Time & Tide DVD

This booklet/DVD documentary package marks the beginning of a major initiative to collect, preserve and share the story of five Cape Breton coastal communities — Main-à-Dieu, Bateston, Baleine, Little Lorraine and Catalone — through four centuries of momentous change, constant challenge and enduring character.

Based on original footage and interviews, augmented by a wealth of archival material from local residents, the film revolves round four main themes: fishing and the sea, community and church, war and peace, daily life and leisure….

Many community members remember the area before the arrival of electricity in 1950. Now, a scant 55 years later, there is high-speed public internet access available, while fibreglass boats, connected to satellite navigation technology, harvest the once-cheap, now highly-prized lobster and crab.

Though Scaterie Island is no longer populated, the schools have all closed, and the old church no longer stands (pictured at left — Immaculate Conception Church — lost to the great fire of 1976), the area’s ability to adapt is vividly symbolized by the successful Coastal Discovery Centre. The church has been rebuilt, and new traditions such as the annual mass on Scaterie Island and John Hall Memorial Boat Races gain in popularity each year.

But if the future is bright , it is because the past is strong, linking the community to a heritage rooted in both time (the historical journey) and space (the natural rhythms of life on the edge of the sea). Whatever changes lie ahead for the area, three constants — and great blessings — can be guaranteed: the beauty of the land, the power of the ocean, and the character of the people. [From the DVD's accompanying booklet]