The Dixon Road
STARVID
ARTIST
FUDD
DIXON
THE
ROAD
"We wanted more control over our own livelihoods, to
live more simply and
sanely in an increasingly mad world..."
The road travelled
Back in the day, young adults from the US and other parts of
Canada were drawn to the Maritimes. Motives varied from
avoiding the energy crisis to escaping the Vietnam War. Some
were lured by jobs, or inspired by well-known American back-
to-the-landers Helen and Scott Nearing, who wrote about "the
good life." PEI, in particular, was a popular destination-
small-scale farmers were packing it in, and this new breed of
immigrant, eager to learn its traditional, rural ways, were able
to buy land on the cheap.
Phil Corsi, who migrated to the Dixon Road in the late
'60s, describes the attraction in the book Memorable Musings,
an Anecdotal History of Breadalbane: "We wanted more control
over our own livelihoods, to live more simply and sanely in an
increasingly mad world ... with significant time left for voca-
tional and avocational pursuits."
And so they did-with passion and panache. Phil himself
not only became an organic market gardener, he mentored
scores of Dixon Roaders on how to grow their own vegetables.
He also tapped maple trees and held sugaring-off parties,
which are still popular today.
The road's inhabitants
Joanie Sutton and her husband, Jerry, moved to PEI from
Illinois in 1970, after he landed a teaching job in Kensington.
The young couple cut a few trees and built a home. They raised
children, chickens, and their own food; Joanie got a job as a
librarian in Breadalbane.
"The old library was so cold the books used to freeze on the
bottom shelf in the winter," says Joanie. Small wonder she felt
like dancing a jig when the new Breadalbane Public Library
opened at the top of the Dixon Road. It was built as an addi-
tion to the old school in 1994, which now doubles as a thriving
community centre.
The author of three cookbooks, Joanie remembers swapping
recipes with Laurel McLure, now 88, and a long-time Dixon
Roader. Once, when she told Laurel about a trip to Costa Rica,
her friend asked, "Why would you want to go to a place like
that?" Joanie replied, "Well, there's a lot to do; it's an adventure."
Laurel piped up, "Well, living on the Dixon Road was adven-
ture enough for me!"
The road was originally settled by "Late Comers"-settlers
who arrived from the Isle of Skye in 1868, after all the shore-
front land had been spoken for. They were given what was
originally known as Lot 67, the only land-locked parcel of land
on the island. Three years after they settled, the superintendent
of the census returns wrote that in spite of not having access to
the sea, Lot 67 was "... naturally productive, yielding all kinds
of agricultural produce."
Although Laurel says she didn't work very hard, she was
always feeding farm hands, family and visitors. She knit socks,
mitts, and sweaters for more kids than she can count. She also
knew a thing or two about raising sheep and was happy to
share her knowledge.
Laurel loved the influx of new people during the 60s and
70s. She called them "the immigrants." They loved her too,
along with her fudge, cookies, and general know-how. Now,
she looks forward to visits from her son, Doug, who works out
west; he and a partner started the PEI Maple Syrup Company
on the Dixon Road about 10 years ago, and he still helps run
the business from away.
A visit from Doug is good news for Ron Wagner, a so-called
immigrant from Toronto, who lives close to the sugar bush and
works for Doug part time. In the early '70s, Ron was a young
political science grad without a job; he headed to PEI to find
his fortune.
"We were hopelessly naïve, but we were blessed," he says,
of himself and his then-wife, Cheryl Wagner. They got a grant
and started a travelling puppet theatre. He and Cheryl eventu-
ally parted ways, but the PEI fixture has never lost his touch as
a clown. Today, he and wife Wanda Naylor own and operate
Merrytime Clown & Puppet Friends.
As Ron sews the finishing touches on a horse costume for his
new act, Hal Mills is on the phone lining up musicians for his
house concerts.
Hal lived in both PEI and the Northwest Territories off and
on between 1970 and 2005. In the '90s, he bought some prop-
erty on the Dixon Road, designed a home and had it built,
knowing he'd eventually retire there. He rented his home to
Jeff Stewart (a friend, chef and musician) who discovered that
the large open kitchen and big walk-around loft had great
acoustics. When Hal retired there in 2005, several musicians
came over for a combined party: a homecoming for him, and
a send-off for Jeff.
Pressed for a definition of a Dixon Roader, one resident says, "It's a state of mind." Clockwise, from left: Malcolm Stanley with dog Neville; puppeteers
Ron Wagner and Wanda Naylor with a friend named MoMo; Joanie and Jerry Sutton, at home on their subsistence farm; a sign for the musical mecca.
NOVEMBER I DECEMBER 2012 SALTS CAPES
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