The Value of Roads?

One would think that, with the only access to a seacoast village to be by boat before ice comes in, that a village would be lacking in services, lacking in basic supplies, even perhaps lacking in vibrancy.  That is not the case for many of the towns, including Harrington Harbor, one of many stops found along the roadless portion of  the Cote-du-Nord, the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

View of Harrington Cove from the water reservoir

First settled as a fishing station by the indigenous peoples, it was formally settled as a village in 1871 by the relocation of a few southwest Newfoundland families to the cove and adjacent islands, likely spurred by diminished fishing at the time off the Newfie coast, and now numbering over 300 people.

The only church - Anglican of course - built on the rock.

Like all the Cote du Nord villages, fishing is the prime occupation.  To assure sustainability, this community developed its own cooperative processing plant.  There is a welding shop, a small grocery store with some produce, a liquor store, school and a hospital with a helipad, started in 1906 as one of the Grenfell Association’s regional medical stations for fishermen.  Water comes from a small, dammed holding pond above the harbor, with 5 “filling stations” where residents can connect to fill their own reservoirs in their houses.

The "roads" of Harrington Cove

And there are no local roads.  Literally situated on a large rock outcropping, the structures are connected instead by a boardwalk system spanning between outcroppings of rock, started in the 1960’s, and now used as the “roadway” for pedestrian and ATV travel.  The main wharf, hosting a small fleet of local fishing boats and a docking station for our freighter/passenger ferry, the Bella Desgagnes, is also clogged with ATV’s when the ship arrives, picking up or dropping off goods or passengers.  The ATV is really an all-purpose, all-season vehicle that enables a measure of freedom.  The boardwalks are the roads.

The wharf when the ship comes in

I paid a visit to Paul’s Workshop.  His door open, I poked my head in and was warmly invited to see this incredible man-cave of a wood shop, complete with all manner of machines, most purchased used and reconditioned.  Retired at 58, he previously owned the liquor store with his brother, which enabled his retirement. He spends summers in the village making things for people, including wooden spoons and such, and demonstrated his homemade “spoon horse”, a device with all apparent appearance of a child’s toy horse, but with a foot operated clamping device to secure the spoon while carving.  In winter, he heads inland to his cabin, cuts wood and carves.  Having built his own workshop structure, he also has his own sawmill for board lumber, and works to restore old woodworking machines.  Somewhat incredulous at the nature of his operation, his resourcefulness, and his retirement at such an early age, he simply commented that he doesn’t spend much, doesn’t need much, and enjoys what he does.

Paul's Workshop

Quite a complete shop

Paul showing me his "carving horse"

    

I think that is likely a similar refrain of the other 299 people, and so many more along the Cote-du-Nord.

The small sign in the window reads:
"One thing I never have to worry about around here is competition"

Back on the ship, sailing for the next port of call, I considered the impact of no roads.  When asked when, if ever, Route 138 would be completed, Tanya, our hostess at Motel Blanc Sablon, expressed her strong doubts, since most of these villages are English speaking and of English descent (migrants from Labrador, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island) and the government of Quebec has not made it a priority to link their French culture with these English settlers.  Whether or not this is true, these people have adapted to this way of life very well over the past 150 years – the villages attest to this.  They have a remarkable sense of community, they have what they need and want (or so it appears to an outsider). 

But as I sat on the foredeck in the afternoon sun, I considered the impact of the eventual completion of Route 138 on these towns, from Kegaska to Vieux-Fort/Blanc Sablon, Quebec.  It would certainly enable more independence of movement, less dependence on a weekly freighter, and likely lower the cost of living for these villages, provided fishing remains the primary source of industry.  But what might be really imperiled is not the town, but the deck of this very ship that I now enjoy, departed for lack of passengers and freight who choose instead to drive the route.  Over our collective world history, roads have been the economic engine of a region’s development and a way to connect communities, whether by horse, wagon or automobile.

I love ships.  Might I be experiencing some future nostalgia for the present journey?   

I will enjoy it while it lasts.

The Bella Desgagne docked - one of many stops along the Cote-du-Nord