Prince Edward Island
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| Prince Edward Island is a wonderful place. We have known since we were born, that being a Prince Edward Islander is special. This is our home and we are proud of it! Some people think we are too small and that bigger is better. We have our own society and customs and there is nothing wrong with any of it. We Islanders have so have much to be appreciative of. The Island colours are bold and beautiful. Even the fog is pretty interesting. We have four seasons. Our family has been here for a long time. We have cousins all over the Island. We have not met a lot of them, but we know they are there! We pass our family stories down to the next generations. We have incredible neighbours. People actually still take the time to visit each other. People go to wakes and funerals in large numbers when someone passes away, sometimes driving long distances. We wave to everybody we meet on the roads, whether we know them or not. Friendships last lifetimes. P.E.I. is a place that has a lot of firsts. P.E.I. is a place that has a lot of bests. Islanders have their own dialect and we say words like slippy all the time and never say slippery. We turn out in record numbers to vote in our elections. We meet a lot of people and we use our favourite saying about the Island. Prince Edward Island's greatest export has not been the ships that were built, lumber, fish, lobsters, farm produce or potatoes. It has been people. Prince Edward Island is special because it is all about people, the people that stayed here and the people that went away and a lot of them made good. Some were born and bred on the Island, stayed here and contributed to the Island, Canada and in some cases the world, from here. There were also those who went away for awhile, but came back to stay. Some are born away but have at least one ancestor from the Island. Some have been born away, had no previous connection to the Island but discovered the special secrets of our Island and came here permanently to live. Some people have gone on to become famous and lived briefly here in Prince Edward Island. Some others have found fame and also found our Island. Those people are not decended from Island families. They did not make a permanent home here, yet they are a part of this place. Then there are those who have married an Island descendant and have achieved prominence. Their connection to our Island is strong too. There are those who are our cousins both close and distant. A few have them don't have Island connections. That is okay because they are a part of our extended family. Our family is important to us. Some of our cousins are really distant but we share an ancestor just the same. We have many relations that have accomplished many things in their lives. To know all about these people, we had to know about ourselves first. To learn about all this, our ancestors helped us by keeping records and passing along oral history. There have been Historians who have been researching for years. We cannot begin to know what we do, except for those who have gone on before. Thanks for helping build our community. Often we take our communities for granted. We do have it pretty good here, but others in the world do not. It can always be better - for all.
 Copyright Waldron H. Leard |
