are grown on PEI each year, making it the largest commercial crop grown on the island, generating 50% of farm cash receipts in the province. This also makes PEI the largest potato producing province in Canada!
Prince Edward Island has such a rich history of growing potatoes because the province has near ideal growing conditions for its most famous crop. The red, sandy soil, rich in iron, is perfectly suited for potatoes, as it retains just the right amount of moisture during the growing season. Island growers also practice environmentally sustainable farming practices and follow the most stringent environmental standards in Canada. Interesting!
So what's the verdict on the fries? Hmmm, no different than any other home cut fries we have had. So we give it an 8 out of 10. Coffee was real good though.
On our way again and what do see but two churches across the road from each other! Hmmm, one is Protestant and one is United. So strange but I guess if there was doubt in one's mind you could go across the road to see what the other faith could offer.
Back at camp and we are having a wonderful dinner of steak, potatoes and veggies with a bottle of Bear River red wine. This is a bold, rich red with a peppery finish, just right for a steak. Dan the master chef is preparing the feast!
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